Landing at Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila puts you right in the middle of things, with places like Tagaytay, Batangas, and Pampanga all close by. Manila is a sprawling, energetic capital on a bay famous for its sunsets, where Spanish colonial walls, American-era boulevards, and glittering new business districts collide. Traffic is legendary, but so is the hospitality. Filipinos love to sing, eat, and celebrate, and they will pull you into all three.

Must-do experiences in Manila: - Walk the walls of Intramuros and visit San Agustin Church and Fort Santiago - Watch the sunset over Manila Bay from the Baywalk or a hotel rooftop - Browse the Filipino masters at the National Museum of Fine Arts - Eat sisig, lechon, and halo-halo at a food park in Poblacion or Maginhawa Street - Explore the street art and bars of Poblacion, the city's late-night neighborhood - Shop and dine around Bonifacio Global City's parks and towers - Ride a jeepney at least once for the full Manila experience - Visit Binondo, the oldest Chinatown in the world, for lumpia and hopia

Manila is also a launching pad for the rest of Luzon. Tagaytay and its ridge views over the Taal volcano lake are about 90 minutes south, Pampanga, the country's culinary capital, is roughly the same distance north, and the beaches of Batangas and the dive resorts of Anilao lie two hours southwest. Corregidor Island sits an hour away by ferry. Try a Jollibee Chickenjoy with the locals, learn a karaoke song or two, and you will fit right in.