# Cheapest methond of getting to Cebu from Pittsburgh, PA???



## 2travel (Mar 31, 2014)

And in order to enter the phillipines do I have to show proof of a returning flight or onward travel? I found a one-way ticket online for $950. Not sure if that's good or not.

Thank you


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

2travel said:


> And in order to enter the phillipines do I have to show proof of a returning flight or onward travel? I found a one-way ticket online for $950. Not sure if that's good or not.
> 
> Thank you


You can buy the ticket-usually without a problem. But to board your trans-pacific flight to Manila/Cebu, that airline, whoever it is will require you to have an onward or return ticket to board you on the aircraft-it is required. Use your favorite travel agency there or direct from an airline and buy an onward ticket from either Cebu or Manila to Hong Kong or some other close, lost cost destination.


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## 2travel (Mar 31, 2014)

Jet Lag said:


> You can buy the ticket-usually without a problem. But to board your trans-pacific flight to Manila/Cebu, that airline, whoever it is will require you to have an onward or return ticket to board you on the aircraft-it is required. Use your favorite travel agency there or direct from an airline and buy an onward ticket from either Cebu or Manila to Hong Kong or some other close, lost cost destination.


O.k. thank you. Is there a web site or an airline that has super low price fares for a one-way ticket to Cebu? $950 is a lot of money to me, so if there's a cheaper way I would really love to find it.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

2travel said:


> O.k. thank you. Is there a web site or an airline that has super low price fares for a one-way ticket to Cebu? $950 is a lot of money to me, so if there's a cheaper way I would really love to find it.


Not that I am 100% sure of. You might try Cebu Pacific but that would cause an extra transfer of aircraft in some other country and likely would raise your overall cost. Considering that your flight originates in the Eastern US that is not a bad price really. Best deal you can get is on a round trip. Also, the time of year has a lot to do with fares. From now until after the Easter season about the end of April or so the fares are high.
Philippine Airlines offers non-stop flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco. It makes a stop in Manila then on to Cebu.
Another consideration is or should be safety above all else. Philippine Airlines is good and the only one that I use.
China Airlines has low fares as far as Manila but their safety record is horrible. It is definitely an airline to avoid.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*One way ticket*



2travel said:


> And in order to enter the phillipines do I have to show proof of a returning flight or onward travel? I found a one-way ticket online for $950. Not sure if that's good or not.
> 
> Thank you


Not a bad price for a one way ticket. If you decide to stay, you might want to get a few things done before you leave the US, it could be costly getting those valuable documents from here.


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## northwoods (Nov 14, 2013)

hello from northern wisconsin .
bought round trip tickets last week 'chicago - tokyo - manila $ 1.300 usd .
used a local travel agency . flying nippon airlines .
im really ready , for my 1st visit . as winter will just not let go this year .
have 24" to 30" of snow in my woods , fishermen can still drive full size pickup's ,
the their favorite spots on the ice . all lakes locked tight , swans are sitting on the rivers ,
just waiting for ice out , so they can continue north .
great site ; thanks to all .


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

northwoods said:


> hello from northern wisconsin .
> bought round trip tickets last week 'chicago - tokyo - manila $ 1.300 usd .
> used a local travel agency . flying nippon airlines .
> im really ready , for my 1st visit . as winter will just not let go this year .
> ...


Hi Northwoods,

Tell ya what, you are in for one big shock in weather change! It' almost 8:30pm here now and it's still 88f outside! The heat is not the bad part. It's the never ending high humidity that makes it so uncomfortable. Anyway, you'll have air conditioning in areas where you will go hopefully.
I lived in cold and snowy country in Utah so I know what you mean being ready for spring. I do hate the heat here but it's sure a lot better than snow and having to scrape ice off the car window or shovel the driveway!
Hope you enjoy the flight and the time you spend here.


Jet...


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## Pedro Reklamo (Mar 6, 2014)

2travel said:


> And in order to enter the phillipines do I have to show proof of a returning flight or onward travel? I found a one-way ticket online for $950. Not sure if that's good or not.
> 
> Thank you


Buying a return is not usually that much more expensive. Might be better than buying a throw away ticket and who knows, you might need to run back home.


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## justice (Nov 26, 2012)

I buy my ticket online. I go to a site called BT Travel store. I been using them for past 5 years. I never had problem. not sure if I can post link Cheap Flights, Cheap Airline Tickets, Plane Tickets, Buy Cheap Airfare – Best Travel Store


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## Nickleback99 (Aug 6, 2011)

I'd recommend using KAYAK to search as it searches about every airline, foreign and domestic, and other site I can think of for most part. If you are flexible on days of travel, such as midweek, etc it can get really cheap. I know Seattle is closer therefore cheaper, but just right now I could get a ticket roundtrip for $886 in May if I were going. Another thing to check if you are near the Canada border is to fly out of there. I flew out of Vancouver one year on EVA (Great Service!) and saved about $250 round trip which was great because I live equal distance from either Vancouver or Seattle airports. If midwest or even east coast, might want to check out of Toronto or Montreal.


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## JimnNila143 (Jul 23, 2013)

*Flight ticket*



2travel said:


> And in order to enter the phillipines do I have to show proof of a returning flight or onward travel? I found a one-way ticket online for $950. Not sure if that's good or not.
> 
> Thank you


Unless you are married to a Filipina and are returning here to be with them, i.e., Balikbayan status, it is better to get a round trip ticket. If you decide you want to stay here you should be able to cancel the return flight to the US. I did, it cost me a $100 penalty but I got 90% of my ticket price back, of course, this was in 2009. PAL is an excellent carrier and they also leave the USA from Vancouver, B.C., Canada. You may have to use several carriers to get to LAX or SFO but PAL is the way to go.


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## JimnNila143 (Jul 23, 2013)

I found a flight for you using American Airlines and Philippine Airlines, cost is about $2,450US. Pittsburgh to LAX, LAX to Manila, Manila to Cebu.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

JimnNila143 said:


> I found a flight for you using American Airlines and Philippine Airlines, cost is about $2,450US. Pittsburgh to LAX, LAX to Manila, Manila to Cebu.


Not a bad fare really. Ya know I was thinking, where he lives in the Eastern US, It might cost less and reduce the travel time to take perhaps Cathay Pacific out of New York (JFK) and transfer aircraft in Hong Kong or some such place. However, I don't think they fly into Cubu.


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## JimnNila143 (Jul 23, 2013)

Jet Lag said:


> Not a bad fare really. Ya know I was thinking, where he lives in the Eastern US, It might cost less and reduce the travel time to take perhaps Cathay Pacific out of New York (JFK) and transfer aircraft in Hong Kong or some such place. However, I don't think they fly into Cubu.


That may be a good idea, Cathay Pacific is an OK airline, my friend from Scotland uses them. He may have to fly to Manila and then fly either PAL or Cebu Pacific to Cebu. Usually Manila is the doorway to fly to other places in the Philippines.


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## JimnNila143 (Jul 23, 2013)

The only thing about going to Canada is you have to go through Canadian Customs. That can take awhile, especially if you have a short time to board your flight. Vancouver is a big airport and you have to do a lot of walking to get from gate to Customs to gate. It is probably the same at Toronto or Montreal. the thing you have to consider, also, is how many legs you have to take on the trip. If you try to go with the least number of non-stop flights the ticket price can get high.


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## HondaGuy (Aug 6, 2012)

Definitely use Kayak, make sure to use the +/- 3 days option and dont be afraid to book your legs independently. Here are some random dates I picked:

PIT -> LAX -> PIT (July 10 to Aug 8) on Southwest $384.50 (vie the SW website)

LAX -> MNL -> LAX (July 10 to Aug 7) on United $1081.00 (via the Kayak website)

Total price $1465.50 from PIT to MNL. A cursory check on the Cebu Pacific website shows you can get promo fares round trip from Manila to Cebu in the neighborhood of php2525 (approx $57.00). The sooner you book, the cheaper the flights are.

Those are just dates I picked at random and would be close to the 30 days you get for your arrival visa, but I dont think thats a bad price. If you booked all your legs together, Delta can get you there for $1844, so rolling your trip yourself can save you some cash, but either way you have your onward ticket to show the agent when you get on the plane in LAX and at immigration in Manila.

Good Luck!

P.S. If you do decide to roll your own flights, make sure to leave yourself plenty of time for connections. If youre an experienced international traveler, then Im not telling you anything you dont already know.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

We have found that during high season flying into Hong Kong then using Cebu Pasific for the last leg has saved us hundreds of dollars.


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## JimnNila143 (Jul 23, 2013)

A lot of all of this has to do with how soon the OP can make the trip. Has he had all of his inoculations to fly to SE Asia? Inoculations can get pricey, since there is no real vaccination for Dengue Fever and the only thing that can even give up to 80% protection costs almost $400US in the US and has to be given by his Immunologist. There is also a warning out that there is a mosquito in Manila that carries Malaria. You have to take precautions about that too. If the OP has never been to the Philippines before he has to buy a round trip ticket. No choice there.


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## HondaGuy (Aug 6, 2012)

Just realized that 2nd flight segment should be LAX-MNL-LAX.

Is there not an edit button?




HondaGuy said:


> Definitely use Kayak, make sure to use the +/- 3 days option and dont be afraid to book your legs independently. Here are some random dates I picked:
> 
> PIT -> LAX -> PIT (July 10 to Aug 8) on Southwest $384.50 (vie the SW website)
> 
> ...


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

JimnNila143 said:


> A lot of all of this has to do with how soon the OP can make the trip. Has he had all of his inoculations to fly to SE Asia? Inoculations can get pricey, since there is no real vaccination for Dengue Fever and the only thing that can even give up to 80% protection costs almost $400US in the US and has to be given by his Immunologist. There is also a warning out that there is a mosquito in Manila that carries Malaria. You have to take precautions about that too. If the OP has never been to the Philippines before he has to buy a round trip ticket. No choice there.


Ticketing requirement is a round trip ticked -- OR a ticket to an onward destination such as Hong Kong or any other country.
The mosquitoes that carry malaria and dengue fever etc can be found throughout the Philippines.
While vaccinations are good to have and even recommended by some healthcare professionals, they are not required to visit or move to the Philippines.
I would guess that the vast majority of people do not have this done. If however it is done, it's important to have all shots completed several months prior to travel. This is due to the fact that some vaccinations can cause a mild to moderate reaction that can cause one to have to cancel the trip.
While these diseases do exist here, one is at far more risk of pick pockets and police set-ups.


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## George6020 (Apr 18, 2014)

Hello, I just arrived back in Cebu last week, from Richmond, VA. I stayed in Richmond for 12 days visiting my mom. Whenever I travel, I spend a lot of time searching 10-15 websites to find the best route and price. Surprisingly, 3 weeks ago, Expedia had the best roundtrip from Cebu to Rchmond....then back again for approx. $1300. I flew Delta from Richmond to Detroit, Delta again to ICN(Seoul, South Korea), then Korean Airlines directly to Cebu. Avoid stopping in Manila at all costs. YES...you will need an Out-of-country ticket too and it was checked 3 times. I bought a cheap flight Cebu-Pacific from Clark to Bangkok for approx. P1200....or $30.00. I pushed the date as far as I could which was June 2014. Good luck, its a long fight.


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## bbazor (Nov 18, 2013)

George6020 said:


> Hello, I just arrived back in Cebu last week, from Richmond, VA. I stayed in Richmond for 12 days visiting my mom. Whenever I travel, I spend a lot of time searching 10-15 websites to find the best route and price. Surprisingly, 3 weeks ago, Expedia had the best roundtrip from Cebu to Rchmond....then back again for approx. $1300. I flew Delta from Richmond to Detroit, Delta again to ICN(Seoul, South Korea), then Korean Airlines directly to Cebu. Avoid stopping in Manila at all costs. YES...you will need an Out-of-country ticket too and it was checked 3 times. I bought a cheap flight Cebu-Pacific from Clark to Bangkok for approx. P1200....or $30.00. I pushed the date as far as I could which was June 2014. Good luck, its a long fight.


HI George, When you say you were checked 3 times, for an outbound ticket, who checked you those three times and where?


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## George6020 (Apr 18, 2014)

bbazor said:


> HI George, When you say you were checked 3 times, for an outbound ticket, who checked you those three times and where?


When I checked in at Delta at Richmond,VA....I had to provide proof of an onward ticket.....then when they issued my boarding passes, EACH boarding pass was noted Documents Check OK...................then when I got to ICN, Seoul, South Korea, Korean Air at the GATE also wanted to see my onward flight OUT of the Philippines. Then when I arrived in Cebu, going through Immigration/Customs, the agent also requested to see my onward flight. 
I'm glad I had a copy of my "throw away" flight to show them. 

In the past, I have only been asked 1 time to show/prove my onward flight......only by the 1st leg of a trip to the Philippines....but this time I was asked 3 times.


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## pac (Jul 27, 2013)

*manila->cebu 2 step*



2travel said:


> And in order to enter the phillipines do I have to show proof of a returning flight or onward travel? I found a one-way ticket online for $950. Not sure if that's good or not.
> 
> Thank you


2travel? to cebu from PA?

One way for $950 is a bit steep (you could almost get a round trip fare for that). If you are looking for a one way ticket just to get into phils, then booking cebu is wasting money.

But if you are serious about getting to cebu? I would book it as 2 trips. 1st to manila, 2nd step to cebu. 

Reason why is that major carriers are competing for prices to manila...roundtrip from any mainland US city for less than $900 US not that difficult if you shop diligently online.

Problem is using that same provider (whether airline or travel agency online or off) for the cebu leg will cost you, often $150+ US, when careful shopping could get a "local" roundtrip flight for around $50. Reason why? Totally different market.

Local phils airways (J*t for instance) have frequent and cheap flights but they are not international. and most MNL->CEB flights won't show up on your usual Exp*dia or K*yak searches if you are launching from your US home. Google Tri-p Adviso-r without the dashes.

So my advice? Cheapest way to Cebu? Research your tickets online as two different trips, you'll save a couple quid for the great food & drinks in Cebu!
<g>

pac

ps: Anyone been to the Emerald Isle tavern in cebu? I can't remember where it is. Well, yeah, it was *that*good! Street address or nearby landmark pls?


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## George6020 (Apr 18, 2014)

just did a quick fare check......I saw 1294.00 roundtrip from pitt to manila......then I also saw 705.00 for 1 way...............I put September as the flight dates on cheapoair dot com


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## ckjor (Apr 24, 2014)

You might try Kayak or Cheap o air or any of several others. I always go thru Korea and bypass Manila at all costs. If you go to Manila you will need transportation from the airport to a hotel for an overnight stay as they always get in late at night. I have not had good luck with the cabbies at all in Manila. Then the next day you will have to take another cab to the domestic airport and fly to Cebu. 
To bypass all that you can take the route thru Korea, it might be a bit more than going into Manila but it will probably be less expensive that going thru Manila and you won't take an extra day to get there by spending the night in Manila.
If you can wait til mid September thru early November the flights are cheaper. Also from mid January to sometime in March they are less.


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## cvgtpc1 (Jul 28, 2012)

Yes, the flights get in late but there's usually a 5am flight to where I'm going so I'll go straight over to the domestic terminal on the airport bus and camp out those 5-6 hrs, then pass out on the domestic flight lol. Plus since I know that's coming I try to sleep as much as possible on the trip over.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Many of the hotels do a pick up and drop off. No need to invovle the local cabbies and you arrive in the islands fresh.


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## cvgtpc1 (Jul 28, 2012)

Unless you're kuripot like me and want to save on the hotel lol


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## lefty30253 (Sep 21, 2013)

*George 6020*



George6020 said:


> just did a quick fare check......I saw 1294.00 roundtrip from pitt to manila......then I also saw 705.00 for 1 way...............I put September as the flight dates on cheapoair dot com


you might want to check on the one way ...I was under the impression that you have to have a round trip ticket...I'm also looking to go back in September ...if I come across any good deals I will post them...$1294 is not bad ...I paid $1428 when I went in January


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## pac (Jul 27, 2013)

Nickleback99 said:


> I'd recommend using KAYAK to search as it searches about every airline, foreign and domestic, and other site I can think of for most part. If you are flexible on days of travel, such as midweek, etc it can get really cheap. I know Seattle is closer therefore cheaper, but just right now I could get a ticket roundtrip for $886 in May if I were going. Another thing to check if you are near the Canada border is to fly out of there. I flew out of Vancouver one year on EVA (Great Service!) and saved about $250 round trip which was great because I live equal distance from either Vancouver or Seattle airports. If midwest or even east coast, might want to check out of Toronto or Montreal.


Nickleback99, thanks for the tip. I was already using 4 or 5 other search engines for an upcoming MNL-->CEB roundtrip and Kayak came up with flights almost half price of the lowest of any of the others. Some extra info required for the WeGoLo links from Kayak but worth it, thanks!

pac


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## Nickleback99 (Aug 6, 2011)

Awesome! Sounds like you hit the Kayak jackpot! Anyway glad it worked. I wish Hotwire had international "Hot Rates" like they do domestic for saving lot of money, but Kayak ain't bad for sure. Enjoy the trip.


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