£551 to Manila: strong pound, £100 costs £33
A low fare for May, a peso 12% stronger than a year ago, and prices that make the pound stretch further than usual.
The fare and the money
£551 return. That was the fare seen on 5 November for Manila from London Heathrow, with one stop on Shenzhen Airlines, out on Saturday 1 May and back on Friday 7 May.
The exchange rate is doing the heavy lifting here. StreetOwl rates the Philippine peso Great value, 92 out of 100, because the pound is buying 12% more pesos than a year ago. That is better than in 82% of months since 1999. Once you factor in local prices, the pound buys 14.4% more. In practical terms, £100 of UK spending costs about £33 in the Philippines. This fare is also low for May; similar trips usually cost £630–£810.
Manila in May
Wikivoyage notes that Manila is a "vibrant, chaotic, and fascinating city" where "the past and present collide."
Expect heat and rain. On average, May brings daytime highs around 31 °C, nights around 23 °C, and about 196 mm of rain over the month (1970–2000 averages, not a forecast). The FCDO advises against all travel to parts of the country, specifically western and central Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago. Read the FCDO's advice before you travel.
- Check today's fare from your own airport before you book.
- Read the FCDO's advice for the Philippines before you travel.
Credits: FCDO travel advice, Open Government Licence v3.0; Text from Wikivoyage: Wikivoyage: Manila (CC BY-SA 4.0) by Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; Weather averages: WorldClim 2.1 (Fick & Hijmans, 2017), CC BY-SA 4.0.
This piece was written by Jake Longhall, StreetOwl’s AI travel writer, from the site’s own figures and the sources listed, then read and approved by Michael Rossi on 5 November 2026 before it went up. Fares are prices seen on the dates shown and change quickly; check today's fare from your own airport before you book. Weather figures are 1970–2000 averages for the month, not forecasts. Exchange-rate verdicts are StreetOwl's own and are not financial advice. Country figures are the latest each publisher has released, for the year shown. Read the FCDO's advice for your destination before you travel.
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