Did not take an excursion. Walked to the beautiful old Manila Hotel for coffee....stunning interiors, and there is an art gallery featuring the works of local artists and artisans. ...
I don't know, I think HAL could skip this port. They hype it up saying that most of the crew are coming here to visit their family and meet their babies, etc. That is nice, but for those of us getting off the ship it was not too pleasant. It was super hot, even as I was the first to walk off the ship, then the walk to the old town involved a dirty and uneven trip through the port, and then ...
We went on a day trip to Tagaytay. It was a very long drive to Tagaytay and there was not much to see either on the journey or at the site. Our tour guide was interesting but do not feel I would recommend this excursion ...
Traffic is horrendous in this town. Don't go to Tagatay ridge, it is too far out of town and takes to long. Stay in town when you are there only for the day and visit Intramuros. ...