Withdraw/change enough cash for 2-3 weeks in Manila/Cebu

When you land from your home country in Manila or Cebu then one of your first moves should be to withdraw enough cash for 2 weeks or exchange any physical currency you have into philippine pesos before moving to the islands. Manila Airport has some of the best exchange rates out there.

You will regret it if you don't because finding ATMs that actually are not out of order/have no money inside on the islands is very rare. Some tours can cost 15000PHP over a 100 Euros and they need to be sometimes paid in cash so withdraw enough for your first 2 weeks. The ATMs on the islands can have horrendous fees so this is another reason to withdraw cash in major cities.

Some banks in your country might have agreements with banks in the Philippines so it is worth typing: "withdrawal fees of X Bank" into google to see if your bank may be eligible.