In this guide to gay Manila, we’ve set out practical safety tips and summarised the best of the city’s gay scene, top places to stay, go out and eat for you to check out.
“Be super careful in Manila boys…” was the blunt warning from our Filipino friends in London before we headed over, “…it’s crowded, polluted, too much traffic and lots of thieves everywhere!”
But in all honesty, Manila is no different to any other big city we’ve been in.
Gay Manila
Our first steps on the streets of Malate were tentative – taking our friends’ words to heart, we ensured to leave all valuables in our hotel, avoided unlit streets, and stuck to taxis to get us around. But the paranoia that we’d built up was quickly broken down. Sticking to basic common sense, it’s absolutely fine in Manila.
We ended up really enjoying the Filipino capital. It has a pretty exciting gay scene with a super friendly LGBTQ community that loves connecting with foreigners. Filipinos generally are the most affable and hospitable people we’ve ever met, which makes it so easy to quickly make local friends here. This was our favorite thing about Manila!
As the hub into the Philippines, the city makes for a pretty sweet base to start exploring the rest of this phenomenal country.