Manila Touchdown Arrival & Land Transpo Tips
And a Relatively Unknown Capsule Hotel inside NAIA (Travel Tip #02)
My childhood friend had to travel from Toronto to the Philippines unexpectedly and will arrive there at 5:00 AM. My previous flights from the USA also arrived late at night or early in the morning. What will you do if you do not want to disturb your relatives or if there is no one to pick you up? There are taxis and grab drivers (Asia's Uber) but I'd rather ride an aircon bus. In this post, I will tell you about a capsule hotel inside the NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) Terminal 3 and the comfortable, air conditioned buses I take to and from the Manila airport.
Wings - A Capsule Hotel Inside NAIA Terminal 3
The last time I travelled to the Philippines, I arrived around midnight. I do not want to take a cab so I decided to take an airport bus called UBE Express. The next bus will arrive in the morning so I rested in a capsule hotel inside NAIA 3 called The Wings which was on the 4th floor of NAIA 3. Use the elevator going to the fast food area on that floor.
The picture on the right is a screenshot of the capsule sleeping area for women, which is separated from men. On the left is what it looked liked when I was there on September 2022. Their website described it as “like resting in a cocoon without a care in the world. A partial or fully enclosed sliding shade will shield you from light and crowds, giving you ultimate privacy and relaxation.” Contrary to feeling like a tight cocoon, the bed was wide enough for me and my backpack. I was able to charge my electronics and use a private light. Other advantages were:
you can opt to check-in your luggage in their storage area - they gave me a receipt for it as shown in the picture above
they offer light snacks and drinks for free
they provide toiletries and shower room in a common area
Wings charged 1,000 pesos for a time slot; mine was from midnight to 7:30 AM. I paid extra because my flight arrived before midnight and I wanted to rest ASAP. Payment was done via paypal and I only have to show my email receipt to confirm I paid. All in all, it was worth it and I was ready to catch the bus on time. I just had to go down.
Airport Express Bus from NAIA 3
UBE Express picks up passengers only from NAIA 3. If you arrived in another terminal, you have to take a shuttle service. I’ve never take a shuttle to and fro the different NAIA terminals but Philippine Airlines released a transfer guide here. Silent Garden published a Manila Airport Transfer Guide but I do not know if it is updated. And before you get out of the airport, make sure you get some local currency to pay for your transportation.
When I went out the airport, I immediately saw UBE Express Bus . It was on time according to their published schedule - I posted their latest schedule in the picture above which I got from the FB page. It is roomy enough to navigate with my rolling luggage. It only cost 200 pesos and was air-conditioned. It was a smooth ride and I arrived earlier than my cousin who was supposed to meet me at the Cubao terminal.
Better Cubao Terminal before I Left
The UBE Express terminal was still closed when the bus arrived before 9:00 AM. It was near a jeepney terminal hawking for passengers going to Novaliches and other places. I had nowhere to go while waiting for my cousin so I just walked to and fro. A terminal security guard opened the terminal for me and I was able to rest for a while. In less than a month, UBE Express moved to a better terminal at the ground level of Manhattan Heights Building Tower D, General Romulo Avenue near Ali Mall. It was much better than the previous one and was far from noisy hawkers. I was able to finish work while waiting for the bus to arrive and bring me back to the airport for my flight back home. In the next post, I will share how I minimize foreign transaction fees and what types of debit/credit cards I use.