What Should You Bring With You When You Going to Study English Abroad.

You are going to study English abroad for the first time and don’t know what should you bring with you? No worries, we have you covered.
In this post we will discuss what should you bring with you using the Philippines as an example. So what do you need to take with you when you go to study English in the Philippines?

All things you need to take with you we can divide into groups:

1. Essential items.
2. Clothing.
3. Electronics.
4. Useful items.

1. Essential Items.

Passport.

Check that your passport is valid for more than 6 months before traveling to the Philippines. You also need to have two empty pages in your passports for the stamps.

Depending on your country you might need to apply for visa in advance or have 30 days visa free stay in the Philippines. Here are details on how to get your visa if you are from Taiwan.

Flight ticket.

Be sure you have a copy a screenshot of your flight ticket. Show it at the check-in counter. Some airports will also require you to show your ticket to get into departure area.

You can not enter the Philippines with a one-way ticket. You must show your return ticket when you arrive. The return route does not need to be your country of origin, it can be any country other than the Philippines.

Cash.

Most of the hotels and big restaurants will accept international credit or debit cards, but smaller restaurants and taxi will accept only cash.

Exchange rate at the airport is not as good as you can find in the city, so don’t exchange too much money.

There are ATMs at the airport where you can withdraw peso but check with your bank fees and commission not to be surprised later. Many ATMs will limit your withdrawal by 10,000 peso per day.

Credit card.

We mentioned the Philippines earlier as a cash-based, but there are places where credit cards can be used so let’s bring them. The easiest credit cards to use are Visa and MasterCard. Very few places will accept JCB or Amex so make sure you have Visa or MasterCard.

Travel insurance.

If you have overseas insurance included in your credit card package, you can simply use it. If you don’t make sure you get one before you leave. It’s always better be safe than sorry. You can find many options for travel insurance online. Please don’t forget to bring your insurance certificate with you. If you do not have your certificate, even if you have insurance, you might have problems using it in the Philippines.

2. Clothing.

Clothes (T-shirt, shorts, underwear).

The weather in the Philippines is warm all year. Most of the time you can spend in T-shirts and shorts. However, keep in mind that the average temperature is 27 degrees Celsius, and it is hot and humid, we recommend that you bring enough clothes to change couple of times per day and plan your laundry accordingly. Especially if you are sweaty, you feel a need to change 2-3 times per day.

Clothes can also be purchased relatively cheap at a shopping malls in the Philippines.

Please bring a thin jacket because the flight might be cold and many places use AC and it can be chilly.

Dress code.

If you are planning to go to a hotel, casino, club, etc., some of them you can not enter in shorts or sandals. Bring some shoes and long pants (jeans) for this occasion.

Swimwear.

The beaches in the Philippines are just magnificent, so make sure you bring your swimwear. Of course you can buy it in the Philippines, but you won’t find many familiar brands here. The sun is very strong in the Philippines, so if you have a sensitive skin and afraid of getting burnt, bring a rash guard.

Shoes. Sandals, slippers, sneakers.

Most of your time you’ll spend wearing slipper or sandals (remember it is hot in the Philippines). They are very cheap to buy in the Philippines, so you can consider buying them here instead of bringing them with you.
If you plan doing marine sports or activities, buy water shoes. That way you know your feet are protected no matter what is under the water. I stepped on a sea urchin twice. Once I was barefoot and it took a long time for my foot to heal. The other time I was wearing water shoes and my feet were safe.

When walking around the city for sightseeing sneakers might be more comfortable.

3. Electronics.

Camera.

Did we mention have beautiful the Philippines are and what amazing pictures you can take at every step? If you like having good pictures, it will be wise to bring a good camera that can take better pictures than your phone. Processing pictures from the camera also has more options than pictures from the phone. Make your lifetime memories with the beautiful pictures.

Smartphone.

Bring unlocked phone that can take local sim card. Or get overseas package with your home operator for the time you stay in the Philippines. In many places you will find free wi-fi, so you can survive without local sim too. If you want to have a fast Internet all the time you can get local pocket wi-fi or sim card with the Internet package.

Smartphone can be very useful for making your notes of the new words and using it to plan your day.

Laptop.

If you need to do some work while studying English abroad,  don’t forget to take your laptop. You will have wi-fi at school and you can find it in most places around. As mentioned before it not the fastest Internet, so you might consider pocket wi-fi.

Charger and adapter.

There are two types of outlets used in the Philippines. Type A (flat) and type C (round). The voltage is 220 volts, so make sure your charger and other electronic devices you want to bring have the same parameters or prepare an adapter.

Nowadays most smartphones and laptops are compatible with overseas markets, they can be used almost everywhere, but just in case, check at a home if the electronic devices you take with you are compatible with the Philippines parameters.

If you have many devices to charge or plug, think of bringing an extension plug as a number of outlets at the dorm or the hotel might be not sufficient.

4. Useful Items.

Bug repellent spray.

There can be many mosquitoes in some areas. If mosquitoes love you, don’t forget about mosquito repellent. You can buy them in any convenience shop, but if you prefer a certain brand, bring it with you.

Nail clippers.

You may be concerned about dirt in your nails even on short trips, so bring them with you. You can find nail clippers locally but the quality is not so great.

Medicine.

If you take any prescribed medication, take them with you in enough quantities. Take your doctor’s prescription with you as well.
It is useful to have medicine for your stomach, nausea (if you easily get car or sea sick), and pain killers.

Pocket tissue.

In the Philippines, most toilets do not have toilet paper when they go out. It is wise to have pocket tissue for the toilet when going out.

Also, please note that in the Philippines you can not flush the tissue into the bathroom. It is common to throw away the tissue that has been used in the toilet in the trash can you find in the bathroom. Don’t flush the tissue by mistake, it may cause clogging!

Compression bag.

It is not necessary for people who have a small amount of luggage, but those who like to bring many things will find compression bags very useful when packing.

Grab taxi App.

Unfortunately, there are some taxi drivers who want to advantage of foreigners and don’t use a meter, charging amount they decide themselves. When using a regular taxi always ask the driver to put the meter on.

There is no Uber in the Philippines but you can use Grab taxi app, then you know in advance how much you pay, all taxi driver information will be shared on the app, and you won’t get lost, and you can get on with cashless. Download app at home and link your card to it. If you are a new user you can use this promo code to get a discount for your first rides with Grab: GRABML8LOJ8L, or use this link https://r.grab.com/grabml8loj8l

If you think we missed out anything and should add to this list, please share your opinion with us, and we will add it to the list.
Safe travels and enjoy your time studying English in the Philippines.