Colorful Filipino Currency 💸
There are a few things that truly ground you when you arrive in a new country. It’s not just the sights, or the smells, or the fact that you’ve just ended up on a ferry that looks like it’s been cobbled together from spare parts. No, it’s the currency. Specifically, the delightful, technicolour circus that is the Philippine peso (PHP).
We’re used to our currencies being, let’s say, a bit… restrained. Our money is all muted tones and stern-looking monarchs – the financial equivalent of a beige jumper. We get a little pop of colour here and there, sure, but it’s all very sensible, very ‘keep calm and carry on’.
Then we find ourselves in the Philippines, and suddenly, our wallet is a kaleidoscope. An explosion of oranges, reds, purples, greens, and a truly optimistic shade of light blue. It’s a visual treat, a genuine surprise every time you pull a note out. It’s also, as we discovered, a genuine source of befuddlement.
Highlights
- Peso Banknotes: Spectrum of Colors
- A Practical Guide to Peso Ponderings
- A Word on Old Money
- Budgeting & Inevitable Overspend
- All Hotel Options in Manila
- Our Complete Philippines Itinerary
- Our Overall Philippines Impressions
Peso Banknotes: A Story Told in Colour
The colours of the notes are more than just a whim; they’re a visual narrative. Each denomination, from the humble 20-peso note to the thousand-peso beast, tells a story with its unique design. These aren’t just bits of paper; they’re miniature art galleries showcasing the country’s rich heritage and natural wonders.
These notes are brightly colored like Euros (though the equivalent amount goes a lot further 😃)
We found ourselves inspecting each note like a piece of art, trying to decipher the subtle meanings. The 20-peso note has a cockerel on it – a rooster, mind you, not some fancy fowl – and we immediately wondered if that’s a subtle nod to the national sport, cockfighting. And then we saw a tarsier on the back of another note, and we just thought, “Well, that’s a bit cute, isn’t it?”
We noticed how refreshingly different they are from other currencies we’ve come across. Compared to the drab American dollars, the pesos feel like a party in your pocket. It’s like the notes themselves are smiling, inviting us to go out and blow them on something vaguely interesting.
One of the more interesting little problems we encountered was dealing with the bigger notes. We first arrived with a wad of 500 and 1,000-peso notes, feeling flush and prepared.
But we soon realised that in many places, a large-denomination note is about as useful as a chocolate teapot. We’d hand over a 1,000-peso note for a small purchase, and the vendor would look at us as if we’d just tried to pay with a pet iguana. We learned quickly. The trick was to hoard those smaller denominations.
Every time we got a handful of 20s and 50s, we felt like financial wizards, knowing we could use them later without causing a national coin shortage.
Philippine peso Banknotes
A Practical Guide to Peso Ponderings
We found that one euro gets you somewhere in the region of 67 pesos, while a US dollar will fetch you around 57. We’d budgeted for a daily spend of 1,800 pesos a day, not including accommodation. Our lodging was on its own little budget of €30 per night, which put our total daily budget at a comfortable €65.
It all sounds terribly sensible on paper, but we all know that travel budgets are more of a gentle suggestion than a hard and fast rule, right?
We discovered something rather strange about the one-peso coin. It turns out that it’s a bit of a trickster. It has the same size as the one UAE dirham coin, which has led to some cheeky people pulling a fast one on vending machines in the Emirates. We also heard similar tales from the US, where the peso coin is roughly the same size as a quarter.
Naturally, we wondered if we could pay for our snacks at the airport with the wrong coins, and then we remembered we’re not criminals, and it probably wouldn’t work anyway. It’s good to know that the newer digital parking meters aren’t so easily duped.
Technology wins again.
The Fickle Finger of Time: A Word on Old Money
We were given a little warning before we went. We were told that if we had visited the Philippines before 2015 and had held on to any old paper currency as a souvenir, we’d be out of luck. Following a demonetisation process, those old bills are no longer accepted. They’re just… defunct.
We have a few of those ‘souvenir’ coins and notes from various holidays safely tucked away as mementoes of a trip gone by. So, we had a peek at an old note. It has a slightly different design.
We kept a few of them anyway. They’re a bit of a conversation starter: “Oh, look at this! This is how much a cup of coffee cost five years ago!”
Or something similar.
Discontinued Philippine peso Banknotes
Budgeting & the Inevitable Overspend
Before we set off on this 20-day trip, we were so organised. We had it all planned out… a spreadsheet, and everything. We’d budgeted a total of €1,600 (96,000 pesos) per person, and that was meant to cover the entire trip, including flights. We even factored in a couple of nights in Rome on the way there, which was a nice little bonus.
I remember thinking, “This is it. We’ve got this. We are the masters of our financial destiny.” and ’This is a very reasonable budget. We won’t go over. We’re not going to spend all our money on useless tourist tat.’
And then, we found ourselves in a market, and we saw a particularly intriguing carving. And then another. And then we realised we’d found our new obsession. We decided that souvenirs weren’t ‘useless tourist tat’ when they were so unique. We rationalised it. We said a lot of things.
The best-laid plans of mice and men, and all that. But what we got in return was so much more valuable than a few extra quid. We came back with a story, a truly unique experience. The lessons we learned about haggling and about when to hold onto a few small-denomination notes.
We learned that the true currency of travel isn’t the notes and coins in our wallets. It’s the moments we collect, the lessons we learn, and the memories we create.
And, in our case, it was also a fair amount of truly beautiful, brightly coloured paper.
If you enjoyed Colorful Filipino Currency, check out our Philippines Travel Plan. You may also like:
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