What to Buy   

Shopping Areas
In the Philippines, there are many great places to shop but it all depends on what you intend to buy and your budget, of course.

For a great day of handicrafts shopping, you can check out the Ilalim ng Tulay market, next to Quinta Market on Carlo Palanca St, Quiapo or the variety of handicraft places at Nayong Pilipino (Philippine Village). If time do not permit you to go around the country, good souvenirs shopping can be done at SM departmental store at the Makati Commercial Center and Landmark on Makati Ave. The El Amanecer building at General Luna St. in Intramuros also house a few shops selling handicrafts. In this building, among the many popular shops are Silahis, which sells art and crafts, Chang Rong that sells antiques and Galeria de las Islas that sells paintings and sculpture. If you're looking for something unique such as handicrafts made by the ethnic minorities on Mindanao, you might want to visit T'boli Arts and Crafts on Mabini St., Ermita.

Apart from the smaller handicrafts' shops, the shopping haven of Philippines also offer great buys at big shopping centers. For moderately priced items, there is the Araneta Shopping Complex in Cubao. This shopping complex has 2,000 stores offering a wide variety of items for shoppers to choose from. Another shopping complex to look out for is the Greenhills Shopping Center on Ortigas Ave, San Juan. This shopping center has a wide selection of restaurants ranging from the upmarket restaurants to fast-food chains, a supermarket, several banks and cinemas as well as arcades with small but elegant boutiques.

Not far from the Greenhills Shopping Center, you can see Robinson's Galleria. This shopping complex has a large selection of eating outlets and several fully air-conditioned floors of shops. Located on Harrison St., Malate, is the Harrison Plaza. Similar but slightly bigger than Robinson's Shopping Center in Ermita, Harrison Plaza has many different shops under one roof. Apart from shops, this shopping center also has theaters and restaurants.

The Makati Commercial Center (MCC) in Makati is a modern shopping district offering a wide selection of shops selling things ranging from imported goods to books. Besides this shopping complex, there are other shopping centers in Makati namely the Atrium Shopping Mall on Makati Ave, Makati Cinema Square and Greenbelt Square.

Another huge air-conditioned and popular shopping center in the Philippines is SM City on the corner of Edsa and North Ave, Quezon City. This shopping haven allows shoppers the convenience of purchasing almost everything under one roof. The SM group of companies also own other SM shopping centers around the Philippines such as SM Centrepoint on Aurora Blvd and SM Megamall, Edsa which includes a large selection of shops and facilities such as an ice-skating rink.