Step by Step Process for first International Trip - from NAIA Terminal 3 to HongKong International Airport, including tips and itinerary

This is a new post after my 2-week vacation leave and I would like to share the process of my first international trip since I got my passport last year.

Upon receiving my passport, I checked which country is visa-free for Filipinos to visit and there's quite a lot, including the countries in Southeast Asia. At that time, April 30, 2016, Cebu Pacific had a seat sale.

Tip: Cebu Pacific usually offers seat sales during public holidays or within three days of the holidays - i.e. Labor Day, Easter Sunday, National Heroes Day etc. So either regularly check out their social media accounts for seat sale announcements.

I got a round trip ticket to Hong Kong for only Php2,500! Usually, travel period for seat sales would be six to 12 months from the time of the promo period. So while I booked last April 30, the travel period I got was March 21-25, 2017.

Tip: Since the trip will be way in the future, save on cost by advance booking online for accommodations and attractions you want to try. This will allow you to pay ahead of time, get discounts and in case of accommodations, a lower rate. In my case, I got discounts by booking my tours at www.klook.com andf accomodations at www.booking.com. More of my experiences in these sites later.

It pays to do a research on what to expect but it's still scary in reality since I have read of travellers being off loaded or Immigration officers denying departure so it really counts to be prepared. So what to prepare before going to the airport?

Here are some of the things you have to be prepared for, especially for first time travelers like me:

1. Passport - make sure validity is more than 6 months
2. Round trip tickets
3. Hotel reservation/ address where you will be staying
4. Itinerary
5. Certificate of Employment and Company ID 

The above items will assure the Immigration Officer of your intent to return to the country after your trip.

You should also prepare for:

1. Php 1,620 to be paid at NAIA for Philippine Travel Tax
2. Ballpen for filling up your Departure Card and Arrival Cards - these are basis of Immigration Officersr at NAIA and HK Airport respectively
3. Make sure your baggage is within the 7kg. hand carry allowance, unless you have separately purchased a baggage allowance for check-in.
4. Pocket money - exchange your peso at the airport for at least 200 HKD which you can use to purchase a refundable Octupos Card (more on how helpful this is later) and exchange for more HKD once in HK since they have a highrer peso to dollars exchange rate in HK than here in the Philippines.

Once you are mentally and physically prepared, here's a step-by-step process I went through.

1. Arrive early at NAIA Terminal 3- at least 3 hours for your first international trip. Why? The security check at the entrance is very long! No matter how early you are, the security check at the entrance is long as some gates are not yet open. All gates are common for both domestic and international flights. Tip: Senior citizens and PWD can cut the line
2. After the entrance security check, look for your check-in counter. If you have checked-in online, you can proceed to #3. 
3. Pay the Philippine Travel Tax amounting to Php 1,620.00. Their booth is located near Aisle A & B.
4. Go back to your check-in counter to surrender a copy of the travel tax. You can also get a copy of the Departure Card here or before entering the Immigration area.
5. Fill-up the Departure Card with all the pertinent details required and present this with your passport at the Immigration counters.
6. The Immigration Officer may ask you questions regarding your stay abroad and may ask for proof or other documents. Just answer the questions and produce the required documents when asked. If everything is okay, the officer will stamp your passport. 
7. Proceed to the final security gate with your boarding pass.
8. By this time, you can wait at the gate for boarding.
9. During your flight, the flight attendants will be distributing arrival cards which you will need to fill-up and present at the HK airport immigration counters.

Upon deplaning, board the shuttle train which will take you to the Hong Kong International Airport Arrival Hall.

1. Follow the directions pointing you to Immigration. If you have checked-in baggage, you will need to go through Immigration before getting your baggage. It will still be at the same area though.
2. The Immigration Officers may look intimidating and in case you are asked, just present the documents you prepared.
3. In HK, they do not stamp the passport but they will issue you a sticker stating until when you are allowed to stay.
4. Once cleared from immigration, you can claim your baggage and proceed to the bus/MTR terminal.

Tip: Upon exit from the immigration/baggage claim, get free HongKong Map from the Tourism booth and buy your refundable octopus card at the booth adjacent.

This is all for now :)

On the next post, will share with you my itinerary and budget and how best to get around Hong Kong.

Hirayamanawari,

Rob