Angeles

Angeles is a city in Pampanga province. The city is rich in history and heritage, with old and historical significant buildings dotting its landscape, but these days it is best known for its high concentration of casinos and sometimes questionable nightlife (though that's changing; see "Drink" below). Aside from these, it is also famous for its extreme sports adventures in the lahar flows of Mt. Pinatubo.

Understand
Angeles is a thriving regional city partly due to its long history of western influence: its Clark Freeport Zone was the massive American Clark Airbase (previously named Fort Stotsenberg) from 1898 until 1991. In 1899, it became the seat of the Philippine government under General Emilio Aguinaldo and the site of the first anniversary celebration of Philippine independence. After World War II, it had the highest concentration of American expatriates as well as Filipino mestizos, some of whom chose to settle here permanently. Today Angeles is known for its booming nightlife and is becoming increasingly popular as a tourist destination, particularly from South Korea. Its center, Balibago, is especially known for its fine restaurants, hotels and shopping malls. Within Balibago is the neon-lit Fields Avenue, known for its bars, nightclubs and what could be one of the world's largest concentration of go-go bars. Adjoining Clark Freeport Zone is the site of world-class resorts, casinos, duty-free shops and beautifully landscaped golf courses. The city, and the rest of the Pampanga region, is known as the culinary center of the Philippines.

While Angeles is administratively separate from Pampanga, Wikivoyage treats it as part of Pampanga. This page also covers Mabalacat, while a city on its own, is more of a suburb of Angeles; it houses the Clark Freeport Zone that has the airport.

Get in
Angeles is well connected by road to any place on Luzon and it has a busy international airport.

By plane


Many budget airlines fly to Clark because it is reasonably close to Metro Manila and has lower landing fees than Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport. For travelers, Clark is often more convenient than heavily-congested Manila, especially if your final destination is in the northern Philippines. If you are headed further south, to the Visayas or Mindanao, then Cebu Airport is another alternative.

Flights arrive at a newer and larger terminal built to the north and opened 2022; it will also connect to the future airport rail link to Manila. The older and smaller terminal has been permanently closed.

The airport has adequate travel facilities such as currency exchange, duty free shopping center, souvenir shops, free wireless internet, a tourist information center, hotel and travel agency representatives, and car rental services. The roadways around the airport are fairly rural, making transport between the airport and the city quick and hassle-free.

Flights include: Domestic flights are offered by Cebu Pacific and Air Asia to Cebu. Davao, and Kalibo which gives access to Boracay.
 * Scoot Air - Singapore.
 * Jin Air - Seoul and Busan.
 * Cebu Pacific -Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau.
 * Asiana Airlines. - Seoul.
 * Qatar Airways. - Doha.
 * Emirates. - Dubai.
 * Jetstar Asia. - Singapore.
 * China Eastern Airlines. - Shanghai

Ground transportation
Don't worry about finding transport as taxi drivers will heavily solicit you for patronage as you exit the airport. However, the taxi fares are steep compared to other modes of transportation, so for example, the fare from the airport to Fields is for a 15-minute ride.

Some possible alternatives to avoid this rip-off are:
 * Use the Grab app, and hail your own taxi online just as you exit the terminal. The price varies with demand, but is generally to  from or to the airport, as of 2020.
 * To get to the airport from Dau Bus Terminal the "cheap way": take a jeepney to the main gate . At the main gate ask for the jeepneys to the airport. These drop you at the entrance of the airport parking . You must then walk less than 5 minutes to the terminal building. Count 15–30 minutes in total. At maingate, some jeepney drivers will also offer to bring you to the terminal building for about, just insist that you want to go the cheap way.

Construction of an airport rail link with Manila began in 2021, which will terminate at a station outside the North Terminal. This is planned to open by 2024. This will be served by limited express trains to Manila, as well as regular commuter trains that will stop at Angeles proper before continuing down to Manila.

By bus


This is the most common and economical way to get to Angeles from Metro Manila. It normally takes 1½ hours to get to Angeles by bus, however, travelers must consider the unpredictable effect heavy traffic and downpours will have on the trip. In short, give yourself plenty of time to travel by bus.

Most provincial buses bound for the Ilocos region will have a short stopover at Dau, before heading onward. However, from the opposite direction, you need to get down at Tarlac City and transfer to an uncomfortable ordinary class minibus headed for Angeles.

By car
The best way from Manila to Angeles via car is taking the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) which extends until Santa Ines in Mabalacat. You may take either the Angeles exit or Dau exit to get there. Another highway, though narrow, is the MacArthur Highway (Rte 2). Both routes pass through Bulacan, and it usually takes about 1 hour to travel but it is twice the travel time if you plan to take the MacArthur route as it take you through heavily urbanized areas. Rental car companies can be found all over Manila and Angeles. If you don't know the routes, you can hire drivers by asking the attendant of the rent-a-car shop.

From the north, the best route is on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) or MacArthur. From Subic or Bataan, SCTEx is preferred, but there is also an old highway on the same corridor, Rte 217.

By jeepney
To hop on a colorful jeepney is certainly the most affordable way to get around downtown. It is available 24 hours a day and it is the most famous mode of transportation in the country, which connects towns and cities together. Since jeepneys tend to be overcrowded with passengers, tourists carrying bulky luggage should consider traveling by taxi.

By taxi
Though more convenient for tourists, taxis are less common in Angeles and not normally used for travel outside the city. Rather, they are primarily used to tour around the Clark Freeport Zone and for transport to and from the airport. Simson's taxicab terminal can be found particularly next to Clark's main gate (opposite Jollibee) and SM City Clark in Balibago.

Grab ride-hailing service is available in Angeles since 2016.

By trike
Trikes (or tricycles) are motorcycles with a small attached passenger cabin. They are restricted to low-speed roads and not permitted to enter the area surrounding the airport. Passengers of larger physical stature may find riding in them uncomfortable. Nevertheless, because of their slower speeds, trikes are generally a safe mode of transport. Groups of two can take a trike if one is comfortable riding behind the driver in the style of a moto-taxi.

Fares are negotiable if you hail a trike on the street, but are notoriously high in Angeles if you do it this way, with foreigners asked flat even for a short (up to 1-1,5 km) trip, more for longer ones (or even if you just have lots of baggage), and not much chance to bargain. This is both clearly illegal (the updated fare chart published in 2019 starts from ) and easily twice the metered air-conditioned taxi fare in Manila. Hailing a Grab (see above in By taxi section) car from the phone is often cheaper, not to mention the GrabTrike service available in the same app.

By bus
Clark Freeport operates a bus rapid transit (BRT) system, the Clark Loop, with two lines from SM Clark. Buses leave every 20 minutes; some stops are on the median of the Manuel A. Roxas Hwy, otherwise, they operate like regular city buses. Rides are free.

Events

 * Philippine International Hot-air Balloon Fiesta is held every year between January and February at Clark Special Economic Zone. It features multicolored hot-air balloons with more than a hundred balloon pilots from around the world and considered to be the biggest aviation sports event in the country.
 * Tigtigan Terakan keng Dalan(Music and Dancing in the Streets) which started in 1992, is an annual all-night party along MacArthur Highway, Balibago, held on the last Friday & Saturday of October. Restaurants & bars set-up tables & chairs along the streets, and serves over-flowing food and drinks. It features non-stop music from amateur and national bands and is attended by celebrities, out-of-towners and locals alike. This event is used to celebrate the Oktoberfest.
 * Sisig Festival is held every December, celebrating the Kapampangan dish sisig, which said to have originated in this city.

Sports

 * Drag racing is organized by the Angeles Hot Rod Association (AHRA) the oldest drag racing in the Philippines. You can find this attraction at the Omni Aviation inside the Clark Ecozone. AHRA is where you will find most of the big V8 muscle cars, as well as many "bangers." In addition to race meets, they also organize and run regular classic and custom car shows, swap meets, social events and more.
 * Play pool in a city of great champions like Efren Reyes and Rodolfo Luat. Angeles City has an abundance of pool tables to play all along the Fields Avenue and hundreds of other places in the city.
 * Mount Pinatubo aerial tours are for you if you want to have the best seat to view the volcano that once ravaged Central Luzon. Considered one of the largest eruptions of the 20th century, the eruption affected global weather patterns. Having been dormant for centuries, Mount Pinatubo erupted anew in 1991, spewing an ash plume that spread around the globe. Have a bird's-eye-view of the crater, surreal ash canyons and the remnants of the once-devastating lahar flows. Flights depart out of Omni Aviation Complex at Clark Field. Cost is US$55 per person, flying time for 1 to 2 persons is 45 minutes while for 3 or more is one hour. The best time to fly is early in the morning (sunrise-10AM) and in the late afternoon (3PM-sunset).
 * Ultra-light flying is one sport that is definitely growing. If you want your senses get heightened and your heart pound as the wind whistles through your hair, this is for you! This is organized by the Angeles City Flying Club. The area also offers many additional attractions, from diving to cycling to hiking to night clubbing.
 * Drive off-road is a challenge where you can take on a wild, bumpy, ride in old four-wheel-drive jeeps in a safari-like journey across the dusty expanse of the valley to a campsite. It is organized by the Angeles City Four Wheelers Club and is ideal for trekking and be able to see the lahar canyons, Gate of Heaven and other sites in Mount Pinatubo.
 * Golf, world-class golf courses, such as Fontana Resort, Angeles Sports and Country Club, and J&K Golf are the recommended golf courses for those so inclined.
 * Lawn bowling is the only one in the country and is offered at the Hidden Vale and Angeles Sports and Country Club, a mature 11.34 ha site which includes a nine-hole golf course, luxurious penthouse suites and driving range.
 * Golf, world-class golf courses, such as Fontana Resort, Angeles Sports and Country Club, and J&K Golf are the recommended golf courses for those so inclined.
 * Lawn bowling is the only one in the country and is offered at the Hidden Vale and Angeles Sports and Country Club, a mature 11.34 ha site which includes a nine-hole golf course, luxurious penthouse suites and driving range.

Leisure and nightlife

 * The Mansion is undeniably one of the best party destinations in the Philippines. The Mansion's luxury clubbing is situated at The Enclave, Friendship Highway. Its proximity to Clark Freeport gives it unique accessibility, 1½ hr away from Manila, 30 minutes away from Subic by virtue of SCTEX and is near Bulacan and Tarlac. It has 2 floors, with the ground floor having a standing room capacity 700 people and the 2nd floor VVIP area 150 people. It was conceptualized by socialite, Divine Lee and renowned eventologist, Tim Yap.
 * Gambling, being renowned as a city with high concentration of casinos, such as Casino Filipino-Angeles, Casino Filipino-Mimosa, Fontana Casino, and Casablanca Casino, Angeles offers a variety of activities that will keep leisure travelers definitely happy.

Shopping
Duty-free stores are to be found inside the Clark Ecozone, namely Puregold, Oriental, Parkson, Clark Interiors, Liberty, and Arjan that sell imported housewares, cooking items, snacks and branded clothes. Most of which are surplus so they are cheaper. Some of these stores have an extensive selection of cigarettes and perfumes as well.

The baratillos (cheap or thrift stores) sell crap the likes of which you cannot imagine. If you really want a native experience, go to one of those open-air tiangges; there are several of them around town. Hop on a jeepney and have someone take you. There are many other fun places to shop household items, clothing, including audio-video equipment in a makeshift market called tiangge at bargain prices at barangay Apo every Friday.

Handicraft stores sell locally good and export-quality craftwork. The Rosa's Handicraft Gift Shop and Mhea's Custom Woodcraft have a large selection of gift items and are in Balibago district. Stores selling souvenir shirts, woodcraft and other local stuff are also dotted along Fields Avenue and they are sold for cheaper prices.

Eat
Angeles is known for being the Culinary Center of the Philippines. This reputation reportedly goes back to the Spanish colonial times where it is said that the Kapampangan cook learned very quickly to improvise on Spanish dishes using local ingredients.

The culinary adventure in Angeles is sure to be an experience of a lifetime. A must-eat dish is sisig.m, which Angeles is famous for. From its humble beginnings in Aling Lucing's Eatery along Angeles' railway to its present top-of-the-menu ranking in Manila's bars and nightclubs, sisig has come to conquer the Filipino drinkers' palate. It has become the quintessential pulutan fare — the default order that comes with every round of beer.

Other not-to-be-missed local mouth-watering cuisines are Dencio's kare-kare (another Kapampangan menu, which is a Philippine stew made from peanut sauce with a variety of vegetables, stewed oxtail, beef and occasionally offal or tripe), fresh papaya lumpia, tilapia in tausi sauce, adobong pugo, morcon, tortang bangus (milkfish stuffed with ground pork), Everybody's Cafe's camaru (fried cricket adobo), kilayin baboy (pork meat and lungs pickled in a marinade of vinegar or calamansi juice, usually along with garlic, onions and hot/sweet peppers), bringhe (local Spanish paella), bulanglang (meat or fish broth soured with guava fruit), Aling Luring's batute (a frog stuffed with ground and seasoned pork, then deep fried to a crisp), burong isda (fermented rice with fish or small shrimps), pork and carabao tocino, Bale Dutung's burong talangka (the fat of salted little crabs, very rich and laden with cholesterol but hard to resist), Filipinized pizza in a bilao at Armando's Pizza, brazo de mercedes, halo-halo from Razon's and Corazon's (a popular dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice and milk, added with various boiled sweet beans and fruits, and served cold in a glass or bowl), Susie's Cuisine's famous pancit luglog (palabok), tibuk tibok (made from carabao's milk and also known as "maja blanca"), tocino del cielo (a richer version of leche flan) and turron de casoy.

If you like drinking beer and eating barbecue, then Frank & Jim, Ikabud, Whythaus Grill, Wishing Well, Marisol Steakhouses and the eateries along Angeles railroad crossing  are certainly the spots for you. Street foods, such as fishballs and kikiams on sticks, are a must-try at Nepo Compound vendor stands.

If local cuisine is not your type, no need to worry as the city has a wide range of pretty decent restaurants to choose from with American, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican and Korean cuisines.

A number of coffee shops are also to be seen even in the outskirts of the city that serve drip regular coffee, decaff, brewed coffee, espresso-based hot drinks, other hot and cold drinks, and snacks.



Drink
The infamous nightlife scene on Fields Avenue sprang up to service American military men stationed at the nearby Clark Air Force Base. But now, the adjoining Balibago district is home to many decent bars and karaoke joints. It has a number of clubs which fit any budget and personality. There are traditional clubs with DJs and live band clubs. For an endless evening of dancing and pulsating music, head for the bright lights of Balibago. Fields Avenue and McArthur Highway are the places to head for go-go bars, comedy bar shows, sing-along or karaoke bars, nightclubs and drinking beer - it is a non-stop pleasure seven days a week, every day of the year.

One of the famous attractions of the area is prostitution which is illegal in the Philippines but widespread, especially in some areas including here. See the Philippines article for discussion.

Sleep
There are many nice hotels around the city, furnished with the luxury of modern day living with upgraded facilities to accommodate your needs. Some can be found along the Clark Perimeter Road while others within the Clark Freeport Zone. Lower-cost accommodation in the main entertainment area near Fields Ave., however, tends to be expensive by Asian standards, with prices starting around, and the cheapest places are often fully booked. If you look for the budget options, while still in the bar area and walking distance from Fields Ave. proper, head along the Fields Ave. to the west, where it is no more traffic-free and continues along the Clark Freeport Zone fence as the Perimeter Road (Don Juico Ave.). Numerous cheap rooms can be found here, and more upmarket hotels (ABC Hotel, for example, which is also a well-known landmark in the area). The Perimeter Road is quite busy even at night, and so is relatively safe to walk home late, compared to the other streets around. Another option is to accept tricycle driver's "cheap hotel" tout - but, as everywhere, this may mean overpricing due to the driver's commission, more concerns about hotel security, and a or more for a trike ride every time you go in and out (or a long walk, which may be not safe in the night time also).

Connect
Internet cafes have become a common sight along university roads, at the malls, hotels and different establishments. You will have no trouble finding cheap and fast internet access. Usual rate ranges between and  an hour. You will also find cheap gaming stations aside from internet access.

Prepaid SIM cards of local GSM operators (Globe, Smart, Sun) are widely available and cheap. International calls, however, are not particularly cheap (though still much cheaper than roaming rates) and usually cost around US$0.40 per minute ($0.30 for Sun, but at the expense of network coverage quality). However, often they have promotions with lower call/SMS rates to the chosen countries - just ask the dealer about that.

Stay healthy

 * Angeles City has a high rate of STD & HIV cases.

Stay safe
The tourist and entertainment areas are generally safe as it is filled with pedestrians and police around-the-clock. If you're male, you will likely get heavily solicited by street vendors pitching cigarettes and trike rides. However, they are usually nothing more than minor nuisances. They aren't persistent as long as you show disinterest. It’s the same with the begging population, which is small but visible.

However, venturing into the Clark Perimeter bar areas (around the ABC Hotel) after dark is not recommended or along Santos Street south of Wild Orchid Resort. The rule of thumb is, if it's not well-lit and populated at night, don't go there.

Furthermore, be extremely vigilant of street strangers pretending to know you. These scammers, often middle-aged male trike drivers, usually target solo tourists. With an extended hand, they would say something like "Hi, my friend, I met you at the hotel last night" or "Hey, remember me? I was your driver." Their initial goal is simply to get you talking and drawing down your guard. But their ultimate goal is to transport you to an illegal gambling den, brothel, or to set you up for theft or mugging. They will try to entice you by offering a free ride or to show you a new or secret bar. Ignoring random street strangers is essential advice. It's best not to confront them but to walk past saying "sorry, I'm late!" And definitely never go anywhere with them or show your wallet. Filipinos are known for their hospitality, but they're not that friendly to the point where they'd appear out of nowhere just to befriend you!

Lastly, do not engage with street prostitutes, some of whom are underaged or have criminal intent. There are countless stories of male patrons bringing a street prostitute to his hotel room only to be startled minutes later by police knocking on the door. The girl may claim rape and the police may demand a bribe to "settle" matters.

Go next

 * San Fernando &mdash; The provincial capital of Pampanga, famous for its Giant Lantern Festival on Christmas, the Cutud re-enactment of Christ's crucifixion on Holy Week as well as Hilaga Philippines which showcases the cultures, character and wealth of the four northern regions of Luzon. Beyond that, it has a downtown full of historic sights, most notably a train station that served as the end of the Bataan Death March.
 * Southwest Pampanga is known for its towns and municipalities with a wide variety of sights and activities. Some of the most notable places on that region are:
 * Porac &mdash; Famous for lahar deposits which were the result of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.
 * Guagua &mdash; takes its pride for having Pampanga's most beautiful church, the Betis Church, which is a fascinating work of religious art and architecture.
 * Arayat &mdash; is known for its majestic Mount Arayat, also a national park.
 * Candaba &mdash; is known for bird watching, thousands of birds migrate here from October to April of every year. It serves as a bird sanctuary and a haven for migratory birds, such as egrets and wild ducks during winter in China. Indigenous ones like the rare salaksak and batala are to be seen as well.
 * Capas &mdash; a nearby city in Tarlac province, which also hosts the New Clark City portion of the Clark area.

If leaving by airport, remember to carry enough cash through security for the departure tax ( for domestic flights.) There is an ATM kiosk outside security, and at arrival times there is a change booth which sells pisos outside security, but it is closed when no flights are arriving. The change booth inside security will buy pesos for foreign currency but will not sell pesos, and there is no ATM inside security.