2 Day Stopover in Manila - what to do

'2 day stopover' doesn't mean anything really. It could mean one night, and 30 hours. Or it could mean two nights, and 50 hours.

I'm guessing that you will have one full day in Manila.

The full day Corregidor Island package tour is probably the best option.

We are arriving at 7pm, then have 2 full days and leaving the next afternoon.

+1 for full day in Corregidor. Other fun stuff: Carlos Celdran's Walk This Way performance-art tours of Intramuros, the old Spanish-influenced downtown, or a DIY stroll around Intramuros; an evening with the drag queens of Club Mwah on Bono Avenue; shopping for pearls or handicrafts at Greenhills; the Ayala Museum; daring each other to eat halo-halo or balut... The volcano you are thinking of is probably the remains of Mt Pinatubo - would involve a very early morning start, I think. Pagsanjan Falls doable as a day tour. So is Lake Taal, best known for the lake within the volcano within the lake. There are pretty views over the lake from Tagaytay. Upscale but affordable areas to stay include downtown Makati, Ortigas and Fort Bonifacio Global City. There is a dodgy end of Makati around Jupiter Avenue; for pedestrian comfort, stay nearer to Glorietta or Greenbelt malls.

I suggest book yourselves on a hotel close to the airport, because after spending heaps time having fun, the worse thing you can do would be sleeping-in the next day and missing you flight. There is a lot of accommodation around the airport, just make sure that before you book it that you double check on whether or not it is near the terminal that you need to be at for you flight, for the terminal in Manila are a bit separated from each other and traffic condition is a bit of a problem specially during rush hours.

they don't have to book a hotel 'close to the airport'. They are not flying out immeadiately like the next day. They just have to make sure that they don't book a hotel a really long way away from the airport, like in Marikina or Quezon city.

the chances are they will stay in either the city of Pasay or the city of Manila, which are two of metro Manila's 17 cities. Or maybe Makati city if they want to spend some money. From each of those places it's easy to get to the port for the Corregidor tour (but it starts early!) and also for Intramuros and a look at the Mall of Asia and maybe a night out in Makati. If they stay round there there, it's also easy to get to and from the airport.

FTottawa's suggestions like Pagsanjan falls, Pinatubo volcano and also Taal are do-able as day tours, but probably a bit too ambitious and pushing the boat out too much.

Hello, @reina_nox!

What would you recommend to see

I'll be recommending Tagaytay. If you want sceneries and cold air you can go there. It's just around 3 hours from Manila (still depends on traffic, weather, and etc). The weather is desirable at the place as of the period (According to accuweather.com) but still weather changes are unexpected. Alternatively, you can spend time roaming around the historic Intramuros which is nearer. Yes, the Mall of Asia in Pasay can also be considered.

what places to stay away from as I've read safety might be an issue there

I'm not sure what particularly are the places to stay away from but in my opinion, avoid crowded areas like public markets and road stalls as much as possible within Manila as snatchers are more likely be roaming around these areas.

It's the feast of the Black Nazarene on Monday, January 9 in Quiapo, Manila. If by chance your stopover and your trip will fall on this day, expect a big hassle on the way as there will be road closures and rerouting. You could update us regarding your trip so we could help you.

Cheers!

What would you recommend to see and what places to stay away from as I've read safety might be an issue there...

Stay away from areas where you can't rent a hotel room, the areas where you can are relatively safe

On a 2 day visit unless you're specially interested in WW2 history I'd skip Corregidor. No need to stay near the airport. I'd get a hotel in Malate (accommodation for every budget). You're walking distance to Intramuros which is worth about half a day, just south of that the National Museum is worth a couple of hours - and it's free. Evening in Malate with plenty to do around the shopping, eating, entertainment bit. The following day, I'd take a trip out of town either to Pagsanjan or Tagaytay or if you can't be bothered spending half the day in traffic, head over to Makati and the up market end of town... From Malate budget an hour to get back to the airport, and you should do it in less. For sure don't plan to visit 4 or 5 places in a day if they each involve taxi journeys between them - all you'll see of Manila are traffic jams which, although fully representative of the city, you can probably do without.

Thank you all the tips! I was actually looking to book an apartment with AirBnb by Robinsons Mall. I also found Yolo Travel that offer 1 day tour to Taal Volcano - I think that should be doable.