We are a small team of Manila-based travel writers on a mission to help you discover the real Philippines — beyond the guidebooks and tourist traps.
Manila Traverse started in 2019 as a personal blog by Marco Reyes, a half-Filipino, half-Spanish travel writer who moved to Manila after years of backpacking across Southeast Asia. What began as a way to share Manila recommendations with friends quickly grew into something much bigger when Marco realized that most online guides about Manila were either hopelessly outdated or written by people who had spent a grand total of three days in the city.
The problem was clear: travelers deserved better information. They needed guides written by people who actually lived in Manila, who knew which restaurants had gone downhill, which new attractions were worth the hype, and which "hidden gems" were actually just overcrowded tourist traps with good PR. Marco recruited Sofia Delgado — a Filipino mother of three with a decade of family travel expertise — and together they set out to build the most honest, practical, and regularly updated Manila travel resource on the internet.
Today, Manila Traverse serves thousands of travelers each month with in-depth guides, honest reviews, and carefully crafted itineraries. Every recommendation on this site has been personally verified by our team. We revisit attractions regularly, we eat at the restaurants we recommend, and we never publish a guide without walking the route ourselves. That is not a marketing promise — it is simply how we work.
Our editorial independence is non-negotiable. When we review an attraction like Manila Ocean Park, we include honest criticism alongside the praise. We believe that trustworthy travel content must acknowledge imperfections, because that is what helps travelers make genuinely informed decisions. If a popular attraction disappoints us, we say so. If a budget restaurant serves food that rivals five-star hotels, we shout it from the rooftops.
Half-Filipino, half-Spanish travel writer with 8+ years covering Southeast Asian tourism. Former contributor to Lonely Planet and Rough Guides. Has visited every major Manila attraction at least five times and still finds new things to love about the city.
Born and raised in Quezon City, Sofia is a mother of three who specializes in finding family-friendly attractions that adults enjoy too. Her reviews are road-tested with her own children, ages 4, 8, and 12, making her the most demanding (and most reliable) family travel critic in the Philippines.
Have a question, suggestion, or want to share your Manila experience? We would love to hear from you.