It is the question parents ask first and students ask quietly: is Baguio safe for foreigners? The short answer is that most international students find it a relaxed city to live in, and the precautions that matter are the ordinary ones you would take in any city abroad. This page gives you the longer answer, including what we do on campus, so you can decide for yourself.
What happens on campus
- AlwaysStaff live inside the academy, so someone is on duty at all times, weekends included
- 2Trained first aiders on call, reached by phone at any hour
- 20 to 30 minBy road to Baguio General or Notre Dame de Chartres Hospital
- Never aloneA staff member goes with any student who needs a hospital
In the city: ordinary precautions
Baguio is a university city and one of the country's favorite holiday destinations, so foreign faces are an ordinary sight and the center is busy with students and families. That makes it comfortable, not careless. The habits that keep you out of trouble here are the same ones that work anywhere.
- Keep your phone and wallet out of sight in crowds, especially at the public market and on Session Road in the evening.
- Use registered taxis or the campus van late at night rather than accepting a ride from a stranger.
- Carry a copy of your passport and leave the original somewhere safe.
- Save your manager's phone number before you go out. Every student has it and can call at any hour.
- Tell campus staff before your first solo trip out of the city.
Getting around and handling money
The campus is in Barangay Irisan, on the western side of the city, so a trip into the center is a ride rather than a walk. Jeepneys and taxis cover the city, and the office can tell you the sensible routes. The campus van has two rules worth knowing. There is no fixed shuttle timetable, and an ordinary trip is booked through the office with notice. If something urgent happens, nobody books anything: you tell staff and the van goes.
With money, the simple habits do the work. Use ATMs inside banks or malls rather than ones on a dark street, carry only what you need for the day, and do not change money with someone who approaches you. If an offer from a stranger sounds unusually generous, it is safe to assume it is not.
Weather is the bigger risk
For most students, the thing to plan around is not people but weather. June to October is the rainy season, and some years a typhoon passes through. Heavy rain can close the mountain roads up to Baguio for a while, and the Philippines also has earthquakes from time to time.
None of this should stop you coming, but it should shape your plans. Avoid booking tight travel connections in the wettest months, and do not set off on a weekend trip with a storm warning in place. When a storm affects the city, the academy tells students what it means for classes and outings.
PAGASA is the national weather agency, and its warnings are the ones to follow.
On campus
The campus is gated, with security personnel on duty and CCTV coverage throughout. One or two members of staff live inside the academy, so there is always someone on duty, at night and on weekends too.
Every student has a manager whose job is them, not a general help desk. If you have a food allergy or a medical diet, tell your manager at orientation and the kitchen will keep suitable options ready.
If you get sick or hurt
Tell your manager, at any hour. Two trained first aiders are on call by phone, and the school has a van and other vehicles for the drive to Baguio General Hospital or Notre Dame de Chartres Hospital, about 20 to 30 minutes away depending on traffic.
A staff member goes with any student who needs a hospital. Nobody is put in a taxi and left to deal with it alone, and when something is serious, the academy contacts the student's family.
For parents of students under 18
- There is a 21:30 curfew from Sunday to Thursday, when managers check rooms.
- A student under eighteen cannot leave the campus without a staff member.
- Staff are on the campus at all times, with CCTV coverage throughout.
- You can reach your child's manager at any time on the messaging app you already use, including LINE, KakaoTalk, WhatsApp and Viber.
Before you fly
Read your own government's travel advice for the Philippines before you book, because it is written for your passport and updated more often than any school website. Share your flight details and the campus address with your family. Save the office contact on your phone so you can reach it without wifi, and keep a photo of your passport somewhere other than your bag.
Read next
Health and safety sets out the campus arrangements in full.
Studying in Baguio covers the city month by month.
The honest downsides of studying in Baguio covers the rain, the hill and the rules.
Have a safety question we did not answer?
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