Do I NEED a license?

Buy a car Larry if you plan long trips.

This time around I have been back for nearly 3 years and still driving/riding on my Australian drivers license

and never a problem, you get by law 90 days on a foreign license and to know that number they would need to see your passport also (time in country) mine sits in the safe.

One of my workers recently spent PHP 15 K on an older 90cc bike and in a month has broken down 3 times.

My better half purchased a brand new Mio near 4 years ago and we still have his older Suzuki, the Mio has been great but he wanted (has done) to upgrade to a Raider, he looked at low milage second hand ones and though they looked great, the 3 he looked at, no ORC or 3rd owner with only 10K on the clock, 2 years old, work that one out.

He purchased brand new and like the Mio no headaches.

If and when you get your ACR card no problems.

Cheers, Steve.

Buy a car Larry if you plan long trips.
This time around I have been back for nearly 3 years and still driving/riding on my Australian drivers license
and never a problem, you get by law 90 days on a foreign license and to know that number they would need to see your passport also (time in country) mine sits in the safe.
One of my workers recently spent PHP 15 K on an older 90cc bike and in a month has broken down 3 times.
My better half purchased a brand new Mio near 4 years ago and we still have his older Suzuki, the Mio has been great but he wanted (has done) to upgrade to a Raider, he looked at low milage second hand ones and though they looked great, the 3 he looked at, no ORC or 3rd owner with only 10K on the clock, 2 years old, work that one out.
He purchased brand new and like the Mio no headaches.

If and when you get your ACR card no problems.

Cheers, Steve.
-@bigpearl

Thanks bigpearl. I am talking buying new only. $3k USD each. A new car with great AC would be nice for sure. But parking the way are lost is set, and lack of use it would get seems extremely wasteful to the wallet. Wish they had Tuuro or Enterprise around here!

I have a 2022 Honda PCX .. Great machine... My fiancee has a 2020 Honda Beat... We also have a 2019 Hyundai Accent (Diesel)... We use the diesel to run into Dipolog from out here in Dakak area(1hr) for supplies, etc... and it has been a great little car.  It was Used(repo) bought from a policeman here... had 30,000kl on it, and gets 20 kilometers per litre... not bad.👍🏻  I would recommend the Honda you are looking at... comfortable... but for 2 plus hours if you need to do that alot... I would look at those little work trucks toyota is selling... New they are only 600,000p... steer clear of the little multi cabs unless you like to tinker and nickel and dime yourself to death(plus for me NOT comfortable at 6'2", 230lbs)

As far as the license thing... I have used mine without issue for 4 years... purchased new the two Hondas in my name, and the car... no issues at all...

@Larry Fisher I was a Harley guy also but here in the Philippines I have a 2014 155 cc Honda TMX Supremo tricycle I bought from my brother in law which he bought new with my financial assistance. It has over 90K kms on the clock and still going strong. I have a pedicab for the nephews to run errands and an electric bike I use to run errands.  I also have a multicab in case I need to haul something. For longer trips I have a Fortuner and my wife has a Wigo, both bought new without a Philippine drivers license. My wife and I both have our Philippine license now. We also live in the province.

Yeah, same story here, haha. No PI license, as I come and go. Have a 1200cc BMW in the garage in the US and in PI we have a Mazda sedan that gf uses, a newer Multicab truck, and a Yamaha Mio 125 for her local runs. I always buy cars lightly pre-owned, motorbikes new. I also bought the oldest boy a Honda XRM for getting to school. We also had a Kawi 650 "Big Bike" in Cebu City for a couple years but it got too dangerous so I sold it. All have been purchased without license or issue. If you buy new the dealer handles all the paperwork.

The Honda ADV looks really nice - was looking at them this past summer, but what I really want is the Kawi/Bajaj Dominar 400 - adult sized, with enough power from a big single. And only about 200K peso. I had a Rouser 200 and it was okay, but not enough power. The 650 is actually a bit large for PI cities and small provincial roads but was great on the open highways. Felt really fast on the PI roads. My gf rode pillion and loved it. The only drawback to relying on a bike is the frequent rain, and also the traffic, crap air and heat in the city.

If I were to come and go like you, I would not bother with a PI license either. Each time you come in you get 60 or 90 days on your foreign license anyway. But I do find the PI license very useful at times. For example, if I check into a hotel they always ask for my passport but I show them my LTO DL and that is fine while my passport remains locked in a safe. It is useful when applying for MAYA or GASH etc.. It has several benefits as an id but if I were not here on a long term basis but simply keeo tourist status; I wouldn't bother with it either.

Do you need a special license for motorcycles? If not, a drivers license is easily obtained.

@Enzyte Bob Yes, the DL must indicate it is qualified for motorcycles and might also require a driving test. Since I will never use a MC anymore, only a car, I never bothered with that. Here in Dumaguete, it is not if but when you will have a MC accident, and how serious it will be.

@Enzyte Bob My US license was endorsed for motorcycles but it was in code numbers. The guy asked me if I wanted motorcycles added to my license. I told him I did since I had a tricycle. He loaded me up with endorsements, A, A1, B, B1 & B2 which are respectively Motorcycle, Tricycle, Up to 5,000 KGS GVW/ 8 Seats, Up to 5,000 KGS GVW/9 or More Seats & Goods 3,500 KGS GVW. There were no tests or extra charges.