Smart Backpacker: Malapascua

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Traveling in Cebu

It pays to know how to travel in Cebu.

BY LAND

There are 2 major terminals in Cebu, namely - the Southbound Terminal and the Northbound Terminal.

There are three major bus companies, namely - Ceres, RoughRider, and AutoBus.

Best Option is Ceres Bus (the yellow bus)!

SOUTH BUS TERMINAL
If you are going to Moalboal, the other choice would be the Librando Bus Terminal near EMall (just a few meters away from the Southbound bus terminal). Travel time to Moalboal is 3 hours or 99 kms.

If you are going to Oslob, take the Ceres ride to Bato via Oslob. Travel time is 3.5 hours or 117 kms.

NORTH BUS TERMINAL
If you are going to Malapascua Island, take the bus with the Maya signage (either Ceres or Roughrider). Travel time is 4 hours or 147 kms. Fare from Cebu City to Maya using Ceres is P163 for non-aircon and P170 for aircon.

The first pumpboat to Malapascua from Maya port leaves 7:30 am and the last is 6 pm.
From Malapascua to Maya port, the first pumpboat leaves 6 am and the last is 3 pm. Fare is P80.00 and the total cost of the boat (in case you want to charter it) is P1,200.

Chartering the boat from Malapascua Island to Bantayan cost P2,500.

If you are going to Bantayan Island, take the bus with the signage Hagnaya. Travel time is 4 hours or 111 kms. From Hagnaya port, take the Ro-Ro to Bantayan Island. Travel time is 45 minutes. Ro-Ro service is from 6 am to 6pm. There are 2 shipping lines servicing the route.

If you are going to Camotes Island, take the bus ride with signage of either Hagnaya or Maya and alight at the Danao Port. Travel time is 1 hour. Fare is P60.00. From Danao port, take the Ro-Ro to Consuelo port in Camotes Island. There is only one shipping company servicing the route - Jomalia Shipping. Fare is P180 for non-aircon and P200 for aircon.

Schedule of trips
Danao port to Consuelo port - 5:30am; 8:30am; 10:00am; 12:00nn; 5:30pm; 9:30pm
Consuelo to Danao - 4:00am; 5:30am; 9:00am; 12:00nn; 2:00pm; 4:00pm

Contact persons -
Danao - Meme 0906-364-0873
Consuelo - Jomari 0923-338-7566

BY AIR
There is 1 airport in Cebu which is situated in Mactan Island.

If you are coming from Asia, it is better to go straight to Cebu rather than pass the Manila airport. Note that the airport is actually on Mactan Island, 15 kms east of Cebu City.

The following are the domestic airlines servicing Cebu, namely - AirPhil (now, PAL Express), Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines (PAL), South East Asian Airlines (SeaAir), and ZestAir. The flight from Manila to Cebu is more or less one hour.

BY SEA

There are so many piers (1-7) in Cebu. It is better to be sure to check your pier, destination, time of departure and the shipping lines. I got lost several times at the piers of Cebu.

The bigger passenger-ferry lines are 2Go and Weesam.

Tickets can be bought in Robinzon's Plaza, Ayala Center and SM City.

Otherwise you can book your ticket directly at the shipping company's booking office, which in many cases will be at the port, usually at the pier from which its boat departs.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Top 10 Beaches in the Philippines (Ranked)

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Traveling in Cebu