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Transportation

 

One of Boracay’s main draws would be the fact that it is one of the most accessible beach vacation destinations in the Philippines. It is among the safest and traveler-friendly destinations, owing to the fact that local Philippine government supports Boracay’s tourism industry very enthusiastically, to say the least.

Boracay has been developed to accommodate all forms of travel available to man: land, sea and air — you name it, you can get to Boracay thanks to these. You may even make use of the country’s hybrid transportation scheme, the RoRo — Roll On Roll Off ferries that bring buses from port to port.

Here’s how to get to Boracay using the four transportation methods:

Land Travel:

Step 1: Get to Iloilo City.

From the Manila or Cebu International Airports, or from any other airport in the Philippines, take a flight to the Iloilo International Airport.

From Bacolod, Guimaras, Cebu, Manila Ship Ports, get on a boat/ship ride to the Port of Iloilo.

Step 2a: From Iloilo Airport

From the Iloilo Airport, you have three options for getting from the Iloilo International Airport to the Tagbac Terminal or straight to the Caticlan Jetty Port.

  • A. Shuttle Van/Commute

    Shuttle vans ply the route from the Airport to SM City Iloilo. They are conveniently located right outside the airport. You just need to ask the guard where they wait for their passengers.

    When you are dropped off at SM City Iloilo, cross the foot overpass, and walk to the corner of the block, which is straight ahead after you get off the overpass.

    Ride a Leganes jeepney, and request to be dropped off at the Tagbac Terminal.

  • B. Taxi

    From the Iloilo International Airport, hail any one of the Iloilo City taxis waiting there, and ask to be taken straight to the Tagbac Terminal.

  • C. Hired Van

    You may hire any of the Caticlan-bound van tours available online. You may do a Google search and several options will already appear for you. Alternatively, you may hire any of Boracay.Ph’s sister company’s vans at EasyVan.Ph.

    A Boracay-bound van may take you from the Iloilo Airport, or even any part of Iloilo City or Kalibo, and straight to Caticlan, for a specific fee.

Step 2b: From Iloilo Port to Tagbac Terminal:

There are four ports in Iloilo City:

  • Iloilo International Port/Loboc Wharf — (Loboc, Lapuz, Iloilo City)

  • The Iloilo Domestic Port (formerly the Old Foreign Pier) — (City Proper District)

  • Muelle Loney/Iloilo River Wharf — (Muelle Loney (Loney Dock), Iloilo City)

  • Iloilo-Guimaras Jetty (Banca) Ports — (City Proper District)

From any of these ports, you may take a taxi to the Tagbac Terminal. Taxis ply the ports conveniently. Alternatively, you may take PUV jeepneys from these areas and to the Tagbac Terminal.

Iloilo International Port/Loboc Wharf — (Loboc, Lapuz, Iloilo City)

Take a Lapuz Jeep and get off at the Amigo Terrace Hotel building. Cross the street to the other side, where you can find the Iloilo Midtown Hotel a little distance off. Ride a Jaro CPU Jeep to Jaro Plaza. From there, ride a Leganes jeep to the Tagbac Terminal.

The Iloilo Domestic Port (formerly the Old Foreign Pier) — (City Proper District)

Cross the street and ride a Jaro CPU jeep to Jaro Plaza. From there, ride a Leganes jeep to the Tagbac Terminal.

Muelle Loney/Iloilo River Wharf — (Muelle Loney (Loney Dock), Iloilo City)

Ride a trisikad (a trike but with a bicycle as its main vehicle) to the main road, or walk to the main road. Ride a Jaro CPU jeep to Jaro Plaza. From there, ride a Leganes jeep to the Tagbac Terminal.

Iloilo-Guimaras Jetty (Banca) Ports — (City Proper District)

Walk out of the Jetty Port alley and walk to Gaisano Guanco. From there, you may take a Villa or Oton jeep and ask to be dropped off at the Marymart Mall. From Marymart Mall, ride a Jaro Liko Tagbac Terminal jeep. You will be taken straight to the Tagbac Terminal on that jeepney.

You may also ride a Leganes jeep, which will also take you straight to the Tagbac Terminal.

From Gaisano Guanco, you may also take an SM City Proper jeepney or Mandurriao/SM City jeepney and get off at SM City, walk to the corner where the INJAP Condo-tower is, ride a Leganes jeep, and you’ll be taken to the Tagbac Terminal.

Step 3: From the Tagbac Terminal to Kalibo or Caticlan

Air Travel

You may head straight to Caticlan’s airport via the domestic airlines that ply the route, including Airphil Express, Cebu Pacific, ZestAir and SEAir.

Alternatively, you may get a flight to the Kalibo Airport, then ride a tricycle or a taxi into the town, ask to be taken to a Caticlan van terminal or even the Ceres bus terminal, and ride a van or a bus to Caticlan. You may also hire a local van that plies the Kalibo-Caticlan route. Boracay tourist vans for hire that will ferry you from the Kalibo Airport to Caticlan are available when you do a Google search.

Sea Travel

The country’s biggest brands in shipping recently merged and became one single entity, 2Go Travel. Luckily, they have boat schedules that run almost the whole week, except for Tuesdays. The travel takes a passenger from the Batangas Port straight to the Caticlan Port. No other port to port routes are available, however.

From the Caticlan Jetty Port, you would only need to ride the Boracay Ferry — you may choose from the regular, open-air motor ferry or the airconditioned Montenegro Fastcraft.

RoRo

The RoRo as a travel option became popular as a plane alternative because of its very affordable rates. You may catch a bus from Cubao in Manila, or where the local RoRo service bus terminal is in your area, and then inquire if your bus will pass Caticlan. Cubao-Iloilo buses that have Caticlan as its port of entry will be able to drop you off at the Caticlan Jetty Port, and from there, you will be able to catch the Caticlan to Boracay ferries that ply the route.

Step 4. From Caticlan Jetty Port to Boracay

Step 5. From Tambisaan/Cagban to Boracay’s Resorts/Hotels

  • A. From Tagbac Terminal to Caticlan

    When you get to the Tagbac Terminal, you may head for the nearest Police outpost and ask where the CERES buses to CATICLAN are located. You may also ask any of the uniformed drivers, and they will helpfully point you to the nearest CATICLAN-bound CERES van.

    CERES buses are colored yellow, and come in either Airconditioned or Non-Airconditioned buses. For the queasy, try riding a Non-Aircon bus, this may help with the nausea.

    Note: If you ride the CATICLAN bus from the Tagbac terminal, it will take you straight to the Caticlan Jetty Port, though you’ll have to pay for it with 5 to 6 hours of sitting through a bus ride.

  • B. From Tagbac Terminal to Kalibo, then to Caticlan

    Alternatively, you may also ride a KALIBO-bound bus, get off at Kalibo, have a meal or do a little sightseeing for a while, then get on a CATICLAN-bound Ceres bus, also available on the same terminal, or you may ride a CATICLAN-bound van. A terminal is located beside the Ceres terminal, though you may also opt for the other transport services located elsewhere in Kalibo. All you need to do is to hail a tricycle and ask to be taken to a Caticlan-bound van terminal.

    The services of the CBTMPC/Caticlan-Boracay Transport Multi-Purpose Cooperative is highly recommended. Their terminal is located on Roxas Avenue, near Mercury Drug and Andok’s. Just ask the tricycle driver to take you to Mercury on Roxas Ave., and the vans nearest there would be happy to serve you.

    Ask for their package that not only gives you a ride to Caticlan, but also a boat ticket. It may be available for your convenience.

    • A. Get your tickets from either the Caticlan Jetty Port or the Tabon Port.

      Usually, a ferry that originated from the Caticlan Jetty Port will land on the Cagban Port. However, when the weather is far from ideal (rainy, windy, stormy), the Port authorities may move the ferries from the Jetty Port to the Tabon Port. From there, you will land on the Tambisaan Port.

    • B. Pay your Environmental Fee.

      Tourists need to pay a Php 75 Environmental Fee for Boracay’s maintenance.

    • C. Choose your Boat.

      You may get the Montenegro Fastcraft at Php 30, usually from the Jetty Port to Cagban Port, or the regular, open-air motor ferry, at Php 25. It could be operating either from the Jetty Port or from the Tabon Port, then take you to Tambisaan.

    • Tricycle:

      You may opt to ride the PUV-style Tricycles, which should cost you only Php 25 per person, if you’re heading for Station 2/D’Mall. It should cost you about Php 20, if you’re headed only for Station 3.

      Alternatively, you may occupy the whole trike (“okupar”) for Php 100.

    • BLTMPC Multicabs:

      A whole BLTMPC Multicab can be hired for Php 250. They also have hourly rates.

    • Hotel Service:

      Do check with your hotel if they have shuttle services for their guests. Most of the upscale hotels in Boracay (Shangri-La, Discovery, Boracay Regency) give their guests an added service via a hotel van. Shangri-La also fetches its guests from the Manila airport with its private jet. It also has private speedboats for its customers’ convenience.

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