Sunday, June 03, 2012

Bus and Ferry Trip from Cubao (QC) to Caticlan (Aklan)

A Christmas weekend solo backpacking special December 23-26, 2011 Friday to Monday


Update as of March 2023;
For Ceres Bus, bus goes directly from Buendia station (Pasay City) to Caticlan that departs every 0600H daily, fare costs PHP 1,878. Book your tickets in advance via PHBUS website. The routes below (Cubao to Caticlan and Ferry via 2Go) is still active.

Since booking via airplane is very expensive even though advisable especially for a must holiday get-away that unfortunately dropped-off on weekend which made it more complicated, budget consideration is still a must. I have decided why not experience the land travel from bus in center of National Capital Region of Luzon all the way on ferry ride to Aklan province in Visayas. Travel time is indeed an expected suffering but the expense and adventure to be encountered is really amazing.
Route for a land trip coming from Cubao (NCR) to Caticlan (Aklan):
Cubao Terminal - Batangas Pier - Oriental Mindoro - Caticlan Port

1. bus from Cubao Terminal to Batangas Pier    - approx. 3 hours
2. ferry from Batangas Pier to Calapan Port       - approx. 3 hours
3. bus from Calapan Port to Roxas Port              - approx. 5 hours
4. ferry from Roxas Port to Caticlan Port            - approx. 5 hours
ESTIMATED TOTAL TRAVEL TIME: 16 hours

araneta center bus terminal in cubao, quezon city

stop-over in batangas city

waiting for the RO-RO ferry  in batangas pier

Based on my research last December 20, 2011, there are three bus companies that offer bus trip to Iloilo and then they will passed-by / drop-off to Caticlan port. All of the fare prices includes the terminal fee and other external payments during travel. I booked via walk-in inquiry and during this time, all ideal skeds were fully booked. I'm very fortunate there was 1 seat slot that requested to be transferred to other sked.

Philtranco bus;
daily departure in Cubao, ETD 10am and ETA 4am @ Php1,367
ticketing office is 7am to 8pm only.

Ceres bus;
daily departure in Alimall Cubao, ETD 4pm and ETA 9am @ approx Php1,100 
ticketing office is 7am to 4pm only.

Alps bus;
daily departure in alimall cubao with 4 types of bus accommodation.
2 ordinary bus, ETD of 8am, 9am and ETA of 3am @ Php1,000
2 aircon bus, ETD 11am, 12pm and ETA of 6am @ Php1,100
ticketing office is 7am to 6pm only.

I availed the Alps bus service considering the Php300 difference to Philtranco line. Ceres bus ticketing office (opens up to 530pm) is already closed at the time of my arrival in Ali Mall.

calapan port in oriental mindoro

inside the ferry going to caticlan port

Now, look at the actual event on my trip ..

Route for a land and ferry trip coming from cubao to caticlan (Dec.23-24, 2011):
Cubao - Batangas port - Oriental Mindoro - Aklan

1. aircon bus from cubao terminal to batangas pier       - 1200H - 1630H (4.5 hrs)
2. ferry from batangas pier to calapan port (RO-RO)     - 1630H - 2100H (4.5 hrs)
3. aircon bus from calapan port to roxas port               - 2100H - 0200H (5 hrs)
4. ferry from roxas port to caticlan jetty port (RO-RO) - 0200H - 0900H (7 hours)

ESTIMATED TOTAL TRAVEL TIME: 21 HOURS for php1,100 
(obviously holiday effect and weekend affected the bus and ferry's slow service due to massive crowd)

on caticlan port waiting to dock

caticlan jetty port going to boracay island

Remarks:
1. Book as early as possible
2. Don't leave ALL of your things unattended especially your seat. There are lots of chance passengers hanging around including in every stop-overs.
3. Expect heavy crowd, stampede boarding and massive baggage
4. When bus is crossing the roads from Calapan pier to Roxas pier (Oriental Mindoro), kindly  ensure that you lower/close the window pane and curtain completely due there are some delinquents stoning the bus. Thus, somehow advantage on air con-type compared to ordinary. This is a habitual activity of some bad locals at night, passengers get used to it.

By the way, bus conductor will be the one in charge of paying all the fees on the way including terminal fee and RO-RO fare (included in bus fare).




15 comments:

  1. Hi,

    I don't really understand how RoRo works in terms of the actual travel. You mean the bus is transported via a Roro ferry and your bus seat is your actual accommodation? Thanks.

    Regards,
    Mach

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @PWB; bus is transported via RORO (roll-on, roll-off) and your seat is at the ferry. seating inside the bus while cruising is not allowed.

      Delete
  2. malaki nga siguro ang matitipid...oras lng talaga ang kalaban,pero ok lang naman yun kung mahaba ang istay sa lugar na pupuntahan. hindi ko pa natry ang roro trip. pero mukhang exciting talaga.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi! Thanks for the info :) paano naman po yung bus/roro from Caticlan to Manila? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Mina, Caticlan to Manila is same din po i-reverse nyo lang yung timings...
      http://www.theviewingdeck.com/2011/10/bus-and-ferry-trip-from-caticlan-to.html

      Delete
  4. Hi,gusto ko lng po sanang malaman kng may slot pa banf available cubao,batangas to caticlan ,monday,april 24,2017,,,at magkano po lahat ng fare ko from bus hanggang barko.plz.ty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Edzel, no idea po. Punta n lng po kayo s bus station, salamat.

      Delete
  5. Hi can you message me an email of someone that I can contact through booking & inquiries. Kindly email me on ej826t@gmail.com please thank you

    ReplyDelete
  6. good pm po.ask ko lang po sana kung ang byahe nyo via 2go din?wala na po ba ang dati?tnx po

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. eto po yung link ng biyahe kong via 2Go;
      http://www.theviewingdeck.com/2016/03/batangas-pier-caticlan-port-sea.html

      Delete
  7. where can i find a ceres bus liner booking station here in caticlan

    ReplyDelete
  8. Pa pm po sa sagot magkano bayad pag may dala kaming manok caticlan to manila..salamat sa sagotmafkano p obayad

    ReplyDelete
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