Oslob's Whale Shark and Dalaguete's Osmeña Peak

This blog entry is part of my Cebu-Masbate Adventure. After spending about 2 days in Malapascua, Cebu, I continued my travel to Oslob and this time, I have a travel buddy na pwede kong kulitin.hehe! After I arrived in Cebu City on a Thursday evening, I proceeded to Sugbutel. I chose Sugbutel since late evening na din ako dumating ng Cebu and I would just be spending 6 hours to sleep kasi I need to wake up early on Friday because I would be meeting my travel buddy who will be arriving in Cebu City from Manila. Sayang naman kasi kung maghohotel pa ako or magrerent pa ng room sa pension house.

Sugbutel is a dormitel. It’s cheap and it’s located near SM Cebu. The rate for the dorm type accommodation is 250 pesos only. They even have a 99 pesos per night promo, but you’ll need to reserve that dorm type accommodation at least 30 days before your intended stay. Anyway, to continue with my story, after I arrived at Sugbutel, naligo lang ako at natulog na. The next morning, I woke up early to meet my travel buddy who will be arriving from Manila. We met at SM Cebu at around 6am and then we immediately proceeded to Cebu South Bus terminal. It is a 30 minute jeepney ride from SM Cebu. After arriving at the terminal, we look for a bus bound for Oslob, Bato or Dumaguete. There are several bus companies plying the Cebu City-Dumaguete or Cebu City-Oslob or Bato route. We boarded the Ceres airconditioned bus since the price difference for an airconditioned bus and the non-airconditioned bus is only 5 pesos. The airconditioned bus fare from Cebu City to Barangay Tan-awan in Oslob is 155 pesos.  It was a long bus travel. The travel time from Cebu City to Oslob was about 3 hours long at dahil sobrang kulang ang tulog namin ng friend ko, natulog lang kami sa buong kahabaan ng byahe. My friend didn’t had enough sleep since she woke up early to catch the 4am flight from Manila to Cebu. At ako naman, gumising ako ng 5am since matagal akong maligo.hahaha! kaya I always have enough time allowance para hindi ako malate sa meeting time namin na 6:30am. 

Barangay Tan-awan, Oslob, Cebu

After almost 3 hours of bus travel, we finally arrived at Barangay Tan-awan in Oslob. This is the jump-off point for butanding encounter. Even from afar, you can already see some butanding or whale shark swimming near the shore of the jump-off point. We register at the registration and briefing area and paid 300 pesos for the whale shark encounter fee plus another 20 pesos for the life vest. We’ve brought our own snorkelling gear so we don’t need to rent but if you don’t have your own snorkelling gear, you can rent it from the registration and briefing area. It’s 100 pesos for snorkelling gear rental. After the briefing and all the do’s and don’ts stuff regarding swimming with the whale shark, we’ve finally boarded the small boat. We were so excited to swim with those gentle giants at ang mga ngiti namin ay hanggang tenga na.hahah! We were like kids who went on to a beach for the first time.hahaha! Anyway, after  a 5 minutes banca ride, we reached the site where we will be swimming with the butanding. We excitedly jump from our boat and swim like there’s no tomorrow. We dive, snorkel, swim, swim and swim while having that excited smile on our face. Ahhhhhhhhhh…this is it, we are finally swimming with the whale shark. It’s so huge! It’s almost the same size of a jeepney or let say, a mini bus. I was excitedly swimming with 3 whale sharks. Even though it’s tiring and the sea current is kinda strong and the sea is a little wavy, I continued swimming. I told myself that I should make the most out of the 30 minutes time limit that the Barangay Tan-awan officials had set as a rule for butanding encounter. Yes, that’s correct, you only have 30 minutes to swim and interact with the whale shark. We had some photo ops, videos and after swimming and snorkelling and diving, I finally got tired, but I still want to swim with those whale sharks, luckily, masyadong makulit ang travel buddy ko dahil kinulit nya pala yung bangkero na gawing 45 minutes ang pagswim namin with the whale shark. So dahil dun, naextend kami ng another 15minutes. And we maximize that precious minutes, that we swim, swim and swim with the whale shark. And daming swim na word dito.hahaha! So matapos ang 45minutes na swimming with the whale shark, bumalik na din kami sa dalampasigan and then we ate lunch. We ate at the carenderia inside the resort and then nagbanlaw na.

snail

Our next stop is Dalaguete. We plan to hike the highest point of Cebu province, the Osmeña Peak.  So after eating lunch, we then catch a bus bound for Cebu. We got off at Dalaguete junction. The travel time from Barangay Tan-awan, Oslob to Dalaguete junction is approximately around an hour. We looked for a habal habal for us to go to Osmeña Peak. The motorcycle ride from Dalaguete junction to Barangay Mantalongon is roughly about an hour.  Barangay Mantalongon is also considered as the summer capital and the vegetable basket of Cebu province. This is due to the cold weather in this area. On our way to Brgy. Mantalongon, we were greeted by thick fog, even though it was 2 in the afternoon, it feels like it was just 6 in the morning. Ang lamig sa lugar na yun. Ang kapal kapal ng fog na parang nasa ulap ka lang. After an hour of travel, we’ve finally reached the jump-off point of our trek to Osmeña Peak. The trail going to the peak is quite easy. There are lots of vegetable farm along the way. After hiking for 45 minutes, we’ve finally reached the peak. Sad to say, we didn’t enjoy the view at the top since the thick fog engulfed the area. It feels like we’re just on a piece of land somewhere in the clouds. We can’t see any interesting view. It doesn’t feel like we’re at the highest peak of Cebu island. It was kind of a disappointment but for sure we’re going back to that place so that we will see the view on our next hike to Osmeña Peak.

On our way to Osmeña Peak

One foggy Osmeña Peak

After spending 30 minutes resting at the peak, we decided to descend from the peak and go back to the jump-off point where our habal habal driver was waiting. We then proceeded back to Dalaguete town proper. By the way, if you don’t want to rent a motorcycle going to Osmeña Peak, you can also ride a bus or a jeepney. There are buses bound to Barangay Mantalongon from Cebu South Bus terminal. Jeepneys also ply the Mantalongon-Dalaguete route. But these public transportations travel up to Mantalongon public market only, so you’ll need to walk several kilometres from that market to Osmeña Peak. It would take around 2 to 3 hours of walk if you will start from Mantalongon public market or you can rent a motorcycle from the market to the jump off point of Osmeña Peak and cut your walking/hiking time to just 45 minutes or an hour.

Dalaguete tricycle

Anyway, continuing to my story. After we arrived at the Dalaguete town center, we decided to just roam the town center since it was kinda early to go back to Cebu City. We’ve walked around the town, visited their church, their park, and their market. We took some pictures, some photo ops and eat some native snacks and then nung mapagod na kami, that’s when we decided na sumakay na ng bus pabalik ng Cebu City. Ganun kami kalala pagdating sa gala, kahit na ang dami na naming napuntahan: lumangoy sa Oslob at umakyat sa Osmeña Peak, may energy pa rin kami para magikot ikot sa town.hehehe!  Anyway, at around 7pm, we boarded the bus bound for Cebu City. 3 hours later, we were in Cebu City. Our bus travel going back to Cebu was a little bit long due to traffic near Cebu City. 

San Guillermo de Aquitania Church

San Guillermo de Aquitania Church bell tower

San Guillermo de Aquitania Church

 After arriving in Cebu City, we ate our dinner at Larsian near Fuente Osmena. Okay kasi sa lugar na to kasi kakain ka na nakakamay lang and it’s a cheap place to eat. Most the food there are ihaw ihaw or grilled. You have a variety of choices, from local products, to meat, to poultry and seafood. So after dinner, we proceeded back to Sugbutel since, as usual, we are budget traveller and we just need a place to sleep because on the next day, we need to get up early for our Camotes Island adventure. I’ll write stories about Camotes, for the mean time, pagtyagaan nyo na lang munang basahin ang ibang blog entries ko.hahaha! Nakakapagod magsulat, inabot na nga ako ng more than 1 month bago ako nakapagsulat ng kwento ko tungkol sa adventure na to. Anyway, till next time chowtime!

Pinaypay (fried banana)

white flower

Malapascua Island, the bike and the beach.

A few weeks ago, I ventured out for a travel adventure in the beautiful province of Cebu. For almost a year, I’ve been coming back and forth to Cebu but most of the time I only stayed in Cebu City and visited some places near Cebu City like those resorts located in Lapu-Lapu City. My travel goal was to visit most of the known vacation spots in Cebu that I haven’t visited yet like Malapascua, Bantayan,  Oslob, Dalaguete and Camotes. But due to the time constraint, I wasn’t been able to visit the Bantayan Island. Anyway, I’ll be sharing with you my travel experience in Malapascua Island. For the other destinations, gagawa na lang din ako ng ibang blog entry for that. Baka kasi masyadong mahaba ang magawa kong story at makatulog kayo habang nagbabasa..hehehe!

Anyway, just to give you an overview about the island, Malapascua Island is an island located at the northernmost part of the Cebu province. This island is famously known for beautiful dive sites and for its white sand beaches. The dive sites are also known for thresher sharks and manta rays. Malapascua Island is about 4 to 5 hours travel from Cebu City.

Malapascua Island

So ayan, napipicture-out nyo na kung gaano kalayo ang Malapascua.hehehe! To start my travel story, I arrived in Cebu City early in the morning. I travelled to Cebu City via the Masbate-Cebu route. I took the 6pm TransAsia ferry in Masbate City and arrived in Cebu City 7am the next day. It was a 13 hour travel. I just slept most of the travel period since there’s nothing much to do and to see for that 13 hour travel, and besides medyo pagod na din ako since I travelled from Camarines Sur all the way down to Masbate City. That comprised of travelling by a tricycle from our house to the Bus terminal, and then ride a multicab/small jeepney from the Bus terminal going to the next town, then rode a bus going to the province of Albay, then I rode another jeepney bound for Pilar Port in the province of Sorsogon, and then took a pumpboat ride going to Masbate City in the province of Masbate. So parang nagprovince hopping ako..4 province din yun.hehehe! Nagcommute lang ako since wala akong budget para magtake ng taxi or magrent ng sasakyan, but I enjoyed the ride since it was my first time to visit Masbate City, but too bad I wasn’t been able to roam around the province. Gagawa na lang ako ng ibang entry for Masbate since tungkol naman sa Malapascua ang ikikwento ko ngayon.hehe!

M/V Asia Indonesia. This is the ferry plying the Masbate City-Cebu City route

Okay, so going back to my Malapascua travel story (ang daming paligoy ligoy ang ginawa ko.hahah!) I arrived in Cebu City early in the morning and then from Cebu City port, I rode a jeepney bound for SM, and then rode another jeepney bound for Cebu North Bus Terminal. I don’t know kung may jeep na diretso ng North Bus Terminal from Cebu City Pier pero 2 rides na lang ginawa ko. From North Bus Terminal, I rode a bus bound for Maya. Don’t ride a bus bound for Bogo City or Daanbantayan because you’ll end up taking another ride going to Maya. The Maya-bound buses’ final stop is right at the Maya Port. The Maya port and Malapascua Island are still part of Daanbantayan town but the town center or poblacion is still a little bit far from the port or from the island. The travel time from Cebu City to Maya Port is 4 hours and most of the buses plying that route are non-airconditioned buses. There are many airconditioned bus plying the northern Cebu route but most of them travel to Bogo City and Daanbantayan only, so you’ll be ending up taking another ride to reach Maya Port. Kaya kung maarte kayo at ayaw nyo sumakay ng ordinary bus, just take the Daanbantayan-bound buses pero mapipilitan pa din kayo sumakay ng non-airconditioned bus from Daanbantayan to Maya at maeexperience nyo pa din ang masarap na simoy ng alikabok at masarap na sikat ng araw.hahaha! Anyway, the fare for Ceres Bus Line non-airconditioned bus from Cebu City to Maya port is 163 pesos.

Maya Port, Daanbantayan

Maya port is the jumpoff point going to Malapascua Island.  There are regular trips going to Malapascua but most of these boats leave the port only if they are already full with passengers. Most of the boats can seat from 20 to 26 persons. So if you are in a hurry and ayaw nyo na makipagshare sa mga ibang pasahero at mapera naman kayo at medjo makapal ang bulsa then you can hire a boat going to Malapascua.hehe!  It would cost you roughly around 1500 to 2500 pesos to hire a boat and that price is depending upon the size of the boat. The travel time from Maya port to Malapascua is 30 minutes to an hour depending sa alon at bilis ng bangka. For the commuter boat plying the Maya to Malapascua route, the boat fare is 80 pesos. And if you have large bags and you’re too lazy to carry your bags, then you can hire a porter. The fee for the porter is 20 pesos per bag. Oh, and by the way, if you arrive in Maya port during low tide, you’ll need to ride a small boat going to the large boat because Maya port is not really a developed port so most of the boatmen docked and anchored their boats several meters away from the port in order to avoid damages to their boats. The small boat transferring the passenger to the large boat is not for free, so you need to pay the boatmen 10 pesos if you are a local from Malapascua and 20 pesos if you’re a tourist. Unfair right? Dapat pareho lang ang bayad.hehe! nagkukuripot lang.haha!

The passenger boat at Maya Port

The small boat and the Malapascua beach

To continue with my story, after I paid the fare from the ticket booth, sumakay na ako ng banka and to my surprise, I was the only Filipino tourist. Most of my fellow passengers are from Europe and North America. Feeling ko tuloy nasa ibang bansa ako. Buti na lang Pilipino din yung bangkero at magkakulay kami ng balat, so in short, pwede akong mapagkamalan na part ng boatcrew.hehehe! After around 40 minutes of boat travel, we finally arrived at Malapascua Island, and viewing it from afar, it was beautiful. And because it was already low-tide, and given the fact that there is no port in Malapascua, the large boat will not be able to docked near the shore, so we have to ride another small boat to reach the beach. We have no choice but to ride the small boat and pay another fee kesa naman lumangoy at magtampisaw kami sa hanggang bewang na tubig.hehe!

Upon arrival at the island, I immediately proceeded to the island village, I asked them where’s the cheapest accommodation and where to rent a mountain bike, and they informed me that the Legend Hotel is the only resort with a bike rental. So I walked to the main beach and got to the Legend Hotel and then I rented a bike for 2 hours. The bike rental is 100 per hour pero tinawad ko sa staff at nagpacute na lang ako (kahit hindi naman ako cute.hehe) at sinabi ko na kung pwede 100 per 2 hours na lang, pumayag naman yung staff. I then rode the bike at nagikot na ko sa isla, I rented a bike because I need to look for a cheap accommodation and biking is the fastest and cheapest way for me to roam the island. There are also motorcycle rental but hindi ko afford yun. 500 pesos ang motorcycle rental and it is good for a whole day tour na din but I arrived in Malapascua late in the afternoon na so sayang naman kung magrerent pa ko. So I roam the island with the bike and I looked for cheap accommodation, but to my surprise, all of the cheap hotels and resorts in Malapascua are fully-booked. I was already biking, roaming and I already asked every hotel and resort but all of them are fully-booked and when I asked a local, they said that all of the resort have been fully-booked for a few days already because it’s a peak season due to the fact that it was a Chinese new year holiday. It didn’t came into my mind na peak season pala ang Chinese new year kaya hindi na ko nagpabook in advance sa mga hotel but that was my big mistake. So naiisip ko na makikitulog na lang ako sa barangay hall but luckily, a local resident helped me find an accommodation, buti na lang may nagcheck out ng maaga sa isang resort kaya natulungan ako ng local resident na makuha yung room. Sobrang tulong talaga kapag nakikipagusap at nakikihalobilo ka din sa mga local ng isang lugar.

I checked-in to my room, it was only a fan-room with shared bathroom. After I left my bag, I rode my bike again to roam around the village and to buy a dinner. There are a lot of cheap food stall to satisfy your hunger, madami din talipapa and carenderia na pwede mong makainan, that is if you’re on a budget like me. But if you want a restaurant, then there are also a lot of nice restaurant but they are expensive. Ako kasi sa carenderia lang ako kumakain, mura kasi saka di umaabot ng 50 pesos yung meal ko. May dalawang ulam na may extra rice pa for only 50 pesos, sobrang tipid ko noh?hehehe!

Malapascua beach and the bike that I had rented

After dinner, magsiswimming pa sana ko but I was already tired so I decided na matulog na lang ng maaga. The next day, I woke up early and rented again a bike at Legend Hotel. I biked around the island and biked to the other end of the island. I biked near the lighthouse but I wasn’t been able to find the lighthouse so I just ended up biking to Bantigue Cove. The Bantigue Cove is also beautiful  and it is more of a serene place. I think it only has one resort near the cove. After biking for about 2 hours and visiting several villages around the island, I finally decided to go back to my room and pack my bag. My plan was to leave the island early since I was planning to visit Bantayan Island, but I decided to cancel that plan since it was already 9am and the commuter boat had just left the island, and the next trip was 10am. If I’ll continue with my plan to go to Bantayan, I may not be able to return back to Cebu City on time. I have a friend who will be arriving in Cebu the next day so I need to be in Cebu City on that day. So that was the reason I decided to cancel my Bantayan trip. Anyway, I also didn’t bother to go to the snorkelling site because the water was a little bit choppy or wavy, and based on my experience, it is very tiring to snorkel into a wavy sea.

So while waiting for the next boat bound for Maya Port, I just stayed near the shore and chatted with some locals and tourists. I met these husband and wife who were backpacking in the Philippines. Malapascua was their final spot in their itineraries. They have already toured the Negros Island, Camotes and Cebu City. I found their love story sweet because these couple came from different country. The guy was French and her wife was an American. They met in France and now they are living in China. O di ba, kakaiba ang story nila. Kwentong U.S., France and China.hehehe!

Sunset at Malapascua Island

Bantigue Cove, Malapascua Island

Malapascua Island. Google Map shot

To continue with my travel story, medyo nadelay ang pagalis ng bangka kya medjo matagal din kami tumambay sa pampang, and then after an hour umalis na din kami sakay ng bangka. The sea was kinda 

crazy during our travel and there were huge waves and because of that, it took us more than an hour to travel from Malapascua Island to Maya port. After I arrived at Maya Port, sumakay na ako ng bus bound for Cebu City. There are already lots of Cebu-bound buses at Maya port so you can easily hop on a bus bound for Cebu City. So far, my Malapascua Island experience was an exciting one due to fact that I was able to roam the island. I was able to ride a bike while roaming the island and I was able to enjoy the fresh air of the island. I know that it would had been more enjoyable if I have been able to snorkel in Malapascua but there is always a next time. Maybe next time when I go back to this island, I would be able to see and enjoy its underwater beauty.  Until then, dito na nagtatapos ang aking kwento. Hindi ko na isasama dito yung kwento ko after ko makarating ng Cebu City from Malapascua kasi katulad ng sabi ko kanina, baka makatulog na kayo habang nagbabasa..hehehe! Read my next post na lang tungkol  sa travel destination ko after I arrived in Cebu from Malapascua. You can also visit this website http://www.malapascua.de/ for additional information about Malapascua Island accommodation. Byes!

Cebu via Masbate, an exciting adventure route...

Most of you probably haven’t heard about this route, or some of you might didn’t even know where Masbate province is located, but this Rodeo Capital of the Philippines is located just a little bit north from the island province of Cebu. A few weeks ago, I tried this not-so-ordinary route. I took the Camarines Sur-Masbate-Cebu route. I am from Camarines Sur and the quickest way to go to Cebu from Camarines Sur is to take a bus going to Legazpi City and then from Legazpi Airport, ride a plane bound for Cebu City. There are two airlines plying this route, AirPhil and CebuPacific. It is only a 45 minutes flight from Legazpi City to Cebu. Another method is to ride a Manila-bound plane at Naga Airport and then from Manila, ride another plane bound for Cebu. Another alternative way going to Cebu from Camarines Sur is via Samar-Leyte route. You will be riding a bus bound for Matnog, Sorsogon and then from Matnog Port, you take the RORO bound for Allen, Samar and then take a bus bound for Ormoc in the province of Leyte and then from Ormoc you then take a RORO or a fastcraft bound for Cebu.

Bituon Beach, Mobo, Masbate Province

I’ll be sharing with you the information for Masbate to Cebu route. If you are coming from Manila, you can take a bus bound for Masbate City. There are several bus companies plying this route. Some of these buses are Raymond Transport, RORO Bus, and MegaBus line. The travel time takes around 12 to 15 hours, and that includes the 3hour ferry ride from Pilar Port, Sorsogon to Masbate City. If you are coming from Naga City, Camarines Sur, you can ride a bus bound for Daraga City or Legazpi City. If you get off at Legazpi City, there are several buses and van bound for Pilar. You need to go to Pilar Port because that is common jumpoff point for Masbate City. There is also the Pio Duran port to Masbate City port route but I don’t have the details for that route. Anyway, if you happen to get off at Daraga City, there are jeepneys bound for Pilar port. The terminal for those jeepneys bound for Pilar is located near the van terminal in Daraga and near the Shell gasoline station. The travel time from Daraga City to Pilar Port is one hour and the fare is 50 pesos.

From Pilar Port, there are several vessel plying the Pilar to Masbate City route. You can choose to ride the fastcraft by Montenegro Shipping Line, the RORO, or those big pumpboats. It only cost around 200 to 250 pesos. The travel time for pumpboats is 2 to 2.5 hours. The quickest way to go to Masbate from Pilar is via a fastcraft. It is also the expensive way. The travel time is 1.5 to 2hours and it cost around 349 pesos. Another way is via RORO, however, most of these ferries depart early in the morning since most of the trucks and buses from Manila arrive in Pilar early in the morning. The ferry or RORO fare cost around 200 to 250 pesos and the travel time is usually from 3 to 4 hours. You can check this website for more information: http://www.montenegrolines.com.ph/

Inside the pumpboat bound for Masbate City. The pumpboat can accomodate up to 100 passenger

Pilar Port, Sorsogon. You can see the typical pumpboat plying the Pilar-Masbate route

Mt. Bulusan. This picture was taken near Pilar port

Mayon Volcano. This picture was taken near Pilar port, Sorsogon

In Masbate province, there are two ways to go to Cebu province. One is the Masbate City to Cebu City route being served by TransAsia Shipping line and SuperShuttle Shipping. The other route is Cataingan to

Bogo City being served by Montenegro Shipping Line. The Masbate to Cebu City route travel time is 11 to 13 hours. The TransAsia ship leaves Masbate port at around 6pm every Tuesday and Thursday only, while the SuperShuttle RORO leaves Masbate port at around 5am every Wednesday only. The SuperShuttle RORO vessel ply the route Batangas-Masbate-Cebu route. For SuperShuttle ferry the cost is 555 pesos for one way only. For TransAsia the ferry fare is 605 pesos for economy, 870 pesos for an airconditioned accomodation and 1,492 pesos for a cabin accomodation. You can visit these websites for more information: http://www.transasiashipping.com/schedules/  and http://supershuttleferry.com/web/

Masbate City

Masbate City Port

The economy bunker bed of TransAsia M/V Asia Indonesia plying the Masbate City-Cebu City route

TransAsia M/V Asia Indonesia plying the Masbate City-Cebu City route

TransAsia M/V Asia Indonesia plying the Masbate City-Cebu City route

TransAsia fare matrix for Masbate City-Cebu City route

TransAsia M/V Asia Indonesia plying the Masbate City-Cebu City route 

If you want the cheapest and fastest way to go to Cebu, then you should take the Cataingan to Bogo City route. The ferry travel time from Cataingan to Bogo City is 6 to 7 hours only. The ferry leaves Cataingan Port at around 12 noon and the ferry leaves Bogo City for Cataingan at around 12midnight. The fare is 365 pesos only. However please take note that Cataingan is 1.5 hours travel from Masbate City. There are jeepneys and vans bound for Cataingan from Masbate City. And also please take into consideration that Bogo City is around 3 hours bus ride from Cebu City. There are several bus companies plying the Bogo City to Cebu City route. The Polambato Port in Bogo City is kind of a little bit far from eGwen Highway or from downtown Bogo City so you still need to ride a habal-habal or a tricycle to go to the main highway or to the city proper.

Cataingan Port, Masbate Province

Montenegro RORO plying the Cataingan-Bogo City route

Montenegro RORO fare. Cataingan-Bogo route

Montenegro RORO schedule. Cataingan-Bogo route

The bunker bed in Montenegro RORO plying the Cataingan-Bogo City route

So if you will be going to those destinations in the northern part of Cebu, then the Cataingan Port to Polambato Port, Bogo City is the recommended route. Malapascua Island and Bantayan island are the famous destination in the northern part of Cebu. Bogo City is a 1 hour travel away from Bantayan and Malapascua.

The RORO Bus Line also ply the route Masbate City to Cebu City. Their buses leave Masbate City at around 8am or 9am and then travels to Cataingan port, and then from Cataingan port it takes the ferry at around 12noon. It will arrive at Polambato Port in Bogo City at around 6pm and then it will continue its travel to Cebu City North Bus terminal.  And then for the Cebu City to Masbate City route, the RORO Bus leaves Cebu North Bus terminal at around 8:30pm or 9pm and it will travel to Bogo City for 3 hours, and then from Polambato Port in Bogo it will take the 12 midnight ferry bound for Cataingan. By around 6am, the ferry arrives in Cataingan and the bus will continue its travel to Masbate City. By around 7:30am or 8am, you will be in Masbate City.

RORO Bus plying the Masbate City-Cebu City route

Sunrise view at Cataingan Port, Masbate

Bogo City tricycle

Malapascua Island, Daangbantayan, Cebu

Pintos, the delicacy of Bogo City

Polambato Port, Bogo City

If you happen to miss the RORO Bus bound for Masbate City at Cebu North Bus terminal, you can just take a Ceres Bus bound for Daanbantayan, Maya or Bogo City. The travel time is 3 hours from Cebu City. If you take the Daanbantayan or Maya bound buses, get off at the junction going to Polambato Port. It is about 2 or 3 kilometers away from the Bogo City proper. There is not much signage going to the port so you must tell the driver or bus conductor to drop you off at the junction going to Polambato Port. From that junction, it’s still another 4 to 5 kilometers travel. There are habal habal or motorcycle or tricycle on that junction and you can ride on those transportation mode. The fare is 30 pesos. If you took the Bogo City bound buses from Cebu City, you can get off at Bogo City bus terminal and then you go to the tricycle terminal near Jollibee to take the tricycle bound for Polambato Port. The travel usually takes around 15 to 25 minutes. The tricycle fare is 25 pesos. The Montenegro ferry at Polambato Port, Bogo City departs at around 12 midnight so you must be on that port before 12midnight.

I hope those information would help you in your next travel adventure. If you’re on for an adventure, then this route surely won’t disappoint you. There are lots of beautiful places to visit in Cebu, Masbate, Sorsogon, Albay and Camarines Sur province. So what are you waiting for? Byahe na!