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How to get around the Philippines in 2026
Times, fares, terminals and piers for the main ferry, bus and flight routes in the Philippines, and the 2026 changes that older timetables miss.
Popular Philippine routes: travel time and best option
- Running Manila to Banaue Overnight air-conditioned bus About 8–9 hours
- Running Manila to Baguio Bus, Victory Liner or Solid North About 5–6 hours
- Running Manila to Batangas Port Bus to Batangas Pier About 2–3 hours
- Running Manila to Boracay Flight to Caticlan, then boat About 1 h flying + 10–15 min by boat
- Running Cebu to Bohol OceanJet fast craft to Tagbilaran About 2 hours
- Running Cebu to Siquijor OceanJet via Tagbilaran, or bus and boat via Oslob 4 h 40 min by OceanJet; about 55 min flying
- Running Cebu to Dumaguete Flight, or bus and the Liloan–Sibulan boat Under 1 hour flying; about 6½ hours by OceanJet
- Running Cebu to Moalboal Ceres bus, Bato via Barili About 3–4 hours
- Running Cebu to Bantayan Ceres bus, then ferry from Hagnaya About 5–6 hours from Cebu City
- Running Cebu to Siargao Nonstop flight to Sayak (IAO) About 1 hour flying; about 14½ hours by sea
- Running Tagbilaran to Siquijor OceanJet fast craft About 2 hours
- Running Tagbilaran to Dumaguete OceanJet fast craft About 2 hours
- Running Puerto Princesa to El Nido Bus or shared van About 5–6 hours
- Running El Nido to Coron Fast ferry About 3½ hours
- Running Puerto Princesa to Port Barton Shared van About 3½–4 hours
- Running El Nido to Port Barton Shared van About 3½–5 hours
- Running Surigao to Siargao Fastcraft About 1½–2 hours
- Running Caticlan to Boracay Public ferry or speedboat 10–15 min by ferry, 3–5 min by speedboat
- Running Manila to Palawan Flight to Puerto Princesa, El Nido or Coron About 1½ hours to Puerto Princesa
- Running Cebu to Boracay Nonstop flight to Caticlan, then boat About 1 hour flying, plus the jetty and boat
Philippine ferries, buses and domestic flights
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Bus
Which bus company runs each corridor in 2026, which terminal it leaves from, fares by class, discount and refund rules, Palawan vans and the railway.
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Ferry
Who sails each island crossing in 2026: OceanJet, FastCat, Lite Ferries, Starlite and 2GO, with fares, piers, baggage rules and weather suspensions.
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Flights
Since March 2026, El Nido, Coron and Siargao flights leave from Clark, not NAIA. Which island airport flies where, NAIA terminals and baggage rules.
Transport guides by island and city
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Manila
The capital: Spanish-era Intramuros, Binondo's old Chinatown and the bayfront.
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Cebu
The Visayas hub, with Magellan's Cross downtown and waterfalls and reefs in the south.
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Bohol
The Chocolate Hills inland, river cruises on the Loboc and white sand on Panglao.
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Palawan
Limestone lagoons at El Nido, lakes and wrecks around Coron, and the Underground River.
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Siargao
The surf island: Cloud 9's reef break, island hopping and tidal rock pools.
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Boracay
White Beach for swimming and sunsets, and quieter Puka Shell Beach in the north.
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Banaue
Rice terraces carved into the Cordillera, with hikes out to the Batad amphitheatre.
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Davao
Gateway to Mount Apo, the country's highest peak, and the beaches of Samal Island.
What changed in Philippine transport in 2026
Much of what is online about Philippine transport describes the country before these changes:
- 7 October 2026: one company left on El Nido to Coron. Jomalia Shipping is no longer on sale online. Montenegro sails on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, ₱3,047 sold online for November, and on the other days the Cebgo flight is the way across.
- October 2026: Victory Liner online again, for some trips. victoryliner.com sells a limited number of trips online, and student, senior citizen and PWD fares are sold only at the terminal booths. Some terminals take QR e-tickets shown on a phone.
- 28 September 2026: road fares went up. A traditional jeepney now starts at ₱14 for the first four kilometres and a modern one at ₱17. Provincial buses charge more per kilometre, P2P buses 15 percent more, and airport taxis ₱115 for the first 500 metres.
- September 2026: fewer OceanJet boats, higher fares. From 16 September the last crossing between Cebu and Tagbilaran is 17:40 each way, and the Batangas–Calapan run stopped. From 21 September a 10 percent fuel surcharge made Cebu to Tagbilaran ₱960 in Tourist and ₱1,440 in Business. The cut sailings were still off sale for November.
- August 2026: a night ferry between Batangas and Boracay. Lite Shipping put MV Lite Ferry Twenty on Batangas–Caticlan, twelve hours overnight, from ₱2,530 for a bunk.
- March and July 2026: cheaper, easier Manila trains. LRT-2 and MRT-3 fares were cut by half on 23 March, until further notice. Since 13 July every LRT-2 station takes contactless Visa and Mastercard, and GCash QR, at the gates.
- March and July 2026: new small-plane links. Sunlight Air has flown Cebu to Siargao daily since March and flies Cebu to Siquijor four days a week in about 55 minutes. On 1 July AirSWIFT became Cebgo, and its El Nido flights are now sold under Cebu Pacific with DG flight numbers.
- 29 March 2026: turboprop flights left NAIA. El Nido, Coron (Busuanga), Siargao, Masbate, Naga and San Jose in Mindoro are now flown from Clark. The same day, AirAsia Philippines moved its international flights to NAIA Terminal 1, and five foreign airlines moved from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3.
- February and March 2026: ferry baggage and surcharges. Since 6 February OceanJet's Tourist and Open Air tickets include 10 kg of baggage and Business 20 kg, with trolley bags checked in. On 30 March MARINA raised the cap on fuel surcharges from 20 to 30 percent.
- Puerto Princesa's terminal is in Irawan. The city moved its bus and van terminal there from San Jose in January 2023, and many 2026 guides still name San Jose.
Philippine travel mistakes that cost you a day
Two companies, two terminals. The Banaue buses leave Manila from Sampaloc and from Cubao. The Bohol ferries leave Cebu from different piers. The El Nido ferry to Coron leaves from a different terminal from the bus that brought you.
The airport is not the town. Siargao's airport is 45 minutes to an hour from General Luna, Coron's 30 to 45 minutes from town, Kalibo an hour and a half from the Boracay jetty.
Night buses arrive in the small hours. The last Cherry Bus reaches El Nido around three in the morning; Coda Lines reaches Banaue around four.
The Coast Guard stops the boats. In 2026 it has suspended sea travel in affected areas once a Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 is raised, whatever the timetable says.
First trip to the Philippines? Transport questions answered
What is the cheapest way from Cebu to Bohol?
The ferries to Tubigon: Lite Ferries from ₱396 on its own booking site, FastCat from ₱433 on its rate page. Lite also runs a four-hour boat to Tagbilaran from ₱520. OceanJet's faster boat to Tagbilaran is ₱960.
Can I fly from Manila to El Nido, Coron or Siargao?
Not from NAIA. Since 29 March 2026 those flights leave from Clark, about two hours north of Manila by road. Cebu also has direct flights to all three.
How do I get from Puerto Princesa to El Nido?
By Cherry Bus at 07:00, 09:00, 11:00 or 21:30, or by shared van, about five to six hours. Cherry Bus picks up at Puerto Princesa airport.
How do I get to Boracay?
Fly to Caticlan, five to ten minutes from the jetty, or to Kalibo, an hour and a half away by road, then take the boat to Cagban port after paying the terminal fee, environmental fee and boat fare.
Is there a train between cities in the Philippines?
No long-distance train runs. Metro Manila has LRT 1, LRT 2 and MRT 3, the Manila commuter railway closed in March 2024, and outside Manila the national railway runs only short local trains, between Lucena and Calamba and around Naga in Bicol.
Do I need a visa or eTravel to enter the Philippines?
Nationals of visa-exempt countries are admitted for 30 days and can extend with a 29-day visa waiver from the Bureau of Immigration. Every arriving passenger registers on eTravel, which is free at etravel.gov.ph or in the eGovPH app; sites that charge for it are fake. The Flights page has the detail.
What happens to my ferry when a storm signal goes up?
It does not sail. The Coast Guard suspends sailings in an area when a tropical cyclone wind signal is raised, whatever the timetable says, so leave a spare day around any sea crossing you cannot miss.
Which dates are the busiest for travel in the Philippines in late 2026?
The Undas long weekend first. All Saints' Day falls on Sunday 1 November 2026 and All Souls' Day on Monday 2 November, and both are non-working days, which makes a three-day weekend, and 2026 holiday guides expect the rush out of Manila to start on Friday 30 October. The franchising board had applications for about 1,000 extra buses on special permits valid from 28 October to 6 November. Then Bonifacio Day on Monday 30 November, and Christmas: 24 and 25 December are a Thursday and Friday, and 30 and 31 December and New Year's Day run Wednesday to Friday. Buy bus and ferry tickets for those dates early rather than at the terminal.
