Bohol via the Cebu-Tubigon Route

When the obsessive-compulsive in me jacks out of its box, it usually nudges me to plan our out of town trips to the detail. Bohol was not supposed to be an exception. Of late, though, Gin and I had been experiencing a drought when it comes to having spare hours. Hence, we ended up planning our one-day, central Visayas trip only 3 days before our departure.

This didn’t prevent us from successfully booking our Cebu-Tagbilaran ferry tickets in advance, though. We were also able to find a good driver/guide that would meet us at the Tagbilaran port. However, disaster struck just a day before our trip when SuperCat sent a notice that it was cancelling its March 6 trip due to technical problems. The news shook me for a while as our itinerary depended on our ferry trip.

I immediately called the other two fast craft companies that are plying the Cebu-Tagbilaran route. Unfortunately, both Weesam and Oceanjet informed me that their morning trips to Bohol were already fully booked on the date that we’re supposed to go there. Because of this, I informed our driver/guide that we would be cancelling our reservations for his van/service. He tried to save our trip by suggesting that we take a ferry instead to Tubigon. I entertained the idea, but still cancelled his services as I was still apprehensive in taking an alternative route.

Upon arriving at Cebu, we immediately rushed to Pier 1 to book a ferry trip to Tubigon. There are two ferries that service the Cebu-Tubigon route in Pier 1. We chose the 7:00 a.m. trip of Lite Shipping since we weren’t able to find the new ticket booth of MV Starcraft.

Despite the fact that the ship we took sailed painfully slow, we were happy to know that the trip would only take around two hours as Tubigon is the closest port of the island from Cebu. A fast craft trip to Tagbilaran is 1 hour and 40 minutes long. Most people, especially tourists, know only about the latter route. However, the locals prefer going to Bohol via Tubigon as it is the fastest and cheapest way to the island. A regular ferry ride to Tubigon costs around P120-P170, while going there via a 45-minute fast craft ride would only cause you to shell out around P200-P270 pesos. This beats the P400-P500 ticket price of Oceanjet, SuperCat, and Weesam for the Cebu-Tagbilaran journey.
The trip was very relaxing. As it was March, the summer weather tamed the waves. It was smooth sailing all the way. By 9:00 a.m., the municipality of Tubigon was already in sight. The port is not that grand, but it was clean and did not litter with people trying to jostle up for passengers that may want to rent a van or look for a tour guide. The only drawback in going to Bohol via Tubigon is that it is still an hour away from the provincial capital. Renting a van (with driver) also costs more in Tubigon than in Tagbilaran. One reason for this is that there’s only one association that regulates the car/van rental services in the area, thereby making the rates fixed and uniform.

Gin, with all her haggling prowess, failed to bring down the digits to the P2,500 car rental rate that the association was charging. Rates in Tagbilaran are usually P500 cheaper since car rental/tour services abound in the city. Faced with the prospect of having to take a one-hour bus ride to Tagbilaran just to get a car that’s P500 cheaper, we decided to take the offer. We didn’t regret it, though, as our driver was very kind and accommodating. He also drove like Michael Schumacher which helped us visit more sites than one could usually do in a 7-hour sojourn.

Our 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. tour led us to all the sites that we wanted to see: Sagbayon Peak, Chocolate Hills, the long hanging bridge, the man-made forest, the Tarsiers, Loboc River, Baclayon Church, and the blood compact site. Our driver also gladly acquiesced to my request that we drive around Tagbilaran before we head back to Tubigon for our 5:45 p.m. trip back to Cebu via MV Starcraft. Our business class tickets cost only P270. It was a bargain considering that a catamaran ride from Tagbilaran costs twice.

Dealing directly with the driver may save you a few hundred bucks. Our driver, Sancho Ranesis, drives a 1990 Mitsubishi Lancer. It’s still in good condition. He had a hard time speaking to us in Tagalog, though, but we didn’t mind as he was very friendly. If you’re interested in hiring his services, you may contact him at 09398140994.

MV Starcraft Schedule (Cebu-Bohol via Tubigon and vice versa)
Pier 1

Cebu to Tubigon, Bohol

5:45 a.m. - 6:30 a.m.
8:00 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.
12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
3:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Tubigon to Cebu

7:00 a.m. - 7:45 p.m.
11:00 a.m. - 11:45 p.m.
2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
5:45 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Rates (Plus P10 Terminal Fee):

Economy: P200
Tourist: P220
Business: P280