Philippines ferry and passenger ferries are the life blood for traveling in and among the Philippine Islands and with 7,107 islands to explore, it is almost impossible not to experience a trip or two in one of the many forms that a ferry can take.
Whether you need to travel short distances or extremely long distances there is a Philippines ferry to suit you and your budget.
For short distances the most common Philippine passenger ferry is thebanca and can be found just about on or near to every beach in the Philippines. You will be able to negotiate a fare with the captain prior to your voyage. Have a look here for more information on banca boats.
All the major cities can be reached by a Philippines ferry of some description. The major ports are Manila, Cebu, Zamboanga and Davao, from these ports you can get to just about any island in the Philippines. The Philippine ferries that ply this particular route are some of the super ferries and can take up to 46 hours or more, depending on weather conditions.
The Philippines ferry services has really opened up the opportunity to discover the many islands in the Visayas, which helps local businesses and communities by bringing in tourist money that was not available prior to the Philippines ferries.
Why travel by Philippines Ferry
Traveling by Philippines ferries is an economical way for budget conscious travelers to get around. It is also a fantastic way to see areas of the country that would be impossible to see by air or land travel. You have the chance to also mingle with the extremely friendly Filipino people. A ferry trip is all part of your adventure, treat it as one an you will have risked nothing. Having said that long trips on boats may not be every ones ideal way for getting from a to b. Philippines passenger ferries have not had a great safety record in the past, so it is always a good idea to have an idea about what the weather is up to between your port of disembarking and destination is, if it looks like it may be a bit rough and stormy, particularly in the monsoon season then postpone or take an aeroplane.
Where do Philippines Ferries travel to?
From Manila the major ports or islands you can travel to by Philippines passenger ferry are Bohol, Catanduanes, Cebu, Leyte, Lubang, Marinduque, Masbate, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Romblon and Samar. This is not an exhaustive list but does cover the major ports.
From these major ports or islands you can take other Philippine ferries to smaller or lesser known islands and so forth.
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2Go Travel – (formerly Cebu Ferries, Negros Navigation, Supercat and Superferry). Routes and schedules. Pictures of cabins, facilities etc. E-Tickets. |
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Aleson Shipping Lines – Routes and schedules (Cebu City-Tubigon, Dumaguete-Dipolog, Zamboanga-Sandakan/Malaysia, Zamboanga-Sulu Islands). Fares. Pictures of their vessels, cabins. Online reservations possible. |
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Cokaliong Shipping Lines – Routes and schedules. Fares. Pictures of their vessels. Ticket sales offices in Cebu City. |
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Father ‘n’ Son Lines (FSL) – FSL provides regular ferry services between Batangas and Puerto Galera. |
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Kinswell Shipping Lines – Routes and schedules. Pictures of their ferries. Ticket sales office in Cebu City. |
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Lite Shipping Corporation – Routes, schedules and fares. Pictures of their car ferries. Ticket sales offices (Bohol,Cebu). |
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Lorenzo Shipping Corporation – The company offers a wide array of services for inter-island transport of cargoes. This includes Pier to Pier, Door to Door and Door to Pier services. Shipment of rolling cargoes such as vehicles, trucks and tractors are also accepted for shipment to all their ports of call. |
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Montenegro Shipping Lines – Routes and schedules. Description and pictures of their vessels. |
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Moreta Shipping Lines – Routes and schedules. Ticket sales offices. | |
Oceanjet – Routes and schedules. Fares. Online reservations possible. | |
Prestige Cruises – Manila Bay Cruises (Sunset Dinner Cruise, Moonlight Dinner Cruise, Cocktail Cruise). |
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Roble Shipping – Routes and schedules. Pictures of their vessels. | |
Romblon Shipping Lines – Routes and schedules. Fares. | |
Sun Cruises – Sun Cruises provides regular ferry services between Manila and historic Corregidor Island. |
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Supercat Fast Ferry Corporation – Routes and schedules of the fast ‘Supercats’. Fares, ticket sales offices in Cebu City. |
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Super Shuttle Ferry – Asian Marine Transport Corporation operates a fleet of 17 boats (‘Super Shuttle Ferry’, ‘Super Shuttle RoRo’, ‘Shuttle Fast Ferry’). |
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Trans-Asia Shipping Lines – Routes and schedules. Fares. Pictures of their vessels. Ticket sales offices (Bohol, Cebu, Panay, Leyte, Masbate, Mindanao). |
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VG Shipping Lines – Route Cebu City-Talibon (Bohol)-Cebu City. | |
Weesam Express – Routes and schedules, of the SRN Fast Seacrafts. Fares. Pictures of their vessels. Ticket sales offices (Bohol, Cebu, Negros, Panay, Mindanao, Sulu Islands). |