Bustling Cebu Ports

Cebu is an exciting starting point for other island adventures in the country because of their bustling seaport, from Cebu you can go to other islands like Negros, Siquijor, Panay, Leyte and Samar. During my Siquijor trip, I discovered that there are still many people who go shipping instead of flying perhaps because it is a cheap way to travel. Cebu ports probably had 5000 or more passengers each day.

From what I know, Cebu seaport is divided into 4 piers. Pier 1 mostly has trips in inter-Visayas destinations while Pier 4 caters to bigger ships like Super Ferry or Negros Navigations enroute to Manila. I can only share my experience at Pier 4. Youn will never run out of destinations, everyday there are scheduled trips everywhere in the Visayas. 

Purchasing ticket is very easy, there are many seats available. After have the ticket, you will be asked to go to the xray machine. Its like an airport although the security is not very strict. Ocean Jet passengers will have the comfort of airconditioned room while other passengers will stay at gym-like holding area. I suggest to the local officials that they make Cebu port a tourist friendly area, they should also clean some garbage around. Cebu has a lot of potential as the tourist hub in the country.

I personally enjoyed the seaport, its like an airport withships and large vessels. Cokaliong lines looks very great among other lines. My trip to Bohol was courtesy of Ocean Jet and to Siquijor was FJ Palazio Shipping Lines. Other ships I saw were Lite Ferries, Supercat, Cebu Ferries and Negros Navigation. In Cebu, backpackers or budget travellers will really enjoy island hopping to different provinces.

Riding ships can be very boring, make sure you bring your iPod or favorite book and you can rest on these beds above. It is the cheapest accommodation in the ship, Economy class for only P285 from Cebu to Larena, Siquijor. The picture is resembles like Sugbutel or a local ward in a hospital. There are no barriers like curtains, its also called Open air. Keep your valuables always with you. The comfort rooms are not really that clean, I was praying to delay my bowel movement until my final destination. It also gets really cold during the night, its advisable to bring coat or blanket with you especially for long trips. Other accommodation in the ship is Tourist class which is pretty the same with economy but with lesser people and an airconditioned room. 

The trip to Siquijor from Cebu was 9 hours from 2PM to 11PM. I slept the whole trip. Going back from Siquijor to Cebu, I enjoyed watching the beautiful sunrise and badjao’s will be greeting you as well. Badjao’s are really good swimmers, when you throw coins in the sea, they will dive for it. 

The next time I travel to Cebu, I make sure that I will have side trips using these ferries. My plan is this coming October from Cebu to Ormoc. Now who wants to have a trip with me?