Transportation in the Philippines - by sea, by air, bus, Jeepney, tricycle, or taxi
Philippines with its 7100+ islands and islets of course need a solid infrastructure in logistics and public human transportation. So it is ..
You find an excellent and well established network of:
- bus lines - city buses in large cities
- Jeepneys, mini buses, taxi and tricycles for city and village short distances
- regional and provincial bus operations usually day and night on a hourly or more frequent basis
- air lines - jet air crafts to major airport on larger islands and smaller propeller aircrafts to remote provincial areas
- ferry boats small and huge depending on distance to cover and harbors served
Transportation by buses
When starting in a larger city - most bus lines have their own individual bus terminal - ask a taxi driver and tell him WHERE you plan to go by BUS. Same bus company may have different terminals depending on destination !!
The taxi driver of course also loves to take you across the country - hundreds of kms - and ... you may be amazed, its at a price very affordable if compared to European public transportation or trains.
For example From Metro Manila or air port by taxi to San Fernando La Union - some 300 km is "only" about 90 - 100 US$ by taxi if he offers you a honest price. That is a price we may find in Europe using public transportation.
For foreigners buses within metro Manila may be quiet complex with hundreds of bus lines across this multi million city - hence as a new arrival you may prefer taxi for city transportation. However moving out of town into regional areas or remote provinces - bus is the transportation of your choice. As a thumb rules roughly 1 km is about 1 PHP for air con buses and a little less for regular buses ( w/o air con ). For example from Manila toward northern Luzon ( La Union and further up north ) you have approximately 6 or more provincial bus operations running fine large and comfortable buses, all well maintained and most of them equipped with video to make your trip more pleasant.
Buses stop usually every 2 or so hours for 10-20 minutes to allow a snack and relief for your bladder. Talking about your bladder - you need to know that you can ask ANY time a bus on a provincial route to stop JUST for you. That's tradition here. No need to suffer and wait for the next official Toilet stop !!!
Also you should keep in mind that outside the terminals - all buses are used to pick up and drop passengers at ANY point along the route upon request. The Philippines is a bus country for public transportation - besides ferry boat for island operations of course. Hence all is well structured and well organized !
How well organized ? Example Manila north bound toward La Union - same most likely applies for all major other directions / routes - every bus line has a bus approximately every hour or more frequently - day and night. If ever a bus has a technical failure - usually a replacement bus is ready within 10 - 20 minutes either from the same company or any other bus line serving the same route. How often can such technical failures occur ? In more than 4 years here - and a few thousand km travel by bus it happened to me only about 3 or 4 times and never with any real delay more than 10 - 20 minutes.
Philippines by ferry boat
Small distances up to a few dozen nautical miles ( 1 nm = 1,852 km ) usually are served by small ferry boats that are certified for 20 to 60 passengers They run at a speed of around 10 knots ( 1 knot = 1 nm / hr ). Different types are used - hydrofoil, catamaran or the very fast regular wooden hull - i.e. converted or adapted fisher boats equipped with safety equipment, radio, roofing and often toilet.
Above picture shows smaller ferry boats as used from Batangas to Mindoro - the ones shown are certified for about 20 - 30 passengers each. Larger ones of the same type can take up to approximately 60 passengers.
You may also find more information on the separate page i wrote earlier about "How to get to Places I love .. in the Philippines"
.
Large distances at sea are served by large ferry boat operators - probably the largest one in the Philippines is WG & A Superferry Philippines with a large fleet of modern stell hull vessels that take several hundred passengers to sleep, feed and entertain with life music for trips that usually take more than a day ( Manila to Zamboanga city, Mindanao is about 32+ hrs one way by Superferry 9 ). Superferry maintains a wide network of agents for ticketing and reservation - online booking also is available trough above Superferry - web site
Medium size steel hull vessels operate mid range islands. Thousands of vessels / ferry boats small and large are permanently busy transporting passengers and / or goods in the Philippines across the ocean from island to island.
Travel by air - jet or propeller air crafts
From Manila national air port and many island airports and capitals, different air carriers operate all day long many dozens of inland destinations to smaller or larger on the islands. On above page "How to get to Places I love .. " you find more information. Booking can be done trough the many booking agents all over the country, at the airport or online.
Local transportation by Jeepney, tricycle or taxi
In larger cities taxi are available - in provincial cities most of the time none ! If taxi then you find taxi drivers who want to have a flat rate fixed in advance - usually double or more than normal fare. However the legal way is "by meter" all taxi are equipped with a taxi-meter to give accurate fares. In Metro Manila however - for an obvious reason - in th estop and go traffic jam most taxi drivers ask for meter PLUS xyz amount - usually meter PLUS 50 - 150 PHP depending on ti8me and distance to compensate for additional time needed in stop and go traffic during rush hours. Rush hours are in Manila almost from 0600 until near midnight. Manila is a huge city with its approximately 10-12 million people, crowded, polluted, dirty and loud.
A typical example for taxi fare is from Manila airport to a city hotel some where in the center for approximately 250 - 400 PHP (about 5 - 8 US $) and such trip may take 30 - 60 minutes depending on day time.
Taxi are found in Metro Manila and Baguio city and a few other major cities only.
In "normal" Philippine areas outside Metro Manila you find no or seldom a taxi - Jeepneys are the typical local transportation. Colorful and cheap, operating all major routes almost day and night every few minutes with fixed fares - as a thumb rule 1 PHP per km.
Above picture shows a typical Jeepney - the most common public transportation all over the Philippines for goods and persons - public or service - "service" means ONE Jeepney just for you upon arrangement like a taxi but NO meter - prices for "service Jeepney" always to be pre-arranged !!!.
Tricycles for your individual short trip
Thousands of tricycle drive around the country day and night with goods and persons ...
A tricycle is a modified small ( usually 150 to 180 cc ) motorcycle with a sidecar - good up to MANY persons !! ;-)
how many depends .. sometimes 5 in the sidecar and on back seat of motor cycle plus another one on top of the roof ...
Fees are regulated - you may arrange in advance - you may calculate approximately 6 PHP per km as a guideline for a single person.
In very remote provincial areas, hill or mountain areas, you may find modified adapted versions for public transportation. In a remote province of Zamboanga del Norte - island of Mindanao I have have seen / used modified motorcycles with extended back seat to accommodate 1 passenger on the gas tank in front of the driver and 2 passengers behind the driver ...
Final conclusion about transportation in the Philippines
There are only a few countries ( from the 40 or so worldwide i worked or visited so far ) that have such a smooth day and night public transportation system like we enjoy here in the Philippines. As a tourist or foreigner living here all transportation from air travel to individual taxi, Jeepney or Tricycle - all are very affordable compared to European prices.
Traveling in the Philippines is easy, safe, comfortable and fun. Enjoy ! So easy that most of the time i always travel without any prior bookings or arrangements ... The choice offered is abundant and you always arrive safely and on time at your destination.
When coming here for a longer period or for good - take your time to travel and explore some of the various islands and provinces to find the really nicest spot for you.
