The San Ricardo Ferry Terminal on the southern tip of Leyte has been completed.
The ferries are not yet running to Surigao in Mindanao but are scheduled to be shortly.
(This was written in May 2009)
This was part of a major upgrade project, making the trip by car or bus to Mindanao from Luzon so much easier and less time consuming than it was in the old days.
The recent improvements to the road system in the Philippines should make cross country transport much less painful.
The entire highway north to south in Samar has been surfaced with a hard top pavement for the first time within the past 12 months. It had been a hard core mud trail that disintegrated with every heavy rain but now it is almost a joy to drive.
A particularly dangerous stretch of highway in Leyte north of Sogod is now going to be safer to travel because the new Agas Agas bridge which bypasses the landslide area altogether. The previous road was cut perilously into an unstable and almost vertical slope. When heavy rains came the highway was often washed away. As of this writing (may 2009) it is still not quite yet complete.
The road south of Liloan to San Ricardo is a beautiful new concrete highway and it’s a beautiful drive but there are some sharp switchbacks to be aware of. This was a tough drive not too long ago.
Estimates are that the improvements in Leyte alone will cut 2 to 3 hours off a bus trip from Manila to Davao in Mindanao.
The improvements in Samar will greatly reduce the travel time through that province as well (on rainy days maybe even 5 or more hours).
Keep in mind that a bus trip from Manila to Davao will always be a nightmare, however. Domestic flights are cheap in the Philippines – especially if you take advantage of the promo fares.
San Ricardo Ferry Terminal
Climbing Mount Apo
General Santos
Growing Orchids
Judy's Resto Bar
Logging with Motorcycles
Mount Mayon
Balabac Island
Biri Island
Calbiga Cave
Capul Island
Mangrove Swamp Palawan
Mikes's Resort
Wood Boat to Manila Philippines
I traveled that road when it was a muddy trail, what an improvement!
I’m quite surprised and impressed! Certainly with the opening of the San Ricardo Ferry terminal business will resuscitate the once-progressive San Ricardo. I just hope the terminal building is designed to stay intact against the ultra-fierce typhoons that frequently ravage this place. -Al of Esperanza, San Ricardo (currently out of the country).
Hello Al,
Last time i was in Surigao they told me that the San Ricardo ferry is making one trip a day in the mornings.
The terminal at San Ricardo is really nice and looks impressive!
The only thing that might be a problem for buses is that there are some very sharp curves in the road that will be difficult for large vehicles to negotiate.
It is likely that heavy vehicles such as cargo trucks will continue to use the facility at Liloan. I am not sure what the buses will do, but there is definitely only room for one of them around those corners and the road is very steep as well. It will be a very tricky job to drive that road in the south the closer you get to San Ricardo.
It is steep enough that you have to use extra care even on a motorcycle. My feeling is that the buses will be better off using the Liloan terminal.
dp
interesting note:
Whalesharks often mill about off the point where the calm water meets the swirling current.
san ricardo ferry terminal to surigao city is taking only 45 minutes and it is safe to travel because of a short distance,and also ferry transport can triple their trip …so start thinking of it….
Hi James,
Thanks for the info – do you know what the current ferry schedule is?
thanks
dp
hey guys,
i’m a native of Surigao and residing currently somewhere in Manila and i’m glad to know the improvement if it’s real much more about the Allen -Tacloban highway….it was really a nightmare taking this road when we had our land trip last December 2008.
Furthermore, by having this San Ricardo ferry terminal on stream makes life a bit comfortable for motorist going to Mindanao.
thanks a lot for the info
Hi! dp,
Pls.let me know once they start the ferry service
from Benit to Lipata?
Thanks for the interesting articles and keep posting
those beautiful photos! If you have photos of towns
around Panaon, include them as well!
More power,
fred
Amazing daghan nman diay changes sa Southern Leyte…
Hi! dp,
or, anybody? I need the town fiesta dates of
Liloan, San Francisco, Pintuyan & San Ricardo.
If you know the dates (months/days) pls. let me
know by sending me an email.
Thanks & mabuhay! to all Panaonians!
fred
San Ricardo town fiesta this coming July 24 and 25,come and see the beatiful fiesta with amazing games and pizes…….see you their………….
Thanks james!
Do you know the fiesta dates of the other towns?
I missed the fiesta, hopefully next time around..?