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
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..?
As of this moment the port not yet operated, i dont know when, but it is good for us who settle along side the cost, coz we were protected from waves and the mooson wind coming from the EAST of surigao.
Hi everyone…
I just want to ask, how much do I need to prepare to cross a car from LILOAN to LIPATA ad vice versa?
or is there a ferry in SAN RICARDO already?
because the last time we were in san ricardo last november 2010, the port is not yet operational. any updates? tnx
hi guys,can you please give us an update at San Ricardo Ferry schedule please we had our plan to use this ferry station for our trip from samar to surigao soon,or which is much better in liloan ferry station??please advice
Helo rico,
I think that it would be best if you take the ferry from Liloan – I am not sure if the ferry from San Ricardo is running on a regular schedule.
dp
good day to all…please can anybody give us an update here of San Ricardo Ferry Terminal,is all the ferries operational now from San Ricardo to Lipata-Surigao and vice versa?thanks and more power!!
Yes,san ricardo port is now operational and thire are several trips of ferries to lipata-san ricardo port,it only takes 45 mins. to travel..there are 6 trips everyday so you must use the short alternative way…
yes,try the san ricardo-lipata route it is not hassle to travel because of a short distance…it is regularly running everyday and has 6 trips a day..
Hello Kent,
Thanks the update – I have never actually taken the ferry across from San Ricardo to Mindanao because it was not operational yet the times I was down there.
I was not aware that the ferry was making the run yet – Do you have a phone number for them or is it primarily private pumpboats making the trip across?
Is there a RORO (car carrying ferry) in operation down there yet?
The ferries from Liloan, Leyte are pretty good and can take heavy vehicles from motorbikes to buses. The road down to San Ricardo is very windy and there are no places to stay if you do not make a boat connection. I hear that all the buses still go from Liloan instead of driving down to San Ricardo.
…but that is a beautiful drive :)
thanks
dp
dear dp,
I was there last week at San Ricardo, Benit ferry station, it took me 1 hr 30 min to cross to Lipata, Surigao City. The road was excellent except in Pintuyan wherein there is a stiff mountain you’ll encounter (bitukang manok) make sure your brakes are working well. The terminal was not crowded. there were few Philtranco buses and 10 wheeler trucks i saw there. they are charging 2,100. for SUV cars and 150 per passenger driver is free of charge. Just a reminder if yo are travelling by night from Surigao to Leyte make sure you fuel tanks are full because i have’nt seen any single gasoline station not until i reached Tacloban. The shedule of trips daily are :
Benit, San Ricardo- Lipata,Surigao City
2 am
6 am
2 pm
6 pm
Lipata, Surigao-Benit, San Ricardo
4 am
8 am
4 pm
8 pm
contact numbers are:
(086)2316245
09228897064
09175971182
more power,
enrico
Hi Enrico,
Thanks for the information. if we plan to take on the 2pm Roro trip to Lipata, what would be the safe time for us to be at the benin port, including processing of paper and fees for the car.
Thanks
Ed
dear ed,
better to be there at least 1 hr before the schedule trip,the port is not too crowded so no need to rush,as we arrived at the port there are some good kababayan’s there to help you accessing your papers just give them a tip(pang kape)..
why it was named after the municipal of san ricardo???where in fact it was build and located in BENIT which has its own address code….???
Gud day everyone….pwede ko b makuha ang contact no. ng ultra bus terminal ng cubao or any busese Manila to Liloan Leyte?plssss reply me asap ….tnx….
magkano po kya pamasahe from manila to san ricardo sa bus po? sana may sumagot…plssssss tnx
Hello yadz
… not sure the cost
Most buses use the port of Liloan near Sogod. They are usually on the way to Surigao, Butuan, CDO or Davao. I doubt that any buses have San Ricardo as a final destination but I suppose that you could get off there if a bus pass through there. San Ricardo is a rather small community and is a bit off the beaten path.
I have not yet seen any buses down there yet but have not visited the Pintuyan peninsula in a long time. Any readers have and update?
I think that most of the buses will use one of the ferries from Liloan which is much further north near Sogod. San Ricardo is way at the tip of the Pintuyan Peninsula. I have not yet taken that ferry :)
Local transport is limited once you get further south of Liloan.
dp
Hi
How long is the car/motorbike ride from Tacloban down to the new ferry terminal approximately? And how long from Liloan?
Cheers,
Daniel
Hello Daniel,
I am guessing that it would take about 5 hours to ride from Tacloban to San Ricardo by bike. You would likely stop for a while at the Agas Agas Bridge on the way. It is well worth the trip.
Also driving down to the tip of the Pintuyan Peninsula is very beautiful but the road has some tight turns so drive carefully ! Take rain gear because rain is very common. My guess is that it would take an hour to drive from Liloan to San Ricardo. It is much easier to just take a ferry from Liloan – they are more frequent and run about 4 trips a day. There is no accommodation near San Ricardo either but there are several hotels in Sogod and some small places in Liloan to stay if you choose. I have also stayed in Pintuyan several times – for me it was ok.
I have not yet taken the ferry from San Ricardo but have done the trip from Liloan many times.
I am also not sure of the schedule from the San Ricardo terminal but think that the ferry makes only one morning trip a day from that point. If anyone has done that trip recently please advice – thank you …
dp
Hi DP,
Thanks for the quick response. What’s with Enrico’s entry above, indicating 4 ferries a day from Benit to Lipata?
I’ll make it dependent on the conditions whether to check it out or not. But great to have a good idea about travel times and potential places to stay!
Cheers,
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
I have only taken the ferry from Liloan . I don’t have first hand experience about taking the ferry from the San Ricardo Terminal yet :)
dp