Island Hopping to Balabac

Island hopping in the Philippines – with a motorbike  is one way to see a lot of the country.

Here is an account of a trip from Ormoc, Leyte to Balabac, Palawan.

A typhoon was approaching so I decided not to delay and got on the next boat from Ormoc to Cebu City. This is a run that I have taken at least twenty times.

The boat leaves at 10 pm and you can sleep on the way across.

Lite Shipping

Lite shipping arrives early the following morning around 4:30 am.

Passage is around 350 pesos for a walk on. The motorbike charges were 560 pesos plus a 55 peso port fee. I got off the ferry and drove down to Car Car and around the southern end of Cebu Island to Bato.

Maayo Shipping makes the run over to Negros island for 190 pesos plus 47 peso passenger fare. It is about a half hour trip. I decided to stay in Dumaguete for the night.

Maayo Shipping

After dallying along the west coast of Negros for a few days I headed to Bacolod and caught the Tri Star Mega Link ferry to Iloilo on Panay.

This boat actually unloads in Dumangas around 30 dusty kilometers from town for some reason.

I strongly suggest not going to this port if you are on foot because it is in the middle of nowhere and there are plenty of ferries that go directly to Iloilo.

The fare was 190 pesos for bike and rider and the port tax was 93 pesos.

I had to hang around in Iloilo for a few days to catch the next connection with Miligrosa-J to Puerto Princessa, Palawan. The charges are around 1,000 peso for the bike and 1,000 pesos for passage.

It was a good deal because I got to sleep two nights on the boat. I really love traveling at sea!

The weird thing was that I thought we would arrive in Puerto Princessa the following morning, but I got my wires crossed because we landed up at Cuyo Island instead.

It really worked out great because there were showers on the boat and I had only brought enough food for one day. Cuyo Island is a real gem and the people are a friendly lot.

I purchased some barracuda steaks, rice, and drinks and got back on the boat before the crowd arrived so I could take another shower. Walking around under that scorching sun really makes you sweat.

We arrived in Puerto Princessa the next morning. The boat was too far beneath the level of the dock to unload using a ramp – hence the hoist.

It took all morning to get my clearance and gate pass because the office workers “lost” my paperwork. Security finally went in there and found it for me.

Gary, Cheryl and I headed south after spending the night at their place in Puerto.

We stayed in Nara and then headed down to Rio Tuba.

Rio Tuba at the southern end of Palawan.

Passengers and bike are 350 pesos each.

We just took my bike but only went 28 kilometers on Balabac because the trail was just too muddy.

The wind and rain gave us a good beating on the way over and I was soaked. A  lot of salt spray swept over that bike which really is not good because it will cause corrosion. Try to wash your motorbike completely with fresh water after exposure to salt water.

Balabac Isand