Bus – Manila to Samar
It is one long bus ride from Manila to Samar. If you have patience and are not in a hurry you can get there for less than 1000 pesos.
Be sure to bring along a jacket if you are going on any long bus rides. At night with the AC running full blast it can get uncomfortably cold especially in the mountains.
The fare from Manila to Samar on South Bound was 950 pesos which I think included the ferry crossing from Luzon to Samar.
Somehow I lost the tickets and had to pay 90 pesos extra.
It is best to leave from Pasay in Manila because most of the south bound buses leave from this part of town.
Victory Liner is just across the street from PP Liner, South Bound and several others. Pasay is near the airport and traffic crawls most of the time during the day.
Buses leave day and night to Leyte and Samar. You can even travel all the way to Davao in Mindanao by bus if you love punishment. Basically you are only limited by your endurance and how much crap you can take.
Vendors jump on the bus as soon as you stop and block the aisles making it hard to get on and off but it’s their job.
These buses stop at their company restaurants along the way every 3 or 4 hours giving you a chance to stretch and use the toilets.
The food isn’t too bad and they have instant noodles and hot drinks you can take on the bus.
There are ferries that the buses drive onto to get from island to island. The weather was quite rough when we arrived at the crossing from Luzon to Samar. The ferry was rising and falling with the waves making it very difficult to board or get off.
The truck drivers would time it so they would get half way on and stop and wait for the next flat spell when they would then gun it and come flying on board the ship.
One of the trucks fell off and got damaged when they tried to offload but were out of sync with the waves. The port decided to suspended crossings till morning.
The trip took about a day and a half because we lost a lot of time waiting for the weather to subside so we could get across.
The ferry still shuddered every time we hit the oncoming waves and it didn’t seem all that safe on that junky old boat but they just turn up the volume on the karaoke machine and no one seemed to notice.
If you are not in a hurry and don’t forget to bring a jacket the bus can be tolerable but not very comfortable.
Philippines
update: Ultrabus charged 809 pesos when I made the trip last week (sept 2007)
The fares seem to vary greatly up to 1300 peso for no apparent reason.
All include the ferry crossing ticket between Luzon and Samar.
… love the philippines but hate those bus rides!
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
Hi,
You did not mention how many hours is the travel. I am going on the same way expect i will come from Cebu
Hello Jobette,
I am guessing around 18 to 36 hours – depends on the weather (ferry crossing at Allen-Matnog).
The quality of the bus etc.
Why not fly from Cebu to Manila – it might work out to be cheaper? (and much more comfortable – that bus ride is a killer!)
Cebu Pacific often has promo rates.
cheers
dp
magkano poh pamasahe papunta ng samar!!hanggan san poh ba ung bus sa samar
jb
The costs seem to vary between 900 pesos and 1400 pesos. I don’t know why there is such a wide range in fares but that’s the way it is.
cheers
dp
how much po b ung payment ng bus??.. at meron po bang bus n papuntang calbayog samar??.. nid po kc ng parents q pumunta calbayog city samar.. i hope n meron pong sa2got sa tanong q!!.. thank you and God Bless..
Hello Alex
The liners all have different rates. They seem to vary from 950 pesos to 1400 pesos.
You will just have to go to the terminal and check with several different companies.
Happy trip!
dp
san po ba address ng terminal sa pasay papuntang palompon?asap answer po
magkamo n poh ba ang pamasahe ngaun from cubao to sogod leyte,
may additional charge ba if may mga dalang gamit
allowed po ba sa bus nio if may dala na refrigerator?
reply asap
Hi Rose,
I can’t help you out on this one – I never took a bus from Manila to Sogod. Probably you could travel on one of the Manila to Davao buses and get off in Sogod but I really don’t know.
If you have a bit of cargo there will likely be an additional charge for that.
dp
hello.. my nanny will go home this end november. we are from angeles city pampanga. and i dont know how to go or where i can find the terminal bus going to samar (tapos roro nalang siya) i will accompany her po sana till pasay or where the terminal is located.
can you help me to find our way to the bus terminal going to samar?
thanks alot lhea..
Helo Ihea,
You can take Victory Lines to Manila. Cross over the overpass to the other side of the highway and there are 5 to 7 bus companies there that make the Samar – Leyte run.
dp
hi again, so don po mismo mgstop sa terminal nila ang victory liner na sasakyan namin? then walking distance nalang po non papuntang mga bus terminal going to samar?
thanks and brgds,
lhea
Hello Ihea,
The south bound bus terminals are within walking distance but you have to cross the highway using the overpass – if you have heavy bags you will want to use a porter. Taxis can not get to the other side of the street because there is a concrete divider running down the center of the highway.
dp
we go to december 20
wow. you really have the guts to try all of this. thanks for the info’s and for answering the questions of my countrymen. kudos to you and more power to your blog. :D
magkano po ba nag fare ngayon galing ng manila papuntang catarman Northern samar????? tnx po
land trip is not that bad at all… u are able to see different people and different faces…
pls…advise me how much the fare from manila to Liloan Southern leyte and do you have fare discout to children below 15 years old….pls. reply me as soon as possible pls….
Hello :)
I think that you will find fares between 1100 – 1300 pesos to Ormoc from Manila. You will have to check several bus liners to find the best prices beyond that point. Most buses going to Liloan are probably continuing onwards to Mindanao using the ferry at Liloan. The buses are driven on to the ferry and the passengers ride on the upper decks of the ferries.
maybe the fare between Manila and Liloan would be around 1500 pesos but I do not have specifics on that. You will have to ask around …
happy trip
dp
My wife wants to go to Samar to visit her father side relatives. Thanks for the post it gave me an idea on how to get there.
I forgot to ask how many hours would it consume to travel from Manila to Samar by Bus.
Hello Adam
That bus trip can take up to 24 hours and even longer if you must wait in Matnog a long time for the ferry that takes the bus from Matnog, Luzon to Allen, Samar.
dp
magkano pamasahe cubao to maasin leyte
Hello po…. pwede ko po ba malaman kung magkanu ang pamasahe from calbayog city to manila? kasama na po yong sa barko at bus… please po i need a reply… maraming salamat po.. :D
Hello dexter,
You will have to check with several bus liners in Pasay. I do not have a fare schedule for all the bus liners that are heading south to Samar – sorry. The costs seem to vary from bus to bus so you just have to ask to keep asking a few different bus operators to get the best price.
dp
Ohh… thank you a lot for your response. :D godbless!
hi! how much na po kaya ang fare from samar, leyte to manila
my nakuha kc ako nanny and humihingi sya 2k para sa pamasahe.
thanks!
Hello beth,
I thing the fare will be around 950 – 1,100 pesos but it will depend upon where in Samar you are going.
Just check with several bus liners. They are located right next to each other.
happy trip
dp
gud day! how much npo pamasahe frm manila to catbalogan at san po terminal d2 s manila? tnx po..