Sea travel in the Philippines

Being an archipelago, the most economical means of transportation in the Philippines when traveling from one island to another is by ferries and ships. I’ve had my share of being onboard motorboats during my trips to nearby smaller islands like when we had an overnight stay in Lakawon and Jomabo. These trips usually take about 45 minutes or so. Going to Cebu, Iligan, Manila and farther provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao is generally by bigger vessels. Travel time from Bacolod to Manila usually takes about 22 hours via Superferry and from Cebu to Iligan about 12 hours.

When college life took us to Cebu, my siblings and I became regulars of Bacolod-Cebu bus trips which taught me to be more practical when preparing for the long trip ahead such as wearing simple and comfortable clothing and keeping my bags as light as possible. Lately we have experienced the convenience of inter-island travel with the van where we loaded it onboard a barge or inter-island vessel in our recent trips to and from Cebu.

My sea travel experiences have brought many wonderful memories. I remember when we woke up early and drowsily went up the ship’s sun deck and watched the sun rise magnificently from the horizon. I also like standing by the side railings and looking downwards at the splash of waves as the ship is moving forward. If you look longer enough in the seascape, you could catch a rare sight of some fishes frolicking around.

Photo credits: Sunday by the Sea by ideasnpink