Travelling to Guimaras from Bacolod via Pulupandan to San Lorenzo and from Guimaras to Iloilo via Jordan to Ortiz then to Bacolod

Philippines has a lot to offer in terms of island hopping. Why is that so? Because Philippines is an archipelago with an estimation of 7,107 islands. Three of the islands that I hopped in were Bacolod City of Negros Island, Guimaras Island and Iloilo City of Panay Island. So, if you wanna see the wonders of these islands, these are some of the details to get to these.

The route

From Cebu City to Bacolod City via Toledo and San Carlos
My screenshot of my real-time GPS in the pump boat going to Guimaras from Bacolod via Pulupandan and San Lorenzo. Screenshot on June 2, 2017

Screenshot of real-time GPS from Iloilo RORO port to Bacolod port by SuperCat ferry.

Real-time screenshot of GPS in Bacolod going to Manila by plane

How to get to Bacolod City, Negros Occidental?

From Manila (the capital city of the Philippines situated in Luzon)

Option 1: Fly by booking to any Philippine budget airlines like Cebu Pacific. Cebu Pacific has 7 flights to Bacolod starting at 4:20am and the last flight is at 9:25 pm.  It takes about one hour. 

Option 2: Fleet by booking to any budget ferries on this website. 2Go Travel ship departure schedules are Mondays at 10 am, Tuesdays at 9am, Thursdays at 9am and Fridays at 9am. Arrival to Briedco Pier in Bacolod is after 20 hours.

From Cebu (in Visayas Region)

Option 1:  Fly by booking to any Philippine budget airlines like Cebu Pacific.It takes only less than an hour like for about 50 minutes. However, there are only two flights available in Cebu Pacific at 5:50am and 4 pm. 

As soon as you landed:

The airport of Bacolod is located in Silay which is 30 minutes from Bacolod City. There are any kinds of public transportation outside. Unlike Cebu, the meter taxi fare is not really 'metered'. The drivers will tell how much they would want to be paid. We paid P500 as we had big luggages that time. But, not all drivers are like that. Just try to negotiate if in case you happen to encounter some. 

Option 2: Travel by bus and ship from Cebu City via Toledo and San Carlos to Bacolod. For more detailed information about this trip with schedules, expenses and tips, check out my post in this link. This takes 6-7 hours.


From Iloilo

Travel duration: 1 hour

Travel Schedules: (SuperCat of 2Go )
7:30 AM
10:30 AM
2:00 PM
5:00 PM

I recommend SuperCat as I felt comfortable during the travel and it is the fastest way to get to Bacolod. I can say that they have a better service in giving information about travel safety and entertaining passengers inside the ferry. We took the one with aircon class which was P290/passenger. 1st week of June of 2017 was still hot so, we opted for it. I checked the economy class on their e-ticket site which cost (net) P169.64.  

Weesam, Oceanjet are some of the fast craft to choose from, too.

Terminal fee is asked before boarding.


How to get to Guimaras?

From Bacolod to Pulupandan, Negros Occidental

  1. Ride a jeepney going to Libertad market 
  2. In front of Savemore, you will see a a terminal in going to Pulupandan.
  3. In Pulupandan, ride a tricycle heading to Pulupandan Wharf for Guimaras fleets. 
  1. ride a jeepney going to Bacolod South Bus Terminal/ CERES Bus Terminal
  2. Ride a bus that will pass by Pulupandan. Fare is P20 in Ceres Bus Liners. It takes about 45 minutes.
  3. Then, when you are there, ride a tricycle in going to the pump boat wharf or the RORO one.
  1. take a cab to Pulupandan Wharf. Cost depending on the taxi if it is 'metered' or 'negotiated'.

From Pulupandan to San Lorenzo, Guimaras

Pump boat tickets given by the collector (seen in the background) and will be taken by the Philippine Coast Guard as he says your number before boarding the boat.

Pulupandan port for pump boats


Travel schedule differs depending on the Philippine coast guard advice due to the weather and sea conditions. But they travel at least after one hour. Pump boats can accommodate around 40 passengers and can travel within 45 minutes. These boats can be hired, too. In our case, we used these even though we waited for almost 3 hours waiting for a boat and the coast guard signal. It was around 11am to 12noon before we rode the boat. There were a lot of passengers choosing this route, so, the boat was filled in fast. Fare is P90.

From Pulupandan to Sibunag, Guimaras


RORO ship schedule from pulupandan, negros occidental to Sibunag, Guimaras as of May 19, 2018

1. Ride a jeepney to Pulupandan from Bacolod. Just around 25.00 Php jeepney fare from Bacolod to Pulupandan,
2. then get off at the plaza of Pulupandan
3. ride a tricycle going to Pantalan or to RORO and you will get to the port going to Sibunag, Guimaras.


From Iloilo


  1. Head to Ortiz Wharf
  2. Take a pump boat to Jordan, Guimaras. It takes 15 minutes. There are pumpboats that travels every 15minutes between 5:30am and 7:30pm.
  1. Head to Iloilo River Wharf
  2. Ride the Montenegro Ferry which has travel schedule at least once in every two hours from 5am to 6pm and takes 45 minutes to get to Jordan RORO port.

How to get to Iloilo?


From Jordan, Guimaras


  1. Go to Jordan Wharf
  2. Take a pump boat to Ortiz Wharf which will fleet for 15 minutes. But cost around P60. June 3, 2017, I had a migraine early morning at 6am, but this was the fare I remembered which I listed down on my phone. They have regular trips every 15 minutes.

Summary of fares



  by flight         P2000 estimated
  by bus            P1000 less



  by bus    P20
  by jeep   P20 estimated
  by taxi    P500 (drivers negotiation)




  by pumpboat  P90
  by RORO       P100




tricycle     negotiation - paid P200
jeep          (hard to wait for a jeep)




  by pumpboat  P60 estimated




  by tricycle   negotiation (but it is 10-minute travel) - paid P100




  by fast ship  P290

TOTAL: (depends on your preference, but I think it costs less than P2000 for a budget)



Check out the links for places and things you can do in Bacolod:

1. Visit Mambukal Resort and its 7 waterfalls
2. Discover Silay City for their arts and history
3. Have your Philippine passport made or renewed in (Department of Foreign Affairs) DFA Bacolod
4. Stay in Bacolod's hotels that are near to DFA -Bacolod in Robinsons Mall

also in Guimaras:

Island hopping and discovering the beauty of Guimaras can be seen on this link.

and in Cebu:

1. Eat at some of the best restaurants/places in Cebu
2. Travel around the city of Cebu
3. Travel to Cebu and Bacolod by land and sea
4. See the sunrise as you climb the highest peak in Cebu island, Osmena Peak and tour around other Dalaguete and Alcoy
5. Try scuba diving in Mactan Island

If you can travel to Leyte:

  1. Travelling to Kalanggaman Island in Palompon, Leyte

If you want to know about Manila, Luzon in the Philippines:

  1. Ride the bus from NAIA terminal 3 in Manila going to Alabang
  2. Get birth, marriage and/or birth certificate and also CENOMAR via online 
  3. Travel to the Science City of Munoz in Nueva Ecija
  4. Stay in Lucena City in Quezon Province

If you want to see my international trip, check this link:

1. Eat and Drink Authentic Pho and Vietnamese Coffee in a chillax ambience of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

Thanks for reading my post! I really do hope that this information helps you in deciding on your travel routes.


Ready yourself with information and gears, set your heart to be brave, go to different islands, and share your experience to inspire and help others.


Many thanks and have a safe and blissful travels,

Sarah

References:
my sister-in-law who is a local of Pulupandan
https://bacolodpages.com/by-bus
http://www.bacolodcity.gov.ph/fare_rate.htm
https://superferrypromofare.com/montenegro-lines-departure-schedules-ticket-prices-and-routes/

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