Ferries to Cebu City

Cebu City is on the island of Cebu and is the hub of ferry traffic in the Visayas. From here you can reach 11 destinations, including Tagbilaran on Bohol, Cagayan de Oro and Ozamiz on Mindanao, Iloilo City on Panay, and Manila and Batangas on Luzon. Together the connections add up to as many as 17 departures a day, with crossings taking between 4 and 47.5 hours. The port is served by 2GO Travel and Trans Asia Shipping Lines.

Getting there and the terminal

Cebu doesn't have a single ferry terminal but several piers, and which one applies to you depends on the shipping company. 2GO Travel operates from Pier 4 in Cebu and describes it as easily reached from the main road. Trans Asia Shipping Lines, on the other hand, checks its passengers in at CPA Terminal 2 at Pier 3. Both belong to the Cebu Baseport run by the Cebu Port Authority, but they're separate facilities with their own entrances. If your ticket shows a different number than you expected, go with the number, not with habit.

Check-in

Trans Asia Shipping Lines requires passengers to check in at the terminal at least two hours before the scheduled departure, and reserves the right to cancel tickets if someone hasn't checked in 30 minutes before departure. The process in Cebu runs from the ticket check at the entrance through baggage screening and the shipping company's counter to the boarding gate; from there a bus takes you to the ship. A valid official photo ID is mandatory, and the ticket is non-transferable.