By Air Getting to airport early enough to check in and get though security = 1 hr Flight is delayed = average 1 hr Flight = 45 minutes Getting through arrivals terminal and then waiting in line for taxi = 1 hr Ride from Mactan to Downtown Cebu = 1 hr Total = 4 hr 45 min By Land Fastcraft from Sibulan to Liloan (including wait time) = 45 min Ceres bus from Liloan to Downtown Cebu = 4 hour Total = 4 hr 45 minutes Such is my experience. Your mileage will vary.
I have heard there are now lots of roadworks on this route, with diversions via narrow barangay roads - anyone done it recently and knows the time taken?
It was 4 hours last Sunday. Remind me tomorrow evening and I'll tell you how long it took this week. Admittedly, it is a quicker trip if you catch the first ferry over on a Sunday morning OR it can be a lot longer if you get caught on a bad traffic day. So one result is not going to accurately describe how long the trip takes.
Sundays are by far the most preferable day to travel from Lilo An to Cebu city no matter using Ceres bus or your own 4 wheels. What is easier to compare is the difference in fare of various means of transport. Oceanjet nowadays charges 1500 peso for an OW Dumaguete - Cebu city (Tourist class) and even 2020 peso for Business class. Though Cebu Pacific can suffer some delays once in a while, Oceanjet is also not always on schedule. All in all Oceanjet is far overpriced, so I rather stick to my own 4 wheels which can be done in about 3,5 hours or less.
Done it last week, South terminal Cebu to Sibulan... 6 hours. plus 1 hour wait for the ferry, then trike to Dumaguete.
I normally do the night ferry to Cebu from Dumaguete and then the bus back. Was hoping for something a bit better w/o needing to fly but guess that's still it. Far as the bus to/from it ranges from 5-7 1/2 hours depending time of day and traffic along with whatever wait for the bus. From Cebu I would often take the noon or 1pm bus and wouldn't arrive back until 8pm give or take. 3am morning bus from Dumaguete though will often take you 5 hours total.
Our Daughter came home from Uni in Cebu last night, 10.30 night Ferry and was at home in Junob just before 6 am this morning 7.5 hours but safe, is there any real need for all this rushing I thought we are here because we left all that behind
Agree. When I decide to go somewhere I just go, no real thought needs to be put into it. There is almost always an option to get where I'm going when I want to go there. It's not as if I'm in a hurry or have to be somewhere at a certain time...and if that is the case I go a day early and stay in a pension house on the cheap then head back after I'm finished. Stressing about how to get to or achieve the stated goal in the Philippines will drive you insane. Just go with it.
It makes you think when reading about the Genoa bridge disaster who may have survived if they had perhaps not rushed. The lorry driver who stopped a few feet from the edge reported a car overtaking him just before the collapse - that car went over the edge. But, to destroy my own argument, there may have been some who by rushing were off the collapsed bridge when otherwise they would not have been. Security in life has no sure answers so both posters above must be correct - just slow down and enjoy it while you can.