My wife and I are planning on going back to Dumaguete in a couple of months (her hometown). I read recent posts about the LTO having checkpoints and requiring helmets. Is that true? Do the places that rent bikes provide them? What is the most recent rental price per day/week? We haven't been back for 5 or 6 years and I am sure things have changed... Also, i don't have a PI or International License, however my California license has a motorcycle endorsement. Will that be a problem?
You should have no problem renting a bike here with your US driver's liscence I'd think. Far as helmets though they aren't required (or well not enforced). Almost nobody wears helmets including the police. There are a dozen bike rental places downtown pretty much Honda Waves. Rental costs are usually 700 a day I've been told but its also negotiable at some of the places.
Motorcycle rates and the fun of riding in Dumaguete I rented a motorcycle here for almost a month as I checked out what type to buy. The rental price varied, as I negotiated. I usually rented for about a week at a time. It came out to about 233 a day. That included a helmet when they had one. That was the guy working on the table on the ocean side of the street between the Yamaha Dealer and the Cathedral. There is a larger, brighter rental on the corner there but they charged more. Remember everything is negotiable, even going through a check point...read on. One week after purchasing my motorcycle, I ran into a check point. My California Drivers license I handed the fellow was 16 years expired....no problem. I had no helmet....no problem....I had no paper work on my new motorcycle...no problem. The officer's concern: Was I going to marry a beautiful Filipina? I had a young Filipina lady on the bike at the time. So I think the only criteria is that you have Filipina with you. I try to carry a hot Filipina at all times now, so I do not have to wear a hot helmet, carry paper work, or have a current license, but if you had a non Filipina wife on your motorcycle you may get arrested...lol. Be careful when you ride, assuming the trike drivers are blind, the motorcycle drives are on shabo (sp?) and the bus and truck drives get points for running people of the street. I have found the most dangerous position on the road is behind an empty trike, as they are only looking for a passenger and will wipe a "U turn" in front of you without looking, or turn any direction for that potential passenger. I find the safest position is closely behind a Ceres bus as not one tries to turn in front of you as they plow a path down the road. i use to race sports cars, but driving a motorcycle in Dumaguete is a lot more exciting and dangerous. There is another thread on "double passing" here in Dumaguete, which you should read
So far the LTO road checks are exceptionally, from my own experience in the last 2 years. But this is The PH so changes from one day on the other day still possible. With respect to the rental price of a motorbike. Never did it in Dumaguete but even on Panglao, Camiguin and Siquijor island, to refer to some touristic places, I never paid more than 350 peso a day for a Honda XRM. There are places in Dumaguete that have motorbike for rent against 200 peso a day, when you are willing to rent for a minimum period of one month.
The going rate for bike rental is P300/day, less if you negotiate well. There are sporadic checkpoints, avoid Sibulan if you wish to not wear a helmet. You can legally drive on your California license for a period of 90 days. How long were you looking at renting a bike? Larry
We will be staying 3 weeks in PI, but only two weeks in Dumaguete. Gotta see her Brother and Sister in Pampanga first...
