Kalibo Transportation

If you are looking for reliable transportation rentals and tour packages in Boracay and nearby places, try and connect with Ms. Noralie Murphy of Southwest Tours Boracay, Inc. She answers queries promptly and can tailor-fit their company services to your requirements.

She helped us organize the bus (they also have smaller vehicles for rent) that took us from Caticlan to Kalibo and back during the Ati-atihan leg of the VT Philippine Meet at Boracay last January 2012. She arranged it so that we don't have to walk too far to and from the drop/pick-up point to the festival!

Zest Air is a philippines based airline that has it´s main hub in Kalibo and it has connections to many cities around the Philippines aswell as to several asian countries, including China And Korea.
If you are heading to Kalibo or any place in that area then you should certainly look at the Zest Air website as they tend to have very competitive fares.

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The chances are that if you fly into Kalibo International Airport you will be ehading for the island of Boracay. There is a quicker option of flying into Caticlan airport on the North coast which is much closer but I could not get a flight to there due to it being a festival weekend. However, travel onward is not a problem and travellers are well catered for.

The airport itself is pretty small and the baggage reclaim chaotic, with one tiny carousel servicing the three flights that had recently arrived. Having been finally reunited with my kit, I was looking for transportation to Boracay and there was no sho9rtage of options, everyone was touting for business, from coaches to minubuses to private taxis. I had been befriended by an Irish guy and his Filipina wife in the airport so I decided to stick with them on the principle that local knowledge is always useful.

The young lady, whose name I shamefully forget now, was quite sure that we should travel with an outfit called Southwest at a cost of 300 pesos to Boracay and it proved to be a good choice. Some operators were advertising 200 pesos but apparently that is only to the jetty in Caticlan and you have to buy your ferry ticket seperately so it works out about the same.

The bus was modern, air-conditioned and pretty comfortable. It is a 90 minute trip to Caticlan with one rest stop on the way and was uneventful. If you wish to use this carrier, their booking desk is just outside the door to the airport on the right as you exit.

For our recent trip, we flew from NAIA3 to Kalibo Airport via Cebu Pacific. We paid P7,778.24* already for 4 pax. This amount included the base fare, VAT, aviation security fee, web admin fee and insurance fee.

*Price differs; ours was based on a promo fare

From Boracay, we got the transportation package offered by Caticlan Boracay Transport MPC (CBTMPC) for P200/pax which already included boat pass and aircon van transfer. The terminal fee of P50 was to our account. After paying, a sticker was stuck on our bag/t-shirt so their personnel will easily recognize us. Upon reaching Caticlan Jetty Port, their men fetched us and got our bags. We only had to present our receipts.

I recommend this option to tourists for convenience. Regular boat ride is P25/pax and van from the Caticlan Jetty Port to Kalibo is P175. The total expense is the same (P200) and could be more if you pay porters P10/bag.

We got to Boracay via Cebu Pacific Air that landed in Caticlan Airport, but we went back to Manila via Zest Air at the Kalibo Airport. The Zest Air planes are bigger so they land and depart from Kalibo. (They cannot use the Caticlan runway.) You can opt to go to Boracay from Manila via Zest Air.

Plane Fare: P2,268/pax

The usual way to get about in Kalibo is by tricycle. This is a sidecar attatched to the side of a motorbike. It seems to be national passtime to see how many people it is possible to cram into one of these; I counted 12 the other day! The town is literally packed with them, and the two-stroke engines belch out clouds of smelly fumes into the atmosphere, contributing significantly to Kalibo's pollution problem. A short ride should cost you P5 - but it's always best to check first with the driver for trips of a longer distance - if you are a 'foreigner' you may end up being overcharged.

Van ride from the Caticlan Jetty Port is only 150pesos (as compared to the 250pesos going to Caticlan). However, there were a few passengers when we got there so we made do in riding the non-aircon van. I must say, it was a good thing we travelled during the habagat season so it wasn't so hot. We were a bit cramped at the last row (there were 3 guys and the big me).

Van ride going to Kalibo town proper is only 85 pesos though so if you feel like you'll arrive at the airport early, ask to drop by the town where you can eat at fast food joints like Jollibee or Greenwich Pizza.