Cebu to Negros ferry: timetable, fares and which crossing to use, verified July 2026
What are the current ferry times and fares from Cebu to Negros, and which crossing should you use?
Short answer
Two RORO ferry crossings link south Cebu with Negros Oriental: Liloan (Santander) to Sibulan, right beside Dumaguete, and Bato (Samboan) to Tampi, a little further up the Negros coast. As of July 2026, Maayo Shipping sails the Liloan-Sibulan crossing nine times a day in each direction, first trip 4:30 AM and last trip 10:30 PM, and the regular passenger fare is ₱120; a passenger-only fast craft also works the same corridor in roughly 20 to 30 minutes. We verified the timetable and fare against the operator’s own announcements and live booking portal in July 2026, and we date this page every time we re-check it.
If you have tried to look up the Cebu to Dumaguete ferry online, you have probably found three different timetables on three different sites, most of them out of date. This page exists to fix that: the times and fares below are checked against Maayo Shipping’s own announcements and their live booking portal, and we state the verification date so you know exactly how fresh the information is.
There are actually two crossings from south Cebu, not one, and which you should use depends on how you are coming down the island, and the map and the local advice below sort that out in a minute of reading. The drive south is the long part of the journey; the crossing itself is the easy bit.
Liloan ↔ Sibulan daily departures
Maayo Shipping RORO ferry (carries vehicles and passengers). Nine sailings a day, every day, departure times are the same from both ports in both directions.
- 4:30 AMFirst trip
- 6:00 AM
- 9:00 AM
- 12:00 NN
- 3:00 PM
- 6:00 PM
- 7:30 PMAdded May 2026
- 9:00 PM
- 10:30 PMLast trip
Timetable per Maayo Shipping’s announcement of 1 July 2026 restoring the full regular schedule, cross-checked against their live booking portal on 7 July 2026. Sailings can be re-timed or cancelled in rough weather or for maintenance, so confirm with the operator close to your travel date.
The two crossings, and which one to use
Liloan (Santander), on Cebu’s south-east tip, crosses to Sibulan, effectively a northern suburb of Dumaguete: the city centre is 15 to 20 minutes from the pier and Dumaguete’s airport is minutes away. Bato (Samboan), around the corner on Cebu’s south-west coast, crosses to Tampi in San Jose, further up the Negros coast road. Both are Maayo Shipping RORO crossings that take cars and motorbikes as well as passengers.
Coming down Cebu’s west side by bus? Cross at Liloan
The buses on that side run to Liloan, and it is the crossing with the verified nine-sailing timetable above, plus a passenger-only fast craft on the same corridor if you are travelling without a vehicle.
Coming down Cebu’s east side by bus? Cross Bato to Tampi
Almost none of the buses coming down the east side of Cebu run into the Liloan terminal. Stay on to Bato instead, cross to Tampi, and pick up a bus (or your driver) on the Negros side.
In a private car? Either pier works
A private transfer goes to whichever pier suits your sailing. For Dumaguete itself, Liloan-Sibulan lands you closest, and it is the timetable we have verified. We time the drive down to the boat you want.
Bato-Tampi times and fares
Maayo Shipping runs this crossing too, but we have not yet verified its current timetable and rates the way we have for Liloan-Sibulan, so we do not print them. Check at the pier or on book.maayoshipping.com; we will add verified times here next.
Travelling light? There is also a fast craft
A passenger-only fast craft runs Liloan-Sibulan in about 20 to 30 minutes. No vehicles, for a car or motorbike you want the RORO timetable above.
Fares, as of July 2026
Regular passenger fare: ₱120
Verified live on Maayo Shipping’s booking portal on 7 July 2026. Pay at the pier ticket counter, or when booking online.
Discounted fares
Discounts exist for eligible passengers (students, senior citizens and PWD are the standard categories on Philippine ferries), but we have not verified the current amounts. Bring a valid ID and confirm at the counter.
Vehicles and motorbikes
Vehicle rates change more often than passenger fares and we have not verified the current amounts. Check directly with Maayo Shipping before travelling with a car or motorbike.
How to book
Tickets are sold at the pier on the day, and for most mid-day crossings that is all you need. Maayo Shipping also runs an online booking portal at book.maayoshipping.com where you can see the live schedule and seat availability per sailing and book ahead. We have used it ourselves, and it is worth doing for the first and last boats of the day, or whenever your onward plans depend on making a specific crossing.
Getting to the port (the Cebu side is the long part)
Cebu City or Mactan to Liloan port (what we arrange)
The drive down Cebu’s east coast to Liloan port at Santander is roughly 150 km from the city and takes about 3.5 to 4.5 hours (4 to 5 from the airport), through Carcar, Argao and Oslob. We time the run to the sailing you want, with a comfortable buffer, and you can break the journey with a whale-shark morning at Oslob on the way.
The Negros side
From Sibulan pier it is only 15 to 20 minutes into Dumaguete. Our sister site negros.travel arranges the Negros-side transfer, a driver meeting your boat at the pier, and its own verified copy of this timetable lives there too.
Public transport
Ceres buses serve both sides of the crossing, and tricycles cover the short hop between the piers and the nearby towns. It works, it just takes longer and needs more juggling with luggage and boat timings, and mind the east-side/west-side bus advice above.
Why so many ferry timetables online are wrong
Schedules on this crossing genuinely change. In May 2026 Maayo Shipping ran a reduced timetable for several weeks, then restored the full nine-sailing schedule from 1 July 2026. Any page written during the reduced period, and any page that copied one, now lists boats that do not sail, and pages older than that miss the current times entirely.
That is why this page tells you when it was last verified and against what. When the operator changes the schedule, we update the table and the date rather than leaving a stale copy online.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the ferry from Cebu to Dumaguete?
The passenger-only fast craft from Liloan (Santander) to Sibulan takes about 20 to 30 minutes; the vehicle-carrying RORO sails the same short strait and takes somewhat longer. The drive down Cebu to Liloan port is the long part of the journey, so allow around 3.5 to 4.5 hours from Cebu City, or 4 to 5 from Mactan airport.
How much is the ferry from Liloan to Sibulan?
The regular passenger fare is ₱120 as of July 2026, verified on Maayo Shipping’s booking portal. Discounted fares exist for students, seniors and PWD with valid ID; the current amounts vary, so confirm at the counter.
What time are the first and last ferries?
As of July 2026 the first sailing is 4:30 AM and the last is 10:30 PM, with nine sailings a day in each direction. Departure times are the same from both Liloan and Sibulan.
Do I need to book the ferry in advance?
For most crossings you can simply buy a ticket at the pier. Booking ahead on Maayo Shipping’s online portal makes sense for the first and last sailings of the day, and whenever a flight or tour on the other side depends on a specific boat.
Which company operates the Liloan to Sibulan ferry?
The timetable on this page is Maayo Shipping’s RORO ferry schedule for Liloan-Sibulan, verified in July 2026. Maayo also runs the Bato-Tampi crossing. Check the operator’s own announcements or booking portal for the latest advisories before you travel.
Is there a direct ferry from Cebu City to Dumaguete?
Slower overnight ferries do run direct from Cebu City port, but most travellers take the faster land-and-short-ferry route: drive down to Liloan at Cebu’s southern tip, then the short crossing to Sibulan beside Dumaguete.