Cebu.travel
The Chocolate Hills of Bohol at sunset
Private transfer · route guide

How do I get to Bohol from Cebu City?

Private vehicle and driver, with fuel, tolls and parking included

Drive time
~15-30 min drive, then ~2 hr fast ferry
Distance
short drive to Pier 1 + ferry
Vehicle
Up to 12 per van
Pickup
Road leg to the pier

The short answer

Cebu City to Bohol

From Cebu City you reach Bohol by taking an OceanJet fast ferry from Pier 1 to Tagbilaran, a crossing of about 2 hours. Pier 1 sits in the city’s port area, a short 15 to 30 minute drive from most hotels depending on where you are staying and the traffic. Cebu.travel arranges a private car to collect you at your hotel door and drop you at the terminal in good time for your sailing, so you skip the taxi queue and reach the pier without the guesswork.

The longer answer

OceanJet sails Pier 1 to Tagbilaran ten times a day, from 7:00 AM to 5:40 PM, roughly one an hour - our verified Cebu to Bohol ferry timetable has every departure and what the fare is made of. Miss one and the next is rarely more than an hour away, but 5:40 PM is the last boat, so an evening plan needs the timetable rather than an assumption. Tickets are a fixed public fare bought at the pier or online, and sit outside our quote. Tagbilaran is the gateway to Panglao’s beaches (Alona), the Chocolate Hills, the tarsiers and the Loboc River. If your hotel is elsewhere on Bohol, including Anda, BookBohol.com can arrange the separate onward transfer from the port to your exact resort. Confirm the current ferry times close to your travel date.

The route

Where the road goes

Cebu City → Bohol - Cebu City (Pier 1) and Tagbilaran (Bohol) on the real map, drawn from official boundary data.

Step by step

Step by step: Cebu City to Bohol

  1. 1
    Hotel pickup in Cebu City

    Your driver collects you at your hotel door in a private car or van, so there is no taxi to flag down or fare to negotiate with your luggage on the way to the port.

  2. 2
    Short transfer to Pier 1

    Pier 1 is in the city port area, about 15 to 30 minutes from most hotels depending on traffic. We time the run so you arrive with time to buy your ticket and board.

  3. 3
    Board the OceanJet fast ferry to Tagbilaran

    The fast ferry crosses from Pier 1 to Tagbilaran, Bohol in about 2 hours. Sailings run through the day at a fixed public fare paid at the pier or booked online. Check in at least 30 to 60 minutes before departure with your ID.

  4. 4
    Arrive at Tagbilaran, Bohol

    From Tagbilaran port, continue to your exact Bohol hotel or resort. BookBohol.com can arrange this separate onward transfer, including longer trips beyond Panglao such as Anda.

Your options

Ways to travel, compared

  • Private transfer to Pier 1 (what we arrange)
    ~15-30 min

    Door-to-door from your Cebu City hotel to the ferry terminal in a private car or van, timed to your sailing. Fixed, all-in price, request a quote.

  • OceanJet fast ferry, Pier 1 to Tagbilaran
    ~2 hrs

    The sea crossing everyone takes, a fast ferry from Cebu City Pier 1 to Tagbilaran, Bohol. Frequent sailings through the day; fixed public fare paid at the pier or booked online. Confirm the current times before you travel.

  • DIY taxi or Grab to the pier
    ~15-40 min

    You can take a taxi or a Grab to Pier 1 yourself, then buy a ferry ticket. Cheaper, but it means flagging a ride with your bags and timing the sailing yourself.

At Pier 1 for the Tagbilaran boat: what decides your pickup time

The sailings
OceanJet fast craft, ten a day from Pier 1 to Tagbilaran: 7:00 AM, 8:20 AM, 9:20 AM, 10:40 AM, 11:40 AM, 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 3:20 PM, 4:20 PM and 5:40 PM. About two hours across, passengers only. 5:40 PM is the last boat
When check-in closes
Thirty minutes before departure, and that is the hard deadline rather than the sailing time. Plan to be at the terminal an hour ahead - we work the pickup back from that, not from the boat
What they check
Bring the physical ID whose name matches the ticket. Student, senior and PWD discounts are statutory and also need the ID in hand
Bags
Free allowance is 10 kg in open air and tourist class and 20 kg in business, each with one hand-carry. Anything over is weighed and charged per kilo at the counter - worth knowing before you pack, and worth telling us so the car is sized for it
Buying the ticket
At the Pier 1 terminal on the day works for most sailings. Book ahead for the 7:00 AM and the 5:40 PM, weekends and long weekends, or when a Bohol-side booking hangs on one specific boat. The fare is a public one paid to the operator, outside our quote - current figures are on our ferry guide
1 planning notes
  • This corridor saw repeated cancellations and re-timings through August 2026, and rough seas stop the fast craft first. Confirm your sailing with the operator the evening before, and if it moves, tell us: re-timing a private transfer to a later boat is straightforward, finding a car at short notice on a day three sailings were pulled is not.
Want more than a transfer?

Add stops on the way to the pier

What we run on this route is the road leg to the pier, so the stops go on this side of the water: lunch, a viewpoint, a shop before you sail, with your bags staying in the car. The crossing itself is your own booking. Tell us the sailing you are aiming for and we work the pickup and the stops backwards from check-in.

  • The car waits wherever you stop
  • Luggage stays in the vehicle
  • Fuel, tolls and parking included
  • Entrance fees paid locally, as you go

We'll pre-fill Cebu City → Bohol (via Cebu City Pier 1 ferry). Add each one to the "Stops along the way" field on the form - it takes them in order - and we come back with one all-in price.

What the quote covers

Included
  • A private air-conditioned car or van with an English-speaking local driver for the whole journey
  • Door-to-door pickup and drop-off at the exact addresses you give us, not a meeting point
  • Fuel, tolls and parking
  • Waiting time and any extra stops you tell us about up front, priced into the quote rather than added afterwards
  • One fixed all-in price for the trip, agreed in writing before you travel
Paid locally, not in our quote
  • Entrance, activity, guide and boat fees at places you choose to stop (paid locally)
  • Meals and personal spending
  • Accommodation, including a driver overnight on a multi-day trip unless we have set it out in the quote
  • Inter-island ferry and boat crossings, unless we have set them out in the quote

We never invent activity or entrance prices - you pay those directly on the ground.

Good to know

Cebu City to Bohol: FAQs

How do you get to Bohol from Cebu City?

Take an OceanJet fast ferry from Cebu City Pier 1 to Tagbilaran, Bohol, a crossing of about 2 hours. Pier 1 is a short 15 to 30 minute drive from most city hotels. Cebu.travel arranges a private transfer from your hotel to the pier timed to your sailing, request a quote. The ferry ticket is a public fare bought at the pier or online.

How often do the Cebu to Bohol ferries run?

Ten times a day. OceanJet leaves Cebu City Pier 1 for Tagbilaran at 7:00 AM, 8:20 AM, 9:20 AM, 10:40 AM, 11:40 AM, 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 3:20 PM, 4:20 PM and 5:40 PM - roughly one an hour, checked against the operator on 5 September 2026. Our Cebu to Bohol ferry guide carries the full timetable and the fares. Miss a boat and the next is rarely more than an hour off, but 5:40 PM is the last, and this corridor saw repeated cancellations through August 2026, so confirm the day before and check in 30 to 60 minutes ahead.

How long does the whole trip take?

Allow about half a day door to door: a 15 to 30 minute transfer to Pier 1, check-in and boarding, then the roughly 2 hour ferry to Tagbilaran, plus onward travel on Bohol. Getting to the pier in good time is the part a private transfer makes easy.

Can you also arrange the return from Bohol?

Yes, as two coordinated legs. Cebu.travel handles your Cebu-side transfer to Pier 1, while BookBohol.com can arrange your separate transfer between Tagbilaran port and your exact Bohol hotel or resort, including the return journey.

Can you do the return trip, Bohol back to Cebu City?

Yes - we meet your ferry at the pier and drive you back to Cebu City, the same road leg in reverse. The crossing stays your own booking, as on the way out. Ask for both legs in one quote request and we price them together. If the way back ends somewhere other than where you started, say where in the Anything else? box on the quote form and we quote that leg instead of the reverse of this one.

What does the price for Cebu City to Bohol include?

The quote is one fixed all-in price for the private vehicle leg, agreed in writing before you travel, and fuel, tolls and parking are inside it - along with any waiting time or extra stops you tell us about when you ask. Because this trip involves a sea crossing, the ferry or boat ticket is not in that figure unless we have set it out for you: tell us your crossing and we will say plainly what we are quoting for and what you book yourself. Entrance and activity fees at anywhere you stop, and your meals, are paid locally.

Does the car come on the ferry, and who handles our luggage at the pier?

The car does not cross with you. We drive you and your bags to the pier, your driver helps unload and carries them as far as the terminal entrance or the ticket counter, and from there you travel as foot passengers with your own luggage - so the honest picture is bags out of the car at the pier rather than a van rolling onto the boat. Most of the terminals we drive to have porters working the entrance with trolleys; they are local and they expect a tip, and they are not part of our quote because we neither employ them nor set their rate. What we can do is make the handover unhurried instead of a scramble: tell us roughly what you are carrying when you ask for the quote and we size the vehicle for it and build the extra minutes into the pickup, because check-in closes before the sailing and moving four large cases across a car park takes longer than people allow for. If someone in your party cannot manage their own bag across the gangway, say so in the same message and we will tell you honestly what help is available at that particular pier before you book.

Can I compare options, or have the price split out?

One fixed all-in price for the journey, agreed in writing before you travel, with fuel, tolls, parking and waiting time already inside it. If it would help you decide, ask and we will also quote the alternatives next to it - a larger vehicle against two smaller ones for a group that is on the edge of a van, or the road leg quoted on its own where part of your journey crosses water you are booking yourself. On a trip of several legs we will price them individually as well as together if you want to see where the cost sits. Entrance, activity and boat fees at the places you stop stay outside our figure and are paid locally, and we never mark them up. Say how you want it broken up in the box marked "Anything else?".

How much notice do you need - can I book this for tomorrow?

Usually yes. There is no minimum notice on this route and no cut-off hour, so a request for tomorrow, or for later today, is worth sending rather than writing off. What settles it is whether a vetted driver is free for the time you need, and you will have the answer and the price by email the same day, usually within a few hours. A very early start is routine here rather than a complication. The part that gets harder with less notice is choice - holding a particular vehicle size or an exact pickup hour - not whether the journey can happen, so send the date and, if the timing is tight, the hour you need to be moving.

Do I pay anything up front, and when do I pay the rest?

Nothing to ask for a quote. Once you are happy with the price it is two steps, not a choice between two: a booking fee paid online (card, bank transfer or GCash) confirms the trip and is what gets you your written confirmation, then the balance goes directly to your driver at the end of the journey. The fee is part of the all-in figure you agreed rather than an extra on top of it, and your quote states it before you pay. Free cancellation up to 72 hours before pickup refunds the fee in full.

Travelling the other way?

Bohol to Cebu City

We meet your ferry at the pier and drive you back to Cebu City: the same road leg in reverse, with the crossing your own booking as on the way out. Ask for both legs in one request and we'll price them together.

We'll pre-fill Bohol → Cebu City on the form. Just add your dates and details.

Coming back to somewhere else - a different town, the airport, a pier for an onward boat? Say where in the Anything else? box on the form and we price the return to that instead of back to the start.

Get a quote

Quote Cebu City to Bohol

We have filled in the route. Change anything, add your date and group, and we reply by email with one fixed, all-in price.

Free to enquire. No payment or obligation.

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Travellers

What guests tell us

  • ★★★★★

    “Landed at midnight and our driver was right there with a sign. Smooth ride to Moalboal and the price was exactly as quoted. So much less stressful than sorting it at the airport.”

    HHannah & TomCanada · Airport to Moalboal
  • ★★★★★

    “Booked an Oslob day trip for my parents from abroad. Everything was arranged by email before they flew. They felt safe the whole way, exactly what I hoped for.”

    JJoan R.OFW, Dubai · Oslob tour
  • ★★★★★

    “We needed a van and driver for three days of island hopping. Clear pricing, friendly driver, and flexible when our plans changed. Would book again in a heartbeat.”

    MMarco D.Australia · Multi-day tour
  • ★★★★★

    “Quoted a Kawasan Falls trip on a Sunday and had a fixed all-in price within the hour. No haggling, no surprises on the day. Exactly what we needed with two young kids.”

    PPriya S.Singapore · Kawasan Falls
  • ★★★★★

    “Our driver waited patiently while our flight was delayed two hours and still got us to the hotel relaxed and safe. Honest people who clearly take pride in the service.”

    DDaniel K.South Korea · Mactan to Cebu City
  • ★★★★★

    “Organised a whole Bantayan Island weekend for our family group chat from Manila. One contact, one price, zero stress. The kids loved the driver.”

    RRhea M.Manila · Bantayan weekend
  • ★★★★★

    “Booked from the US for our honeymoon and were nervous about transport. They answered every question fast and the car was spotless. Felt looked after the whole trip.”

    AAshley & BenUSA · Honeymoon transfers