How do I get from Malapascua to Bohol?
Short answer
Malapascua to Bohol is three legs: the public outrigger boat from the island back to New Maya port, about 30-40 minutes; a long drive south down Cebu to Cebu City Pier 1, about 133 km and 4-4.5 hours; then the OceanJet fast ferry from Pier 1 to Tagbilaran, about 2 hours. Allow 9-11 hours door to door.
It is the same corridor as the northbound trip and the same total distance, but it is the more forgiving direction. Ferries from Pier 1 run ten times a day, roughly one an hour until the 5:40 PM last boat, so a sailing usually exists when you arrive as long as you are not arriving in the evening. The leg that decides your day is the first one: get off the island early.
Counted back on our own figures, a boat off the island by about 6:50 AM makes the 1:00 PM sailing with an hour in hand at the terminal, and about 11:30 AM is the latest boat that still makes the 5:40 PM, the last of the day. Leave later than that and the road leg puts you at Pier 1 as the last check-in closes or after it, which is where this route goes wrong.
The boat and ferry tickets are fixed public fares bought at the terminal or online. What we arrange is the middle leg: a private air-conditioned car meeting you at New Maya port and running you straight to Pier 1, timed to your chosen sailing, with room for dive bags.
Step by step: Malapascua Island to Bohol
- 1Leave Malapascua on an early boat
Take the public outrigger from the island back to New Maya port, about 30-40 minutes. An early departure is what buys you the whole day - it leaves a buffer for weather, queueing at the port and the long road south.
- 2Meet your driver at Maya Port
A private transfer can meet you as you step off the boat, so you roll straight from the island crossing into the drive without waiting on a bus.
- 3Drive south to Cebu City Pier 1
About 133 km and 4-4.5 hours down through Daanbantayan, Medellin and Bogo into the city. Pier 1 is in the eastern waterfront port area. Check in 30 to 60 minutes before your sailing with your ID.
- 4Cross to Tagbilaran on the fast ferry
The OceanJet fast ferry reaches Tagbilaran in about 2 hours. From the port, continue to your exact Bohol hotel - BookBohol.com arranges that separate onward transfer, including Panglao, Alona and longer runs such as Anda.
Ways to travel, compared
- Maya pickup + private transfer to Pier 1 (what we arrange)~4-4.5 hrs road
We meet your boat at New Maya port and drive you to Cebu City Pier 1 in a private air-conditioned vehicle, timed to your chosen sailing, with space for dive gear and luggage. Fixed, all-in price - request a quote. The outrigger and the ferry are separate public fares.
- Malapascua to Maya outrigger~30-40 min
Public outrigger boats cross to New Maya port through the day and leave when they fill; the published board off the island runs from about 4:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Take an early one - it is the leg that sets whether the rest of the day works.
- OceanJet fast ferry, Pier 1 to Tagbilaran~2 hrs
Frequent sailings through the day at a fixed public fare paid at the pier or booked online. Tagbilaran is the gateway to Panglao, Alona Beach and the Chocolate Hills loop. Confirm current times before you travel.
- Boat + buses via the North Bus Terminal~11+ hrs total
The budget version: the outrigger to Maya, a Ceres bus south to the Cebu North Bus Terminal, a taxi or ride-hail across the city to Pier 1, then the ferry. Cheapest, and a very long day with three handoffs and dive luggage.
When New Maya port is open, and what to expect at the gate
- Last boat to the island
- 5:00 PM from New Maya port. The operator side states it as a hard rule that covers chartered boats as well as the public outriggers, so it is not a queue you can talk your way into at 5:30
- First boat
- 5:00 AM, with a published board of about 22 crossings through the day. The crossing itself is 30-40 minutes
- What the board actually means
- These are public outriggers and they leave when they fill - about 10 passengers is the minimum reported. Times on the board are the shape of the day, not departures you can hold someone to
- Why 5:00 PM is the wrong target
- The last trip is the one most likely to have nobody else on it. Current guides warn that if the boat does not fill you are asked to pay for the whole thing, so aiming for the cut-off can turn a P200 seat into a charter
- When you have to be moving
- Counted back from 5:00 PM on our own drive times: clear arrivals at Mactan by about midday (4.5-5 hours, ~145 km), or leave Cebu City by about 1:00 PM (4-4.5 hours, ~133 km). Island resorts quote 1:00 PM off a flight, but on a 3-4 hour estimate for the road - midday is the number our own figures support
- Coming back
- The published board off the island ends about 4:30 PM, half an hour earlier than the outbound one. We have only one source for that, so treat it as the board rather than a guarantee and cross in the morning if a flight depends on it
- Paid at the port, not by us
- A seat is reported at P200-240, with roughly P140 environmental and P5 terminal fees per person. A private charter is reported at about P3,000-5,000, or P4,000 for up to ten passengers. Cash, at the pier, and worth re-confirming on the day
- Settle the boat before the car leaves, because on this route the boat is the deadline and the drive is just what fits inside it. Tell us your flight number or your checkout time when you request the quote and we time the pickup backwards from a crossing with daylight to spare, not from the 5:00 PM cut-off.
- If you land after about 1:00 PM, the honest answer is that Malapascua is a next-morning trip. An overnight near the airport or up in Daanbantayan and an early run north is a better night than a 5:00 PM sprint that ends at a closed pier with your bags on the pavement - and we would rather quote you the two-part version than the one that fails.
- Weather sits on top of all of this. These are small open boats and they are the first thing the coastguard stops in a heavy swell; a suspended crossing has no later alternative the same day. It is the reason the margin matters more here than the timetable does.
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 Malapascua Island → Bohol (via Cebu City Pier 1). 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
- 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
- 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.
Malapascua Island to Bohol: FAQs
Is there a direct boat from Malapascua to Bohol?
No. You cross back to New Maya port on the outrigger, about 30-40 minutes, drive south to Cebu City Pier 1, about 133 km and 4-4.5 hours, then take the OceanJet fast ferry to Tagbilaran, about 2 hours. There is no sailing that joins the two islands directly.
Can I do Malapascua to Bohol in one day?
Yes, and more easily than the reverse. Ferries from Pier 1 run until the evening, so the only thing you have to get right is leaving the island in time. A boat off Malapascua by about 11:30 AM is the latest that still makes the 5:40 PM last sailing with an hour to spare at Pier 1. Off the island by about 6:50 AM and you are on the 1:00 PM, in Tagbilaran around 3:00 PM.
What time do I have to leave Malapascua to make a ferry from Cebu City Pier 1?
Count back about 6 hours 10 minutes from the sailing: an hour at the terminal (check-in closes 30 minutes before departure), 4 to 4.5 hours on the road from New Maya port and 30 to 40 minutes on the outrigger, taking the long end of each. For the OceanJet sailings to Tagbilaran, be on a boat off the island by about 5:30 AM for the 11:40 AM, 6:50 AM for the 1:00 PM, 7:50 AM for the 2:00 PM, 9:10 AM for the 3:20 PM, 10:10 AM for the 4:20 PM and 11:30 AM for the 5:40 PM, the last of the day. The 7:00, 8:20 and 9:20 AM sailings cannot be reached from the island the same morning, and the 10:40 AM only off the first boat on the published board, about 4:30 AM. The outriggers leave when they fill, so treat those as the latest boat, not the one to aim for. On the shortest figures, walking up as check-in closes, the gap is about 5 hours, but that spends every minute of margin. Tell us your sailing and we time the Maya pickup back from it.
How long does Malapascua to Bohol take in total?
Allow 9-11 hours door to door: 30-40 minutes by boat to New Maya port, 4-4.5 hours by road to Cebu City Pier 1, 30 to 60 minutes of ferry check-in, about 2 hours on the fast ferry, plus the onward transfer on the Bohol side to reach Panglao or your resort.
Should I overnight in Cebu City instead?
Plenty of people do, and it is the honest answer if your boat off the island is late or you want the trip to feel like a holiday rather than a transit day. Pier 1 is 15 to 30 minutes from most Cebu City hotels, so an overnight there splits the journey cleanly and puts you on a relaxed morning sailing.
Does the quote include the boat and the ferry?
No. Our quote covers the private road transfer from New Maya port to Cebu City Pier 1. The outrigger and the ferry are fixed public fares set by their operators, so we do not mark them up or invent numbers for them. Tell us your preferred sailing in the request and we will time the drive to it.
Who arranges the transfer on the Bohol side?
BookBohol.com handles the Tagbilaran port to resort leg, including Panglao and Alona Beach and longer runs such as Anda. We cover the Cebu side; they cover theirs, so the handoff at the pier is the only join in the trip.
Can you do the return trip, Bohol back to Malapascua Island?
Yes - we meet your ferry at the pier and drive you back to Malapascua Island, 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 Malapascua Island 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.
Bohol to Malapascua Island
We meet your ferry at the pier and drive you back to Malapascua Island: 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 → Malapascua Island 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.
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