Can I hire a private car and driver in Cebu for several days?
One car, one driver, your whole trip. Book your own hotels and keep the same vehicle from the airport to the last drop-off.
Short answer
Yes. You can keep the same private car and driver for the whole of your stay in Cebu, not just for a single transfer or one day out. You book the days, we agree one price for the trip up front, and the same vehicle and driver carry you from your arrival right through to your final drop-off. Most travellers book somewhere between two and five days.
It is driver-and-vehicle service, not a package holiday. You book your own hotels wherever you want to stay, and we handle every kilometre between them: the airport or ferry pier pickup, the drive south or north, the stops along the way, the days you want to sit still, and the run back to the airport at the end. Nothing is bundled that you did not ask for.
The advantage over booking day by day is continuity. Your luggage stays in the car, your driver already knows where you are going and what time you like to start, and you are not renegotiating a new vehicle each morning or hoping one is available in a small coastal town. If the plan changes on day two, it simply changes.
Tell us your arrival date, how many days you want the car, where you plan to sleep and roughly what you want to see. We reply with one clear all-in price covering the whole trip, and we are happy to suggest a sensible order for your stops if you would rather not plan the driving yourself.
The day, stop by stop
- 1Send us the shape of the tripbefore you travel
Your arrival point and date, the number of days you want the car, your group size and luggage, and the towns or areas you have in mind. A rough list is enough; you do not need a finished plan.
- 2Day one: met on arrivalyour arrival time
Your driver collects you at Mactan-Cebu airport, your hotel, or a ferry pier such as Liloan (Santander) if you are arriving from Dumaguete. Luggage goes in once and stays with the car.
- 3The days in between: your itinerary, your paceas many days as you book
Each morning you set off when you want to. Long driving days, short hops between neighbouring towns, or a rest day where the car simply waits, all sit inside the same booking. Stops, lunches and detours are yours to call on the day.
- 4Overnights while you sleepeach night
You stay in the hotels you booked. Your driver arranges his own overnight nearby so the car is ready outside in the morning; the written quote sets out exactly how that is handled so there is nothing to settle on the road.
- 5The last day: straight to your flightyour departure
The trip ends wherever you need it to, most often Mactan-Cebu airport, with the driving time built around your departure rather than a checkout deadline.
What the quote covers
- The same private air-conditioned car or van with an English-speaking local driver for every day you book
- All pickups, drop-offs and transfers between your hotels for the length of the trip
- Fuel, tolls and parking across the whole itinerary
- One fixed all-in price for the trip, agreed in writing before you travel
- Flexibility to reorder or change stops as you go, subject to the driving being realistic
- Your accommodation, which you book yourself wherever you like
- Entrance, activity, guide and boat fees at the places you visit (paid locally)
- Meals and personal spending
- Inter-island ferry crossings for you and the vehicle, unless we have set them out in the quote
We never invent activity or entrance prices - you pay those directly on the ground.
Private day tour vs doing it yourself
- Private driver for the whole trip (ours)2-5 days, or longer
One vehicle, one driver, one price for the trip. Luggage stays in the car, the route can flex day to day, and there is nothing to arrange again once you have arrived. The straightforward choice for anyone covering more than one part of the island.
- Booking a separate car each dayper day
Workable in the city, harder once you are down the coast: you re-book every morning, availability in smaller towns is thin, luggage comes in and out, and each new driver starts without knowing your plan. It also usually costs more in total than one continuous booking.
- DIY by bus and ride-hailingvaries by leg
The cheapest way to move around Cebu, and fine if you travel light and have spare time. Buses run the main highways but not to most resorts, luggage is awkward, and connections between the south coast and the northern ports eat a lot of a short trip.
Private driver, several days: FAQs
Can I hire a driver for three or four days rather than a single day?
Yes, that is one of the most common requests we get. You book the number of days you want, keep the same car and driver throughout, and receive one price covering the whole trip rather than a separate quote for each day.
Do I have to book your hotels too?
No. This is driver and vehicle only. Most travellers book their own accommodation exactly where they want it and simply tell us the addresses; we plan the driving around them. If it would help, we are happy to say which towns make sensible overnight bases for the route you have in mind.
What happens to the driver overnight?
Your driver sorts his own accommodation near where you are staying, so the car is outside and ready in the morning. The written quote makes clear how that is covered, so it is not something you need to negotiate while you are travelling.
How much can we realistically cover in a few days?
It depends which direction you go, and the honest answer is usually less than people expect, because Cebu is a long island. As a guide, Cebu City to Oslob is about 117 km and 3-3.5 hours, Oslob across to Moalboal is a further 65-70 km and 2-2.5 hours, and Kawasan Falls is about 120 km from the city. Going north instead, Maya port for Malapascua is about 133 km and 4-4.5 hours. Two or three nights is comfortable for the south coast; trying to do the far south and the far north in the same short trip means most of it is spent driving.
Can we change the plan once the trip has started?
Within reason, yes, and it is one of the main reasons to book this way. Swap the order of stops, add a viewpoint, or drop something and rest instead. Big changes to total distance or an extra day are worth agreeing with us rather than the driver so the price stays as clear as it was at the start.
Can the trip start or finish somewhere other than the airport?
Yes. Plenty of multi-day trips begin at a ferry pier, such as Liloan (Santander) for arrivals from Dumaguete, or at a hotel, and end at a completely different place from where they started. Tell us both points and we build the days around them.
Does it cover other islands, such as Bohol or Negros?
Our drivers and vehicles work on Cebu, so a multi-day booking covers the Cebu-side driving, including getting you to the right port. If your trip crosses to another island we will say plainly which legs we can cover and which you would arrange separately, rather than leaving it vague in the quote.
How do I get a price?
Send the quote request with your arrival date, the number of days, your group size and the areas you want to see. We reply by email, usually within a few hours, with one all-in price for the trip. No payment to enquire and no obligation.