Swimming in the Sardine Runs in Moalboal.

Where are the Sardine Runs?

How to Get to Moalboal from Cebu:

You can take a bus, private van, or private car/taxi from Cebu City.  

Bus:

The cheapest option is a Ceres bus, which is the Philippines largest bus company. It took about 2 and a half hours and cost 156 PHP ($3 USD) per person. This was for an air conditioned bus. Although it was night and we probably didn’t need it if we had rolled the windows down, especially with how fast the driver was going. Buses without air conditioning cost slightly less. But honestly it’s always pretty hot in the Philippines. So it’s worth it in our opinion. You aren’t able to book a bus online, but can find the schedule here. More details on how to take the bus below.

Taxi:

You can either take a taxi straight from the airport* for 2,000-2500 PHP ($40-$50 USD) or book one ahead of time and save you the hassle of negotiating using Klook for around $44 USD. A taxi from the airport will likely cost you more than one you can find and negotiate with from the city. We talked one down to $35 USD for the trip. We considered it, because we were told it was a holiday and we’d be waiting for a bus for hours. But we ended up going to the bus station and walking straight on an empty bus and are glad we saved the $30. 

Van:

There’s also the option of a shared van transfer on Klook for around $17. These are cheaper than taxis, more convenient than buses. But if they fill up, they can be pretty uncomfortable. If you’re not one for booking ahead, you can find public vans for 120 PHP ($2 USD) at the GT Express Terminal in Cebu. This method takes about 2 hours from the terminal to the town center of Moalboal.

If you like Uber, then you can always use Grab, a Singapore based ridesharing company.

We decided to take the bus and the experience was totally fine for the price. We had to make a stop at the SM City mall in Cebu, which is huge by the way, for some photography equipment repairs and replacements. So we took an airport bus there for 25 PHP ($0.50 USD). From the mall, we took a taxi for 150 PHP ($3 USD) to the Cebu South Bus Terminal. Once we got to the terminal, we just followed the instructions of the employees to find the correct big yellow Ceres bus. And we didn’t have any issues.

The most confusing part about the experience for us was payment.

We paid up front as we entered the bus terminal. But they didn’t have change and told us we could get it on the bus. We did get our change from the driver on the bus, but we had to be patient and trust them. The bus we took was practically empty. So it was decently comfortable with all the extra space. The bus had a few TV’s that played some recent Hollywood movies, so the trip went by pretty quickly.

If you decided to take the bus or a van, you’ll be dropped off next to the highway (there’s a 7-Eleven nearby for reference) and then you’ll need to grab a tricycle to your hotel. We paid 250 PHP ($5 USD) to get to the hotel area of Panagsama Beach, which is about a 10-15 minute tricycle ride. The typical cost is closer to 100-150 PHP ($2-3 USD) but it was about 1 am when we arrived. And we were tired and didn’t have too many options of tricyclists to barter with.