This is the ferry terminal for the Matnog crossing — and it is in Allen, not in San Isidro. The port serving the San Bernardino Strait route from southern Luzon sits at Dapdap in the municipality of Allen, Northern Samar. The municipality of San Isidro is a separate town about 16 km further south-east, and the Matnog ferries do not call there.

The confusion is common enough that operators and timetables use the names interchangeably. If you have a ticket for "Matnog – San Isidro", you are almost certainly landing at Dapdap/Allen. FastCat, for instance, gives its terminal address as Kinabranan Zone 2, Allen.

Crossing from Matnog

The strait crossing takes about one hour and covers roughly 24 km. It is the main road link between Luzon and Samar — part of the Pan-Philippine Highway (AH26) — so the boats are RO-RO vessels carrying buses, trucks and cars as well as foot passengers, and they run around the clock rather than to a tourist schedule.

FastCat operates three sailings a day in each direction; Montenegro Shipping Lines also serves the route. Because this is a highway link, departures are frequent but subject to weather — the San Bernardino Strait closes to small craft during typhoon season, and the coastguard suspends sailings on storm signals.

Getting to and from the port

Allen is the northern gateway to Samar. From the pier, buses and vans run south to Calbayog, Catarman and on to Tacloban; long-distance buses between Manila and Mindanao use this crossing with the passengers staying aboard. On the Luzon side, Matnog connects to Sorsogon City and the Bicol road network.