Sibulan

Twenty-five minutes across the Tañon Strait and you have changed island. Sibulan's port is the Negros end of the busiest short crossing to Cebu, and it exists because the strait here is narrow enough to treat as a road.

The crossing

Sibulan to Liloan takes about 25 minutes, with 13 sailings in our timetable, operated by Maayo Shipping. 26 active sailings across the port in both directions.

Liloan is at the southern tip of Cebu island, near Santander — not Cebu City, which is a further four hours north by road.

⚠ Liloan is not Cebu City

Landing at Liloan puts you at the far southern end of a long island. If Cebu City is the destination, this crossing is the start of a substantial bus journey, not the end of the trip.

The direct sailings from Dumaguete to Cebu City take around six hours and go the whole way. Compare total journey time before assuming the short crossing wins.

Where it sits

Sibulan is just north of Dumaguete, close enough that the two function as one transport area — the airport is between them. For anyone heading to Cebu's southern coast, and particularly to the Oslob whale sharks or the Moalboal coast, this is the crossing to use.

Dumaguete a few kilometres south is the bigger port with the long-haul routes.

The Tañon Strait

The channel between Negros and Cebu is a protected seascape and the largest marine protected area in the Philippines, with resident dolphins and passing whales. A twenty-five-minute ferry across it is not a wildlife trip, but the water you are crossing is not ordinary.

Practicalities

Small craft, frequent departures, no advance booking culture. Turn up, buy a ticket, wait for the next one. Rough weather stops them, and typhoon season is when that matters.