Camotes Islands 2026: Ferry Schedules, Fares and Costs

Camotes sits 34 nautical miles east of Cebu City, close enough to be a weekend and far enough that the day trippers mostly do not bother. Three islands, four towns, 236 square kilometers, and a road network you can drive end to end in an afternoon. It was part of Leyte until the Americans moved it to Cebu, which is the first clue to why it does not feel like the rest of the province.

10.7000° N, 124.4000° E

The three islands, and which one you actually want

Concrete tetrapods stacked along the Camotes shoreline at dusk with lamp posts and the sea beyond — Tetrapods along the shore at dusk. The coast here is armored in places and open in others, which is most of the difference between the three islands.

Almost every guide treats Camotes as one place. It is three, and the difference decides where you sleep.

Pacijan holds the town of San Francisco and most of what people come for: Santiago Bay, Lake Danao, the resort strip. If this is a first visit, this is the island. San Francisco also governs Tulang, the islet off the northern tip.

Poro holds two towns, Poro and Tudela. It is quieter, the coast is rockier, and it carries Bukilat Cave and the older churches. Pacijan and Poro are joined by a causeway a kilometer and a half long, so you can stay on one and ride to the other without a boat. That causeway is the single most useful fact about getting around here and it is missing from most write-ups.

Ponson holds Pilar, sits about four kilometers northeast across the Kawit Strait, and has no causeway. It is a separate boat and a separate decision. Almost nobody visiting for two days goes, and that is the right call unless the point of the trip is having a beach to yourself.

Getting there

A roll on roll off ferry berthed at the pier in Camotes with palms along the shore and clear turquoise water — The RORO at the pier. This is the Danao crossing, and the one that takes vehicles.

Two routes matter. Both land at Consuelo on Pacijan.

From Danao, roughly an hour and a half north of Cebu City by bus or van, Jomalia runs four crossings a day each way, at 5:30 AM, 8:30 AM, 2:30 PM and 5:30 PM. The crossing takes about two hours. This is the cheaper route and the one that takes vehicles.

From Mactan, Jomalia runs a fastcraft from Mactan Marina Wharf at 8:00 AM and 12:00 noon, returning at 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Ninety minutes. Roughly double the fare, and it saves the land transfer to Danao, which is the actual saving.

Check in half an hour before departure. One hand carry is included and extra bags run about ₱200 each. Seniors, PWDs and children get up to 20 percent off with proof.

What the fare actually costs, and why nobody can tell you exactly

This is the part every other Camotes page gets wrong, and it is not their fault. The fare moved twice this year and it is still moving.

Published base fares on the Danao crossing run about ₱300 to ₱360 economy and ₱400 aircon. On the Mactan fastcraft the base is about ₱500. What you pay at the counter is higher, because a fuel surcharge sits on top, and the surcharge is set by regulation rather than by the operator.

In March 2026 the ceiling on domestic shipping rate adjustments went to 30 percent, on fuel costs then running roughly 152 percent above where they had been in February. Visayas operators applied 10 percent rather than the full allowance. The ceiling came back down to 10 percent in July. Fuel has since fallen a long way from the March peak, and the Cebu provincial board has formally asked the maritime regulator to review whether the surcharge still riding on the Camotes crossing is justified. As of September 2026 no reduction has been announced on this route.

The practical version: budget ₱400 to ₱450 from Danao and ₱600 to ₱700 from Mactan, and treat any figure you read online, including the base fares above, as a floor rather than a price. If the surcharge does come off, Camotes gets cheaper before anywhere else in Cebu does, because it is the route with the least competition. What fuel is actually doing week to week is worth a look before you book.

Getting around once you land

There is no need to hire anything at the pier if you are not in a hurry, but there is also no real public transport network. The options, checked September 2026:

Habal-habal, ₱50 to ₱100 around town, ₱200 to ₱400 for something like the pier to Lake Danao
Tricycle, ₱20 to ₱50 a head short hop, ₱500 to ₱800 chartered for a half day of sightseeing
Motorbike rental, ₱350 to ₱500 a day, which is what most people should do
Multicab or van, ₱1,500 to ₱2,500 for a full day, worth it for four or more

Rent the motorbike. The islands are small, the causeway makes Pacijan and Poro one road trip, and the good stretches are the ones no driver takes you to. Two warnings. The surface is uneven in places, with gravel and sand near the beaches and caves, and it gets slick in rain. And fuel on the islands runs above mainland Cebu prices, so fill up before the last ferry rather than after.

What is on the islands

Sculpted cave entrance in Camotes with a hand painted sign reading Amazing Island Cave and Beach Resort — The caves here are run as small private attractions with their own gates and their own fees, which is why the prices are never round numbers.

Fees below were checked in September 2026. They are small and they change without notice, so carry coins and small notes. There is no card payment anywhere that matters.

Lake Danao, ₱50 adults and ₱30 children, with the pool at ₱100 and ₱50 and paddle craft from ₱50 up to ₱250. The largest lake in Cebu province and the one thing here that photographs better in flat light than in sun.
Bukilat Cave, ₱50, on Poro. Natural pools lit through openings in the roof. Midday is the only time the light does what everyone comes for.
Timubo Cave, ₱70 adults, ₱25 children, plus a ₱5 environmental fee. Swimmable, narrow, and not for anyone unhappy in tight spaces.
Paraiso Cave, ₱100 adults, ₱50 children.
Buho Rock, ₱20 adults, ₱10 children. A platform and a drop into the sea.
Mangodlong Rock, ₱20 for a day visit, free if you are staying at the resort.
Tulang Diot, ₱40 environmental fee, about ₱400 return for a private boat carrying four, and ₱500 for a cottage for the day. The crossing is short and the island is the closest thing here to an empty beach.
Santiago Bay, free. The sandbar at low tide is the reason most people book a second night.

Weathered heart shaped concrete marker lying on the sand on a Camotes beach — A heart marker left on the sand. Most of the beaches carry something like this, put there by whoever runs that stretch.

The two Spanish era churches, in San Francisco and Poro, cost nothing and take twenty minutes between them.

Where to sleep, and what a weekend costs

Infinity edge swimming pool at a Camotes resort looking out over the sea under a wide sky — The mid range resorts sell the pool as much as the beach, and on a high tide day that is the honest trade.

Blue dome tent pitched on the sand at a Camotes beach with sun flare and hills across the water — Camping is normal here rather than a novelty, and several of the beaches allow it for a fee.

Beds run from about ₱600 a night for something basic to ₱2,300 and ₱3,600 for the mid range resorts, with Santiago Bay properties starting around ₱1,000. Book ahead for a long weekend. The islands do not have the room stock to absorb a holiday and there is no late ferry to bail you out.

Two days and one night, one person, at September 2026 numbers, lands around ₱4,000 to ₱4,500 all in once the ferry both ways, a bike for a day, the entrance fees, a bed and food are counted. That is the honest figure rather than the optimistic one, and it assumes the surcharge is still on the fare. The Cebu trip budget calculator handles the rest of a longer trip.

What is wrong with it

No guide is worth reading if it will not say this part.

The ferry is the whole trip and it is the weakest link. Four crossings a day from Danao and two from Mactan means one cancellation reorganizes your plans rather than delays them, and rough weather in the Camotes Sea cancels crossings. Build in a buffer if you have a flight out of Mactan.

Power is not reliable. The Visayas grid has been running alerts on and off all year and the islands feel that before the mainland does. Most resorts have generators and not all of them run the aircon on generator power.

Night sky crowded with stars over a dark bay in Camotes with a single light on the water — The compensation for the power situation. There is very little light on these islands after dark, and the sky shows it.

Sunset over a Camotes beach at low tide with wet ridged sand in the foreground and an outrigger boat offshore — Low tide at sunset. This is the version of the bay the photographs are taken at, and it is not the version that is there all day.

Santiago Bay is beautiful at low tide and thin at high tide, which catches people who booked on a photograph. Check the tide before you decide which day is the beach day.

And the sandbar and the lake both get busy on Philippine long weekends. If a quiet island is the point, go midweek or go to Ponson.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get to Camotes from Cebu City?

Bus or van north to Danao, about an hour and a half, then the Jomalia ferry to Consuelo, about two hours, at 5:30 AM, 8:30 AM, 2:30 PM or 5:30 PM. Or take the fastcraft from Mactan Marina Wharf at 8:00 AM or 12:00 noon, which takes ninety minutes and costs roughly double.

How much is the ferry to Camotes?

Base fares run about ₱300 to ₱400 from Danao and about ₱500 from Mactan, but a fuel surcharge sits on top and is not always shown in published rates. Budget ₱400 to ₱450 from Danao and ₱600 to ₱700 from Mactan. Checked September 2026.

How many days do you need in Camotes?

Two days and one night covers Pacijan properly. Three nights lets you add Poro without rushing, and only a fourth makes Ponson worth the extra boat.

Can you drive between the Camotes islands?

Between Pacijan and Poro, yes. A causeway a kilometer and a half long joins them and a motorbike crosses it in minutes. Ponson is a separate boat.

Is there an ATM on Camotes?

Do not plan on one. Bring cash from the mainland. Entrance fees, boats, bikes and most rooms are cash only, and the fees come in small amounts.

Fares, fees and schedules checked September 2026. Corrections to editor@suroy.ph.

Suroy Wear · The Island Series

Three islands, one causeway, and a sandbar that is only there at low tide.

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Camotes Islands Guide: Ferries, Fares and Which of the Three Islands to Sleep On

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