Tricycle and Habal-Habal Fares: There Is No Official Rate
There is no official tricycle fare in Panglao, Santa Fe, General Luna or San Juan. Not a higher one for tourists and a lower one for locals. No published matrix at all. Every rate on this page is what the market charges, and knowing that changes how you negotiate: you are not being cheated out of a regulated price, you are agreeing a price.
That is worth understanding before the first quote lands, because the usual advice, “ask for the official rate”, asks for a document that does not exist in these four towns.
Why there is no official rate
Tricycles are regulated by the local government unit, not by the LTFRB. The DILG requires an LGU to issue a fare matrix as a condition of tricycles operating in its area. So a matrix should exist.
In practice, none is published for Panglao, Santa Fe, General Luna or San Juan. In General Luna, what circulates as “regulated tricycle fares” is a rate card posted in a Facebook group, not an LGU issuance. In Siquijor, one operator cites “Provincial Tourism Reference Rates” without naming a document or an ordinance.
The one recent counter-example in the region is instructive. In March 2026 the barangay councils of Mandaue City agreed a ₱25 minimum for habal-habal and a ₱20 floor for short trips, with tariffs posted at terminals. That is what a real local standardisation looks like, and it is a city, not an island resort town.
Panglao, Bohol
The most expensive of the four, and the one where the airport is the pinch point. There is no Grab and no metered taxi at the Panglao terminal. Vans operate on negotiated flat rates.
| Trip | Rate |
|---|---|
| Short hop, tricycle | ₱50 to ₱150 per vehicle |
| Nearby barangays | ₱150 to ₱300 |
| Panglao airport to Alona Beach, tricycle | ₱110 to ₱150 per vehicle, 15 to 20 min |
| Panglao airport to Alona, van transfer | ₱250 to ₱400 |
| Panglao airport to Alona, shared van | ₱100 per person, 20 to 30 min |
| Panglao airport to Alona, Southern Star bus | ₱50 to ₱100 per person, 40 to 50 min |
| Panglao airport to Tagbilaran City | ₱300 to ₱500, 25 min |
| Tagbilaran seaport to Alona, tricycle | ₱250 to ₱400, negotiated, 30 to 45 min |
| Tagbilaran seaport to Alona, taxi or Grab | ₱440 to ₱550 |
| Tagbilaran to Panglao, public van or bus | ₱25, 45 min |
| Full day tricycle charter | ₱800 to ₱1,200 |
| Scooter rental | ₱300 to ₱500 per 24 hours, fuel excluded |
The move here: the ₱50 to ₱100 Southern Star bus does the same journey as the ₱400 van. And walking out to the main road rather than hiring from inside your resort gets you a lower number, reliably. Habal-habal is not a documented mode on Panglao itself.
Santa Fe, Bantayan
The cheapest of the four, and the one where your resort may solve it for free.
| Trip | Rate |
|---|---|
| Port to resort, shared tricycle | ₱30 per person |
| Port to resort, private tricycle | ₱100, reported ₱50 to ₱150 |
| General trips around Santa Fe | ₱30 to ₱150 |
| Habal-habal | ₱50 to ₱200 per trip |
| Half day tricycle island tour | ₱500 to ₱1,000 |
| Full day group multicab tour | ₱3,000 to ₱3,500 |
Many Bantayan resorts offer complimentary port pickup. Ask when you book. No source publishes a rate for Santa Fe to Bantayan town, which is the one leg you will have to agree cold.
General Luna, Siargao
The most talked-about overcharging, and the one where the first quote at the airport is reliably the worst one you will hear all week.
| Trip | Rate |
|---|---|
| Tricycle, in-town short trips | ₱20 to ₱50 per person |
| Habal-habal, within General Luna | ₱20 to ₱30 per person |
| General Luna to Cloud 9, 3 to 4 km | ₱30 to ₱50 per person |
| Habal-habal, 5 to 10 km | ₱50 to ₱100 |
| Habal-habal, 10 to 30 km | ₱100 to ₱200 |
| Habal-habal, over 30 km | ₱200 to ₱400 |
| General Luna to Magpupungko, one way | ₱150 to ₱250 |
| General Luna to Pacifico, habal, one way | ₱300 to ₱400, 1 to 1.5 hours |
| General Luna to Pacifico, private tricycle | ₱600 to ₱1,200 one way |
| General Luna to Burgos, private tricycle | ₱1,500 to ₱2,500 one way |
| Sayak airport to General Luna, shared van | ₱300 to ₱500 per person, 35 to 45 min |
| Sayak airport to General Luna, private van | ₱2,000 to ₱4,000 |
| Sayak airport to General Luna, tricycle | ₱500 to ₱800, 45 to 60 min |
| Dapa Port to General Luna, tricycle | ₱250 to ₱400 |
| Del Carmen to General Luna, tricycle charter | ₱400 to ₱600 |
| Scooter rental | ₱300 to ₱600 per day |
The named problem: accepting the first quote at the airport is described in local guidance as a common mistake, with initial offers often double the going rate. Fares here depend on distance “and, sometimes, on how well you can ask.”
Full route detail in our northern Siargao road run.
San Juan, Siquijor
The most transparent of the four, in the sense that a local operator at least publishes a list, even if the authority behind it is unnamed.
| Trip | Rate |
|---|---|
| Nearby barangay transfer | ₱50 to ₱100 |
| Siquijor Port to San Juan | around ₱400 |
| Siquijor Port to Larena | ₱150 to ₱200 |
| Larena Port short transfers | ₱150 to ₱300 |
| Siquijor Port to Lazi | ₱500 to ₱600 |
| Siquijor Port to Maria | ₱600 to ₱700 |
| Full day island tour charter | ₱1,500 |
| Full day mountain tour charter | ₱1,500 |
| Habal-habal | ₱150 to ₱200 starting, more by destination |
| Scooter rental | ₱400 to ₱600 per day |
Note the arithmetic: a full day charter is ₱1,500 and a single port transfer to San Juan is ₱400. If you are doing anything more than getting to your room, charter the day. More in the Siquijor guide.
How to agree a fare without being unpleasant about it
- Agree the number before you get in. Every time, everywhere. There are no meters.
- Ask the price, do not offer one. “Tagpila?” then wait. Naming a number first sets a ceiling you may not have needed.
- Ask whether it is per person or per tricycle. This is where most of the confusion actually lives, not in dishonesty.
- Ask your accommodation the night before. They know the local rate and they have no reason to inflate it.
- Walk to the road. The rate at the resort gate and the rate fifty metres away are different numbers.
- Carry small notes. “No change” is a real problem, not a tactic, and it costs you the difference.
- Charter the day if you are doing more than two stops. On every one of these islands the day rate beats the sum of the legs.
- Keep the tone light. These are fifty peso conversations. Paying ₱50 over the local rate is not a scandal, and treating it like one is a bad way to spend a holiday.
Costs across the wider region are collected in the tourism fees guide.
Is there an official tricycle fare in Panglao or Siargao?
No published matrix exists for Panglao, Santa Fe, General Luna or San Juan. Tricycles are regulated by the LGU rather than the LTFRB, and the DILG requires a fare matrix as a condition of operating, but none of these four towns publishes one. What circulates as an official rate in General Luna is a Facebook group posting.
How much is a tricycle from Sayak airport to General Luna?
₱500 to ₱800 by tricycle taking 45 to 60 minutes, ₱300 to ₱500 per person in a shared van, or ₱2,000 to ₱4,000 for a private van. First quotes at the airport are commonly double the going rate.
What is the cheapest way from Panglao airport to Alona Beach?
The Southern Star bus at ₱50 to ₱100 per person, taking 40 to 50 minutes. A shared van is ₱100 per person, a tricycle ₱110 to ₱150 for the vehicle, and a private van transfer ₱250 to ₱400. There is no Grab or metered taxi at the terminal.
How do you avoid being overcharged for a tricycle in the Philippines?
Agree the fare before boarding, ask the driver to name the price rather than offering one, confirm whether it is per person or per vehicle, ask your accommodation the local rate the night before, and walk out to the main road rather than hiring at the resort gate. Charter the whole day if you have more than two stops.
Suroy Wear
Four islands, four conversations.
Every island has its own rate and its own way of asking. The Archipelago Tee carries all of them. ₱999.
