Barge Fees for Hyundai Grand Starex

Time and again, we go on roadtrips from Luzon to Mindanao and when friends know of these trips they almost always ask us how much we spent for barge fees.  So, i am posting in here the fees we paid last December 2012 when we used the Hyundai Grand Starex.  

We opted to go through Bicol - Samar-  Surigao Nautical Highway since it is much cheaper compared with the Batangas route.  It only involves 2 ferry boat rides from Matnog, Sorsogon To Allen, Samar and from San Ricardo, Southern Leyte to Surigao City.

Montenegro Lines fares is Php 2,100 for the Grand Starex. Roro Port terminal fee at Lipata Port, Surigao is Php 129.00 while terminal fee for passengers is Php 16.00 per person. Regular fare per person is Php 140.00 while children are at half-fare at Php 70.00

Things to do while at Lipata port: Driver does the ff;

1.  Secures a Gate Booking Slip at PCBSI Gate Office.

2.  Pays Waybill at Shipping Lines Counter

3.  With SG signal, proceeds to Lane Meter area or to the weighing bridge for weighing for type 3 and type 4 roro vehicles.

4.  Proceeds to the parking area.

5.  Proceeds to the PPA RRTF Counter.

6.  Proceeds to PICO Counter (for plant/animal products)

7.  Proceeds to the Marshalling area( one hour before etd)

8.  Coordinates with Marshalls / vessels representatives.

9.  Proceeds to the vessel ramp.

Processing time should only take 10 minutes so beware of fixers.

Boracay Experience With The Family

One of the most memorable trip of 2012 was our sidetrip to Boracay. Our accomodation was affordable and clean, fronting the beach and right in the middle of station 2 where all the actions are and the goods. The airconditioned room costs 2,500 with 2 twin beds which was just enough for the five of us. We also took another room shared by my 2 sisters, aunt and Yaya Ann. It probably helped that it was off season so upon arrival, a local tourist guide helped us find accomodation we only paid the multi cab that brought us to station 2.

It was our first ever try at Paragliding which costs Php 1,500 per 15 minutes per person up there in the air. And it's also the first time that i realized, how fun it would be to own a speed boat how much more a yacht. Hah!

We went there with our SUV of choice, the Fortuner from Batangas then to Mindoro then left it at a parking lot in Caticlan. I was surprised that there were lots of vehicle there parked mostly SUVs. Like us, they must have come from far-flung places and islands.

Here are some of the photos i took from the New Ipad.

Road Trip - Luzon to Visayas to Mindanao (Leyte to Surigao Part)

For the longest time, i have been wanting to write a post about our road trip experiences every time we go home to our home island, Mindanao. My good intentions vanished when i can no longer find all the receipts of all the expenses that we paid at ports. It's a good thing that last 2012 Christmas vacation, i was able to keep some that part where we have to ride the ferry boat from the Benit Port of San Ricardo, Southern Leyte of the Visayas to the Mindanao Port of Lipata, Surigao City.

There are two entry ports from Southern Leyte with which to depart from: Liloan and San Ricardo. From previous experiences, road tripping from Samar, you have to drive an extra 41 kilometer from Liloan to get to San Ricardo and although the roads are properly maintained, you need to drive through an extremely tight and winding road called Saddle Point which even the DPWH has considered to be dangerous.

Pls. see related article

http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1141340182422

Anyway, since ferry boat ride is much shorter in San Ricardo(1 hour) as opposed to Liloan(4 hours) many still prefer Benit port.

Here's a breakdown of the fees that we paid:

Vehicle fare (starex)- Php 2,110.00
Adult fare-140.00
Child fare-70.00
Terminal fee-16.00
PPA fee- which i think was 20.00 per passenger. I lost the ticket :)

Anyway, i posted here some photos of the tickets i was able to keep. I really hope, i will be able to improve this post to be able to help other Road trippers to try the Maharlika nautical highway and explore the Philippines by car. Let me just add that the drive from Samar to Leyte is the most refreshing and such a sight for sore eyes for urban dwellers. The coast is such a beautiful sight to behold and food along the higway through small carenderias are tasty , fresh and inexpensive, if you know how spot one. It's easy actually, you only need to find one that's clean looking.

Hello Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao

I have been neglecting these blog for several days now primarily because I have been busy with a lot of things lately.  I only have time to update this blog at night and since the husband arrived last October 29, we went on a road trip to Mindanao on the same day.  Anyway, what's new with this trip is that we took the Batangas - Mindoro - Roxas - Aklan - Dumaguete -Dipolog - Ozamis - Iligan - Zamboanga, Sibugay Route.  Lots of experiences to share so, i'll perhaps show you some of the roads we traversed and friend's houses we visited along the way.

This one is at Maninoy Tannie and Maninay Tessie's residence in Butuan City where we had dinner.

 This one was at Lipata Port, Surigao City on our way back already.

 The ever beautiful San Juanico Bridge.  I love bridges and all it represents. And if you ever want to study and get to know lots of bridges, the islands of Samar and Leyte are the best places to go to.  Somehow it just saddens me that the Maharlika Highway that used to be a flagship project of the government under GMA showed signs of neglect. National highway particularly from Surigao to Cagayan de Oro, as well as Quirino Highway in Luzon were terrible for roadies like us.

 In contrast, we never expected the national roads from Kapatagan passing through the interior municipalities of Sultan Naga Dimaporo and Tukuran of Lanao del Norte to be really well. We are simply awed that we have been going to Zamboanga from Iligan City and just discovered this now.

 I think this is Tukuran Port.

That's it for now.