How do I get from Dauin to Sibulan port for the boat back to Cebu?
Short answer
Sibulan Port is about 22 km north of Dauin, usually 35 to 45 minutes by car. The road runs up the coast past Bacong, through Dumaguete, then about 7 km on along the coastal highway to the pier, where the Maayo Shipping boats cross to Liloan (Santander) on Cebu’s southern tip in 20 to 30 minutes.
This is the way home for most divers who came over from Cebu. A private car collects you and your dive bags at the resort gate and drops you at the pier in one run, timed to the sailing you want, instead of a tricycle up the beach lane, a bus into the Dumaguete terminal and a second ride out to Sibulan.
All Saints’ Day, Sunday 1 November 2026: three sailings each way
Maayo Shipping runs a reduced holiday timetable on both of its Cebu crossings on 1 November, and the times differ by direction. The normal timetable resumes on Monday 2 November. Expect holiday crowds at the pier.
| Liloan → Sibulan | Sibulan → Liloan | Bato → Tampi | Tampi → Bato |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 AM | 9:00 AM | 10:30 AM | 7:30 AM |
| 12:00 NN | 3:00 PM | 4:30 PM | 1:30 PM |
| 6:00 PM | 9:00 PM | 11:30 PM | 8:00 PM |
Maayo’s RORO only. The holiday notice does not cover the passenger fast craft, so check its times with the operator. Crossing on the 1st? Tell us which sailing you are aiming for and we time the pickup to it.
Step by step: Dauin to Sibulan Port (Liloan fast craft)
- 1Choose your sailing
Liloan-bound boats leave Sibulan nine times a day: 4:30 AM, 6:00 AM, 9:00 AM, 12:00 NN, 3:00 PM, 6:00 PM, 7:30 PM, 9:00 PM and 10:30 PM. Read the daytime ones as three hours apart, because they are, and the last three as 90 minutes apart. Tell us which one you are aiming for when you request the quote and we will name the boat behind it as your fallback.
- 2Collected at your resort gate
Your driver meets you at the resort itself, not the highway, and the dive bags go straight in the back.
- 3North through Bacong and Dumaguete
Up the coast road and through the city. This is the variable section, slow in the daytime and at the end of the working day, and quiet before dawn.
- 4Dropped at Sibulan pier
About 7 km past the city on the coastal highway. Tickets are sold at the pier on the day, and the crossing to Liloan takes 20 to 30 minutes.
Ways to travel, compared
- Private transfer to Sibulan Port (what we arrange)~35-45 min
Collected at your Dauin resort and driven straight to the pier with room for dive kit, timed to your sailing. One fixed price for the car agreed before you travel, request a quote.
- Tricycle + Ceres bus + Ceres bus (public)~1-1.5 hrs
A tricycle up to the highway at Dauin, a northbound bus into the Dumaguete terminal, then a second bus north to Sibulan. Cheapest, but three legs and two changes with luggage, against a boat that will not wait.
- Tricycle direct (local)~1 hr
Some tricycles will run the whole way to the pier. Workable solo with a light bag, slow and cramped with dive gear or a suitcase, and the fare is negotiated on the spot.
Dauin to Sibulan Port (Liloan fast craft): FAQs
How long does it take to get from Dauin to Sibulan port?
About 35 to 45 minutes for the roughly 22 km by private car: about 15 km up the coast road past Bacong into Dumaguete, then about 7 km on to the pier. Traffic through Dumaguete city is the variable part, so a daytime departure needs more slack than an early-morning one.
What time is the last boat from Sibulan to Liloan?
The last sailing is 10:30 PM and the first is 4:30 AM, nine a day in all, per the full regular schedule Maayo Shipping restored on 1 July 2026. This crossing has been re-timed more than once in 2026 and sailings can be cancelled in rough weather, so confirm with the operator close to your travel date. Our ferry guide carries the verified timetable and when it was last checked.
Do I need to book the ferry ahead?
For most mid-day crossings you can buy the ticket at the pier on the day. It is worth booking ahead on Maayo Shipping’s portal for the first and last boats, or whenever a flight or a transfer on the Cebu side depends on making a specific sailing.
Is Sibulan port the same place as Dumaguete airport?
No. Both are in Sibulan and only minutes apart, which catches people out on the way home. The pier is where the boats to Liloan in Cebu leave; Dumaguete-Sibulan (DGT) airport is the separate air terminal. If you are flying out instead, the Dauin to Dumaguete airport page covers that run and how early to leave.
How far is it from Liloan to Moalboal or Cebu City?
Liloan Port to Moalboal is about 70 km, 2 to 2.5 hours by car, and the drive from Liloan up to Cebu City runs about 3.5 to 4.5 hours, per our sister site cebu.travel, which arranges the Cebu side. Ask for both halves when you plan the trip and the two drivers can be timed to the same sailing.
Is there room for dive gear and luggage on the run to the pier?
Yes - say how many sets of dive gear are coming in the "Anything bulky?" box on the quote form, with your bag count, and the car is sized to the load instead of the passenger count. This is the leg where it bites hardest: you are going home with everything, kit packed wet rather than dry, and the deadline is a sailing rather than a desk. The daytime Liloan boats are three hours apart, so a car that cannot take the gear in one run does not cost you ten minutes, it costs you the next crossing and the Cebu road leg behind it. If your gear was rented on the coast and stays there, tell us that too and we send something smaller.
Can the same driver take us to Apo Island before we leave?
Yes. Apo Island is a barangay of Dauin, reached by your resort boat or the public bancas at Malatapay, about 15 km south. Ask for the Apo Island day and the pier transfer in one quote and we price them together, with the pier run on a separate day so the boat back from Apo is never racing the ferry.
Can you do the return trip, Sibulan Port (Liloan fast craft) back to Dauin?
Yes. The same private car and driver, Sibulan Port (Liloan fast craft) back to Dauin over the same ~22 km. Ask for both legs in one quote request and we price the round trip together. If the way back ends somewhere other than where you started, say where in the Anything else? box on the quote form and we quote that leg instead of the reverse of this one.
How much notice do you need - can I still book this for tomorrow?
Usually yes. There is no minimum notice on this route and no cut-off hour, so a request for tomorrow, or for later today, is worth sending rather than writing off. What settles it is whether a vetted driver is free for the time you need, and you will have the answer and the price by email the same day, usually within a few hours. An early start is routine here rather than a complication. The part that gets harder with less notice is choice - holding a particular vehicle size or an exact pickup hour - not whether the journey can happen, so send the date and, if the timing is tight, the hour you need to be moving.
Do I pay anything up front, and when do I pay the rest?
Nothing to ask for a quote. Once you are happy with the price it is two steps, not a choice between two: a booking fee paid online (card, bank transfer or GCash) confirms the trip and is what gets you your written confirmation, then the balance goes directly to your driver at the end of the journey. The fee is part of the all-in figure you agreed rather than an extra on top of it, and your quote states it before you pay. Free cancellation more than 72 hours before pickup refunds the fee in full.
Do you book the boat, or do I?
You book the crossing, and the Cebu boats are settled at the port on the day - they are public passenger fares you buy from the operator, and we neither sell them nor mark them up. What we quote is the private road leg each side of the water, plus the waiting and the timing. This is the crossing where naming your boat matters most: four of the daytime gaps on the Liloan-Sibulan run are three hours each, so which sailing you aim at moves your pickup by hours rather than minutes. Put it in the "Ferry or boat" box - "not booked yet" is a fine answer - and we will work the drive around it.
Sibulan Port (Liloan fast craft) → Dauin
We run this route in both directions, with the same car and driver. Ask for both legs in one request and we'll price the round trip together.
We'll pre-fill Sibulan Port (Liloan fast craft) → Dauin on the form. Just add your dates and details.
Coming back to somewhere else - a different town, the airport, a pier for an onward boat? Say where in the Anything else? box on the form and we price the return to that instead of back to the start.