How do I get from Dumaguete to Tampi port for the boat back to Moalboal?
Short answer
Tampi Port in San Jose is about 18 km north of Dumaguete, roughly 30 to 45 minutes by car up the coastal highway through Sibulan and Amlan. From the pier, the Maayo Shipping RORO crosses to Bato in Samboan, Cebu, in about 30 minutes.
This is the way back if your Cebu stay is on the west coast. Bato is the pier the Moalboal and Badian road reaches, so landing there saves the drive round Cebu’s southern tip from Liloan. A private car collects you at your Dumaguete hotel and drops you at the pier in one run, timed to the sailing you want, instead of a tricycle to the terminal and a northbound bus that leaves you on the highway at San Jose.
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: Dumaguete to Tampi Port (Bato boat to Cebu)
- 1Choose your sailing
Seven departures from Tampi appear in every published schedule: 5:00 AM, 8:00 AM, 10:30 AM, 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM, 8:00 PM and 11:30 PM. There is nothing in that list between 10:30 AM and 2:00 PM, so check the pier board before relying on any extra boat, and send us the sailing you are aiming for.
- 2Collected at your hotel
Your driver meets you at your Dumaguete address with your name, and the bags go straight in the back.
- 3North up the coastal highway
Out of the city and up through Sibulan and Amlan to the pier at San Jose, about 18 km and 30 to 45 minutes depending on the traffic through the towns.
- 4Ticket and the crossing to Bato
Tickets are sold at the counter, and the crossing to Bato takes about 30 minutes. From Bato the west-coast road runs north to Moalboal and Badian.
Ways to travel, compared
- Private transfer to Tampi Port (what we arrange)~30-45 min
Collected at your Dumaguete hotel and driven straight to the pier, timed to your sailing. One fixed price for the car agreed before you travel, request a quote.
- Ceres bus up the coast road~45-70 min
Northbound buses from the Dumaguete terminal pass San Jose on the coastal highway. Cheap and frequent in daylight, but you get to the terminal yourself first and are dropped on the highway rather than at the pier, against a boat that will not wait.
- Tricycle direct (local)varies
Some tricycles will take you, but 18 km with bags in the heat is not what they are built for, and the fare is negotiated on the spot.
Dumaguete to Tampi Port (Bato boat to Cebu): FAQs
How far is Tampi port from Dumaguete?
About 18 km. The drive north along the coastal highway through Sibulan and Amlan takes roughly 30 to 45 minutes, depending on traffic through the towns.
Should I go back via Tampi or via Sibulan?
It depends where you are going on Cebu. Tampi crosses to Bato, the pier on the west-coast road through Moalboal and Badian. Sibulan, about 7 km from Dumaguete, crosses to Liloan on the southern tip, which suits Oslob and the east-coast road to Cebu City. The two Cebu piers are only about a 10-minute tricycle ride apart round the tip, so if the Bato board has a gap at your hour, the Liloan boat is a fair fallback.
What time is the last boat from Tampi to Bato?
The last departure in every published schedule is 11:30 PM, an hour later than the last Liloan boat from Sibulan. The first is 5:00 AM. Sailings can be cancelled in rough weather, so confirm at the pier or with Maayo Shipping close to your travel date. Our ferry guide carries the seven corroborated times and when we last checked them.
Do I need to book the ferry ahead?
For most crossings you can buy the ticket at the pier on the day. Booking ahead on Maayo Shipping’s portal is worth it for the first and last boats, or whenever a flight or a driver on the Cebu side depends on one specific sailing.
Can you arrange the Cebu side too?
Yes, through our sister site cebu.travel, which runs the Cebu road legs. Ask for both halves when you plan the trip, give us the sailing, and the Negros driver and the Cebu driver are timed to the same boat.
Can you do the return trip, Tampi Port (Bato boat to Cebu) back to Dumaguete?
Yes. The same private car and driver, Tampi Port (Bato boat to Cebu) back to Dumaguete over the same ~18 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.
Tampi Port (Bato boat to Cebu) → Dumaguete
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 Tampi Port (Bato boat to Cebu) → Dumaguete 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.
Starting somewhere else?
We also run to Tampi Port (Bato boat to Cebu) from these starting points. Each page has its own timing and a quote form already filled in for that pickup.