Quote Originally Posted by dreamur View Post
Guys, planning to drive to Cebu (and back) this Christmas week. Need your inputs on the following:

1. Will the roro services both at matnog and leyte be available?

2. What would be the traffic condition considering the holidays?

3. Are pets allowed on those stops with hotels?

Edit: travelling with family pala + 1 small pet. Planning to stay in a hotel in Naga and Allen that is pet friendly.

Appreciate your help!

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Since you are planning to sleep at Naga and Allen, most likely you are planning a daytrip, which is good and advisable for first time travelers.

1. The roro service at Matnog and Allen ports starts at 6 am up to about 5-6 pm in the afternoon. Provided theres no typhoon, the service should be continuous on a first come first serve basis. Last Christmas my kids coming from Cebu got stranded at Allen due to the typhoon, they spent their Christmas at a hotel in Calbayog.

You have to check the roro service from Leyte to Cebu, they have been very erratic, for this reason, I shifted to Cokaliong Lines, it leaves Calbayog to Cebu 7 pm, Tues/Thurs/Sat. Cokaliong charge about P 8-9k for a starex/montero. The port is at Magino-o, Calbayog about 10 km before Calbayog coming from Allen, but the cargo office is in Calbayog City, so you buy your ticket there not at the pot.

If passing Leyte is part of your itinerary, maybe to see San Juanico Bridge and Tacloban, you should first check the ferries/roro operating the ormoc-cebu route for their schedule, because they frequently change their schedules, you dont want to arrive at Ormoc only to find out theres no roro service. In your plan itinerary, you will arrive Ormoc early afternoon, enought time to catch the evening 10:00 pm (?) roro to cebu (Lite Shipping). Its peak season so expect a lot of travelers, the earlier you arrive at Ormoc the better chance you can get a slot for your car. Call the shipping lines to confirm their schedule, dont rely on their webpages.

2. You are coming from Manila(?) expect the traffic to be heavy, those coming from the Visayas are the lighter during pre-Christmas travel. Plan your route, there are new diversion roads that you could take to avoid the city choke points especially in the Batangas-Quezon area. If this is your first time to travel this route, dont travel at night to beat the traffic, night travel will still be moderate to heavy due to trucks and provincial buses, but you will be in the disadvantage since you are not familiar with the road.

3. What kind of pet? My daughter always bring her cat with her, its allowed but inside the pet cage. I have not slept in a hotel in Naga, so im unsure about the hotels there about pet policy. You can give them a call when you do your booking. At Allen , we had no problem for a cat in a cage.


Hope this helps. Your spoilers here are the ferries/roros and the weather.