Travel Advice - Visayas Driving Vacation

[OnMyWay]

We are thinking about taking a few weeks to drive around Visayas and I know some of you have traveled the area extensively.  This would be in April or May.  Any advice you can share is appreciated.

--  Just looking at the map, we might want to visit Bacolod, Iliolo City, Cebu City and others.  Are RORO ferries widely available to get around the islands in a rental car?

--  We can fly direct Clark to Cebu City or Bacolod.  Advantages to either?  One way or another, we will probably spend a few days in Cebu or on Mactan.  Despite the traffic.

--  I found a lot of rental car places in Cebu City.  Will I find them in Bacolod too?

-- Any areas to avoid due to safety or road conditions?

--  We will probably try to use Air Bnbs if possible due to our 5 person family, but any recommendations anywhere are appreciated.

--  In general, are there any cities / places we should make the extra effort to see?  I'm not sure if we would get down to Dumaguete as I heard there are a lot of crazy expats causing trouble there.

Any advice is very much appreciated!

Don

[Huggybearman]

If you do venture as far as Dumaguete, crazy, trouble making ex-pats nothwithstanding, I believe Dave Houndriver of this parish has a car (and a motorcycle if you are so inclined) to rent. There are ro-ro ferries between the islands but I have no idea as to schedules. I am sure others will be along shortly to advise.

If you have your own car in Subic you could take that rather than renting. There is a ro-ro ferry between Manila and Cebu City. That might be another option to consider.

Ken 

[Jollygoodfellow]

3 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Any areas to avoid due to safety or road conditions?

Yes avoid roads altogether 

[manofthecoldland]

Your proposed 5 family person road trip sounds quite interesting. I personally have no information to supply you with, but I am eager to see what others provide and advise. It would be interesting to see what rules, regs and especially cost information will be revealed.  I do know that one of my closest friends, who in truth is Mr. Kuripot, no longer takes his motorcycle between islands because of the transportation fee for it. His age is getting to be a factor too. he tells me, since the road safety and traffic levels are issues he's only willing to deal with on his familiar home island.  I personally do not believe that this is a auto touring friendly country, due to geography, infrastructure, driving habits, costs etc., but then again.....   Keep us posted to what you discover.

[OnMyWay]

3 hours ago, Huggybearman said:

If you have your own car in Subic you could take that rather than renting. There is a ro-ro ferry between Manila and Cebu City. That might be another option to consider.

We considered a long haul ferry as one option but we think that would work out better when are kids are older.  Also, those long ferries take 1-2 days each way in transit, so that cuts into your total vacation time.

 

1 hour ago, manofthecoldland said:

no longer takes his motorcycle between islands because of the transportation fee for it.

I have no idea what the costs would be for the car transport so maybe someone does.  Of course, I will eventually have to look it up!

 

1 hour ago, manofthecoldland said:

I personally do not believe that this is a auto touring friendly country, due to geography, infrastructure, driving habits, costs etc.,

I agree to a certain extent but we have done OK going around N. Luzon and last May we covered Bohol.  I guess I am hoping the provincial driving in some of these places will be like Bohol, which is ok.

[OnMyWay]

3 hours ago, Huggybearman said:

I believe Dave Houndriver of this parish has a car (and a motorcycle if you are so inclined) to rent.

If Dave upgrades his fleet we will take a look!  I think maybe a SIL will join so we will need, at the least, an Avanza.  We had one on Bohol for 6 of us and that was fine.

[Mike J]

There is a RORO between Guihulngan on Negros and Dumanjug on Cebu.  Still quite a bit of construction on the National Highway that circles Cebu island.  Most of it is still two lanes and a lot of traffic.  I thought the roads and traffic were better in Negros.  We went to San Carlos to attend a graduation and then made a day trip to Bacolod over the mountain, very steep, and return via Cadiz City.  Keep an eye out for the sugar cane trucks with their huge loads of cane.

[DavidK]

When it comes to driving around here there are a number of rules and things one should be aware of before commencing such an action. I'll try and summarise them to the best of my ability but by the time you've finished your trip I expect you'll be able to add to them.

The three rules of driving (in Cebu at least):

• Rule 1 - There are no rules
• Rule 2 - Might is right
• Rule 3 - In case of dispute see Rule 1

Then there are the three main driving types, excluding jeepney drivers who should get their own separate thesis:

• Type 1 - Ultra aggressive, think the road belongs to them and will push/jump into/overtake into any gap whether actually there or not. My advice is to let them go and not get in their way. They are usually driving large/expensive cars and have a huge sense of entitlement. These are the people who may, if you get in their way, get out of their car and shoot you.
• Type 2 - The truly terrified, rarely go faster than 30 kph and the most frustrating of all, especially when you realise the road in front of them is empty. Frequently have to be overtaken on the inside.
• Type 3 - They know not what they do. Don't understand just how dangerous what they're doing is. Nearly all motorbike riders fall into this category. Unpredictable so usually the most dangerous/troublesome of the lot.

General advice:

Don't be in a rush, attempting to save a few minutes by driving faster/more aggressively will up the odds of trouble considerably. Even if you think the road is clear it probably isn't. Driving up the west side of Cebu a few weeks ago a mostly clear road was constantly obstructed by signage in the road ("Danger: Sign in road"). Actually they were slowing you down because of local schools, which is fine but why leave them out all day rather than just when pupils are going to/from schools?. Stupid question I know, this is the Philippines. Remember DWW (Driving Whilst White) automatically puts you in the wrong. Ensure your car has good aircon and a good CD player (or equivalent if you stream your music from your phone).

Apologies if all this in entirely familiar to you.

Edited December 22, 2018 by DavidK
typo

[earthdome]

On 12/21/2018 at 3:41 AM, OnMyWay said:

  Also, those long ferries take 1-2 days each way in transit, so that cuts into your total vacation time.

What, you only have a few weeks vacation from your work??

[OnMyWay]

51 minutes ago, earthdome said:

What, you only have a few weeks vacation from your work??

It is the kid's school vacation!  And, the longer the trip, the higher the cost!

Actually, the school break is over 2 months.  This year, we might try to take two domestic trips.