How to get from Siquijor to El Nido? We’re thrilled to see this question because it means more and more travelers are taking the plunge to discover beautiful Siquijor. As you probably know, they are in different parts of the Philippines and, although the one in the Visayas has a modest airport, there are no direct flights to connect them easily. So we’ll tell you upfront that this transfer from Siquijor to El Nido or vice versa will take up a good part of your day.
There isn’t a single way to get from Siquijor to El Nido; you’ll need to weigh what works best for you in terms of money and time. Perhaps the option with the fewest connections is via Cebu, but you can also consider going via Dumaguete (the largest and closest city) or via Bohol, which has an airport with direct flights to El Nido. Finally, if you’re backpacking in the Philippines and you have 2 or 3 days to make the journey, you might fancy the adventure of not taking a single plane and catching the ferry from Iloilo to Puerto Princesa (Palawan).
Without further ado, here are all the possible options to travel from Siquijor to El Nido. At the end of the article you’ll find the reverse direction, but of course you can simply flip the routes in the sections above to get your answer.
If you’ve come this far but you’re actually looking for ways to go from other islands, you’ll surely find what you need in How to get to El Nido or How to get to Siquijor.
Go from Siquijor to El Nido via Cebu
Cebu has one of the most important airports in the Philippines and from there direct flights to El Nido depart. Therefore, one of the faster alternatives to get from Siquijor to El Nido is to go to this city first.
Step 1: get from Siquijor to Cebu
In this case, you have 4 options:
- Take a ferry from Siquijor to Cebu: in our opinion, the most comfortable. You can choose between the daily OceanJet ferries, which depart from Siquijor Port at 8:20 and 14:30 and take about 4 hours. You can book here. Another fast option is SuperCat, which departs from Larena Port (farther from the accommodation area) every day at 7:30, arriving in Cebu around 12:00. Still, be very careful with this company because it’s common for them to cancel sailings for maintenance, whereas OceanJet is much more reliable. You can book on this platform. Another company is Lite Shipping, which departs every day except Mondays at 20:00 and arrives in Cebu about 11 hours later. You can book here.
- Take a ferry to Dumaguete and then fly from Dumaguete to Cebu: from Siquijor Town Port there are frequent ferries to Dumaguete (Negros), taking between 1 and 2 hours. Once there, take a tricycle to Sibulan Airport. Cebu Pacific is the only airline offering flights from Dumaguete to Cebu. The flight takes about 50 minutes and prices are around €30, depending on how far in advance you book.
- Go by bus from Siquijor to Cebu: as in the previous case, you’ll first take a ferry to Dumaguete. There, take a tricycle to the Ceres bus station and hop on one of the buses bound for Cebu. The fare is around ₱400 and they take about 6–7 hours. If they’re taking too long to depart, you can take a jeepney to Sibulan Port (₱12/30 minutes), a ferry to Liloan (around ₱80/25 minutes) and then any bus going to Cebu (2 hours/around ₱200).
- Take a charter flight from Siquijor to Cebu: it’s only offered by a small-plane company called Rohyle Aviation and you can expect to pay around ₱15,000. Not an option for every budget.
You have all of this explained in detail in How to get to Cebu from Siquijor.
One thing to consider is that most direct flights from Cebu to El Nido depart in the morning, and much the same happens if you’re flying to Puerto Princesa. Therefore, it’s very likely you’ll need to spend the night in Cebu City. In that case, we recommend:
- Staying halfway between the port, a nice dining area, and with easy access to the airport: Cebu Hotel Plus
- Sleeping near the airport: Little Norway Guesthouse
- Many more options in Where to stay in Cebu
To get to Cebu Airport, you can use regular (white) taxis or the Grab app. Allow no less than 1 hour for traffic because, although it isn’t Manila, things get intense in this city too.
Step 2: Go from Cebu to El Nido
Here you also face a dilemma: go directly to El Nido and pay more, or fly to Puerto Princesa, take longer, but pay less. In other words:
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- You can book a flight from Cebu to El Nido with Air Swift (now owned by Cebu Pacific Air): this is the only airline operating the route. They use small aircraft and there aren’t many frequencies, so it’s best to book as early as possible. With advance purchase, prices are around ₱3,000–4,000, otherwise they can easily rise to ₱10,000. The flight takes about 90 minutes.
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- Or you can book a flight from Cebu to Puerto Princesa: this is the capital of Palawan, there are more flight frequencies, including low-cost carriers, so you can find fares from ₱2,500 (and often less). Once there, you’ll have to take a bus or van to El Nido, which will take between 4 and 6 hours and cost between ₱500 and ₱700.
You’ll find all of this explained in much more detail in How to get to El Nido.
Go from Siquijor to El Nido via Dumaguete
Dumaguete is the capital of Negros Oriental and the closest city with a significant airport. However, there are no direct flights from Dumaguete to El Nido or to Puerto Princesa. Therefore, you’ll need to compare costs and travel time to get from Siquijor to El Nido. In this case, the steps would be as follows:
Step 1: get from Siquijor to Dumaguete
As we mentioned above, from Siquijor Town Port there are frequent ferries run by different companies to Dumaguete. The fastest is OceanJet and prices are around ₱350. In How to get from Siquijor to Dumaguete you’ll find the different types of ferries and schedules.
Once there, you can take a tricycle from the port to Sibulan Airport, which shouldn’t cost you more than ₱150 because it’s not very far.
Plan to be at least 1 hour early at Sibulan Airport, and bear in mind that delays also happen with Philippine ferries. Don’t cut it too close when planning your route from Siquijor to El Nido.
If you don’t mind paying (much) more, there’s a company offering charter flights from Siquijor to Dumaguete. You can check prices on their website.
Step 2: from Dumaguete to El Nido
To cover this leg from Siquijor to El Nido, there are several alternatives:
- Book a flight from Dumaguete to Cebu and another flight from Cebu to El Nido: keep in mind they may be operated by different airlines, so it’s advisable to allow at least 3 hours between them. If Cebu Pacific Air sells them together to you, no problem.
- Book a flight from Dumaguete to Manila and another flight from Manila to El Nido: it’s a longer option, but you might consider it because there are more frequencies from Manila to El Nido. They’ll also be operated by different airlines, so allow at least 3 hours.
- Book a flight from Dumaguete to Cebu, another flight from Cebu to Puerto Princesa and then a van or bus to El Nido. Bear in mind this route will be longer because from Puerto Princesa to El Nido alone takes 4–5 hours. The upside is that on this route you can try to do both flights with the same airline so your connection is less risky.
- Book a flight from Dumaguete to Manila, another from Manila to Puerto Princesa and then a van or bus from Puerto Princesa to El Nido. It’s the same as the previous case but a bit longer (depending on the layover).
If, for whatever reason, you’ve arrived in Puerto Princesa and it’s too late to go to El Nido, don’t worry — it’s a pleasant city to stay overnight. Options include:
- Close to restaurants and the airport: Abeth’s Haven
- Right by the airport with a pool: Canvas Boutique Hotel
- More alternatives in Where to stay in Puerto Princesa
Go from Siquijor to El Nido via Bohol
The third way to get from Siquijor to El Nido is via Bohol. Well, technically via Bohol and Panglao, since the latter has a modern airport with direct flights to El Nido. In this case, here’s what you should do:
Step 1: Go from Siquijor to Bohol
To cover this part of the route you can:
- Take the OceanJet ferry, which departs every day at 8:20 and 14:30 from Siquijor Port. It takes about 90 minutes to reach Tagbilaran Port in Bohol. You can book here.
- Take the SuperCat ferry, which departs from Larena Port (note this) at 7:30 daily. It takes a couple of hours and you can book from this link. As we mentioned above, it isn’t as reliable a company as OceanJet and often cancels sailings.
- Take the Apekoptravel ferry, which leaves every day at 13:00 and takes a couple of hours. However, note that they operate out of Larena Port, farther from the hotels in the San Juan area, and it’s not very reliable either. You can book here.
- Take the Lite Ferries ferry, which departs every day except Mondays at 20:00 from Larena. They arrive in Tagbilaran around 23:00. You can book here.
Everything is explained in detail in How to get from Siquijor to Bohol.
If you have to spend the night in Bohol, options include:
- Near Tagbilaran Port: Oasis Balili Heritage Lodge
- Near Panglao Airport: Three Shooting Stars
- Many more alternatives explained in Where to stay in Bohol and Where to stay in Panglao
Step 2: Go from Tagbilaran to Panglao Airport
Bohol and Panglao are two separate islands, but they’re linked by a couple of bridges, so it will take you less than 1 hour to reach the airport from the port. For this, you have 3 options:
- Tricycle: they charge ₱300/₱350. Allow roughly 50 minutes.
- Taxi: they charge around ₱500. Allow 40 minutes.
- Jeepney: ₱25 per person. They’re slow, so don’t allow less than 1 hour.
Step 3: Go from Bohol to El Nido
Air Swift (owned by Cebu Pacific Air) is the only airline with direct flights from Bohol to El Nido. Since they use small aircraft, it’s best to book in advance to avoid running out of seats or paying much more. Normal prices are around ₱3,000–4,000, but they can easily be ₱6,000. Also, there aren’t daily flights, just 3–4 per week.
Book your flight from Bohol to El Nido here
A cheaper but longer alternative would be to look for flights from Bohol to Puerto Princesa. Keep in mind these flights will connect through Cebu or Manila and then you’ll still have to take a bus or van to El Nido. For that reason, we don’t see much point.
Get from Siquijor to El Nido cheaply but very slowly (via Iloilo)
Finally, the last option to get from Siquijor to El Nido is to take a very long route passing through Negros and then crossing to Panay. However, if you plan to make some stops along the way (Dumaguete and surroundings, Bacolod, Iloilo, Guimaras…), it might be worth it. To give you an idea:
Step 1: get from Siquijor to Dumaguete
You just need to head to Siquijor Town Port and take one of the frequent ferries to Dumaguete. Prices are around ₱350 and the journey takes 1 to 2 hours depending on the company. You can read more about this in How to get from Siquijor to Dumaguete.
Once in Dumaguete, take a tricycle or a jeepney to the Ceres station. This company has the most buses heading to Bacolod, the capital of Negros Occidental.
Step 2: get from Dumaguete to Bacolod
Take any bus to Bacolod. The journey takes approximately 6 hours and the ticket costs around ₱300–380, depending on whether it has air conditioning or not. They run from 1:00 to 20:30 roughly every 30 minutes.
You’ll arrive at the Ceres South bus station. From there you can walk, hop on a tricycle, or ask for the jeepneys that take you to the port.
Step 3: get from Bacolod to Iloilo
Take one of the ferries from Bacolod to Iloilo. It’s a fairly frequent and quick route; in a couple of hours you’ll be in Iloilo.
Step 4: get from Iloilo to Puerto Princesa
From Iloilo Port only one shipping company makes the trip to Puerto Princesa in 36 hours, stopping at little-known Cuyo Island. Montenegro Shipping operates only on Saturdays at 15:00 and arrives on Monday around 7:00. The price is around ₱3,000 for a berth and you can book from this link.
Step 5: get from Puerto Princesa to El Nido
Once in Puerto Princesa, you’ll need to combine multicabs or jeepneys to San José bus station, where you can choose between buses or vans to El Nido. It will take between 4 and 6 hours and prices are around ₱400–600.
If you want to relax halfway, you can make a stop for a few days in Port Barton, a very backpacker-friendly spot you’ll love.
How to get from El Nido to Siquijor
As you’ve seen, there are many ways to go from Siquijor to El Nido and you need to assess what works best for you in terms of time and money. In the opposite direction, that is, to go from El Nido to Siquijor, you’ll have to do the same, with the particular consideration of keeping flight times in mind to Bohol, Cebu, or Dumaguete and then the ferries to Siquijor from those points.
Generally, what gives you the best chance of reaching Siquijor from El Nido on the same day is to do it via Dumaguete because there are ferries until roughly 19:00. You’ll find schedules in How to get to Siquijor. If you have to stay overnight there, no problem — there are plenty of decent places to stay in Dumaguete.
If you’re doing this any day except Sunday, another good alternative is to fly from El Nido to Bohol and take the Lite Shipping ferry, which departs from Larena Port at 20:00 and arrives in Siquijor around 23:00. This entire journey is explained in How to get from El Nido to Bohol and then How to get from Bohol to Siquijor. Needless to say, this would be the most suitable route if you’re going to spend a few days in Bohol.
The most comfortable option, in our opinion? Take a flight from El Nido to Cebu (ideally the last one), sleep near the airport or the port (for example, at Little Norway Guesthouse) and take the ferry from Cebu to Siquijor the next morning.
If you want to save a bit and don’t mind taking longer, you can go by van or bus from El Nido to Puerto Princesa and then take a flight from Puerto Princesa to Cebu. The next morning, hop on the ferry to Siquijor.
We hope we’ve helped you figure out how to get from Siquijor to El Nido and vice versa. Still, if you have any doubts or questions, we’ll be happy to reply in the comments below.
You’ll find all the information you need about both destinations in our Siquijor Guide and the El Nido Guide.
