If you’re looking for how to get to Tablas because you want to set off on a journey through the spectacular Romblon archipelago, which usually sits off the typical routes through the Philippines, you’ve come to the right place—there’s plenty to do in Tablas! At Travel Around The Philippines we’re going to explain how to get to Tablas from Manila, but also from other common destinations like Boracay, Romblon, Sibuyan, or Cebu in a simple and up‑to‑date way, since we know it can be confusing. Let’s get started!
Where Tablas is and points of interest
Tablas is an island belonging to the province of Romblon, which administratively is part of the MIMAROPA region (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan), though we could place it within the Visayas.
If you look at the map below, it lies north of Carabao, Panay, and Boracay; southeast of Mindoro; south of Manila; and west of Romblon and Sibuyan.
The island has a small airport, Tugdan Airport (IATA code THB), located in the southeast, which at the moment only receives flights from Manila operated by AirSwift once or twice a week. It does, however, have several ports: Odiongan (the most important, on the west coast), San Agustín (to the east, with boats to Romblon), Looc (on the west coast, south of Odiongan), and Santa Fe (in the south). In the north there’s also a very small one called Calatrava Pier, from which a few occasional boats depart to the little‑visited islands of Corcuera and Bantón, and from where you can also do a pretty cool island hopping.
Another useful reference is that the island’s capital is Odiongan, which has the largest port. As for tourist attractions, most are concentrated on the west side of the island (Binucot and surroundings), though there’s also a nice beach in Alcantara (near the airport).
One thing to keep in mind is that Tablas is still a relatively untouristed destination, so there aren’t that many ways to get there and schedules can change constantly. We try to stay on top of everything and, as you’ll see, we keep this updated, but we recommend contacting the shipping companies or the Romblon Tourism Office to double‑check timetables and dates.
How to get to Tablas from Manila
The starting point for many travelers who want to get to Tablas is Manila, the country’s capital. In this case, the three most practical options are:
- Book a flight from Manila to Tablas (about 1 hour).
- Take a bus from Manila to Batangas (approx. 2 hours) and a ferry from Batangas to Odiongan (about 10 hours).
- Take a bus from Manila to Lucena City (about 3 hours) and a ferry from Lucena to San Agustín (around 11 hours).
Since flights aren’t as frequent as you might expect and are a bit pricey—especially if not bought in advance—the ferry alternative, though long, is usually the most used. Here are the details:
How to get to Tablas from Manila by plane
The fastest way to reach Tablas is to take an AirSwift flight from Manila to Tugdan Airport, located in the Alcantara area. This is the only airline operating them and they aren’t daily, so prices are fairly high, around 4,500–5,500 pesos even if booked in advance.
As the planes are small, we recommend booking as early as possible.
How to get to Tablas from Manila by ferry (via Batangas)
If the plane seems expensive, you can go to Tablas by ferry from Batangas, a port located a couple of hours from Manila. To get there, you have buses from the stations at Buendia (on Gil Puyat Avenue, near the airport and Makati), Parañaque Integrated Terminal (PITX), EDSA Taft, or Cubao. They depart constantly at any hour of the day and the ticket is around 250–350 pesos, depending on the type of bus. You can book here.
Once in Batangas, you need to take the 2Go ferry, which departs to Odiongan on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 21:00. The journey takes about 10 hours (arriving around 7:00) and prices start at 730 pesos for the most economical class—though all of them include a bed. You can book from this link.
How to get to Tablas from Manila by ferry (via Lucena)
If the Batangas boats don’t line up well, you can also take a bus from Manila to Lucena City and then a ferry there. From our experience, buses to Lucena take between 3 and 4 hours, depending on Manila traffic. They cost between 300 and 400 pesos and depart from several areas of the city. You can check schedules and book here.
A couple of ferries depart from Lucena port to reach Tablas:
- Starhorse Shipping Lines: depart daily at 16:00 from Lucena and arrive in San Agustín around 3:00.
- Montenegro: depart from Lucena daily at 15:00 and arrive in Romblon the next day at 2:00.
None of these ferries can be booked online in advance.
This is what long‑distance ferries look like
How to get to Tablas from Boracay (Caticlan)
Possibly the shortest and easiest way to reach Tablas is from Boracay or, more specifically, from the neighboring port of Caticlan. We mention Boracay because it’s one of the most famous destinations in all the Philippines, so visiting Tablas can be a great counterpoint.
If you’re in Boracay, you’ll need to follow these steps to get to Tablas:
- Take the bangka from Boracay to Caticlan: they take just 5 minutes, run 24 hours a day, and cost 50 pesos.
- Take a bangka or a ferry from Caticlan to Tablas. In this case, you have these alternatives:
- Take the 2GO ferry to Odiongan on Tablas, which departs Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 14:00 and arrives at 17:00. You can book here.
- Take the bangka (pumpboat) from Caticlan to Santa Fe in the south of Tablas. This departs daily at 10:30 and 14:30. The ticket costs 200 pesos and takes about an hour. Once in Santa Fe, you can take a jeepney to Odiongan, which will take about 1 hour and costs around 50 pesos.
- Take the bangka from Caticlan to Looc, which runs Monday to Saturday at 10:15 and takes about 90 minutes. The ticket is around 200 pesos. From Looc, jeepneys go to Odiongan, taking about 45 minutes.
It’s also possible to reach Tablas from Caticlan via Looc. This port is closer to Odiongan, so it’s a great alternative. As of today, there are two bangkas from Caticlan to Looc, one at 7:30 and another at 11:30. The trip takes about 90 minutes and costs 450 pesos. Once in Looc, you can take a jeepney or a tricycle to Odiongan.
Don’t miss our Boracay Guide to plan your trip to the island.
How to get to Tablas from Cebu
If you’re in Cebu City or on one of the nearby islands (Bohol, Siquijor, Malapascua, Bantayan, Camotes, etc.) and want to reach Tablas, the shortest way is to look for a flight from Cebu to Caticlan and from there take one of the boats we mentioned in the previous section. If prices look very high, another option is to search for flights from Cebu to Kalibo and then a bus from Kalibo to Caticlan (approximately 3 hours).
If you have a lot of time, you could also consider the alternative of going by ferry from Cebu to Iloilo (12 hours and only on certain days of the week, from 1,400 pesos), traveling from Iloilo to Caticlan by bus or van, and then boarding a boat to take you to Tablas. In that case, you could look into visiting islands like Guimaras or the Gigantes Islands and do a route that’s a bit off the beaten path.
How to get to Tablas from Romblon
Many travelers quite rightly explore other islands in the Romblon archipelago. If you’re in Romblon, you can reach Tablas in one of the following ways:
- Montenegro: departs at 12:00 noon daily and arrives at San Agustín port at 13:00.
- Starhorse Shipping Lines: also departs at 12:00 and arrives an hour later in San Agustín.
- Bangkas from Romblon to Tablas: there are small boats at 8:00 that arrive at 9:00 for 200 pesos. It’s best to go to the port at least 1 hour early because capacity is only 100 people and it’s better to sign up in advance.
None of these can be booked online.
If, for whatever reason, you want to go at a different time, it’s also feasible to negotiate a bangka. Travelers tell us it costs around 2,500–3,000 pesos.
From San Agustín you have jeepneys and buses to Odiogan, which take around 90 minutes and cost about 100 pesos.
Don’t miss our Romblon Guide.
How to get to Tablas from Sibuyan
If you’ve been visiting Sibuyan and the beautiful Cresta de Gallo, you can reach Tablas with the following boats:
- Montenegro Shipping Lines: departs every day from Magdiwang (Sibuyan) to Tablas at 8:00 and arrives around 12:30. It can’t be booked online.
- Starhorse Shipping Lines: from Magdiwang daily at 10:00, arriving 3–3.5 hours later in San Agustín. It can’t be booked in advance.
Remember that in our Sibuyan Guide you’ll find all the information about this island.
How to get to Tablas from Carabao
From tiny Carabao you have bangkas (motor boat) to Santa Fe at the following times:
- M/B Mandaragit: daily at 6:00.
- M/B Hambil: daily at 6:00.
- M/B Mandaragit: Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 11:00.
- M/B Hambil: daily at 11:30.
The trip takes about 1 hour and costs 150 pesos per person. They depart from the port in San José.
Have a look at our Carabao Guide to make the most of the island.
How to get to Tablas from other destinations in the Philippines
The above are the main destinations from which travelers decide to go to Tablas, but with more than 7,000 islands, of course there are other options. As we don’t want to go on much longer, here are a few quick notes on other routes that might interest you:
- How to get to Tablas from Mindoro: you need to go to Roxas (Mindoro) and there take one of the boats that depart to Odiongan. Starlite has sailings on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 11:00, and Montenegro on Tuesdays and Fridays at 16:00. The journey takes a little over 2 hours.
- How to get to Tablas from Coron: you’ll need to choose between going to Manila (see How to get from Coron to Manila) and then flying to Tablas, or taking a boat from Batangas or Lucena—or, as we did, taking a Bunso Transport boat that departs Mondays and Fridays at 8:00 and costs 1,400 pesos. The crossing takes about 6–7 hours, depending on sea conditions. After that, you need to take a bus or a van (better a van, which will be faster) to Roxas Mindoro (Dangay port), which will take about 2.5 hours. Finally, take one of the boats mentioned in the previous section.
- How to get to Tablas from Bohol: from our experience, the best option is usually to go to Cebu by ferry and then follow the steps we gave above. You could also consider taking a flight from Bohol to Manila and connecting with another from Manila to Tablas.
How to get around Tablas
Okay, I’ve arrived at a port or an airport—but how do I get to my hotel? Unlike other areas of the Philippines where we can give you plenty of options and talk about specific places to stay, in Tablas things are a bit fuzzier. If you’re staying in Odiongan, which is the largest town but doesn’t really have attractions, you won’t have any trouble hopping on a jeepney wherever you arrive. Journeys—except from Odiongan port—will be long, but you’ll have public transport.
However, if you decide to stay in the nicer beach areas (Binucot, where you have places like this one, or north of Odiongan at this one) you’ll need to improvise a little. In our case, to go north of Odiongan we decided to head to the Odiongan Bus Terminal, where small buses and jeepneys depart for Calatrava and San Agustín; you can tell the driver where to drop you off and then walk to your hotel or take a tricycle. By contrast, to get to Binucot we had to negotiate a tricycle and it was hard to get one for less than 400 pesos. We recommend contacting your hotel so they can help you or at least give you a price reference.
If you arrive at the airport, the best thing is to negotiate a tricycle. Expect around 400–500 pesos to Odiongan. Look for other travelers to share.
Once at your hotel, if you have a license and experience, we recommend asking about motorbike rentals. Given how hard it is to get around by public transport and that tricycles are scarce outside Odiongan, we think it’s the best way to move around to explore Tablas.
Odiongan Bus Station
We hope we’ve cleared up all your doubts so that getting to Tablas is as straightforward as possible. Even so, if you have any questions or want to arrive from another destination not mentioned here, leave us a comment and we’ll reply as soon as we can.
