With the Coronavirus still lurking around, traveling from border to border is still challenging. It is different from what we used to and there are changes now and then. In July 2021, my husband and I together with our little one traveled from Bohol to Cebu Province via Loon port, and the requirements involved were Antigen negative result or negative RT-PCR test, some other documents like S-Pass, and identification cards.
Today, three months later, after a lot had been fully vaccinated, the borders had slackened up a bit and there are yet again another set of changes in the travel procedure.
Allow me to share with you our trip experience via Loon to Cebu province.
Our original plan was to travel via Tagbilaran City but upon inquiring with the Lite Shipping customer service, the fare for transporting a car was more than double of the price if we go with Loon as we had already traveled there three months ago. So we ended up going to Loon instead which is just an hour away from Tagbilaran City. The travel time from Tagbilaran to Cebu takes around five hours while Loon to Argao takes two hours only however, we still have to do another land trip to Cebu City which takes another two hours, anyway, travel time is just the same so we decided to go with Loon, it's cheaper and way faster to arrive in Cebu Province where we can somehow manage to either move fast or just relax while on the road.
We reached Loon at a very early time, 10:30 AM, inquired and the requirements were as follows:
For fully vaccinated individuals:
identification card
vax certificate
For non vaccinated:
negative antigen or RT-PCR test result
identification card
S-Pass is not required anymore and what's great about this is that fully vaccinated are not required to get a test done anymore. Considering the fees for antigen or even a swab test, it is indeed a relief not having to get one. I remember we paid Php 1500 each for the antigen on the way to Cebu and then for our swab test for our travel back to Bohol, we paid Php 2000 each, which was three months ago.
Read related article here: How to Get Your Vax Cert?
Of course, that includes the not-so-pleasant experience of getting a swab in the nostrils. Anyone who had gone through that will testify it is not a great experience.
So, how was our trip?
We had lunch inside the passenger's port in Loon. Only three passengers were waiting for the barge, six including us. Matti was just happy exploring new places that he would be running here and there inside the port. This is a new port, it is clean. I noticed they have a children's playground corner but there are no toys yet. I guess they are still working on it as some were doing the CCTV installation.
By 12:00nn, we could already see the barge getting nearer and nearer. My husband had to prepare the vehicle documents and as soon as the vessel docked, he went there alone, Matti and I had to wait.
It costs Php 1750 for our fare including the vessel and the two passengers. The requirements are just the OR and CR of the vessel and our vaccination certificates. After that, he had to go to pay for the port fees and get the documents stamped at the coast guard. Then we were already ready! He went to pick us up and then waited for the boat staff to help us get the car in the right position inside the barge. It was faster this time. I remember the very first time my husband drove into the barge, he was not confident and although people were helping him with how to do it, he was scared but he overcame it.
We had to go out of the car and stay in the passenger's area. I didn't realize there are many passengers this time but the seats were not all occupied so we got ours at the very back, we had the same spot as before. It only took two hours of travel. In fact, the vessel was already full at 12:30 PM that the captain announced we were undocking early. The usual schedule is actually at 3 PM but we were already sailing at 1 PM!
We were already in Argao, Cebu by three! It was a smooth sail, no huge waves, and Matti slept an hour after getting tired watching the sea waves.
Upon arrival, we have to go to the coast guard who will check our document and take a photo. Then that's it! We were on the road to Cebu City!
We decided to take the South Road Properties area so we can get a view of the third bridge connecting Cebu City and Lapulapu. We have not seen that yet so we were quite excited. After two hours, we were already in SRP and we found there are so many buildings being constructed! There's a huge skyscraper in the spot where Sugbo was located and then the bridge! Wow! We were in awe!
Now, we are sure Lapulapu properties are getting sold like cakes because of this. It's already finished but it will take some more time because there are still other parts that have to be polished. I can't wait to take that bridge soon!
We reached SM Seaside to have dinner at 5 PM. We ate at Chowking and Matti was allowed already to go inside the mall, we just have to present our vax cards. It's his first time to get here so I will make a separate post for that.
That's it for today! Thanks for reading!
xoxo,
Mother | Boholana | Cebu | Philippines | Travel | Photography Enthusiast | Calligraphy | Art | Crypto Noob
mamsh kita niya ta kay nana man ka Cebu😁