Caticlan, Panay Island to Batangas

About the ride from Caticlan, Panay Island, to Batangas

Traveling from Caticlan to Batangas is one of the most popular routes in the whole of the Philippines. It carries travelers from Panay Island to Luzon Island, the nation’s biggest island and the home of Manila, the capital city of the Philippines.

If you’ve been exploring the seas, sands and mountains of Panay Island and you’re eager to get yourself to the metropolis of Manila, traveling from Caticlan to Batangas is an excellent choice. 

But don’t be fooled - Luzon Island is way more than just the home of Manila, and it’s arguably the most diverse island in the entirety of the Philippines. 

There’s around 300km (186 miles) between Caticlan and Batangas, but the length of your journey will depend upon your chosen method of travel. You have three options for taking the trip:

• Take a direct ferry from Caticlan to Batangas, which typically takes around 9 hours. You can take this journey either during the day or overnight, on a comfortable and convenient sleeper ferry
• Take a combination of several buses and ferries to get from Caticlan to Batangas. This usually takes more than a full day
• Fly from Caticlan to Manila before then taking a bus from Manila to Batangas. In total, this takes around 6 or 7 hours allowing for check in and for getting from Manila to Batangas

Of these options, the direct ferry is pretty much always the best approach, but more detail on that later.

Luzon is undoubtedly the heart of the Philippines. The nation’s biggest island, and the 15th-largest island in the world, it’s packed with various adventures. Here, there’s the sprawl of Manila, the historic colonial city of Vigan and lots of fascinating historical sites. But you also get all of the outdoor adventures which you associate with the Philippines, with mountains, volcanoes, diving, snorkelling, sharks, surfing and so much more.

It’s a cliché, but Luzon has everything. If you want to feel like you’re right in the center of the Philippines, traveling from Caticlan to Batangas will take you there.

 

What to see when traveling from Caticlan to Batangas

What you’ll see on your journey entirely depends upon how and when you travel.

If you fly, you won't see very much, even if you nab yourself a window seat.

If you travel on a combination of several buses and ferries, you’ll enjoy a whole host of views, including jetties, shorelines, mountains, forests, villages and more.

If you travel from Caticlan to Batangas on a direct overnight sleeper ferry, you of course won’t see very much. But on a direct daytime ferry, you'll have lots of excellent views and vistas. It’s a very diverse journey, with different stretches offering various combinations of serene silence, distant islands and busy ferry ports. It’s an excellent way to get acquainted with a nation which bases most of its adventures on its surrounding seas.

If you’re lucky, you might just be on your ferry during sunrise or sunset. If you are, it’ll be one of the most perfect moments of your entire trip.

 

How to get from Caticlan to Batangas

Taking a ferry

Without a doubt, this is the most logical, simple and easy way to make the trip. You only need one ticket, you don’t need to worry about transfers, and you don’t have to stress about having multiple legs of your journey.

Because the Philippines is an island nation, it’s good to take as many journeys as you can by boat. Here, water is intrinsically linked to the local way of life, and it’s best to explore and enjoy it by ferry as much as you can - especially since the views are so incredible.

This ferry journey is also very comfortable. No matter what time you travel, you get a cosy cabin with a curtain, perfect for catching some sleep and some privacy. These ferries also offer food, drink, toilets, soft beds and lots of space. Some even have power sockets and TVs!

 

Taking a combination of buses and ferries

This approach isn’t a great one, and it’s often pretty complicated. You’ll need to take a ferry from Caticlan to the island of Mindoro before traveling south to north through Mindoro - then getting a ferry from northern Mindoro to Batangas.

This can be a fun adventure, but it’s expensive and lengthy, and you need to buy separate tickets and tackle separate methods of transport. If you prefer to keep things simple (or if you have a schedule), it’s best to avoid traveling this way.

 

Flying

Again, this choice is pretty complicated. You can’t fly directly from Caticlan to Batangas, so you’ll need to fly from Caticlan’s Godofredo P. Ramos Airport to Manila, before then making your own way south from Manila to Batangas.

Though this is the fastest option, you need to allow time for checking in and getting off and on various methods of transport, so it’s still not a particularly quick trip. 

It’s also pretty expensive. Though flying within the Philippines is relatively affordable, it’s often still a lot more expensive than using buses or ferries.