Cebu to Ubay (Bohol) — Cokaliong Shipping RoRo
~4–5 hours · RoRo · Terminal or direct booking
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Ubay is where Bohol stops being an island in the tourist sense and starts being a node in a much larger transport network. The port on its northeastern coast is the province’s link to Leyte — and, through Leyte, to the barge crossing at Matnog and the overland route all the way to Luzon. Most people who use it are not going to a beach.
For a traveller, that changes what the crossing is for. This is the port to use if your destination is Ubay itself, Anda’s eastern beaches, or Bien Unido, or if you are threading a longer route through the eastern Visayas rather than flying between islands. Crossings run roughly four to five hours by RoRo, daytime and overnight, from about ₱330.
One point of confusion is worth clearing before you book anything. Port of Ubay and Port of Tapal are not the same place, despite sitting in the same municipality. Port of Ubay is the municipal pier in Poblacion; Tapal Wharf is roughly 7 km east of town and serves the Leyte land-bridge crossing to Bato. Directions given to the wrong one will cost you the boat.
The crossing at a glance
| Crossing | ~4–5 h by RoRo |
| Sailings | Daily, daytime and overnight runs |
| Fare | About ₱330–₱500 foot passenger, economy to tourist class |
| Bohol pier | Port of Ubay, Poblacion — not Tapal Wharf |
| Cebu pier | Pier 1 or Pier 3 depending on operator — confirm at booking |
| Best for | Ubay, Anda, Bien Unido, and onward travel to Leyte |
| Ticketing | Terminal counter, or direct with the operator |
🎫 On-site counter / direct booking only
This route is not sold through the international booking sites at a fair price. Buy at the Ubay or Cebu terminal counter, or direct through Cokaliong’s own portal. Peso fares on this page are terminal base fares.
Why the online fare is triple the counter fare
This corridor is a clear case of an aggregator quoting a number that has very little to do with what you pay at the pier, and it is worth understanding the mechanism rather than just the mismatch.
Third-party listings for Cebu–Ubay have shown fares around US$24 — roughly ₱1,400. The counter fare is ₱330 to ₱500. That is the same ticket, on the same vessel, in the same class.
The gap comes from how the route reaches the internet at all. Regional lines on this corridor run legacy inventory systems and take their manifests at the port counter, so there is nothing for an OTA to integrate against directly. What appears online instead is a local travel agency manually ticketing on the shipping line’s behalf — and that listing carries the agency’s own booking fee on top, converted at a static exchange rate rather than the day’s. Stack those two and a modest peso fare becomes an inflated dollar one.
Treat any online quote on this route as a ceiling rather than a price. That is the practical reason there is no booking widget on this page: sending you to a threefold markup would not be doing you a favour.
Cebu → Ubay
Sailings run in both daytime and overnight slots, taking four to five hours. Cokaliong Shipping Lines works out of Cebu Pier 1; Medallion Transport and J&N Shipping run RoRo services from Pier 3. Confirm which pier your sailing actually uses when you buy — Cebu’s piers are a walk apart through the port complex and the operators do not share one.
Arriving at Ubay, port facilities are basic. This is a working commercial berth rather than a passenger terminal, so bring food and water for the wait, and have your onward transport settled before you sail — particularly on an overnight arrival. There is no ride-hailing anywhere in Bohol province.
🚢 Check sailings and fares direct with Cokaliong Shipping Lines
Ubay → Cebu
The return direction is where Ubay’s real usefulness shows, because of what feeds into it by road. From Tagbilaran City the drive is two-and-a-half to three hours by bus from the Dao Integrated Bus Terminal, on either the interior highway through Carmen or the southern coastal road through Jagna. From Anda — the eastern beach cluster that is otherwise awkward to leave — it is about 1.5 hours along the eastern coastal road. From Talibon it is around 45 minutes south.
For anyone based on Bohol’s eastern side, that makes Ubay the natural exit. The alternative is crossing the island to Tagbilaran first, which turns a 1.5-hour drive into a half-day.
Ubay is also where a genuinely different kind of trip begins. Long-distance buses have connected the port to Manila via the Leyte–Samar route and the Matnog barge, and Mindanao-bound services have run through Southern Leyte and Surigao. Confirm before relying on any of it: the operators on that corridor have changed and services referenced in older records may no longer run.
The ports
- Port of Ubay — the municipal pier at Poblacion, in the town centre. The port record is unusually specific about the structure, and the specifics tell you what to expect: an 81-metre berth with a 2.5-metre draft, four bollards and rubber fenders, reached along a 496.85-metre causeway just 7.5 metres wide, over a total port area of 3,726 square metres. That is a small, shallow, working facility built for coastal cargo. Arrastre is handled by the Ubay Arrastre and Stevedoring Corporation; Pilipinas Shell handles bunkering.
- Cebu — Pier 1 or Pier 3 depending on the operator.
The draft figure explains the vessels: at 2.5 metres, nothing large calls here, which is why this is a RoRo corridor rather than a fast-craft schedule.
Operators on this crossing
Cokaliong Shipping Lines sails Cebu Pier 1 to Ubay Port and is the operator with a working online booking portal of its own. Medallion Transport and J&N Shipping run RoRo services between Ubay and Cebu Pier 3. Jomalia Shipping and local fastcraft and RoRo vessels have also served the corridor.
Older port records additionally list LCT Lady of Smile, Guadalupe and Sacred Heart, MBCA Leopards Sea Runner, MV Anthon Raphael and MV Sto. Niño Fastboat 4 across the port’s various routes, most of unverified current status. Confirm who is actually sailing on your date rather than building a plan around a particular company.
Separately, Santa Clara Shipping runs Ubay to Hilongos in Leyte, daily at around 13:00, taking three-and-a-half to four hours for roughly ₱400 to ₱480 — the connection that makes this port a corridor rather than a dead end.
How to book
- Confirm Port of Ubay, not Tapal Wharf. They are in the same municipality and serve completely different routes.
- Buy at the terminal counter, or book direct through Cokaliong’s own portal. Neither Ubay port relies on online aggregators.
- Ignore agency quotes around US$24 — the counter fare is ₱330 to ₱500.
- Check which Cebu pier your operator uses. Cokaliong is Pier 1; Medallion and J&N are Pier 3.
- Settle onward ground transport before you sail, especially on an overnight arrival.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the Cebu to Ubay ferry?
About four to five hours by RoRo, with both daytime and overnight sailings.
How much does it cost?
Roughly ₱330 to ₱500 for a foot passenger, economy to tourist class, bought at the terminal or direct with the operator.
Why do online listings show around US$24?
Because the operators here ticket at the port counter rather than through an integrated system, so what appears online is a local agency reselling manually — with its own booking fee bundled in and a static exchange rate applied on top. It is not a different or better ticket; the counter fare is a third of it.
Where should I actually buy the ticket?
At the Ubay or Cebu terminal counter, or direct through Cokaliong’s own portal. See the full booking-channel map for which Philippine operators sit on which platform.
Is Port of Ubay the same as Port of Tapal?
No. Port of Ubay is the municipal pier in Poblacion. Tapal Wharf is about 7 km east of town and serves the crossing to Bato in Leyte.
Why would I use Ubay instead of Tagbilaran?
Because of where you are on Bohol. From Anda it is about 1.5 hours to Ubay against half a day to Tagbilaran. For eastern Bohol, this is the short way out.
Can I continue to Leyte from Ubay?
Yes — Santa Clara Shipping sails to Hilongos daily, and Tapal Wharf serves Bato. Ubay is also a node on the overland-and-sea route north toward Luzon, though those bus services need verifying before you rely on them.
Related
- Cebu to Bohol by Ferry: All 7 Port Pairs Compared — the full fare-and-port comparison.
- Cebu ⇄ Talibon Ferry — 45 minutes north, with two sailings a day.
- Cebu ⇄ Getafe Ferry — the fast option for northern Bohol.
- Port of Ubay — infrastructure, Leyte connections, and access from Tagbilaran and Anda.
Operator, fare and schedule detail from operator ground truth, 2026-08. Ticketing on this corridor is at the terminal counter or direct with the shipping line; online agency quotes carry a substantial markup. Confirm before travelling.