boracay: how to get there

2004 was the first time i stepped on the fine white sands of boracay island. it took me some 7 years before i could visit the place again. i've written a post about how to get to boracay in my other blog. this post was written based on my first trip when cebu pacific's zero fare promotional is yet unheard of. that entry could still be useful if your point of origin in getting there is iloilo city. nothing much has changed, i think - except probably of the prices anyhow, i could be wrong as 7 years is a long time.
so, unlike the original entry, i'll start off from caticlan airport instead of iloilo city. to get to boracay, flying directly to caticlan is the best route to take in terms of travel time. there are several flights from cebu and manila now. however, the direct to caticlan ticket can sometimes be so elusive that one is left with no choice but to fly to iloilo and endure the 5 to 6 hour bus/van travel. but before you take the iloilo option, try the second best ticket first through kalibo, aklan. i've never personally flown this route, except going back home to cebu. kalibo is much nearer to caticlan. give or take, it will only take you 1.5 hour or so to get to caticlan. according to a friend residing near there, there are vans outside the kalibo airport that will take travelers to caticlan for a fee of PhP 150.
caticlan jetty port and passenger terminal: whether you flew in from caticlan airport or took the bus/van from iloilo or kalibo, the building below is the jump off point to your boracay experience. somewhere near this building is where you'll find the drop/pick up points of the ceres buses and vans traveling to iloilo and back.

caticlan airport to caticlan jetty port: if you flew to caticlan, you'll land in this narrow little airstrip that is godofredo p. ramos airport or boracay airport.

while the airport may be small, it's new and have little amenities that you don't find in our own mactan airport. as soon as you enter the airport's arrival building, you'll find its tiny baggage carousel.

near it, you'll find a counter where all guests are required to register prior to leaving the airport.

within the vicinity, you'll also find two touchscreen computer kiosks for guests' use.

here, people can search for information such as accommodations in the island. the nice thing about these computers is that the database are in different languages ranging from tagalog, english, chinese, korean, to 2 other languages.

after registration, one may proceed to exiting the airport. if you don't have arranged transportation, simply walk a short distance to your right upon leaving the airport building and you'll find public transportation there.
outside the airport

the customary picture as proof that i was actually there and not talking nonsense- LOL!!!

public transportation available outside the airport:

in this area (the encircled part of above picture) , you'll find the counter below where you will pay for your trike and ferry boat rides.

fee per tricyle is 50 pesos with maximum of 3 passengers and 25 pesos/per person for the ferry boat. the trike will take you to caticlan's jetty port and passenger terminal. trike ride to jetty port is less than 10 minutes if my memory serves me correctly. if you flew from caticlan airport and took the trike ride, simply secure and pay for the jetty port terminal fee (PhP50) and the environmental fee (PhP75) at the counter shown in the picture below, enclosed in thin red box.

if you took the bus/van, secure your boat tickets first and pay the same terminal and environmental fees. as soon as you've paid for everything, you may proceed to the building's main entrance and go through security check. then, register at the information and registration counter prior to proceeding to departure area for ticket inspection and boarding of ferry/fast craft.

15-20 minutes or so, and you'll arrive at this beautiful shoreline of cagban jetty port, and you my friends will have officially stepped on boracay and can start exploring travel + leisure magazine's 2012 best island in the world!!!

that said, you're on own after here, hehe..PEACE :)
but seriously, i will still have to find time to write a post on how to get to the famous white beach next - crossing fingers! :)

happy traveling to boracay, everyone!!!