APO ISLAND & MALATAPAY PORT

MALATAPAY BOAT TERMINAL: YOUR ENTRY POINT TO APO ISLAND IN NEGROS ORIENTAL

By Henry Libo-on

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Malatapay Boat Terminal to Apo Island

Malatapay Boat Terminal is your jump-off point to Apo Island.  It can be reached by riding the Ceres Bus at the Dumaguete Bus Terminal.  You must ride the bus that goes to Bayawan. That bus passes by the Malatapay Market on the highway of Dauin Town.  Please check the passengers' information counter at the terminal for the exact time you wish to go to Malatapay.  

This is the main road that is connected to the highway.  Shown below is the collection of stores located near the national highway where your bus should stop so you can go down and walk to the boat terminal.  It is just about five (5) minute walk.  

The moment you ride the bus bound for Bayawan, you must inform the Conductor to drop you at the corner of Malatapay Market, the picture is shown above.  

As you walk down the road that will lead you to the Malatapay Boat Terminal, you will see these empty stores if there is no Market Day.  I forgot what day is their Market Day.  Market day is, probably, held on a weekend to allow the residents of the surrounding villages to go to the market since the day is not a school day and most offices are closed.  So, the residents can go on marketing.
  

As you get closer to the end of the road, you can see a restaurant that is frequented by travelers.

Since I arrived at around 10: a.m. that morning,  I just skipped this eatery.  I  went ahead to the boat terminal to check how I could go to Apo Island.  

 Again, I show you the picture of the Office of the Terminal.  Here you can see Ate Mila cleaning the premises. Upon your arrival here at Malatapay Boat Terminal, you must immediately inform her that you are going to the island.  

She will then assign you a boat that will take you to the island.  The boat fare will be divided equally among the number of passengers that will take the boat. 

These boats are waiting for their turn to go to Apo Island.  The Boat Terminal management schedules the boat to leave Malatapay as early as 7 a.m.  The last trip is around 5:00 p.m.  The last boat leaves Apo Island at 5:00 p.m. too. The schedule, however, changes especially when the weather is bad. I decided to take the 4:00 p.m. boat back to Malatapay. 

   The boat started to "glide" to Apo Island seen here at the distance. 

This is a closer look at the "docking area" on Apo Island.

The photo below shows the Tourist Information Center where you are going to register and ask for information on where you can get a hotel, a pension house, or a homestay.  

Our boat docks here on the beach.  Below is the big rock, a landmark on Apo Island.  This photo was taken before we embarked on the boat that will take the tourists back to Malatapay.

Since no one can tell me how this rock is called, I will just call him "Datu Bato" or Chief Rock. 

The beach as seen from the Viewing Deck, Apo Island, 

All photos by Henry Libo-on, Touristang Pobre. 

Sunset at Apo Island. 

 Rocks on the coastal area of Apo Island.  You can probably see a small beach area near this rock formation.

As our boat glides back to the port of Malatapay, this is what I saw from the distance, the coastal area of Barangay Malatapay, Municipality of Dauin, Negros Oriental. 

A closer look at the coastal area which also serves as the "docking" area of the boats coming from Apo Island.  The boat will be docking at Malatapay in a short moment. 

                                         

Video by Henry Libo-on, Touristang Pobre 

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I hope this article helps you to know about the Malatapay Boat Terminal to Apo Island.  There is a separate blog that I wrote about Apo Island which you can also find here on the Home Page.  

Please do not forget to LIKE my page, SHARE it with your friends and if you wish, you can leave a message.  Thank you and enjoy your trip to Apo Island. 

Copyright photos by Henry Libo-on of Touristang Pobre. 

A Travelilng Spirit 

Performed by Daniel Kadawatha

Source: YouTube by Epidemic

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Updated on June 14, 2020. 

Reviewed on December 30, 2021. 

Reviewed on August 5, 2023.