How to Get From Cebu City to Oslob (Quickest & Cheapest!)

There is 116km between Cebu City and the famous coastal town of Oslob. While you can only travel from Cebu to Oslob by road, you have two transport options to choose from:

1. Public Bus
2. Taxi

The journey time from Cebu to Oslob is between 4 and 7 hours. However, the trip duration isn’t dependent on the transport method. Instead, it primarily comes down to traffic – especially when leaving Cebu City. 

There is, however, a large price and comfort difference between the transport methods. The public bus is the cheapest way to travel from Cebu City to Oslob at a cost of between 200PHP and 250PHP. However, the bus isn’t comfortable, especially if you travel without air conditioning.

Meanwhile, a taxi from Cebu to Oslob will be significantly more expensive. Expect to pay between 4,000PHP and 5,000PHP, depending on your haggling skills. However, the cost may be worthwhile if you want to travel in comfort.

Public buses travelling from Cebu City to Oslob leave from the Cebu City South Bus Terminal. Tickets for the bus can not be purchased online in advance, and there is no timetable. Instead, buses run roughly every hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Once you arrive at the Cebu City Bus Terminal, follow the signs for buses heading to Oslob. While Cebu City Bus Terminal is set across two buildings, it’s easy to navigate and has plenty of signs.

While you can’t buy bus tickets at the Cebu Bus Station, staff can help direct you to the bus stop you need.

Once you find the bus stop, you may find a queue, and several buses may come and go before you can board. This queueing can add several hours to your journey time. As such, I recommend arriving at the bus station early if you want to arrive in Oslob at a particular time.

Buses from Cebu City to Oslob travel on a road that circles the perimeter of Cebu Island. As a result, buses not only stop in Oslob but also make earlier stops in Moalboal, CarCar, and Santander.

When you board the bus, you’ll need to tell the driver the stop you want to go to and pay for your fare in cash. If the bus is air-conditioned, the journey to Oslob will be 250PHP. In contrast, a journey on a bus without air conditioning will cost 200PHP.

While the bus will make stops in tourist locations, it does not stop for a toilet break or to buy snacks. There is a toilet onboard, but there is rarely an option to purchase drinks or snacks from the driver. As a result, I recommend preparing for your journey in advance as much as possible.

The journey from Cebu City to Oslob on the bus takes between 4 and 7 hours. This journey time depends on the traffic (especially as you leave Cebu City) and the number of stops the bus makes to drop off and pick up passengers.

As you arrive in Oslob, the driver will make an announcement. You can get off several places on a stretch of road roughly 2km long. I recommend using Google Maps on your phone to see where your accommodation is closest.

Another way you can travel from Cebu to Oslob is by taxi. There are several benefits to this, including:

• The journey is more comfortable
• You have a specified pick-up location
• You have a specified drop-off location
• You can make several stops
• You don’t have to stop for other passengers so the journey can be quicker

However, all this luxury comes at a price.

A taxi from Cebu City to Oslob costs between 4,000PHP and 5,000PHP, depending on your haggling skills. You can get a taxi from Cebu to Oslob by hailing one at the side of the road or booking in advance.

In my experience, booking a taxi from Cebu to Oslob in advance is best. Booking a taxi in advance is more expensive, and you can’t haggle. However, most drivers hailed at the side of the road want to avoid travelling the journey altogether for two reasons:

1. The surprise long-distance journey that they’ve not planned for
2. Because they are unlikely to find anyone wanting to travel back from Oslob to Cebu

If you do want to go ahead and reserve a taxi to travel from Cebu City to Oslob (or vice-versa), then there are two ways you can do so:

• Grab (Asia’s version of Uber)
• 12Go Asia

Grab is ideal if you’re looking to travel on the same day, but it’s often more expensive. In contrast, 12Go Asia is great if you’re happy to book a few days (or weeks) in advance.