We just completed a couple of trips to Catbalogan, and I want to share some pictures and stories with you.
First, about Transportation.
Aircon Van
Ordinary Bus
The roads between Calbayog and Catbalogan are horrible! There is still a lot of construction going on, especially between Gandara and Catbalogan. We tried the “airconditioned” vans, and also the ordinary fare buses. Neither method was very good, but the van, operated by Grand Tours of Catbalogan, was actually worse than the buses. We were the last ones to get into the van, before it started out, so we had to sit in the back seat. That meant we had the sun on our backs the whole way, and the aircon never reached us. I put one bag on the floor, because there was no more room behind the seat. Unfortunately, the van stopped to pick up another passenger, which meant folding down the seat where my bag was, so I ended up with the bag in my lap. I felt very crowded and hot. With the ordinary fare buses, the windows are always open, and there is a nice breeze, so the ordinary fare bus was actually cooler than the van. Additionally, the busses have larger tires, so the bumps don’t seam as bad. Next time I will try to find an airconditioned bus, for comparison.
I think, if you’re going to take a van, it is best if you rent the whole van. That way you have more say on bathroom stops, and more control over the aircon direction and temperature. We did that on a trip going from Cebu City to Hagnaya. It was much better.
Dale
I have to agree with you. The roads were beyond bad. When we went to Tacloban in June 2007, we first took the regular bus down to Catbalogan. But my son and I were too hot, so we took the AC Vans from there the rest of the way. My wife and I sat in te frint with the driver, so it was not that bad. We had I think two brother in laws, and two sisters in laws and a niece with us, so we took up the entire van.