Samar Island
Samar is the third largest island in the Philippines, after Mindanao and Luzon islands. It is located next to Leyte Island and the two are joined by a bridge.
Provinces
Cities and municipalities
Eastern Samar
Northern Samar
Western Samar (Samar)
Other destinations
- Homonhon Island, Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
Understand
Talk
Waray is the dominant language spoken in Samar Island.
Get in
By plane
Philippine Airlines flies to and from Calbayog City and Catarman, Northern Samar to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.
By bus
Major bus companies in Manila plying the Luzon-Visayas-Mindanao route pass through the province since Maharlika Highway runs the entire length of the province. Travellers to the province of Samar may ride bus from Metro Manila at the Ali Mall Bus Terminal in Cubao and from the various Pasay City terminals that sprout along EDSA.
Once the bus has reached the southern tip of Luzon island, you will take a 30-minute ferryboat to the northern end of Samar, after which you can continue your bus trip, or transfer to a myriad of jeepneys, smaller buses, and tricycles to take you to anywhere in Samar.
Get around
Local mini buses ply from Catbalogan City to Tacloban City in Leyte and vice-versa and from Catbalogan to Calbayog and Catarman, Northern Samar and vice-versa. The schedule of inter-provincial run of local mini buses is irregular since it is dependent on the volume passengers and the pace of passengers loading into the buses.
On top of these buses, there are a number of passenger vans that ply Catbalogan and Calbayog route almost every half an hour. The vans also run the Catbalogan-Tacloban route almost every quarter of an hour and Calbayog-Allen-Catarman route almost every hour.
The last schedule of run of both inter-provincial mini buses and vans is up to late in the afternoon due to distance. There are few vans that ply in the evening. However, buses from Manila or Mindanao pass through the Maharlika Highway on a 24-hour basis. However, stops are only made either in Catbalogan City or Calbayog City.
From the two urban centers of Catbalogan City and Calbayog City, there are jeepneys that ply from the two localities going to the various towns of Samar.
The van from Catarman to Calbayog takes 2 hours and costs ₱100. The one from Catarman to Tacloban costs ₱350 and takes up to 6 hours.
See
- San Juanico Bridge, between Tacloban, Leyte and Sta. Rita, Samar. One of the longest bridges in the Philippines.
- Samar Island Nature Park, Paranas.