Bus Reservations

When going to Ilocos or any of the destinations that require long bus rides like Bicol, it is always better to make a reservation. For most of these bus companies, just a telephone call is enough (if you can get through, that is). But for some, you need to go to their booking station/s (if any) or the bus station itself to pay for your tickets and choose your seats in advance.

This becomes a must if you are traveling during peak seasons. When are those? Well, the usual school breaks, long weekends, Holy Week, All Saints’ Day, Christmas holidays and the likes. Note: most schools in this country start the school year in June and graduations are here and there every end of March.

The reverse is true – at the end of those holidays mentioned where virtually most everyone heads back to the metropolis. The technique I do is to already buy my return ticket upon arrival at my destination’s bus station, if that cannot be done at departure station. Example: upon alighting at Laoag’s Maria De Leon Bus station, I go straight to the ticket counter and buy my return ticket!

Oops, for most of the Visayas and Mindanao though, nothing above applies, even with reputable or the most popular bus companies like Ceres, Bachelor, Rural (all owned by one company). Reservations are either non-existent or informal - meaning you just plead with anyone you know from that bus company to save a seat for you, then you pay on departure, usually inside the bus itself ;) Oh well, maybe soon!