Samal Island Ferry: An Honest Review After 30 Years of Riding It

Once again this year, I found myself standing at the Santa Ana wharf. The queue still zigzags back and forth, and the smell of fish and diesel take turns wafting through the crowd camped out on the cement floor. The fact that it smelled exactly the same when I first stood in this line 30 years ago is, in its own way, remarkable.

The first time I took the ferry across to Samal Island was in the mid-1990s. Back then, I was a junior engineer commuting between construction sites in downtown Davao, and on weekends I'd cap off the week with a bottle of beer on Samal's quiet beaches. The ferry was smaller then, and all it had were wooden benches that could barely be called seats. Honestly, though, those wooden benches were less slippery than today's plastic chairs.

Convenience: What Has Changed and What Hasn't

Let me start by counting what's different. The wharf now has a roof. Before, if it rained, you just got wet. A few fans spin in the waiting area, and the ticket booth has been somewhat organised. The ferries themselves have gotten bigger, and with the RORO system now standard for loading vehicles, motorcycles and tricycles pack the deck tight.

The list of things that haven't changed is longer. The departure schedule is still a suggestion, not a promise. Hearing "sandali lang" and waiting another 20 minutes is routine. There is a restroom, but I recommend opening the door for a look before deciding whether to use it. The seat spacing is narrow enough that my knees file a formal complaint. Part of that may be because my knees have gotten stiffer with age, but I'm certain the seats haven't gotten any wider.

Safety: Through an Engineer's Eyes

This is the part that always concerns me most. Life jackets are on the shelf. They do exist. But most of them are so faded you can't tell whether they were originally orange or yellow, and I have never once checked whether the buckles actually clasp shut. The safety announcement before departure sometimes plays and sometimes doesn't. I've seen a few boats where the stickers marking fire extinguisher locations had peeled off entirely.

I remember a day with rough water when the boat tilted and the poorly secured motorcycles on deck started sliding inch by inch. Two crew members rushed over and tied them back down with rope — but that rope looked like a nylon clothesline. Speaking as an engineer, that's not a restraint. That's a suggestion.

Still, these ferries have carried on for decades without a serious accident making the news. A big part of that is geography: a relatively calm inland sea passage, and the sailing distance itself is short. It's not luck — it's the conditions. But safety that relies on favourable conditions is not the kind an engineer can sign off on.

Price and Value

The one-way fare has gone up slightly over the past few years, but it still stays within double-digit pesos. Crossing the sea at that price is nothing to complain about. Value, though, isn't determined by price alone. Even with a 50-peso ticket, if you spend 30 minutes breathing in diesel fumes while stuck to a plastic chair, your body pays its own separate cost.

I've heard that some boats now have air-conditioned "premium" seating, but I haven't tried it myself yet. I plan to give it a go next time. If the aircon actually works, I'm willing to revise this review.

A 30-Year Report Card

If I were to give an overall score, it would be this: convenience has improved marginally, safety is at a standstill, and punctuality remains closer to a philosophical concept. If you ask whether things have dramatically improved compared to 30 years ago, the honest answer is no. Beyond the addition of a roof and bigger boats, the essence of the boarding experience is remarkably unchanged.

And yet I'll be riding it again next week. The morning light over Davao Gulf seen from the wharf, the slow pace at which Samal's coastline draws near — it may not be the world's most efficient mode of transport, but it is the one I have loved the longest. An engineer documents the flaws, but a person returns in spite of them.