Mactan-Cebu international to domestic transfer

[brian8024 2]

Flying PAL direct from LAX. Last time I went through Manila and transferred to a regional flight. Planning another trip and this time going through Cebu is noticeably cheaper.

Anybody done the international to domestic (and vice-versa) transfer in Cebu? The airport appears to be significantly smaller then NAIA so I don't imagine it would be any more difficult but figured I would check here and ask. Troubles, tips, horror stories, etc?

Layover on arrival from LAX is 8 hours, so hopefully plenty of time. Layover on departure back to LAX have options of 12 hours, 3 hours, 1.5 hours.

[JeanLovesTracy 10]

I have been to the Phils five times. I flew into Manilla the first and( hopefully ) last time. Cebu is a nice airport, it is much smaller, that is a very long lay over. They do have some small shops and resto/ bar and coffee shop. Overall I found it much more enjoyable than Aquino International. Good Luck

[brian8024 2]

Do you know if they do the baggage transfer like NAIA does from international to domestic (at least in NAIA Terminal 2)? You point out your luggage, a separate customs official checks it, then it gets put back on the baggage claim belt and checked back in for the domestic flight. That way you can avoid dragging the baggage out and then checking it back in at the domestic checkin counter.

The 8 hour layover on arrival is unavoidable. There is a domestic flight 1 hour after international scheduled arrival....but way to short. The next flight is 8 hours later. Going to do the 3 hour layover on the return. The domestic flight is usually on time, and the international flight is the first one that evening so there should be a short line at the international checkin.

[brian8024 2]

For anybody reading this in the future. If Philippine Airlines is still offering a direct Los Angeles to Cebu flight, take it instead of going through Manila unless Manila is your final destination. Round trip cost was as cheap as the other options that went through China or Japan (and also NAIA). Booked through Expedia, got put in the back of the plane, had the whole row of 3 seats to myself on the way there and shared the row with one person on the return trip. Cebu airport is a whole lot nicer then NAIA and a whole lot easier to navigate and is a lot smaller. The flight uses the Airbus A340, while it does not have the in-seat TV screens like the Boeing 777 from LA to Manila has, it is a smaller plane with 2/3 of the passengers as the Boeing 777 so the line at immigration is much much shorter.

Trip there:

Go through immigration. Claim your bag. Go through customs. Turn right and follow the "Transfers" sign to the hallway on the right to the transfers desk in the hallway. Leave baggage there. Backtrack down the hallway a little to the staircase that goes upstairs to the departures area. Take a right, go through the domestic departures boarding gate line and security. That is literally it, took less then 20 minutes from getting off the plane to sitting in a seat in the departures waiting for a domestic flight.

Trip back:

Luggage is checked through to Los Angeles so you don't need to worry about it. Get off domestic flight, take a left down the transfers hallway. Go up the same staircase. Take a left, then an immediate left, and pay the p750 international terminal fee, then go back past the stairs and go through the international boarding gate security/immigration/etc. (For those of Filipino citizenship, the travel tax booth and one other booth are right next to the terminal fee booth)

Gate 12 they have walled off for USA bound flights, about 2 hours before departure they move everybody out of the room, close it off, and run a security sweep of the gate area. Then you re-enter and go through the USA based security checkpoint. No less then 20 some people working it, x-ray machine. Get patted down, wallet searched through, etc. The staff was very well trained and was certain that they asked before they did something (not that you had a choice) and did everything very deliberately in plain sight of you. Don't know if it was increased security level due to the recent Egypt Air crash, but they were very thorough. The guy in front of me bought a can of Pringles, they would not let the can through. He had to dump the Pringles in a bag and toss the can. Don't try to bring drinks through even though they were bought in the international departure area, they are not allowed in past the gate 12 security screening.

There are ATM's in both the arrival area's, and also both the departure area's. A lot of places only seemed to take cash. There are plenty of places to sit and eat and get coffee or whatever.