Is it possible to get from the Philippines to Taiwan to Japan (or the reverse) without flying?

6/29/2011 2:47:06 AM

EDIT: Just called up the Keelung port in Taiwan. The operator is closed. I heard they were supposed to resume operation but did not. Please ignore my previous post about the ferry being back up.

I used to know a guy who would bring people from the Philippines up to Taiwan through Koahsuing. It is possible, but you need to be careful. A lot of the people doing this will drop you off in Kenting or near there illegally. If you grab a boat, take one that is stopping at a registered port-of-entry, which is only Koahsuing and Keelung for ships as far as I know.

There have been rumors around here among the ex-pats that Star Cruises will pop by one of the Japanese islands during their cruises, but you need to contact them as none of the information is listed on their page.

1/22/2019 5:00:27 PM

You can, but the travel is a bit on the unconventional side. Most shipping companies will accept passengers at a relatively cheap rate and you can just tag along. I live in Manila, my father in law runs one such company, my brother in law is a cook for another.

There are some caveats:

  • You’re surrounded by ‘salty sailors’, which may or may not be acceptable for you
  • You’re stuck on their schedule and probably won’t get as much time at each port as you would like
  • The accommodations are pretty basic – bed, shower meals
  • You need to avoid ships going anywhere near Somalia, unless that is your destination.
  • You need to make certain that the destination docks are in fact a legal point of entry – they may not be in a position to admit you there if you have anything other than a sailor’s visa (a very short-stay permit confined to a very specific area) or visa-on-demand eligibility. There may be no immigration official there at all, which means you won’t be able to enter. Make sure.

Still, it would probably be your best bet if you really want to travel by ship. I did a quick glance at some cruise lines before answering, but I did not see one that offered the route you were speaking of. You might want to do a bit of research there, however.

It’s a bit of a shame, really that travel by boat (other than entertainment purposes) has pretty well vanished.

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Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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