Philippines - Driving Mindoro Loop

[CalmCopper]

Hello everyone. I was curious if anyone has driven the Mindoro loop?

I am just curious how to go about it.

I fly into Manila - Should I fly into San Jose and try to rent a car? Should I rent a car in Manila then drive to the ferry, then do the loop? Are you allowed to take rental cars to different islands? Are there rental cars in Mindoro? Do I need any special permits to drive there?

I would like to do this but there doesnt seem to be any info online about how it can be done.

[redfeather]

CC,
I was in Manila in Sept., and Manila is like a driving hell on earth. I am not too sure I would try to rent a car and drive in Manila or the Phils. We took the JAM bus from Manila down to Batangus and we took the ferry boat from Batangus to Puerto Galera for 6 days doing a beach vacation. We took the JAM bus back from Batangus to Manila, and we used Grubb rides which is the same as our Uber in America. Hopefully a few others can chime in and give you more information.

[Zambales]

Hello everyone. I was curious if anyone has driven the Mindoro loop?

I am just curious how to go about it.

I fly into Manila - Should I fly into San Jose and try to rent a car? Should I rent a car in Manila then drive to the ferry, then do the loop? Are you allowed to take rental cars to different islands? Are there rental cars in Mindoro? Do I need any special permits to drive there?

I would like to do this but there doesnt seem to be any info online about how it can be done.

The road doesn't go all the way around the island. The part between Puerto Galera and Abra de Ilog is inaccessible by car. You would need to travel by sea.

[CalmCopper]

Ahh awesome info.

If the loop is not complete then that solves everything. (and answers why I couldnt find info)

I didnt want to drive in Manila, but I think once you are a little further from urban areas the traffic cant be too bad and it would be more about being cautious of road conditions.

Well, is it possible to rent a car and drive down the West side of the island, to San Jose, then back?

[Zambales]

Ahh awesome info.

If the loop is not complete then that solves everything. (and answers why I couldnt find info)

I didnt want to drive in Manila, but I think once you are a little further from urban areas the traffic cant be too bad and it would be more about being cautious of road conditions.

Well, is it possible to rent a car and drive down the West side of the island, to San Jose, then back?

I think it would be difficult as car rentals are usually confined to the bigger cities like Manila. You'll stand a better chance of renting a motorbike or a car + driver on Mindoro.

The other option is to rent a car from the airport on the south side of Manila and drive it to Batangas Port, use the RORO ferry that goes to Puerto Galera and then travel clockwise around the island to Abra de Ilog. From there you can return to Batangas via another RORO ferry.

For more info put your query to the Philippines forum on Trip Advisor. There's a regular member on there who has lived in Mindoro.

[CalmCopper]

Thank everyone for the info