Zamboanga City is the main gateway to Basilan Island which lies 17 nautical miles (narrowest point of the Basilan Strait) due north. If you’re from Manila or Cebu, take a flight to Zamboanga City then take a jeepney bound for Canelar and walk towards the port.

From there, a boat ride of 1 hour and 45 mins (for conventional passenger ferries), or 1 hour (for a fast craft), will take you to Isabela and Lamitan. The fare ranges from Php20 (student and senior citizen's discounted fare on some conventional ferries) to P70 (first-class w/ aircon). Fast craft usually charge P140 for ordinary and P170 w/ aircon.

• Isabela-Zamboanga-Isabela Route (1 hr, 30 mins)
• Lamitan-Zamboanga-Lamitan Route (1 hr, 30 mins)
• Maluso-Jolo-Maluso Route (6 hours)

Terminal fee is 11 pesos in Zamboanga City and 4 pesos in Isabela port.

FAST CRAFT FERRY SCHEDULE

Weesam Express' schedule is as follows:

Zamboanga - Isabela City
1st Trip - 06:45 AM
2nd Trip - 09:30 AM
3rd Trip - 12:45 PM
4th Trip - 03:30 PM

Isabela City - Zamboanga
1st Trip - 08:15 AM
2nd Trip - 10:45 AM
3rd Trip - 02:00 PM
4th Trip - 04:35 PM

A one-way ticket to Basilan via Weesam Express' fast craft costs 140 and 170 pesos for ordinary and first class (air-conditioned) fare respectively.

Basilan joined the "Western Philippine Nautical Highway" through the construction of three (3) new Roll-On-Roll-Off ("Ro-ro") Ports located in the cities of Isabela and Lamitan, and in Port Holland, Maluso. A regular four door sedan is charged Php2,500.00 per trip, a Van/Light Truck Php3,500.00, while bigger trucks/heavy equipment may go up to Php5,000.00 per trip.

Basilan is served by several light plane landing fields located in Isabela (2), Lamitan (1), Maluso (1), Lantawan (1) and Sumisip (1), all of which were constructed and maintained by the multi-national plantations and have since been turned over to the Farmer Beneficiary Cooperatives.