Getting around San Antonio: public transport, passes and taxis

San Antonio is a long, spread-out municipality: the town centre, the Pundaquit road and the beach resorts sit several kilometres apart on a coast road with no metro, no rail and no formal bus terminal. Everything moves by road, and most of it moves in shared vehicles that leave when they are full.

The table below is the short version. Fares are 2026 estimates for a single ride; distances are approximate road kilometres.

Tricycles are the workhorse. They are motorcycles with a sidecar, they go anywhere the road reaches, and in San Antonio they are how most people get from the town proper out to the Pundaquit road and the resorts. A short in-town ride is cheap; a longer run out to a beach gate costs more, and drivers quote visitors a higher number than locals pay. Ask the price before you get in, and confirm whether it is per person or for the whole tricycle — on longer runs it is usually the whole vehicle.

Jeepneys run the highway and are the cheapest way to cover distance. Routes follow the Zambales coast road through San Antonio toward San Miguel, Iba and on to Olongapo, stopping wherever someone flags them down. They are crowded at school and work hours, and they stop running in the evening. If you are heading to Olongapo or back, start early and ask at your accommodation which side of the road to wait on.

Buses on the Manila–Zambales corridor pass along the same highway. They are the fastest option for Olongapo and beyond, but they will not stop for you if they are full, and there is no proper terminal in San Antonio — you flag them from the roadside.

A rented scooter is the most flexible choice if you are comfortable riding one. It turns the Pundaquit road, the market and the beaches into a single trip instead of three tricycle fares. Rent through your guesthouse, check the brakes and lights, wear a helmet, and carry your licence: Philippine rules require one, and police checkpoints on the highway are routine. Fuel is sold in bottles at roadside stalls as well as at filling stations.

For groups, families or anyone not riding, a van or car with a driver is the calm option. Hotels and resorts arrange these for airport transfers and day trips; expect to pay by the day or by the destination rather than by the kilometre. This is also how most people reach Anawangin Cove and the other boat jump-offs, since the last stretch is by boat, not road.

Ride-hailing is the weak point. Grab operates in Philippine cities, but coverage in a municipality this size is thin and unreliable, and there is no conventional taxi rank. Do not build a plan around summoning a car; arrange your ride the day before instead.

Transport here is cheap by US or European standards, but the tourist price and the local price are different numbers. Budget the upper end of each band and you will not be surprised. A day of tricycles and jeepneys usually lands under ₱500; a scooter rental plus fuel is similar; a van with a driver is the one genuinely large line item.

Carry small notes and coins. Drivers and conductors rarely hold change for a ₱500 note, and there is no card payment on any of these vehicles.

Plan around daylight. Jeepneys and buses thin out after dark, tricycle drivers charge more at night, and unlit stretches of the coast road are not where you want to be walking. Tell your driver when you want to be back, or take a number and message ahead.

Weather changes the plan more than traffic does. In the wet season and during typhoon warnings, boat trips to Anawangin and Nagsasa are suspended and the coast road can flood; the Philippine Coast Guard raises storm signals that stop small craft. Keep a road-based backup day in mind.

Holy Week and the Christmas season fill every vehicle with locals heading to the beaches. Book vans and rooms ahead, and expect to wait for jeepneys. Outside those peaks, transport is easy.