Published: 16 May 2022
When the heat becomes unbearable and the pressure becomes too much to handle, most of us look north to escape quickly. Although many of the country’s most popular islands are located south of Manila, some of the most easily accessible can be found in the north. And when it comes to destinations in the North, it is quite difficult to resist the call of La Union.
But since the epidemic has disrupted so many well-established bus schedules that we’ve relied on year after year, it takes some effort to figure out how to get to La Union by bus. So we did a little digging (i.e. contacting the bus company). And we arrived successfully PARTAS TRANSPORT COMPANY And Viron transit.
⁇ Important! Nowadays, route availability and timing change frequently and rapidly. Before your trip, contact the bus companies directly for the latest updates and policies 0917 819 3909 (Partus) or 0932 364 1487 (Viron Transit) or message on the official FB page of PARTAS.
What is covered in this guide?
As: 16 May 2022
PARTAS operates several bus routes to the north, mostly in the Ilokos region and Abra. In their latest schedule (as of this writing), La Union is nowhere to be found. But it turned out that they still ferry passengers to La Union via their other routes.
We recently called and messaged PARTAS to find out how to get to La Union. And they told us the following:
- Ilocos- or Abra-bound PARTAS buses from the CUBAO terminal can pick up passengers at San Fernando City in La Union. This includes P2P buses.
- You must notify the driver that you are approaching La Union. Otherwise, they will avoid the terminal. We were told that they would only stop at La Union if and only if a passenger could land there.
- PARTAS is not available in San Juan (Rainbow). Nearest San Fernando City. They are only allowed to unload passengers at their terminal. But since their service station (San Juan) is not temporarily open, the bus cannot stop there. However, their official FB page has shared with us that they can drop passengers off at the following La Union cities: Agu, Baknotan, Balaon, Bangar, Bauang and Damortis. (See picture below.)
We’re not sure if buses from the Passage Terminal also carry passengers to La Union. But their Facebook page specifically refers to “from anyone”.
Below is the schedule and fares for PARTAS buses that can stop at San Fernando, La Union.
Abra P2P from Cuba
Rent: P800
Lao P2P from Cuba
Rent: P960
Vegan P2P from Cuba
Rent: P800
Candon from Cuba
Rent: P800
Sta from Cuba. Cruise
Rent: P800
Narvacan from Cuba
Rent: P800
Cuba to Cuba
Rent: P960
As: 16 May 2022
Viron Transit did not publish any update schedule on their official Facebook page, so we phoned their terminals. Here’s what they’ve shared so far:
- Viron’s La Union buses end at their San Fernando terminal If your destination is San Juan, transfer to a jeepney or tricycle from there.
- Alternatively, you can take a Viron bus bound for Ilocos and Aberra, which will take you to the town north of San Fernando (including San Juan), but you will have to pay full fare for that route.
Sampalok to San Fernando
Rent: PHP 505
Sampalok to Vegan
Rent: PHP 700
Sampalok to Abra
Rent: PHP 750
San Fernando from Cuba
When I called, they confirmed that they were also operating a trip to San Fernando City from their Cuba terminal, at the scheduled time. 10.00 pm.
I hope I had more details to share but I was able to get it for now.
You can try calling them by number or email below [email protected].
Once you get to San Fernando, the next step is to get to San Juan. Whether your destination is Urbiztondo Beach or San Juan Town Proper, you have two main options:
- By Zipney. Rent: About P15.
- By tricycle. Rent: P100 (Special Ride)
From San Fernando city center, the travel time to Urbiztondo is about 15 minutes and 20-25 minutes to San Juan Town Proper (longer if there is a jeepney due to the stop).