Route guide
Butuan City to Tandag City bus guide
Butuan City to Tandag City covers 196 kilometers, north out of Butuan on the Surigao road and then east across the peninsula to the Pacific side. Bachelor Express is the only operator, running air-conditioned regular service both ways.
Route overview and terminal information
Trips run between the Butuan City Terminal and the Tandag City Bus Terminal. With eighteen intermediate stops on a 196-kilometer run, this is a working local service rather than an express - the bus is picking up and setting down for most of the journey.
- Average travel time: 4 to 5 hours.
- Fares: P510.00 for the air-conditioned ticket.
- Departures: From 1:00 AM to the late afternoon, on two timetables - see below.
The timetable changes with the day
- Friday to Monday: 21 departures, roughly 45 minutes apart, with the last bus at 5:30 PM.
- Tuesday to Thursday: 17 departures on a different pattern, finishing an hour earlier at 4:30 PM.
Where the bus stops
The route has two clearly different halves, and Mainit is the hinge:
- 1. The Surigao road: Remedios T. Romualdez, Cabadbaran City, Santiago, Jabonga, Kitcharao, Alegria, and Mainit - the same sequence as the Butuan to Surigao service, which is why both buses are often loading at Butuan at the same time.
- 2. The Surigao del Sur coast: Tubod, Placer, Bacuag, Gigaquit, Claver, Carrascal, Cantilan, Madrid, Carmen, Lanuza, and Cortes before Tandag.
Check the destination board rather than assuming. The first hour of this route is identical to the Surigao service, so the two are easy to mix up at the Butuan terminal.
Practical travel tips
- Do not board the Surigao bus by mistake: They share the road as far as Mainit and leave from the same terminal. Confirm Tandag on the board before you get on.
- Travel before midday: The last departure is mid to late afternoon and the run takes 4 to 5 hours.
- Expect a long list of stops: Eighteen towns on a 196-kilometer route means frequent halts. The posted 4 to 5 hours already accounts for them.
- Carry a valid ID: The corridor crosses provincial boundaries and passes routine highway checkpoints.
Travel advice
This is a daytime route. Departures start at 1:00 AM and the last one leaves in the late afternoon, so a bus taken after lunch arrives in the dark. As on the Surigao corridor, Bachelor Express keeps two timetables - one for Friday to Monday, a lighter one for Tuesday to Thursday - and the midweek list is a different set of times, not a shortened version of the weekend one.
How MindaRide verifies this route
Fares, the two day-set timetables, and the eighteen intermediate stops are read from normalized MindaRide route data in both directions, with operator detail from MindaRide company research.
Reviewed on 2026-08-14.
MindaRide is an independent trip-planning and fare-reference service. It does not sell bus tickets. Confirm current fares, departure times, and seat availability with the operator or terminal.