Cheap Flights Tacloban to
Davao 🌋
Piso fare deals, seat sale alerts, and the cheapest prices on TAC → Davao — the Cebu Pacific route flying 3x a week. Tracked daily.
Tacloban → Davao, Philippines
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Skipping the flight? There's no direct ferry — here's the real overland option
Unlike Manila–Cebu, Tacloban and Davao aren't on a single sea crossing — Leyte and Mindanao are separated by the Surigao Strait. Bachelor Express runs a combined bus-and-RORO service via Surigao City, with the bus rolling straight onto the ferry for the strait crossing. Total travel time is roughly 15–18 hours, and there's no single published fare for the whole trip — expect somewhere around ₱1,200–₱1,800 combined for the Davao–Surigao leg plus the Surigao–Tacloban leg. This exists for people who can't fly (excess cargo, motorcycles, fear of flying) — not as a genuine budget alternative to a ₱1,199 seat sale fare that takes 70 minutes.
TAC → Davao flight deals today
Cheapest one-way fares from Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport (TAC) to Francisco Bangoy International (DVO) · Prices in PHP
📅 TAC → Davao Price Calendar
See the cheapest days to fly — click any date to book at that price.
Best time to fly TAC → Davao
Month-by-month price guide for Tacloban to Davao flights
Real costs for Tacloban travellers
Here's what ₱4,500 vs ₱13,000 all-in actually gets you in Davao for a long weekend — flight included
Things Taclobanons always get wrong about Davao
Five mistakes first-time Tacloban-to-Davao travellers consistently make
Cebu Pacific flies TAC–DVO nonstop only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, three times a week — not daily like MNL–CEB. If you search Tuesday or Saturday dates on a generic flight site, you'll either see nothing or get quoted a connecting itinerary through Cebu or Manila that costs two to three times more and adds 4–6 hours. Plan your trip around the Mon/Wed/Fri departure days first, then build your Davao itinerary around whichever day you land.
Davao City has a citywide smoking ban in all public places (₱1,000 fine on first offense), a liquor ban between 1am and 8am (₱3,000 fine, drinking in public spaces like sidewalks and parks is banned outright), and a total firecracker ban year-round. These aren't loosely enforced tourist-brochure rules — the city's Vices Regulation Unit issues thousands of citations a year, including to visitors, and "I'm not from here" isn't an accepted excuse. If you're used to Tacloban's more relaxed nightlife norms, budget for this.
IGACOS (Island Garden City of Samal) — home to most of Davao's best beach resorts — is a separate island. You need a boat from Sasa Wharf (public crossing, ~₱25, 15–20 minutes) or a private resort transfer from a different jetty depending on where you're staying. First-timers who don't check which wharf their resort uses end up backtracking across the city. Confirm your resort's exact pickup point before you land.
Durian at Davao's airport and mall kiosks is priced for tourists who don't know better. At Magsaysay Park's durian stalls or Bankerohan Public Market, you can buy the same fruit — often fresher, straight off the truck from Davao del Sur farms — for a fraction of the price, and vendors will crack it open for you on the spot. If durian's smell worries you for the flight home, ask about vacuum-sealed or freeze-dried versions — airlines and hotels are strict about fresh durian indoors.
Kadayawan Festival (peak events run roughly August 8–16, with August 14 usually declared a special non-working holiday in Davao) is the single biggest demand spike on this route. Because there are only three weekly departures instead of daily flights, seats for the festival week sell out weeks earlier than you'd expect on a busier route. If you're planning around Kadayawan, book by June — waiting until "a few weeks before" like you might for MNL–CEB will likely mean flying via Cebu or Manila instead, at 2–3x the fare.
Airlines flying TAC → Davao
Only one airline flies this route nonstop — everyone else routes you through a hub
💡 Reality check: unless your travel date happens to miss all three weekly Cebu Pacific nonstops, connecting through Cebu or Manila almost never makes sense on price or time — it usually costs double and takes 4x as long. The nonstop is the right call for nearly everyone on this route. Cebu Pacific sells 7 kg cabin-only fares by default — add checked baggage at booking, not at the airport.
Davao travel guide for Tacloban visitors
Everything you need to know before you fly from TAC to DVO
🚌 No direct sea route — here's the workaround
- Leyte and Mindanao don't share a single ferry crossing like Manila–Cebu does
- Bachelor Express bus-and-RORO via Surigao: ~15–18 hours, ~₱1,200–1,800 combined
- Realistically only worth it for cargo, motorcycles, or those who can't fly
- For everyone else, the 3x-weekly Cebu Pacific nonstop is faster and often cheaper
🚗 Getting around Davao City
- Francisco Bangoy Airport is ~10km from the city centre — taxi/Grab takes 20–30 minutes
- Coupon taxis with fixed fares are available at the arrivals exit — no meter surprises
- Jeepneys run along the main highway just outside the terminal (₱15–₱30) if you're light on luggage
- Davao enforces a strict 30 kph speed limit downtown — don't expect Manila-style weaving through traffic
- Grab is the most reliable option for Samal Island resort transfers and evening trips
💰 Budget in Davao
- Budget: ₱1,000–₱1,800/day covers a hostel bed, street food, and jeepneys
- Mid-range: ₱2,500–₱4,500/day for a 3-star hotel and sit-down restaurants
- Durian is genuinely cheap at Magsaysay Park or Bankerohan Market — mall prices are inflated
- Budget extra for the liquor ban's effect on nightlife — bars close alcohol service by 1am
- No foreign currency exchange needed — all Philippine peso (PHP) throughout
🏝️ Where to go from Davao
- Samal Island (IGACOS) — beach resorts, boat from Sasa Wharf (~15–20 min, ~₱25)
- Eden Nature Park — mountain resort, zipline, cool climate; ~1h from the city
- Philippine Eagle Center — see the near-extinct Philippine Eagle; Malagos area, ~45 min
- Malagos Garden Resort — chocolate farm, butterfly sanctuary, artisan cheese; ~1h
- Mt. Apo — the Philippines' highest peak; multi-day trek for the serious hiker only
🏨 Where to stay in Davao
- Poblacion / Roxas Ave–Bajada: central, best for dining and malls (₱1,500–₱4,000/night)
- Lanang: near SM Lanang Premier, quieter, good for families (₱2,000–₱5,000/night)
- Matina: budget-friendly, close to universities and Matina Town Square food strip
- Samal Island resorts: beach access, from ₱2,500 up to ₱15,000+/night for high-end
- Book 6–8 weeks ahead for Kadayawan week (mid-August) — rooms and the Mon/Wed/Fri flight both sell out
🍈 Must-eat in Davao
- Durian — the "King of Fruits," in season roughly Aug–Oct; buy at Magsaysay Park, not the mall
- Kinilaw — Davao-style raw fish ceviche in vinegar and calamansi; try it at Roxas Night Market
- Sinuglaw — grilled pork belly mixed with kinilaw; a Davao/Mindanao specialty
- Roxas Night Market — open-air stalls, grilled seafood and satti (Davao-style beef/chicken skewers)
- Pomelo — Davao's other famous fruit, sold fresh at Bankerohan Public Market
Davao trip budget from Tacloban
Typical costs for a 3-night Davao trip — all amounts in Philippine Peso (PHP)
| Item | Budget | Mid-range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✈ Flight (one-way) | ₱1,199–1,999 | ₱2,500–3,800 | Seat sale vs regular — only 3 nonstops a week (Mon/Wed/Fri) |
| 🏨 Hotel (per night) | ₱600–1,000 | ₱2,500–5,500 | Budget guesthouse near Matina vs 3-star in Poblacion/Lanang |
| 🍖 Meals (per day) | ₱350–600 | ₱900–1,800 | Roxas Night Market stalls vs sit-down kinilaw restaurants |
| 🚌 Local transport/day | ₱100–200 | ₱400–900 | Jeepney vs Grab (needed for Samal Island transfers) |
| 🏝️ Activities | ₱300–600 | ₱2,000–5,000 | Durian + Sasa Wharf crossing vs Samal resort day-use + tours |
| 🎁 Pasalubong / shopping | ₱200–500 | ₱800–2,000 | Durian candy and chocolate from Bankerohan Market is cheapest |
| 📊 Total (3 nights) | ~₱4,200–6,800 | ~₱11,300–20,700 | Excludes flights. Add ₱25–50 for the Samal Island boat crossing. |
7 tips to get the cheapest TAC→Davao flights
Only 3 flights a week — treat this route differently from a daily-flight trunk route
Subscribe to piso fare alerts
Cebu Pacific runs systemwide seat sales several times a year that include this route, dropping base fares as low as ₱499. Because there are only three flights a week, sale seats on the specific Mon/Wed/Fri dates you want go fast. Subscribe to piso-fare.com alerts to know the moment a sale drops.
Book 6–8 weeks ahead, not 2–3
The "book a few weeks out" advice that works for MNL–CEB doesn't apply here. With only three weekly departures, the cheapest seats on a given day sell out well before the flight — especially the Friday departure, which locals use for weekend trips home or to Davao for work.
Check all three weekly dates, not just your preferred one
If Friday is sold out or expensive, Monday or Wednesday on the same week can be ₱1,000+ cheaper. Since this is the only nonstop option, flexibility across those three specific days — not general date flexibility — is where the real savings are.
Never let a search engine quote you a "cheaper" connection
Some search tools will surface a Cebu or Manila connection as an option. Unless the nonstop is genuinely sold out for your travel week, the connection is almost always slower and pricier once you add the layover. Confirm you're looking at the direct 5J4769/5J4768 flight before comparing prices.
Add baggage at booking, not at the airport
Cebu Pacific's base fare on this route is 7kg cabin-only. Adding checked baggage at check-in costs significantly more than adding it during booking — decide before you pay.
November is the cheapest month — build a trip around it if your dates are flexible
Historical fare data consistently shows November as the low point for this route, with January close behind. If you have flexible leave, targeting a November Mon/Wed/Fri departure gets you the best odds at a genuinely low fare without needing a seat sale.
Book Kadayawan trips by June, not "a few weeks before"
Mid-August (Kadayawan week) is this route's single biggest demand spike, and three weekly flights can't absorb a Cebu-Pacific-seat-sale-level of demand the way daily routes can. If Kadayawan is the plan, lock in your flight by June — waiting until July often means paying 2–3x more or flying via Cebu.
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Tacloban to Davao flights — what you need to know
Anyone searching for cheap flights Tacloban to Davao runs into the same surprise: this isn't a busy trunk route like Manila–Cebu. Cebu Pacific is currently the only carrier flying it nonstop, and it does so just three times a week — Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, using flights 5J4769 and 5J4768. The flight itself is short, around 1 hour and 10 minutes across the Visayan and Mindanao seas, but the limited schedule changes how you should approach booking it. We track this route daily because the people flying it — OFW families, Waray professionals working in Davao's business sector, and Mindanao-bound balikbayans — don't have the luxury of "just checking again tomorrow" the way MNL–CEB travellers do.
The cheapest time to book this route
We've seen TAC–DVO base fares drop to ₱499 during Cebu Pacific's systemwide seat sales — usually announced with little warning, a few times a year — which brings the all-in one-way fare to roughly ₱1,199–₱1,499. Outside of sales, regular fares run ₱1,999–₱3,800 depending on how close to departure you're booking. Our honest opinion: book 6–8 weeks out rather than waiting for a sale. Because there are only three flights a week instead of daily departures, the cheap seats on any given date sell out well before a seat sale would even need to happen. November is historically the softest month for fares, with January a close second; April (Holy Week) and December (Christmas and the balikbayan rush) are the two periods to actively avoid unless you've booked early.
What Davao actually costs a Tacloban traveller
Don't expect Davao to feel like a cheap province getaway — food and transport there run close to Tacloban prices, sometimes higher near Poblacion and Lanang. The savings on this trip come almost entirely from the flight, not the ground costs. Durian is Davao's signature splurge, and it's genuinely inexpensive if you buy it at Magsaysay Park or Bankerohan Public Market instead of the airport or a mall kiosk. Samal Island's beach resorts are the main reason people extend a Davao trip — budget a short boat crossing from Sasa Wharf on top of your hotel cost, and confirm which jetty your resort actually uses before you land.
Kadayawan travel — Davao's fare-spike season
Kadayawan Festival, held every August with peak events usually falling around the second and third weeks, is by far the biggest demand event on this route. It doesn't behave like Sinulog or a Manila-route holiday spike — because there's no daily-flight cushion to absorb the extra demand, seats for Kadayawan week can sell out a month or more before the festival even starts. If a Kadayawan trip is the plan, we'd book by June. Waiting until "a few weeks before," which works fine on busier routes, is the single most common mistake we see Tacloban travellers make on this one.
How piso-fare.com tracks this route
The prices on this page come from real Travelpayouts searches, refreshed regularly, not estimates. Because TAC–DVO only has three weekly departures, our system flags a genuinely good deal differently than it would for a daily route — a below-average fare on this page is compared against the actual Mon/Wed/Fri pricing pattern, not a daily-flight baseline. If you're serious about flying this route on a budget, subscribe to our alerts below and check the price calendar before you commit to a date.
Frequently asked questions — TAC to Davao flights
Content reviewed 2026-08-09 · Prices update automatically every day
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