Private flights to Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte

Dipolog is the capital of Zamboanga del Norte and the gateway to the peninsula's north coast: the sunset boulevard along the bay, the 3,000-step climb up Linabo Peak, and next door, Dapitan, where José Rizal lived in exile, with his shrine, its old plaza and the beach resorts along the coast. It is a quiet, easy city, and most visitors arrive by air or by the overnight boat to Dapitan.

The scheduled link from Cebu is a turboprop that flies once a day and fills around fiestas and long weekends; the ferry takes about ten hours overnight. Neither suits a trip that needs to be there by lunch. A chartered Cessna 172 crosses the Bohol Sea from Mactan in about 55 minutes and lands at Dipolog Airport, on the edge of the city.

The Cebu leg is priced in both directions for the whole aircraft, three seats, live in pesos and dollars. Other pairings, Zamboanga, Ozamiz or Camiguin, are quoted on request. A booking is a request the operator confirms, usually within hours, and nothing is charged until they do.

Why fly to Dipolog

The case for flying privately is the single daily flight. When it is full, or its timing does not match a meeting, a family event or a connection in Cebu, the only other option is a night on a boat. A 55-minute charter on your own schedule solves that, and for a group of three splitting the aircraft the difference over last-minute fares narrows.

The case for the airline or the ferry is flexibility and cost. With dates to spare, the turboprop is cheap and straightforward, and the overnight boat saves a hotel night. Travellers already in Ozamiz or Zamboanga have a long but simple drive up the coast. Check the empty legs page as well, where aircraft repositioning back to Cebu sell their seats at a steep discount.