Holy Week 2025 exodus: Trips fully booked, travelers flock to terminals early

Some trips were already fully booked and travelers made sure to arrive early at terminals a day before the long holiday weekend for Holy Week, according to reports on GMA Integrated News’ Unang Balita on Holy Wednesday.

Long lines of passengers buying tickets and waiting for buses were observed at bus terminals in Quezon City, GMA Integrated News’ Jhomer Apresto reported.

Some of the passengers even stayed overnight at the terminals.

At a terminal for trips heading to Batangas and Lucena, no more buses were left on Wednesday morning. The management of the terminal said passengers will have to wait to book a trip.

Many trips going to the northern provinces were already fully booked until April 18 at another terminal but extra buses will be available for chance passengers.

According to a terminal master, more passengers are expected to arrive on Wednesday evening.

Seaports

At seaports, many passengers were also monitored amid the Holy Week exodus, according to a report of Dano Tingcungco on Unang Balita.

The trips at Batangas Port for Caticlan and Boracay in Western Visayas were fully booked from Holy Tuesday until Holy Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the tickets for trips going to Roxas City (via Odiongan, Romblon) in Western Visayas and Sibuyan Island in Mimaropa were already sold out until Black Saturday.

Long lines of passengers were observed inside and outside Batangas Port.

In case of high volume of passengers, management is considering allowing travelers to pay the P30 terminal fee first so they can proceed to the pre-departure lounge where they can buy a ticket for their convenience.

Airports

For those who will fly during the Holy Week, the Department of Transportation advised them to arrive at the airport four to five hours before their flight.

This is to avoid getting stuck in long lines at the check-in and immigration counters.

NLEX

Meanwhile on North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), some motorists hit the road early in the morning to avoid the heavy traffic and extreme hot weather during the daytime, according to a report of James Agustin.

As of 7 a.m., the lines of vehicles at Balintawak Toll Plaza were moving smoothly.

However, there was a buildup of vehicles with no radio-frequency identification (RFID) card and their drivers had to pay cash.

NLEX management is expecting a high volume of vehicles on the expressway on Holy Wednesday afternoon until Maundy Thursday.

Northbound zipper lanes from Balintawak to Marilao in Bulacan and from San Fernando to Dau in Pampanga will be opened at 2 p.m. on Holy Wednesday until traffic normalizes on Maundy Thursday. —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA Integrated News