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Typhoons and Cancelled Boats: How Storm Signals Stop the Boracay Crossing

When to Go · checked October 2026

In brief

Whether the boats run between Caticlan and Boracay is decided by the Philippine Coast Guard on the day, not by PAGASA, whose wind signals carry no sea-travel rule. In the dated cases found, Signal No. 1 meant daytime-only or part-day sailing and Signal No. 2 meant a full suspension.

  • PAGASA’s five wind signals run from winds of 39-61 km/h expected within 36 hours (No. 1) to 185 km/h or more within 12 hours (No. 5), in the scheme PAGASA introduced on 23 March 202212.
  • 14 December 2015, Nona: Signal No. 1, motorboats limited to daytime and 50 percent of capacity7.
  • 25 November 2016, Marce: Signal No. 2, boats suspended, at least 300 passengers stranded8.
  • 24 December 2019, Ursula: sea trips suspended from 1:30 p.m., Christmas Day flights cancelled9.
  • The Coast Guard’s sailing rule is described three different ways in print, and which version is in force in 2026 is not confirmed345.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do boats to Boracay stop in a typhoon?

In the dated cases, yes at Signal No. 2 (November 2016, December 2019), and with limits at Signal No. 1 (December 2015)789.

Who decides whether boats sail?

The Philippine Coast Guard. PAGASA’s signal page gives no sea-travel rule113.

Is there a typhoon season in Boracay?

No source used here lists typhoon months for the island. PAGASA’s rainy season runs June to November, and the storms above fell in October, November and December14.

How far ahead does PAGASA warn?

Signal No. 1 is raised at least 36 hours before the winds, No. 2 at 24, No. 3 at 18, and Nos. 4 and 5 at 121.

Can I get stranded in Boracay by a storm?

In November 2016 at least 300 passengers were stranded at the Caticlan and Cagban ports, and in December 2019 boat trips were suspended from 24 December89.

Does the Habagat cancel boats without a storm?

Sailings were cancelled for the Habagat on 10 August 2026, including a Bulalacao-Caticlan trip13.

The detail

Boracay has no typhoon season of its own. PAGASA says typhoons have a great influence on the Philippine climate and generally form near the Marianas and Carolines, and it dates the national rainy season from June to November14. No source used here lists typhoon months for the island. What the sources do give is dated storms and the sailing decisions that followed, and this page is built on those. The month-by-month weather is in When to Go to Boracay.

The short answer
If you are… Do this
Flying out the day after you leave the island Leave a spare day between the boat and the flight, in particular from November to January and from June to October
On the island when a signal is raised for Aklan Expect limits at Signal No. 1 and a stop at Signal No. 2, as in the cases below; the Coast Guard decides on the day
Choosing a month Use the pages for October, November and December, where the storms in this table cluster

What PAGASA's signals say

PAGASA’s tropical cyclone wind signals have five levels. The scheme was modified on 23 March 2022, after PAGASA found that the old Signals 4 and 5 produced indistinguishable damage and that the old Signal 2 covered too wide a range of winds2.

Signal Winds expected (km/h) Lead time (hours) PAGASA’s wording on public transportation
No. 1 39-61 36 Minimal disruption
No. 2 62-88 24 Minor to moderate disruption
No. 3 89-117 18 Moderate to significant disruption
No. 4 118-184 12 Significant to severe disruption
No. 5 185 and above 12 Prolonged significant to severe disruption

Source:1. The lead time is how far ahead the winds are expected when the signal is first raised.

Two points follow. First, a signal can be raised a day and a half before any wind arrives at No. 1, so boats can be limited while the sea still looks calm. Second, PAGASA’s page speaks of public transportation in general and gives no sea-travel rule at any level1. The decision to stop boats belongs to the Coast Guard.

The incidents before March 2022 below were recorded under the older scheme, in which Public Storm Warning Signal No. 1 meant winds of 30-60 km/h within 36 hours, as described in 20213.

Who stops the boats

The Philippine Ports Authority put it plainly on 10 August 2026: if the Coast Guard issues a no-sail policy, trips are automatically cancelled because ships are not allowed to sail13. The rule that sets when the Coast Guard does so is where the sources split.

Sources disagree Three accounts of the Coast Guard’s rule are in print, and the circular itself is not readable online. (1) Memorandum Circular No. 02-13, “Guidelines on Movement of Vessels During Heavy Weather,” was described in 2021 as effectively prohibiting any boat, ship or vessel from operating where Signal No. 1 is declared; the House Speaker asked for a review3. (2) PortCalls Asia reported that the Coast Guard was revising the guidelines: the policy then barred vessels of 1,000 gross tons and below from sailing at Signal No. 1 except to take shelter, and the revision would allow sailing at No. 1 in calm weather, by day, with communications and a standby vessel, while at No. 2 vessels of any size stay barred except to seek shelter4. (3) After a gale warning, the Coast Guard has suspended craft of 250 gross tons or less, and an officer told a Cebu newspaper in 2015 that the captain has discretion whether to sail56. Which version applies in 2026 is not confirmed, so plan around the dated cases below.

Dated incidents on the Caticlan crossing
Date Storm Aklan signal What happened
14 December 2015 Nona No. 1 Caticlan-Boracay motorboats limited to daytime and 50 percent of capacity7
25 November 2016 Marce No. 2 Coast Guard suspended the boats; at least 300 passengers, foreign tourists among them, stranded at the Caticlan and Cagban ports; motorboats had been allowed until 10 p.m. the evening before; island hopping and recreational water activities also suspended8
24-25 December 2019 Ursula No. 2 Sea trips suspended at 1:30 p.m. on 24 December; Caticlan routes to Bulalacao, Romblon, Roxas and Batangas cancelled; Cebu Pacific and CebGo cancelled Christmas Day flights from Caticlan, and Philippine Airlines cancelled Kalibo-Manila9
26 October 2020 (date of the report) Quinta No. 1 (Aklan and Capiz) Coast Guard suspended Caticlan-Boracay motorboats in the morning and allowed them from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.11
25 July 2023 (date of the report) Egay Not stated Giant waves, water sports suspended, 206 passengers waiting at the Caticlan jetty port12

In the cases found, Signal No. 1 gave partial service (2015, Quinta) and Signal No. 2 gave none (2016, 2019). Four events are too few to call a rule, and Quinta’s and Egay’s reports carry no full date.

Wind direction matters on the island. In Ursula, strong southwest winds hit Boracay from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on 25 December and northeast winds returned around 2 p.m., according to a Malay councilor; the island was without electricity that night and cut off from mobile phones for most of the day10. In Haiyan on 8 November 2013, peak winds at Boracay were southwesterly although the month’s winds were mostly northeasterly, and White Beach took a 1.2 m storm surge16. Resorts in Boracay and other destinations reported cancellation rates of 30 to 40 percent after that storm15.

Cancellations without a typhoon

The southwest monsoon alone can cancel sailings. As of 8 a.m. on 10 August 2026, the Philippine Ports Authority listed cancelled sea trips attributed to the Habagat, among them a Bulalacao-Caticlan sailing13. That is a route to Caticlan, not the Caticlan-Boracay crossing, but it shows the pattern outside the storm months.

How to plan around it
  1. Check PAGASA’s bulletin for Aklan. A signal can be up 12 to 36 hours before the winds, so a limit on boats can start before the weather changes1.
  2. Treat Signal No. 2 as a closure. In both Signal No. 2 cases above the boats stopped89.
  3. Do not plan a same-day connection. Between November and January and from June to October, leave a spare day between the boat and any flight.
  4. Expect more than the boat to stop. Water sports, island hopping, flights, power and mobile service were all affected in the cases above8910.
  5. Know which port is in use. The ports change with the season; see Cagban, Tambisaan and Tabon.

Sources (16)
  1. Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal — PAGASA. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  2. DOST-PAGASA modifies Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) system — PAGASA press release, 23 March 2022. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  3. Velasco wants circular suspending sea travel during Signal No. 1 reviewed — Inquirer, 9 May 2021. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  4. Coast Guard revises sailing rules during storm signal no 1 — PortCalls Asia, 29 March 2010. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  5. Coast Guard suspends trips of small vessels in Central Visayas — Inquirer, 26 January 2023. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  6. Sea vessels grounded even sans gale alert — Philstar/The Freeman, 21 August 2015. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  7. Western Visayas Coast Guard suspends, regulates sea travel due to ‘Nona’ — Inquirer, 14 December 2015. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  8. Thousands stranded in Visayas, N. Mindanao, Bicol over Marce — Rappler, 25 November 2016. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  9. Typhoon Ursula: Over 23,000 stranded on Christmas Eve — Rappler, 24 December 2019. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  10. Ursula leaves a changed landscape in Boracay — Philippine Daily Inquirer, 25 December 2019. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  11. Sea travel in Western Visayas halted due to Typhoon ‘Quinta’ — Inquirer, 26 October 2020. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  12. Typhoon Egay prompts suspension of Boracay water activities — GMA News, 25 July 2023. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  13. LIST: Canceled sea trips as of Aug. 10 due to Habagat — GMA News, 10 August 2026. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  14. Climate of the Philippines — PAGASA. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  15. On idyllic Philippine island, typhoon hints at tourism paradise lost — Reuters via NBC News, 14 November 2013. Accessed 2026-10-03.
  16. Wave and storm-induced changes in the sediment transport of beaches in Boracay Island, Philippines — UP Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology seminar, 15 November 2024. Accessed 2026-10-03.