Infoholics: How To Get To The Fort?

Fort Bonifacio, or more commonly known as The Fort, is a fast-rising combined commercial-residential district in Taguig; taking a cue from its name, The Fort was a military district controlled by the Philippine Army for a very long time before it was privatized and handed off to Taguig for administration. To those who frequent The Fort, the place is usually called by other names based on what can be found in the district such as Serendra, High Street, or Bonifacio Global City. The latter would be the more apt term to the developed land that now includes upscale residential condominiums and tall business buildings.

The Fort and Bonifacio Global City are home to the following attractions:
1. Market Market - One of the earliest landmarks in the area, developed by Ayala Land and caters to shoppers of all classes. It also houses the Market! Market Transport Terminal which serves as a hub for jeepneys, buses, and FX cabs with routes leading to destinations around Metro Manila.
2. Serendra - an upscale residential area that features variety of restaurants of different cuisines and grandeur that gives everyone a pleasant ambiance.
3. Bonifacio High Street - where trendy retail outlets as well as bars and restaurants are located.
4. Upscale residential condominiums such as Essensa, Pacific Plaza, Bonifacio Ridge, and Regent Parkway.
5. Commercial buildings such as Net One and Bonifacio Technology Center, as well as HSBC and Deutsche Bank offices.
6. Newly-built St. Luke's Medical Center, which has state-of-the-art equipment and hundreds of hospital rooms and beds.
7. Bars and Restaurants like Encore, Prince of Jaipur, NBC Tent, Pier One, The Fort Square, The Fort Strip, and KarFort
8. Some international schools such as British School Manila, Manila Japanese School, International School Manila, as well as local pioneering schools like STI (Systems Technology Institute).
9. Soon-to-rise would be Taguig Coliseum and Convention Center and the Shangi-La at the Fort. Next year, there will be SM City Taguig, which is expected to host the fourth IMAX Theater in the country.

10. Manila American Cemetery and Memorial - where graves of American soldiers in WWII were laid to rest.
11. S&R Shopping Center - to satisfy the craving for All-American goods .
12. Car showrooms - Honda, Hyundai, Ford, Mini, BMW, and soon, Lexus

13. MC Home Depot.
14. [Update]: The Mind Museum at Taguig opens March 16 and this is also your guide to get there. Just mention to the jeepney or Fort Bus driver to drop you off near Mind Museum.

Directions on how to get to The Fort:

From the north of Makati (Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Pasig, CaMaNaVa):

Option 1. From EDSA, ride a bus southbound to Baclaran or Ayala or take an MRT and go down at Ayala and look for the jeepney terminal (under MRT station) and ride those that are bound for Market Market. Note that the jeepney/FX trips here might not be that frequent; the other options have more assurance of frequent trips.

Option 2. From EDSA, ride a bus southbound to Baclaran or Ayala or take an MRT and go down at Ayala, cross EDSA using the MRT bridge and look for the bus terminal of The Fort buses (at the gate of Forbes across Shell Station) bound for Fort Bonifacio. These are air-conditioned buses that go around Fort Bonifacio.

Option 3. From EDSA, ride a bus southbound to Baclaran or Ayala or take an MRT and go down at Guadalupe. There are jeepneys in Guadalupe that are bound for AFP Housing and Fort Bonifacio Gate 3. You can ride either of the two, both of those routes pass by The Fort/Serendra. If your destination is by 3rd/5th Avenue, ride AFP Housing; if it's on the other side of the The Fort/Serendra (meaning along McKinley Parkway), ride Gate 3. In any case, The Fort is a small area and you can just go to buildings by walking.

Option 4. From the C5 area, ride an FX or jeepney going to Kalayaan Avenue and go down at the intersection of Kalayaan and C5. There are jeepneys bound for Market Market from that corner.

From the south (Pasay, Paranaque, Muntinlupa, Las Pinas):

Option 1. From EDSA, ride a bus northbound to Fairview or Monumento or take an MRT and go down at Ayala and look for the jeepney terminal (under MRT station) and
ride those that are bound for Market Market. Note that the jeepney/FX trips here might not be that frequent; the other options have more assurance of frequent trips.

Option 2. From EDSA, ride a bus northbound to Fairview or Monumento or take an MRT and go down at Ayala, cross EDSA using the MRT bridge and look for the bus terminal of TheFort buses (at the gate of Forbes across Shell Station) bound for Fort Bonifacio. These are air-conditioned buses that go around Fort Bonifacio.

Option 3. From EDSA, ride a bus northbound to Fairview or Monumento or take an MRT and go down at Ayala, cross EDSA using the MRT bridge, and look for the jeepney terminal where jeepneys with signboard McKinley-Fort-Bonifacio-Gate 2 that are bound for Market Market are stationed.

Option 4. From EDSA, ride a bus northbound to Fairview or Monumento or take an MRT and go down at Guadalupe. There are jeepneys in Guadalupe that are bound for AFP Housing and Fort Bonifacio. You can ride either of the two, both of those routes pass by The Fort/Serendra. If your destination is by 3rd/5th Avenue, ride AFP Housing; if it's on the other side of the The Fort/Serendra (meaning along McKinley Parkway), ride Gate 3. In any case, The Fort is a small area and you can just go to buildings by walking.

If you are commuting to The Fort from the Makati area:

Option 1. There are jeepneys in the Ayala terminal (under MRT station) that are bound for Market Market.

Option 2. There are also jeepneys passing along Pasong Tamo/Mantrade/WalterMart (along Pasay Road) that are bound for FTI. Ride the one that goes to Gate 3. From Gate 3 or end of Pasong Tamo Extension, there are jeepneys bound for Guadalupe, passing by The Fort.

Option 3. There are also jeepneys in Guadalupe that are bound for AFP Housing and Fort Bonifacio. You can ride either of the two, both of those routes pass by The Fort/Serendra. If your destination is by 3rd/5th Avenue, ride AFP Housing; if it's on the other side of the The Fort/Serendra (meaning along McKinley Parkway), ride Gate 3. In any case, The Fort is a small area and you can just go to buildings by walking.

If you are coming from the Manila/Caloocan area or near the LRT stations, the best way is to take the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and go down at the EDSA-Taft Avenue station, use the footbridge that connects the LRT station to the MRT station and then ride an MRT going to Ayala and follow the directions stated above (for taking MRT).

If you are in the Taguig or Paranaque area, ride a jeepney going to Nichols in Taguig, ask to be dropped off the Gate 3 - where the jeepney terminal to The Fort is located. From Gate 3 , there are jeepneys bound for Guadalupe, passing by The Fort.

Going around the Fort Bonifacio area is now easy through the use of CityLink buses and the electric tricycles.

For private vehicles: Fort Bonifacio is just along the southbound side of C5 between Kalayaan Avenue (in Makati) and the C5/Nichols Exit. The area can also be accessed through EDSA northbound using either a) KalayaanAvenue b) McKinley Road going to Forbes by the Ayala corner or c) C5 flyover coming from Buendia. Parking is available on most buildings in The Fort as well as paved open lot parking spaces.
The area is already traffic-heavy during rush hours on normal days (due to the volume of cars going to Makati and SLEX) and expect bumper-to-bumper heavy traffic during Christmas season on both sides.

Of course, you can ride a taxicab from any area around the metro and just mention "The Fort", "Fort Bonifacio", "Serendra", or "High Street" and the driver already knows where to go.

Here's a map around The Fort area via Google Maps: