Getting Around Capas
Capas is a large, spread-out municipality in Tarlac, and the practical reality for visitors is that getting around usually involves a tricycle or a car. The town's main sights — the Capas National Shrine, the Death March markers, and the jump-off points for Mount Pinatubo treks — are not clustered together, so plan on arranging transport rather than relying on walking between them.
- Tricycles are the standard way to cover short hops within town and between nearby barangays.
- Cars are the most practical option for reaching the shrine, New Clark City, and the Pinatubo foothills.
- A two-lane concrete road spurs off the MacArthur Highway and serves New Clark City and the Pinatubo foothills; it currently dead-ends at the river northeast of the Pinatubo caldera, with construction ongoing to extend it into a scenic highway linking to Zambales.
Rail and Metro
There is no working rail service in Capas. Train service to the town ended in the late 1980s, and although New Clark City is planned to be served by the North-South Commuter Railway, no construction has begun on the segment that would serve the area. That future line would branch off the mainline at Clark and run north to New Clark City, with possible extensions further north. For now, visitors should treat rail as unavailable and plan around buses and road transport.
Buses and Public Transport
Buses are the main intercity option, and Capas sits along the corridor between Manila, Ilocos, and the Cordilleras, so plenty of routes pass through. The key thing to watch is the destination sign on the windshield: look for buses marked "via Capas." Buses marked "via SCTEX" skip the town entirely.
- Multiple bus lines run from Manila to northern Luzon and stop at Capas, often exiting the expressway nearby at Concepcion before continuing north on the MacArthur Highway.
- Philippine Rabbit runs a direct bus between Capas and Philippine Rabbit Avenida in Manila, departing roughly every two hours daily. Schedules are posted on the operator's official Facebook page, and the company can be reached at prbl_co@yahoo.com.
- Other operators connect Capas with Manila Cubao.
Within New Clark City, a self-driving shuttle service branded "Primary Rapid Transit" was launched as a publicly accessible autonomous bus, operating as a last-mile service on routes within New Clark City, the Clark Freeport Zone, and Clark International Airport. It uses demand-based dispatching to keep the number of vehicles on the road down. The demonstration program was funded by Japan's NEDO and Zenmov at no cost to the Philippine government and was set to run until June 2025, so check locally whether it is still operating during your visit.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxis and ride-hailing apps are a viable option for longer trips within and around Capas, including runs to and from Clark. Operators serving the area include Blue Taxi Clark, Maxim, Angeles City Taxi, and Grab. These are most useful for airport transfers and for reaching sites like the national shrine or New Clark City when you don't have your own vehicle.
Walkability
Capas is a relatively large municipality, and walking is not a realistic way to get between its main attractions. The town proper and poblacion area — which includes barangays such as Cubcub, Cut-Cut II, Santo Domingo I, Santo Domingo II, and Santo Rosario, along with the public market — is where you'll find the most walkable concentration of activity, including the fast-food chains around Capas Junction in Santo Domingo. Beyond that, expect to use tricycles or a car for anything else.
Getting There from the Airport
The nearest airport to Capas is Clark International Airport (CRK) in Angeles. From there, the most straightforward options are a taxi or ride-hailing service, or a bus continuing north along the corridor.
- By road from Manila or Angeles: take the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and exit at Concepcion, then turn left onto the highway that leads into Capas town. A spur of SCTEX to New Clark City provides direct access to the Death March shrine and the jumping-off point for Mount Pinatubo by car.
- By bus from Manila: catch any northbound bus whose sign reads "via Capas."
- By taxi or ride-hailing: services such as Grab, Blue Taxi Clark, and Angeles City Taxi can take you from the Clark area into Capas.
Note that a road connection from Zambales is under construction, beginning from Botolan on the Zambales side. Once complete it will be a scenic route through the foothills of Mount Pinatubo, connecting with the existing road near the Death March shrine.