MapleStory Classic Travel Guide: Cab Fares, Ships, Return Scrolls

Quick summary

• Leaving Maple Island: Shanks's boat from Southperry to Lith Harbor is one way. The wiki lists the fare as 300 mesos; planet-helper saw 150 in beta footage.
• Out of Lith Harbor: Phil drives you to Henesys, Ellinia, Perion, or Kerning City for 400–600 mesos at levels 10–19 (MapleClassic Wiki).
• Regular Cabs link the towns. Fares double at level 20, except trips to and from Sleepywood, which are a flat 2,500.
• Return scrolls are cheaper than cabs: Nearest Town costs 400 everywhere, and each town's own scroll costs 500. Sleepywood's costs 600. Each town scroll is sold only in that town.
• Not at launch: the Ellinia airship to Orbis and all of Ossyria. There is no return boat to Maple Island.

Checked against the Founder's Access build on October 13, 2026. Grand Launch is October 21, 2026; see the end of the guide for what may change.

Leave Maple Island

Shanks is the boat captain in Southperry and "the player's only way off the island" (MapleClassic Wiki). The wiki notes:

• You confirm in his dialogue, wait at the dock until the boat arrives (it runs on a fixed timer), and land in Lith Harbor.
• There's no return trip. In the closed tests, the way back went through Orbis, which isn't in the game at launch.
• The Maple Island quest chain pays more than the fare.

Planet-helper says the boat "has no level requirement." It suggests leaving once Biggs's quest is done (about Lv 7) and reaching Lv 8 in Thicket Around the Beach I before taking the Lith Harbor quests. Olaf's Second Training (Lv 8) gives three Nearest Town scrolls, and that may be the first travel item you get.

Get out of Lith Harbor with Phil

Lith Harbor has no Regular Cab. Its only cab is the VIP Cab to Ant Tunnel Park. Phil, in the ticket booth, gives rides to four job towns (MapleClassic Wiki):

Destination	Lv 10–19	Lv 20+
Henesys	400	800
Kerning City	500	1,000
Perion	600	1,200
Ellinia	600	1,200

Phil's rides are one way and don't go to Sleepywood. Planet-helper says finishing Phil's Call (188 EXP) at Lv 10 "sends you straight to your job town." Our job advancement guide covers what to do when you arrive.

Know the six towns

Town	Role	Key NPC or feature	Source
Lith Harbor	Port of arrival	Phil, the VIP Cab, Pason (ferry to Florina Beach). No job instructor	MapleClassic Wiki
Henesys	Bowman town (south)	Athena Pierce; Free Market portal in Henesys Market	MapleClassic Wiki
Ellinia	Magician town (east)	Grendel the Really Old; VIP Cab; Ellinia Station (airship not at launch)	MapleClassic Wiki
Perion	Warrior town (north)	Dances with Balrog; Free Market portal; no residency	MapleClassic Wiki
Kerning City	Thief town (northwest)	Dark Lord; the Kerning City Party Quest	MapleClassic Wiki
Sleepywood	Dungeon hub (center)	Ant Tunnel entrance; Sleepywood Hotel saunas	MapleClassic Wiki

The Free Market sends you back to whichever town you entered from. That means you can enter from Perion and leave from Perion without paying a fare (MapleClassic Wiki).

Read the Regular Cab fare matrix

All fares are in mesos, shown as below Lv 20 / Lv 20 and up (MapleClassic Wiki):

From ↓ / To →	Lith Harbor	Henesys	Ellinia	Perion	Kerning City	Sleepywood
Henesys	400 / 800	–	500 / 1,000	600 / 1,200	600 / 1,200	2,500 / 2,500
Kerning City	500 / 1,000	600 / 1,200	600 / 1,200	400 / 800	–	2,500 / 2,500
Perion	600 / 1,200	600 / 1,200	500 / 1,000	–	400 / 800	2,500 / 2,500
Sleepywood	not listed	2,500	2,500	2,500	2,500	–

Patterns from the table:

• Neighboring towns cost 400 below level 20: Henesys–Lith and Kerning–Perion.
• Sleepywood costs the same at every level.
• Henesys and Kerning residents get a discount. The wiki says "a 5% discount has been observed" and that larger discounts at higher grades are "unconfirmed." Our citizenship guide explains how to become a resident.

Stock the right return scrolls

Scroll	Price	Where to buy	Source
Nearest Town	400 (380 for Henesys and Kerning residents)	Department stores in Lith Harbor, Henesys, Ellinia, and Perion, the Kerning City Pharmacy, the 24 Hr Mobile Store in Ant Tunnel Park, and Mr. Sweatbottom (Regular Sauna)	MapleClassic Wiki
To Henesys	500 (475 for residents)	Luna, Henesys Department Store	MapleClassic Wiki
To Kerning City	500 (475 for residents)	Dr. Faymus, Kerning City Pharmacy	MapleClassic Wiki
To Ellinia	500	Len the Fairy, Ellinia Department Store	MapleClassic Wiki
To Perion	500	Arturo, Perion Department Store	MapleClassic Wiki
To Lith Harbor	500	Mina, Lith Harbor Department Store	MapleClassic Wiki
To Sleepywood	600	Mr. Sweatbottom, Regular Sauna	MapleClassic Wiki

Town scrolls are only sold in their own town. Buy a few of each whenever you're there. Mr. Sweatbottom is inside the Regular Sauna, and the Hotel Receptionist charges 499 mesos to enter it (MapleClassic Wiki), so buy Sleepywood scrolls in bulk on one visit.

Some quests give scrolls for free:

• Each job town has a Lv 10 quest worth two of its scrolls: I Need Help on My Homework! (Ellinia), The Reason Behind the Mushroom Studies (Henesys), The Stump Horror Story (Perion), and Don Hwang's Request (Kerning City).
• Shumi's Lost Coin (Lv 35) gives 5 Nearest Town scrolls and 3 of each town scroll.

Compare the ways to travel

Method	Cost (Lv 20+)	Speed	Best for	Source
Walk	Free	Slowest	Under Lv 20, when every meso counts	MapleClassic Wiki (route planner)
Regular Cab	800–1,200, or 2,500 to Sleepywood	Instant	Unplanned trips	MapleClassic Wiki
Town return scroll	475–600	Instant, works from anywhere	Planned trips you stocked for	MapleClassic Wiki
Nearest Town scroll	380–400	Instant, nearest town only	Leaving a training map	MapleClassic Wiki
VIP Cab	10,000	Instant, to Ant Tunnel Park	Bossing runs	MapleClassic Wiki
Pason's ferry	1,500	Instant, to Florina Beach	Florina Road maps	MapleClassic Wiki

Example 1 (our math): a Lv 25 Bowman going to KPQ. A cab from Henesys to Kerning and back costs 1,200 × 2 = 2,400 mesos. With a Kerning scroll you bought on your last visit (500) and a Henesys scroll at the resident price (475), the round trip costs 975. That saves 1,425 mesos per trip. See our KPQ guide for the quest itself.

Example 2 (our math): Sleepywood trips. A cab costs 2,500 each way. A Sleepywood scroll costs 600, but you have to be in the sauna to buy one. Buying five on one visit costs 499 + 3,000 = 3,499 mesos. That's about 700 per trip, versus 2,500 by cab.

Example 3 (our math): bossing in Ant Tunnel Park. The VIP Cab's 10,000 mesos skips the walk through Ant Tunnel I–IV, Dark Cave, Dangerous Steam, and Deep Ant Tunnel I–II. There's no cab back, so carry a Nearest Town scroll. You can also buy one at the 24 Hr Mobile Store in Ant Tunnel Park (MapleClassic Wiki; our bosses guide).

Time your trips around level 20

Fares double at level 20 (MapleClassic Wiki), so make long trips before then. If you plan to switch training spots, or visit another job town for its Lv 10 scroll quest, Lv 18–19 is a good time to do it. Our training guide lists the maps by level, and our mesos guide covers budgeting at low levels.

Avoid the common travel mistakes

• Using Phil to get back to Lith Harbor. His rides go one way only. Take a Regular Cab from Henesys, Kerning City, or Perion, or use a Lith Harbor scroll (MapleClassic Wiki).
• Taking the Sleepywood cab after level 20 out of habit. It's 2,500 at every level, more than four times what a scroll costs if you bought it earlier (our math from the wiki prices).
• Leaving a town without its scroll. You can't buy a town's scroll anywhere else, so one missed purchase can mean a 1,200-meso cab ride later.
• Taking the VIP Cab with no way out. It doesn't come back from Ant Tunnel Park, so keep a Nearest Town scroll on hand.

Skip the routes that aren't open

• Ellinia airship to Orbis: the station and its NPCs are there, but the airship "is not in the game at launch" (MapleClassic Wiki).
• Ossyria (Orbis, El Nath): playable in the second closed test. Nexon has confirmed they aren't part of Grand Launch (MapleClassic Wiki, Getting started).
• Back to Maple Island: no return boat.
• Forgotten Hollow: Nexon's Founder's Access notes say it "hasn't been discovered yet," so its maps are closed. Our training guide flags them.

Plan alts and returning trips

• Returning from old MapleStory: don't count on Mystic Door or old cab prices. The Orbis boat is gone for now, and Phil's rides only go one way (MapleClassic Wiki).
• Alts: every new character pays Shanks and Phil again. Do the Lv 10 scroll quest in each job town you visit, and keep a few Nearest Town scrolls from Olaf's quest. Henesys or Kerning residency gives the scroll and cab discounts on each character that holds it.
• Leveling plans: our powerleveling page covers progression in general.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather skip the grind that goes with this, MapleStory Classic powerleveling services are listed on FullBoosts. Read Nexon's Terms of Service before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included — a marketplace listing isn't publisher permission.

What may change at Grand Launch

This guide describes the Founder's Access build as it was on October 13, 2026. Re-check these against Nexon's Grand Launch notes on October 21: whether crafting still stops at craft level 8, whether Forgotten Hollow, Orbis and third jobs stay closed, KPQ channel limits, NPC shop stock, and any Founder's Access-only events or packages mentioned here. Nothing here assumes a closed area or feature will open.

FAQ

How much is the boat from Maple Island? The wiki lists 300 mesos one way. Planet-helper saw 150 in beta footage.

When do cab fares go up? At level 20 they double, except to and from Sleepywood (MapleClassic Wiki).

Can I take a cab from Lith Harbor? Only the 10,000-meso VIP Cab to Ant Tunnel Park. Phil gives rides to the four job towns.

Where do I buy a Return Scroll to Sleepywood? From Mr. Sweatbottom in the Regular Sauna, for 600 mesos. Entry costs 499.

Can I get to Orbis? Not at launch.

Do residents pay less? About 5% less in Henesys and Kerning City.