Alona Beach and a Panglao evening

Panglao’s busiest beach comes into its own after five: dive boats pulled up on the sand, a pink sky over the strait, and grilled fish on long tables under the palms.

Area

Panglao & reefs

Start from

Panglao

Distance

walking distance along the beach

Time needed

evening

Best season

All year (calmer seas December – May)

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

On foot; tricycles for short rides

Tickets & rules

None

Why go

By day Alona Beach is cheerful and crowded, with banca boats lined up waiting to take people to Balicasag and Virgin Island. I find it more interesting in the late afternoon, when the dive boats come back, crews hose down their gear and the light softens over the water towards the small islands offshore.

Walk the length of the sand from one end to the other. Boys play basketball on a concrete court behind the beach, dive instructors sit with logbooks, a woman sells grilled corn from a cart, and somewhere a karaoke machine starts up. It is not quiet, but it is very Filipino in its good humour.

If you want calm, walk or ride a few kilometres to Dumaluan or Doljo, where the beaches are wider and emptier, and watch the sunset there. Then come back to Alona for dinner.

The story

Panglao island is joined to Bohol by bridges from Tagbilaran. For a long time it was mostly fishing villages, coconut plantations and small farms, and Alona was a quiet beach known mainly to divers in the 1980s and 1990s. Local accounts say the beach was named after a Filipino film actress, Alona Alegre, who once filmed here.

The opening of the Bohol–Panglao International Airport in 2018 changed the island quickly. Large resorts appeared along the southern coast, roads were widened, and land prices rose sharply. Many families sold land; others started guesthouses, dive centres and restaurants.

Typhoon Odette (internationally known as Rai) hit Bohol hard in December 2021, flattening trees, damaging houses and cutting power for weeks. Coconut palms along Alona were stripped, and some reefs were damaged. Things recovered, but people still date events from before or after Odette.

On the beach at dusk you can still see an older Panglao: fishermen untangling nets, children digging for shellfish at low tide, and families carrying food down to the sand for a birthday picnic.

Getting there

Alona is on the south coast of Panglao, roughly 20–30 minutes by tricycle or car from the airport and about 40 minutes from Tagbilaran, depending on traffic.

Dumaluan and Doljo beaches are each a short tricycle ride away. Agree on the price before you get in.

A suggested plan

1. 16:00Swim at Alona when the boats are back and the water is calmer.
2. 17:00Ride to Dumaluan or Doljo for a quieter sunset.
3. 18:30Return to Alona and walk the beachfront as the lights come on.
4. 19:30Choose fish or squid from an iced display at one of the seafood places and have it grilled.
5. 21:00A drink on the sand, or an early night if you are diving tomorrow.

Where to stay

Alona has the most choice and the most noise. If you want quiet, stay near Dumaluan, Danao beach or Doljo and come to Alona only for evenings.

Good to know

• Ask for the price of seafood by weight before it goes on the grill.
• Low tide exposes seagrass and rocks; check the tide before swimming.
• Carry cash: some smaller places don’t take cards.