Bantayan: white sand, dried fish and slow island days

A flat island of white beaches, coconut groves and fishing villages, where life slows to the pace of the tide and dried fish hangs on racks along every road.

Area

North & islands

Start from

Hagnaya port, San Remigio

Distance

about 130 km from Cebu City plus a ferry

Time needed

2–3 days

Best season

Best December – May

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

Bus to Hagnaya, ferry to Santa Fe, tricycle or scooter on the island

Tickets & rules

Small port terminal fees

Why go

Bantayan is where Cebuanos go to do nothing at all. The island is flat and green, with long white beaches, shallow water the colour of mint, simple resorts and fish grilled on the sand in the evening. After a few days in the city, the quiet here feels almost physical.

Santa Fe, where the ferry from Hagnaya arrives, has the best beaches; the stretch around Sugar Beach is soft and wide, with the sea so shallow at low tide that you can wade out a long way. By scooter or tricycle you can loop the island in a morning, past coconut groves, fish ponds, poultry farms and villages where children wave from every gate.

Bantayan town, on the west side, has a big old stone church facing a plaza, a lively market and racks of fish drying in the sun. Ogtong Cave in Santa Fe has a natural pool of cool, clear water, and boats take you to tiny Virgin Island for snorkelling over clear shallows.

The story

The name comes from the Cebuano word bantay, to watch or guard. In the Spanish period, watchtowers on the coast looked out for raiders from the south, who attacked Visayan towns for captives and goods, and a fire or signal would warn villagers to flee inland or shelter in the church.

The parish of Saints Peter and Paul in Bantayan town is one of the oldest in the Visayas, founded in the late 16th century, not long after the Spaniards arrived in Cebu. The present stone church was built later and has been repaired many times, but it still dominates the plaza.

Bantayan is known as the egg basket of the Visayas for its many poultry farms, and dried fish is the other great industry: danggit, squid and small fish are split, salted and laid out on bamboo racks in the morning sun. Holy Week is the island’s busiest time, with processions and crowds, and locals tell of an old tradition that excused islanders from the usual fast because fish and eggs were all they had.

In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, known here as Yolanda, crossed the island and damaged most of its houses. Recovery took years, and you still hear people date their memories as before or after Yolanda. Today the island has mostly rebuilt, though some of the old trees are gone.

Getting there

Buses leave Cebu North Bus Terminal for Hagnaya port in San Remigio, taking about three to four hours. Ferries from Hagnaya to Santa Fe take roughly an hour and run several times a day; check the schedule for the last boats.

On the island, tricycles and rented scooters are the main ways to get around. Distances are short and roads are mostly flat.

A suggested plan

1. Day 1Bus to Hagnaya, ferry to Santa Fe; sunset and dinner on the beach.
2. Day 2 morningLoop the island: Bantayan town, its church, plaza and market.
3. Day 2 afternoonOgtong Cave for a cool swim, then the beach near Kota Park.
4. Day 3 morningBoat to Virgin Island for snorkelling.
5. Day 3 afternoonFerry back to Hagnaya and bus to Cebu City.

Where to stay

Santa Fe has the most resorts and beach guesthouses, within walking distance of the ferry port and the best beaches. Bantayan town has a few simpler places and a more local feel.

Good to know

• Book months ahead if you plan to come during Holy Week.
• Bring enough cash; ATMs exist but can run out on busy weekends.
• Buy dried fish in vacuum packs to take home.
• Low tide exposes wide flats; check tide times for swimming.