Bantayan is four hours away from Cebu City. The island itself is composed of 3 municipalities -- Sta. Fe, Bantayan and Madridejos on the northern tip. It is supposedly the "Egg Basket" of Cebu since it generates over one and a half million eggs a day to supply the growing demand of eggs for mainland Cebu, Negros, Panay and even Leyte.
Getting There
To get to Bantayan Island, take the bus bound for Hagnaya from Cebu's Northern Bus Terminal. There are also non-stop aircon buses. Buses leave hourly.In our case, we were travelling from Malapascua (in Cebu Island's northern most tip) to Bantayan. From Malapascua island, one can actually hire a boat straight to Bantayan Island. That costs around P1800-P3000 per boat, depending on the size of the boat.
Since we were only two people, we opted to ride the boat back to the town of Maya, from where we can take the bus back to Hagnaya. But, since the bus at Maya was to leave a lot later then we thought, we rode a habal-habal (for-hire motorcycle) back to the town of Daang Bantayan, where we boarded the Cebu City-bound bus. We asked the bus conductor to drop us off at a place called Don Pedro, where one can either take the tricycle to the Hagnayan Wharf (P20 per head, P100 for the whole tricycle), or wait for the bus bound for Hagnaya Wharf.
At the Hagnaya Wharf, there are fast craft boats and roro ferries that travel to Bantayan Island. Fare is P134.50. Expect to pay around P5 for the terminal fee. And expect to be harassed by ferry barkers.
Accommodations
There are a lot of places you can stay in Bantayan. Some of the most pricey ones are Sta. Fe Beach Club and Ogtong Cave. Most accommodations are cottage-type. We had an aircon cottage. Try Kota Beach Resort or Budyong Resort beside it. Another famous one seems to be Sugar Beach. You can also opt to pitch a tent on the beach.
Things To Do
Like most beach towns, you can hire a boat and go snorkelling. Or you can walk along the whole beach area, from Ogtong Caves to the Bantayan Pier, and maybe even to the Sta. Fe Beach Club. You can try some overpriced seafood dining at White Sand Seafood Restaurant, where the view is nice. It seems though that the wind really picks up at night, so it's a bit hard to sip your sinigang when the wind is blowing the soup all over the place. There are also some species of birds that you don't normally see around Manila.
The sand bars are perfect for some skimboarding. You can fly kites, chase small crabs, play habulan, or just laze around the beach front. The tide usually rises around noon time, so it's actually more fun to swim around then. If you wait till sunset, the sandbars become more prominent, and you can walk for miles in shallow water.
Ride a tricycle or multi-cab (smaller than a jeep) into the town proper of Bantayan to visit the Bantayan Market and the 400+ year old Bantayan Church. You can buy lots of dried squid, fish tocino and dried fish (danggit) in Bantayan Market. This is only around 30 minutes away from the Sta. Fe beaches. If you have more time, you can hop on a multi-cab to the town of Madridejos, and check out their board walk.
*** More pictures here: Multiply***
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6 comments:
been to that island~~~the best white sand ever!!! it's worth the trip~~~ great photos!!
i find your article informative, tnx to you! my friend and i are planning to go to cebu in september and are making our itinerary. we're eyeing bantayan island where we can have our beach escapade, but i just have some questions that you may answer since you'd been there already. 1. how long does it take to get to santa fe from hignayan riding a ferry? 2. we're planning to stay at bantayan cottages. does it have a beach already? or are there free beaches there? we're on a tight budget for this vacation (hehe) but we're extremely dying to visit bantayan so we need further info about the place. your answer would be of great help and tnx in advance!
im sorry for the wrong spelling, what i meant was Hagnaya. =) tnx!
hi rodneal85! To answer your question:
1) from what i remember, around 30 minutes
2) I don't know where Bantayan Cottages is located. But the beaches are free :)
enjoy your vacation!
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Hi, i'm wondering how long will it take from bantayan to malapascua? and say we hire a boat, that will take us from bantayan to malapascua, how many can ride the boat? approx, how many can fit and how much? thank you.
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