Getting to Bantayan is relatively easy and affordable. If you’re eager to discover the endless beaches of coral sand washed by turquoise waters that have made this island famous—and which we talk about in What to see and do in Bantayan—keep reading, we’ll tell you everything!
Where is Bantayan?
Bantayan belongs to the province of Cebu, in the Visayas region. More specifically, it lies to the west of Cebu’s northern tip.
The island has 3 main municipalities: Santa Fe, Bantayan and Madridejos.
Bantayan has two ports: Santa Fe and Bantayan. The first is the one that receives boats from the most-used port for arriving in Cebu, Hagnaya; from little-known Kinatarcan; and, recently, also from the Medellín area, which is great if you also want to go to Malapascua. The second is the one that receives (less frequent) boats from places like Cadiz (Panay).
In fact, Bantayan is the largest of a group of islands called Bantayan Islands. Most of them lie to the southwest, although you can also find some to the east: Virgin Island and Hilantagaan. Many of them are uninhabited.
How to get to Bantayan from Cebu
The easiest and most common way to reach Bantayan is from Cebu. Although the usual thing is to do the journey by public transport, it’s also possible to fly. In 2023, renovation works at Bantayan Airport were completed and it’s expected that small light-aircraft flights will gradually arrive. For now, there are no commercial flights, but as soon as there are, you’ll find all the information here.
With that in mind, the first thing you need to do to get to Bantayan is to search for flights to Cebu, which you’ll find from many Philippine islands, including Manila, Puerto Princesa, Siargao, Camiguin, etc.
Go from Cebu to Bantayan by public transport
To go from Cebu City to Bantayan you’ll basically have to combine two means of transport: bus and ferry. Follow these steps:
- If you’re coming from Cebu’s port or airport, take a taxi or Grab to the North Bus Terminal, located next to SM City. It shouldn’t cost you more than 250 pesos and it will take about 45 minutes, depending on traffic. You also have MyBus coaches, which charge only 50 pesos.
- Take a bus from Cebu to Hagnaya. Ceres buses depart every 30 minutes. The journey takes between 3,5 and 4 hours, depending on traffic (which tends to be quite horrible). It costs between 250 and 300 pesos, depending on whether they have air conditioning and whether the bus boards the ferry or not. They operate 24 hours, but our advice is that, if you can, leave around 6:00 in the morning to avoid Cebu’s outbound traffic.
- The bus will drop you near the port; take one of the ferries run by Island Shipping Express or Super Shuttle Roro. They depart roughly every hour from 1:00 in the early morning to 17:30. The ticket costs 350–500 pesos (+25 pesos port fees) and the trip takes just about an hour and a half. You can check schedules and buy the ticket from this link.
So, if you manage to connect all the transport quickly, you can get to Bantayan from Cebu in about 5–6 hours.
When you arrive at Bantayan port, you’ll have to pay 30 pesos per person as an environmental fee.
There is a bus that goes from Cebu City to Bantayan Town directly, as the bus boards the ferry. It runs less frequently, but if you catch it, it will be convenient because you won’t have to take out your luggage. It usually costs about 30 pesos more than the one that drops you in Hagnaya.
If you want to save some time, you can negotiate a taxi or a van from Cebu City to Hagnaya. These usually charge about 2.500–3.000 pesos and can shorten the trip by 1 hour. If you want a taxi driver’s contact, leave us a comment and we’ll send you all the information.
Go from Cebu to Bantayan by plane
Go from Cebu to Bantayan in 30 minutes? It used to be possible by taking one of the flights offered by Air Juan. The flight departed from Mactan Airport (Cebu). However, the airline suddenly stopped operating, leaving many passengers stranded with their tickets. There is a small-plane company that does this route: Air Island Tours. It’s also expected that Cebu Pacific Air will operate regular flights between Cebu and Bantayan in the future.
How to get from Malapascua to Bantayan
If you’ve decided to visit Malapascua and Bantayan (GOOD!), you should know there are three ways to connect them.
As always, the faster option is usually more expensive, while the budget one involves several transfers. Here we tell you how to get from Malapascua to Bantayan.
Get from Malapascua to Bantayan fast
Simple and clear: you can go from Malapascua to Bantayan by bangka, that is, by local boat.
As we tell you in How to get to Malapascua, you can ask at the booth in front of the Cocobana Hotel and schedule the transfer the day before.
The trip takes between 2 or 3 hours and usually costs about 3.500 pesos. So, if you’re traveling in a group or you find more travelers to share with, it’s a great option that will save you time.
Leave us a comment on this article and we’ll be happy to give you the information to go from Malapascua to Bantayan by boat.
Get from Malapascua to Bantayan on a budget
In this case, there are 2 alternatives to reach Bantayan:
1) Via Medellín
There is a port near Daanbantayan from which boats depart to Santa Fe (Bantayan), so this would be the shortest route. These are the steps to follow:
- Boat from Malapascua to Maya: 200 pesos / about 45 minutes.
- Bus from Malapascua to Daanbantayan: the station is a few steps’ walk from the port. 20 pesos / about 15 minutes.
- Tricycle from Daabantayan to Medellín port, Alpine Port or Kawit (it goes by all these names): roughly 60 pesos / 10 minutes.
- Boat from Medellín to Santa Fe: operated by a company called Aznar Shipping and departing daily at 6:30, 10:30 and 14:30. In the opposite direction, at 8:30, 12:30 and 16:30. It costs 250 pesos and takes about 75 minutes. You can reserve tickets from this link.
2) Via Hagnaya
If the boats above aren’t running due to rough seas or the schedules don’t suit you, you have another option to go from Malapascua to Bantayan:
- Take the boat from Malapascua to Maya. It costs 200 pesos and takes about 40 minutes.
- Catch the bus towards Cebu (you just have to walk to the bus station from the port), but tell them you’ll get off at the junction towards Hagnaya (Don Pedro). It will cost you about 75 pesos (depending on whether it’s an air‑conditioned bus or not).
- There you can wait for a bus heading to Hagnaya or ask a tricycle to take you. The distance is about 6 kilometers, and a reasonable price is 60 pesos per tricycle, 20 per person if you share with more people.
- Take a ferry from Hagnaya to Bantayan. It should cost about 350–500 pesos (+25 in fees) and you’ll take a little over 1 hour. You can see schedules and buy the ticket at this link.
In short, to go from Malapascua to Bantayan this way you’ll pay about 900 pesos and it will take around 4 hours (if you don’t have to wait long).
On the other hand, you can also take the opportunity to visit little‑known Kinatarcan. Boats depart from Daanbantayan and, from there, you could then hop over to Bantayan.
How to get to Bantayan from other places in the Philippines
If you’re in other corners of the Philippines and want to get to Bantayan, you can also do it. Here are some ideas:
Go from Estancia, Panay, to Bantayan
If you’re traveling around Panay and visiting places like Iloilo, Guimaras, Gigantes Islands or you’re coming from Romblon, it may suit you to go to Bantayan from Estancia.
Go to the Estancia port in Banquerohan and take the Balt‑Bep Shipping boat that departs at 9:00 towards Bantayan Town port. From Estancia to Bantayan they sail on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. From Bantayan to Estancia they sail on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The trip takes around 3 hours and the ticket costs 500 pesos.
It’s not a very common route, so we recommend asking the company whether they’re still operating or have changed the schedules.
Go from Moalboal to Bantayan
If you’re in the south of Cebu Island, you’ll have no choice but to go back through Cebu City to get from Moalboal. Keep in mind you’ll have to take one of the frequent buses from Moalboal to the South Bus Terminal and then switch to the North Bus Terminal to connect with buses to Hagnaya. There, take a ferry to Santa Fe.
Go from Masbate to Bantayan
If you’re visiting the Donsol area in Luzon or Masbate, you can get to Bantayan via Hagnaya.
In the first case, from Donsol, you’ll first have to go from Pilar Port to Masbate. Boats depart at 8:00, 12:00 and 3:30 daily. Once there, head to Cawagan Port, as ferries from Masbate to Hagnaya (Cebu) depart from there. There’s a daily boat to Hagnaya at 13:00 by Island Shipping.
Another idea is to go from Masbate to Bogo (Polambato Port), which is offered by the company Kho Shipping. It’s not a route travelers usually take, since Masbate isn’t a very‑visited island, but you can look into it. From the port you can take any tricycle that goes to the main road and wait for a bus to Hagnaya.
En nuestro caso, puesto que estuvimos visitando Ticao Island hace poquito, hicimos la ruta desde Matnog a Bogo, que opera Lite Shipping varios días a la semana.
Once in Hagnaya, take one of the boats we mentioned in the first section of this article.
Go from Negros to Bantayan
If you’re traveling around Negros Island (Dumaguete, Apo Island, Bacolod…) or you’re planning to head towards Panay, you’ll be interested to know that since March 2020 there are, again, boats from Cadiz City (Negros Occidental) to Bantayan. They depart daily from Cadiz at 10:00 and arrive at 13:00. It costs 500 pesos each way and the company is Balt-Bep Shipping Express.
Still have a question or need to know how to get to Cebu from another part of the country? We’ll be happy to reply in the comments.
