Despite how small it is, you’ll find several places where to stay in Apo Island. The island’s infrastructure is a bit basic—in fact, there isn’t electricity 24 hours a day—but everything there is to do in Apo makes up for it. If you want a more comfortable stay, you can choose to base yourself in Dumaguete, Dauin or Zamboanguita and do a day trip. Of course, you can also do it from Siquijor, since a couple of companies depart from there.
Bear in mind that some of the hotels on Apo don’t appear in the usual search engines. You’ll need to contact them by email, Messenger (Facebook) or by SMS (yes, text messages are widely used in the Philippines).
Keep reading to discover where to stay in Apo Island.
Accommodation in Apo Island
If you want to stay in Apo Island (good call!), you basically have 4 options, from cheapest to most expensive:
Elnor’s Home Stay
Nor and his family run this small and basic guesthouse in the heart of Apo. The rooms are very simple and have a shared bathroom (which isn’t great), but they charge just 8€ pesos for two people including breakfast.
By the way, if you want to eat relatively cheaply, they also cook here for about 150 pesos.
Mario’s Scuba Diving and Homestay
Located on the beach where you’ll go snorkeling, it’s one of the best-known on the island. Prices have recently increased considerably, but you can get double rooms for around 30€, and the common areas are very pleasant. They also have a shared dorm for about 8€ per night. Plus, it has a dive shop and a restaurant.
© Mario’s Scuba Diving and Homestay
Liberty’s Community Lodge and Diving Resort
This is where we’ve stayed on Apo Island the 3 times we’ve visited, and the place we’ll return to when we go back to the island, that’s for sure. Although it’s a “resort”, don’t expect big luxuries, since they only have electricity from 9 to 11, from 13 to 15 and from 6 to 10, and most rooms don’t have a shower—you have to wash with bucket baths. There are different “levels”, although all of them are fairly simple. Prices start at 30€ with breakfast included, but if you can stretch your budget a little, choose the deluxe, which is much nicer. You only have to take a look at both and compare.
The best thing about Liberty is that the dive shop is inexpensive (even more so if you’re a guest), they have a restaurant and a terrace with incredible sea views, and you don’t have to haggle at the port because they organize transport for you for 300 pesos.
Apo Island Beach Resort
It’s located on the most beautiful beach area of the island, where you’ll also find the curious rock formation known as Boluarte. It has the best facilities and 9 lovely bungalows with a fan and a private bathroom. From 2,700 pesos per night. More info on its website.
Unfortunately, it has been closed since 2023 and we don’t know when it will reopen.
Base yourself in Dumaguete
One way to visit Apo Island is to stay in Dumaguete and do a day trip from there. At times, hostels like The Flying Fish Hostel or Mad Monkey Dumaguete organize snorkeling and diving trips, although less and less. You can also stay wherever you like and book this tour.
Although the Philippines isn’t known for having very beautiful cities, Dumaguete is one of the most interesting and, as a university city, it has nightlife. From there you can also do several day trips, so you may want to stay in more comfortable places such as:
- Blue Horizon Hostel: halfway between the airport and downtown, it’s a hotel with every comfort. They have a restaurant in case you don’t feel like going out to look for food. You can book here.
- Casa Arrieta Hostel: the best thing about this place is the staff—they’re lovely! It’s not downtown, but you can get there on foot or by tricycle for little money. Everything is really spotless. They have double rooms and shared dorms with lockers. You can book here.
- Golden Gate Suites: closer to downtown than the previous ones and right next to the immigration office, in case you need to do the Philippines visa extension. It’s more than correct: new furniture, air conditioning, hot water, and friendly, helpful staff. You can book here.
You’ll find many more options in our article Where to stay in Dumaguete.
© Golden Gate Suites
Stay in Zamboanguita or Dauin
In this stretch of black‑sand coast there are lots of cool, well set‑up resorts dedicated 100% to diving. Dauin is a muck diving paradise for macro diving (this is where we saw our first seahorses and mimic octopuses!), so it can be a good alternative if you want to do more dives. From here, diving and snorkeling trips to Apo run almost daily.
You can reach both Zamboanguita and Dauin by bus from Dumaguete. From either one you can take a bus or tricycle for little money to Malatapay, and then head to Apo.
Hotels to stay in Dauin:
- Bongo Bongo Divers: one of the most affordable options in Dauin, and they’ve recently renovated their rooms, making everything even nicer, with a pool in the center. We stayed here a couple of nights in a nipa hut with a fan and a shared bathroom. They also have shared dorms. You can book here.
- Mike’s Dauin Dive Resort: on our first visit we stayed at this beautiful resort with a pool overlooking the sea. Good dive shop. You can book here.
- Atlantis Dive Resort Dumaguete: one of the most luxurious in Dauin, set right on the seafront, with a pool, spa… Book here.
Find more hotels in Dauin here
The facilities at Mike’s Dauin Dive Resortsort
Hotels to stay in Zamboanguita:
- A Villas Resort and Restaurant: a tremendously beautiful place near the town of Zamboanguita, with a huge pool and doubles from 38€. Book here.
- Kav’s Beach Resort: a fantastic beachside place to stay—whether you’re going to Apo Island the next night or doing the tour with them. Besides comfy bungalows, they have shared dorms. Perfect. You can book here.
More hotels in Zamboanguita here
©Kav’s Beach Resort
Stay in Siquijor
Finally, you can also choose to do a day trip from Siquijor. In that case, don’t hesitate to check our article Where to stay in Siquijor, where we explain everything in detail.
Map of hotels in Apo Island and nearby
Here you can get a better idea of the best places to stay in Apo Island and its surroundings. You can better gauge the distances and whether it’s worth staying on Apo itself or not in How to get to Apo Island.
We hope you liked this selection of places to stay in Apo Island and the surrounding area! If you have any more suggestions or questions, leave us a comment and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
