I admit I only knew about Bantayan Island because of the movie Camp Sawi. When I saw how lovely the place was, I told myself I’ll definitely visit this place. The last time I was in Cebu, I was about to go there but some typhoon came and I was told the boat operation was cancelled. I was stuck in Cebu City for a few days and was “sawi” to go to Bantayan.

Moreover, I discovered there was a boat from the island to Estancia, a fact that made it more accessible to me. So after the last-minute event that had me packing my bag to Cebu, I tried to squeeze in Bantayan in my itinerary. But, I was informed that the boat operation to Estancia was cancelled and my Couchsurfing host also cancelled, so that’s the reason I decided to settle with Moalboal. But then again, kung sinuswerte ka nga naman, I received the payment for a writing gig I did so I went, “What the heck! Let’s go to Bantayan!”

It was quite some travel, though, because I was from Moalboal and I went back to the city, and from Cebu South Bus Terminal, I went to the Cebu North Bus Terminal to ride the bus to Hagnaya. I took the bus with AC for P175, travel time of around 4 hours. This bus will drop you off at Hagnaya port.

You actually have an option to take a bus for P200+ which will drop you off at Bantayan town proper, kind of RORO where the bus will be carried by the ferry and from the port will drop you to the town. You still have to pay the ferry fare and terminal fee. This option is good if you have a lot of things.

From Hagnaya port, pay for the ferry (P170) and terminal fee (P10). They have a different fare for children, I wasn’t able to take a photo of that. Click this link for info about ferry schedule.

The ferry from Hagnaya port to Sta. Fe was about 40 minutes to an hour. This was the view of Sta. Fe as we were nearing the island.

Bantayan held my heart right upon seeing the shore. The sand was fine and white and the water clear and blue. Somehow, it reminded me of the shores of Nusa Penida, how you can easily jump from the ferry and swim right there and then.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to post this selfie photo as a selfie photo but as your reference for the Sta. Fe port walkway. Please ignore my face and look at the port at the top of the photo. So upon arriving there, there were some porters asking you to carry your stuff and tricycle drivers offering you rides to your accommodation or island or land tour. There was this manong who followed me all the way through despite telling him I have a friend waiting for me at the tourism office (which is, by the way, true). It was quite a long walk, but he didn’t let go. Ate Girl who I made friends with back at the ferry caught up with me and engaged me in a conversation, probably to give manong a hint but he was relentless.

Anyway, I reached the tourism office and I met Maria who was supposed to be my Couchsurfing host. I said goodbye and thank you to Ate Girl and I paid for the ecological fee of P30. Maria then asked me if I want to ride or walk in looking for accommodation but I decided to walk. Maria then told relentless manong and that’s where it sunk into him that he’s wasting his time on me.

I mentioned about the bus going straight to Bantayan earlier. I think you should only take that option if your accommodation is within Bantayan proper because I discovered that accommodations in Sta. Fe area (where most of the white sand beaches are) are just walking distance from the port. We first went to Bantayan Cottages but they were undergoing some change in management so we went next to RR Lodging House.

I didn’t book online because resorts online have prices that skyrocketed maybe because it’s nearing Holy Week. In my opinion, this is a pretty good location because it’s literally just one minute walk to the beach on the right, and to the left is the MJ Square and Sta. Fe town proper. If you see my selfie above, that’s at the beach near RR and see how the port walkway is very visible.

Price: P500/room/night; I failed to find someone to share the room with ’cause it’s good for two 🙁

What I Got: Room for two, fan room, shared bathroom, a terrace with a view, towel and a roll of tissue provided, free Wi-Fi

I think this was one of the cheapest on the island but considering that Holy Week is just a few days away, Maria and another informant, lol, told me that prices may hike up.

After leaving my stuff, Maria took me to MJ Square to have dinner. I didn’t really expect the island to have that kind of place. Along that street were some fancy restaurants and within MJ Square, too, and some bar, a homemade ice cream shop, a karaoke place and a little dance club.

Maria then showed me around the town proper, the church, and some other alternative homestays. After, I retired early to bed because I had a tiring day of travel.

The next day, I luckily woke up at around 5 AM without alarm and jerked out of bed and into the beach. The sunrise there was just amazing!

I played with the sunrise and I pretty much wallowed in the sunrise like a kid.

So I didn’t want to pass up a photo op in this lifeguard high chair. I disturbed a manong nearby who was cleaning. Unfortunately, 3/4 of his photos were like this:

But I was happy that at least I had this one and only unblurred photo:

I reached this part of Ogtong Resort. I didn’t enter ’cause I think day use is already at P200.

Somewhere after this area, I can feel the ocean water already at my waist level. Thankfully, I found some stairs and I gave up on my original plan to walk up to Paradise Beach. And it was a really good decision because I found this:

Jackpot! I remembered this ruins from the movie. And no one was even there! So went my self-timer diaries.

When I had enough, I walked further to find Paradise Beach.

I finally reached it! So I paid day use P50 and, as you can see below, you can rent a tent and spend a night here. If I had known… but I already paid for my homestay. They actually have shower rooms and toilets so it’s really a good option.

I had another drink here and I learned that there was a foreigner staying there for a couple of nights already, only setting up a hammock. Amazing. Also, I found a kababayan (?!) here, a fellow Ilonggo who has already settled in Bantayan. At first, he only offered to take me back to my homestay but eventually offered to tour me around Bantayan. He said he was just happy to meet a fellow Ilonggo and knowing that I only have that day on the island, he said I should maximize my Bantayan experience.

Who wouldn’t I be happy?! I earned a friend and a free trip around Bantayan Island. Unfortunately, he said he doesn’t aim to be a tour guide and told me not to reveal his name. But Kuya  is so kind and he’s really a good guide, so maybe he’ll change his mind if you mention I recommended him. You can contact me personally to get his number.

Kuya highly suggested this place which he said was not really a part of land tours in Bantayan. This was a quarry site and Kuya knows good photo spots. He brought me here and told me he’ll take my photo.

And then we climbed up to the Big Cross. It was still on its way to being developed. I think this is where the big Holy Week happens or something.

There was only the caretaker there, no fees or anything.

Kuya and I then went around Madridejos which is actually the other tip of the island already. He brought me to Kota Park:

Kuya drove all the way the other route back to Sta. Fe. We passed by other resorts near Bantayan town proper, along residences in Madridejos and Bantayan. While on the long road trip, Kuya and I had some travel and life conversations. I know I’m repeating myself over again, but things like these were what I love about travelling. Eventually, I said goodbye to this warmhearted Kuya.

I then met with Maria at Yooneek who was hanging out with another Maria, a travel writer from Canada, and Zane from Australia. We waited for the sunset and saw some clouds forming so we managed our sunset expectation. We did some swimming and Maria went off first because she had to pack her stuff. Maria, Zane, and I went to MJ Square to have that eat-all-you-can-dinner that I was eyeing on. Then, more life, career and contrast of cultures conversation.

We retired early that night. Or not. Somewhere around 10 or 11, Maria texted me to have some drinks. I was already in my sleeping attire but I thought, okay, ’cause it was my last night. I walked to MJ Square, and met Maria at Liquido. We had rum coke, more conversation with people she knew, and offered a glass for each of us, a mixed drink called Yolanda. Reminding myself I have to wake up early to catch the 9 AM ferry, I bade goodbye to Maria and thanked her.

I woke up early that morning to say farewell to the amazing sunrise (and sunset) of Bantayan.

So by the way, I had these options in going back to Iloilo. As I mentioned earlier, Estancia route was crossed out even though it would have been the cheapest option. I found out at Bantayan port from the people there that they ceased operation since December and will probably have their permit okay by the end of March. However, I found online another route which is through Cadiz and even though the price is slightly higher than the Estancia route, the travel time is less.

UPDATE as of June 2018: Estancia-Bantayan ferry is back! Drops you off here too at Bantayan port.

From Sta. Fe, I took a habal-habal to Bantayan port where I passed by the St. Peter and Paul Church. I paid P100 and I don’t know if it could be haggled. I’m bad at haggling.

From Cadiz port, I took the tricycle to the bus terminal for P25, I think. I rode an AC bus, P105, with 1.5h travel time. From the terminal, trike to Bacolod port cost P40. I paid for OceanJet to Iloilo.

If you’re considering Bantayan as one of your beach getaways this summer, you can have Maria as your tour guide, or just if you need info or assistance with your Bantayan trip. Here’s a link to her Facebook pages: personal page, Bantayan Island Guide Tour. Her number: 0912 587 0676.

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