Panglao Island
Panglao is where most Bohol trips begin. The island sits off the south-west corner of Bohol, joined to the mainland by two bridges, and it is home to both the province’s beach strip and its international airport — so for a lot of visitors it is the first and last place they see.
Good to know
- Panglao is connected to mainland Bohol by two bridges — the Cong. Suarez Bridge and the Gov. Borja Bridge — so every transfer to and from the island is a road trip. A third bridge to the mainland is under construction.
- Ferries do not dock on Panglao. Bohol’s passenger ferry ports are all on the mainland — Tagbilaran on the south-west coast, Tubigon on the north-west, Jagna on the south — so arriving by ferry means landing there and crossing a bridge by road. The one scheduled boat that lands on the island itself is the once-a-day banca from Oslob in south Cebu, which runs beach to beach into Momo Beach rather than to a pier.
- Panglao Island is two municipalities, Dauis and Panglao. A resort address that says “Dauis, Bohol” is on the island, at the mainland-bridge end of it, not somewhere else.
- Alona Beach is the island’s best-known stretch of white sand and the base for most dive shops, island-hopping bancas and dolphin-watching trips.
- Bohol–Panglao International Airport (IATA code TAG) is on Panglao itself. It opened in November 2018 and replaced the old Tagbilaran airport on the mainland.
- Balicasag Island, a marine sanctuary popular with divers and snorkellers, is reached by boat from the Panglao side.
What we quote for
- Airport pickups and drop-offs at Bohol–Panglao International Airport, timed to your flight
- Resort-to-resort transfers anywhere on Panglao and into Tagbilaran
- Panglao as the start or end point of a full-island day tour
- Multi-day car or van hire with a driver, based on Panglao
We do not publish a price list. Every trip is priced on its own — the vehicle, the stops, the timing — and the number we send you is the number you pay.
Planning notes
- Send us your flight number when you request a quote — we track the arrival and plan the pickup around the real landing time, not the scheduled one.
- Alona is busy; tell us your resort name and we will agree a pickup point that a vehicle can actually reach.
- Island-hopping and dive boats leave early. If you want a road transfer to connect with one, say so and we will build the timing around it.
- Arriving by sea? Tell us which pier your boat docks at, not just that you are coming from Cebu or Siquijor — Tagbilaran and Tubigon are on opposite coasts of Bohol, and the drive to Panglao is a different journey from each. Coming on the Oslob banca instead? Say so: it lands on Momo Beach, and there is no pier to meet it at.
Getting to Panglao
Step-by-step transfer guides for the routes we run to and from Panglao — what to send us, and how the pickup works.
- Bohol airport to Alona Beach
Pre-book a private pickup from Bohol–Panglao International Airport to Alona Beach.
- Tagbilaran port to Panglao
Pre-book a private pier pickup from Tagbilaran City port to your Panglao accommodation.
- Panglao to Anda
Arrange a private transfer from your Panglao accommodation to Anda on Bohol’s east coast.
- Panglao to Chocolate Hills
Arrange a private day-tour transfer from Panglao to the Chocolate Hills area.
- Panglao to Danao Adventure Park
Arrange a private full-day transfer from Panglao up to Danao Adventure Park in Bohol’s interior.
- Panglao to Corella (Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary)
Arrange a private transfer from Panglao inland to the Philippine Tarsier and Wildlife Sanctuary at Canapnapan, Corella.
- Panglao to Baclayon
Arrange a private transfer from Panglao to Baclayon — the 1727 coral-stone church, the museum beside it, and the Pamilacan boats.
- Panglao to Sagbayan Peak
Arrange a private transfer from Panglao to Sagbayan Peak — the quieter western viewpoint over the Chocolate Hills, in the interior of Bohol.
- Panglao to Bohol airport
Book the departure run from your Panglao or Alona Beach hotel back to Bohol–Panglao International Airport.
- Panglao to Tagbilaran port
Book the departure run from your Panglao or Alona Beach hotel to the Tagbilaran ferry terminal.
- Anda to Panglao
Arrange the transfer from Anda back to Panglao and Alona Beach for the last leg of your trip.
- Tubigon port to Panglao
Arrange a private transfer from Tubigon port on Bohol's north-west coast down to Panglao and Alona Beach.
Panglao: questions we get asked
The things people ask before they send a quote request. If yours is not here, put it in the message box and we will answer it with your price.
Do I need to take a ferry to reach Panglao?
Not to reach the island itself. Panglao is joined to mainland Bohol by two bridges — the Cong. Suarez and the Gov. Borja — so the transfer is a road journey with no boat leg to miss. If you are arriving in Bohol by sea, though, the ferry is a separate leg: it docks on the mainland, at Tagbilaran, Tubigon or Jagna, and we drive you across from there. The one exception is the once-a-day banca from Oslob in south Cebu, which lands on Momo Beach on Panglao itself.
Is Bohol’s airport actually on Panglao?
Yes. Bohol–Panglao International Airport (IATA code TAG) is on Panglao itself, and has been since it opened in November 2018 in place of the old Tagbilaran airport on the mainland. If you fly in, you land on the island rather than driving to it.
How do I actually get to Panglao?
Two ways, and one exception. By air, you land on Panglao itself — Bohol–Panglao International Airport is on the island, so there is no crossing to make and the transfer starts at the terminal. By ferry, you land on mainland Bohol at one of the ports and cross one of the two bridges by road. The exception is the once-a-day banca from Oslob in south Cebu, which puts you ashore on Momo Beach on Panglao by small boat rather than at a pier. Whichever it is, it is one vehicle, one driver and one price, and the routes below cover the first two.
Is there a port on Panglao?
Not a passenger ferry port. The ferries from Cebu City, Siquijor and Mindanao dock on mainland Bohol — Tagbilaran is the closest pier to Panglao, Tubigon is the north-west gate, and Jagna faces Mindanao on the south coast. Most boats that leave from Panglao itself are the island-hopping and dive bancas, which is a different kind of trip. The one scheduled crossing that starts on the island is a banca between Momo Beach and Oslob in south Cebu, once a day each way, beach to beach with no pier at either end.
My hotel address says Dauis, not Panglao — am I on the island?
Yes. Panglao Island is made up of two municipalities, Dauis and Panglao, and Dauis is the end joined to the mainland by the bridges. Plenty of resorts sit in Dauis and describe themselves as Panglao, which is fair — it is the same island. Send us the resort name either way and we will confirm the pickup point.
Can you collect me from my Alona Beach resort?
Yes. Alona is busy and not every lane suits a van, so tell us the resort name in your quote request and we will agree a pickup point a vehicle can genuinely reach, rather than leaving you to find the driver.
Can you get me to an early island-hopping or dive boat?
Yes. Those boats leave early, and a road transfer timed around one is a normal request. Say which trip you are joining and we build the pickup around it — the same way we plan around a flight.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against public sources, listed here so you can check them too. Anything we cannot verify, we do not print.
Elsewhere in Bohol
Coming in by boat or by plane?
The arrival itself — which pier a ferry actually docks at, what Bohol’s other ports are for, and how a pickup is timed to a flight or a sailing — is covered properly on our Tagbilaran port & Bohol airport transfers page. This page is about the island you are heading for; that one is about the moment you land.
Coming from Oslob or Moalboal?
South Cebu has a direct boat to Panglao that skips both Cebu City and Tagbilaran — one banca a day each way, landing on Momo Beach rather than at a pier. Where it really leaves from, who the operator says it does not suit, and how the transfer fits around it are in our Panglao to Oslob by boat guide.