Things to see · beaches, islands, history

Things to see on Bantayan Island.

Short answer: Bantayan's best-known sights are its white beaches in Santa Fe, the island hopping trips to Virgin Island and Hilantagaan, the old church in Bantayan town and the Kota fort park in Madridejos. Every page below shows how to get there, the fees and the best time to go.

Illustration: a ferry approaching a flat island with palm trees and a white beach at sunset — AI illustration

Santa Fe

Hilantagaan Island – snorkeling near Santa Fe

Hilantagaan is a small inhabited island east of Santa Fe and one of its ten barangays. Visitors come by boat, about 30 minutes, mainly to snorkel on the reef; some guides report a fee of about ₱100 per person if you go ashore.

Santa Fe

Island hopping from Santa Fe – Virgin Island, Hilantagaan and more

Island hopping on Bantayan usually starts in Santa Fe: a hired outrigger boat takes you to Virgin Island, Hilantagaan and the Santa Fe Lagoon in about half a day. You pay the boat plus any island fees for the places where you go ashore; 2026 guides quote about ₱1,000–2,500 per boat (₱1,000 for up to five people, more for a bigger private charter) (unverified).

Santa Fe

Kota Beach – Santa Fe's main white sand beach

Kota Beach is the main resort beach of Santa Fe on Bantayan Island, about 2 km from the ferry port. Walking on the beach is free; at low tide wide sand flats and a sandbar appear, so swimming is better at high tide.

Madridejos

Kota Heritage Park – the Spanish fort of Madridejos

Kota Park, officially Kota Heritage Park, is in Madridejos at the northern tip of Bantayan Island. It holds the stone ruins of a Spanish-era fort and a footbridge into the sea; entry is reported free, but the footbridge was closed after the 2025 earthquake.

Madridejos

Lighthouses of Bantayan Island

Bantayan Island has a light station at Kota Point in Madridejos, close to Kota Heritage Park, a second lighthouse north-west of Bantayan town's port, and a light on Kinatarkan island (Santa Fe). They are navigation lights (current operation not confirmed), not visitor attractions with opening hours.

Bantayan

Mangroves and protected areas on Bantayan Island

According to Wikipedia, Bantayan Island and its islets are part of the Bantayan Island Wilderness Area, and part of the east coast lies in the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape (official DENR maps not yet checked). The easiest place to see mangroves is the Obo-ob Mangrove Garden (OMAGIECA), a bamboo boardwalk with a small entrance fee.

Santa Fe

Ogtong Cave – the cave pool at Ogtong Cave Resort

Ogtong Cave is a small cave with a clear spring pool inside the private Ogtong Cave Resort in Santa Fe. The cave was closed after rockfalls in the September 2025 earthquake; check with the resort before you go, as no reopening is confirmed.

Santa Fe

Paradise Beach (Sandira) – the cove beach of Santa Fe

Paradise Beach, often called Sandira Beach, is a privately managed cove beach in Santa Fe, a few kilometres west of the resort strip. Visitors pay a small entrance fee at the gate – recent reports quote about ₱50–75 per adult.

Santa Fe

Santa Fe Lagoon (Balidbid / Baigad Lagoon)

The Santa Fe Lagoon, also known as Balidbid or Baigad Lagoon, is a protected mangrove lagoon in barangay Balidbid on the north coast of Santa Fe. Motor boats are banned; Cebu Daily News reported in March 2026 that the town relaunched it for low-impact use such as kayaking and paddle boarding.

Madridejos

Spanish-era watchtowers of Bantayan Island

In the Spanish period the island had a chain of stone watchtowers to warn against raiders from the sea. The best-known remains are the Bantayan sa Hari tower in barangay Kaongkod (around 1839) and the fort at Kota Heritage Park, where four posts are thought to have carried a wooden lookout, both in Madridejos.

Bantayan

Sts. Peter and Paul Parish Church, Bantayan

Sts. Peter and Paul Parish Church stands on the central plaza of Bantayan town and traces its parish back to 1580. The upper part of the church was partly damaged in the 30 September 2025 earthquake; it remains an active parish.

Santa Fe

Sugar Beach – a quieter stretch next to Kota Beach

Sugar Beach is a quieter white sand beach in Santa Fe, right next to Kota Beach. Travel guides describe access as free (not yet checked on site). The water is calm and shallow; check the tide before you swim.

usually listed under Santa Fe

Virgin Island (Silion) – island hopping from Santa Fe

Virgin Island, also called Silion or Sillon, is a small privately managed islet north of Santa Fe that you reach by hired boat in about 20–30 minutes. Visitors pay an entrance fee on the island on top of the boat; sources disagree on the amount, so ask before you land.

The three towns

Town

Santa Fe – the ferry town of Bantayan Island

Town

Bantayan town – the old church town of Bantayan Island

Town

Madridejos, Bantayan Island: the old town of Lawis in the north

More places on the map

46 listings from OpenStreetMap, not yet checked by our local guide. Open the full directory with map →

Town

Showing 46 listings

Church or chapel

7th Day Adventist Church

Poblacion, Santa Fe

Things to see on Bantayan Island.

Hilantagaan Island – snorkeling near Santa Fe

Island hopping from Santa Fe – Virgin Island, Hilantagaan and more

Kota Beach – Santa Fe's main white sand beach

Kota Heritage Park – the Spanish fort of Madridejos

Lighthouses of Bantayan Island

Mangroves and protected areas on Bantayan Island

Ogtong Cave – the cave pool at Ogtong Cave Resort

Paradise Beach (Sandira) – the cove beach of Santa Fe

Santa Fe Lagoon (Balidbid / Baigad Lagoon)

Spanish-era watchtowers of Bantayan Island

Sts. Peter and Paul Parish Church, Bantayan

Sugar Beach – a quieter stretch next to Kota Beach

Virgin Island (Silion) – island hopping from Santa Fe

The three towns

Santa Fe – the ferry town of Bantayan Island

Bantayan town – the old church town of Bantayan Island

Madridejos, Bantayan Island: the old town of Lawis in the north

More places on the map

7th Day Adventist Church

Balik-Laro

Bantayan Eternal Garden Chapel

Bantayan Island

Bantayan Munical Town Plaza

beaches hide by the cliff

Berhin sa Lourdes

Bible Baptist Church

boats to Balidbid Lagoon & Beach

Camp Sawi

Camp Wagi

Cool rock formations, and more of them down the road

hide paradise beach

Hilltop, M.Y. Village

Iglesia ni Cristo

Iglesia Ni Cristo

Iglesia Ni Cristo

Iglesia Ni Cristo, Lokal ng Madridejos

Iglesia Ni Cristo, Lokal ng Sta. Fe

Immaculate Conception Parish Church

Kindom Hall of Jehova Withness

Kota Park

Kota Park of Madridejos

Laaw Lagoon

Lover's Lane

Madridejos Town Plaza

Obo-ob Mangrove Garden

Paradise Beach

Parish of the Holy Child

Parroquia de San Pedro Apostol

Pentecostal Missionary Church for Christ

Saint Jude Thadeo Chapel

San Agustin Chapel

San Juan Chapel

San Martin de Porres Chapel

San Roque

San Vicente Ferre Parish Church (Kampingganon)

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz Chapel

Santo Niño Chapel

Santo Niño Parish Church

Santo Nino Shrine

St. Martin de Porres Chapel

Sto Rosario

Sts. Peter & Paul Chapel

WasSup Beach 🌴

Plan your trip.

Getting here

Ferry schedule

Weather & tides

Money & ATMs