Bantayan Island is in the Visayan Sea

Visayan Sea

The Visayan Sea is a sea in the Philippines, surrounded by the islands of the Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Western Visayas located to the east and west, while the Central Visayas is located to the south...

, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, located just west off the northern tip of Cebu Island. The island, politically a part of the Province of Cebu

Cebu

Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...

, is about 7 miles (11.3 km) wide by 10 miles (16.1 km) long, with a total population of 120,101, as of the 2000 census. It is also the main and largest island of the Bantayan Island Group that is roughly the geographical center of the Philippines. The island group includes numerous smaller islands, of which the more notable are:

• Bagayag Island
• Banitugan (or Panitugan) Island
• Botong Island
• Jilantagaan (or Jicantangan) Island
• Lutungan Island
• Maambot Island
• Mambacayao Island
• Moalboal Island
• Pintagan Island
• Sagasay Island
• Silagon Island
• Silion Island
• Yao Island

About 20 of Bantayan's islets stretch for another 5 miles south with some being accessible by foot from the main island at low tide. The islands are beside the busy shipping lanes for ships and ferrys coming from Mindanao

Mindanao

Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...

 or Cebu City on its way to Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

.

Bantayan Islands are considered as Cebu’s fishing ground from where boatloads of fish are transported daily to Cebu City

Cebu City

The City of Cebu is the capital city of Cebu and is the second largest city in the Philippines, the second most significant metropolitan centre in the Philippines and known as the oldest settlement established by the Spaniards in the country.The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu and was...

 and Negros. Tons of guinamos (salted fish) and buwad (dried fish) are delivered to Cebu City and Cadiz, Negros for further distribution to as far as Mindanao and Manila. Equally important is the thriving poultry industry with hundreds of thousands of chicken eggs produced daily.

The island can be reached via bus from Cebu City (via the North Bus Terminal near SM City Shopping Mall) then via ferry from Hagnaya Wharf in San Remigio, Cebu

San Remigio, Cebu

San Remigio is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines, about north of Cebu City. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 47,826 people.-History:...

, or from Sagay in Negros Occidental

Negros Occidental

Negros Occidental is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Bacolod City and it occupies the northwestern half of Negros Island; Negros Oriental is at the southeastern half...

. No commercial flights or overnight ferries are currently operating from Cebu City. It is possible to charter small private aircraft from Mactan-Cebu International Airport

Mactan-Cebu International Airport

Mactan-Cebu International Airport is a major international airport in the Visayas region of the Philippines. It is located in Lapu-Lapu City, Mactan Island, Metro Cebu and is the country's second primary gateway...

, to Bantayan Airport

Bantayan Airport

Bantayan Airport is an airport serving Bantayan Island in the Province of Cebu in the Philippines. The airport is located in the municipality of Santa Fe...

 on Bantayan Island.

Bantayan Island is administratively divided into three municipalities

Municipalities of the Philippines

A municipality is a local government unit in the Philippines. Municipalities are also called towns . They are distinct from cities, which are a different category of local government unit...

:

• Bantayan, Cebu
  Bantayan, Cebu
  Bantayan is a 2nd class municipality on Bantayan Island in the province of Cebu, Philippines, about from Cebu City.It is the island's most populous and largest town, with a population of 71,655 people according to the 2007 census. It is bordered to the north by Madridejos and to the southeast by...
  
   (the largest municipality, covering the central part)
• Madridejos, Cebu
  Madridejos, Cebu
  Madridejos is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. It is one of the three municipalities that make up the island of Bantayan located on the western portion of the northern tip of mainland Cebu. It is bounded on the south by the municipality of Bantayan, Cebu, and on all...
  
   (covering the northern portion)
• Santa Fe, Cebu
  Santa Fe, Cebu
  Santa Fe is a 5th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 26,826 people. The municipality's territory includes the eastern portion of Bantayan Island , as well as Guintacan and Hilantagaan Islands.Bantayan Airport, serving...
  
  (covering the eastern portion)