Panglao Island Central Visayas Philippines

We flew from Puerto Princesa in Palawan to Cebu City, the second city of the Philippines.  We had an overnight stop here before getting a 2 hour ferry trip to Tagbilaran on the island of Bohol.  From here it was about a 40 minute transfer to Alona Beach on Panglao Island.  We had a great week staying at the Alona Northland Resort, highly recommended if anyone is going that way.  Alona Beach is another big diving centre of the Philippines.  We had a great daytrip to the nearby Balicasag Island, watching the sunrise and spotting some dolphins as we travelled out on the boat.  Balicasag had some of the best snorkeling we had seen in the Philippines, so many fish, it was like being inside a tropical fish tank!  We also stopped off at Virgin Island, a beautiful sandbar – shame about the hawkers selling shells, corals and urchins!  We had some great sunsets on Panglao, the best when we got a local tricycle driver to take us to the end of the island.  There is no way we would have found the spot if we went ourselves so it just goes to show you can’t beat local knowledge.