Location
Panglao is a small island virtually attached to the main island of Bohol, connected by two bridges of just 50 meters in length. All major beach resorts are located on Panglao with its pristine white beaches and clean seawater. Panglao is also the destination of choice for many divers.
Located centrally in the Philippine Archipelago, Bohol lies in the heart of the Visayas with the islands of Cebu, Leyte, Siquijor, and Negros as its neighbors. Bohol (with a land area of 4117 sq. km) is 700 km directly south of Manila, the national capital, and is about 79 km southeast of Cebu City.
Bohol is famous for its unique geological formation known as the Chocolate Hills, which are more than a thousand cone-shaped hills scattered in the central part of the island that assume the looks of chocolate puddings in the dry season. Bohol is also home to one of the smallest and oldest living primate, the Philippine Tarsier. Despite its generally rustic character, the island is replete with modern conveniences and is wired to the rest of the world with the latest telecommunication facilities.
For those new to the country, the Philippines consists of 7,107 islands, many of them so small that they are not even inhabited. The whole country stretches for some 1,840 km, South to North, or from 4°30' N through 21° N, equivalent to the distance from Naples to the northern tip of Denmark, or from the southern tip of Florida to New York. The whole area is some 300'000 km˛, inhabited by approximately 80 million people. The Philippines is the largest Christian country in Asia (85% of the population are Catholics) with some Muslim groups, mostly living on the southern islands. The national language is Filipino, with many local dialects (Tagalog, Visayan, Ilocano, etc.) but English is widely understood and spoken, as it is the second language of the country.
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Transportation
To reach the resort, several means of transportation may be used.
First of all, one must reach the Philippines by plane, either through Manila or Cebu. From Manila, one can take a domestic flight, either direct to Tagbilaran (capital city of Bohol) with Philippine Airlines (PAL) or Cebu Pacific (CEB), or to Cebu City, again with PAL or Cebu Pacific. Please check their respective schedules, as there are frequent changes!
Direct flights into the Philippines also reach Cebu City. For airline schedules please refer to our Links section. From Cebu City, several ferries are plying daily the Cebu - Tagbilaran route, the slow ones taking some 4 hours while for fast ferries, a mere 1˝ hours. The three fastcraft shipping companies connecting Tagbilaran with Cebu has now its own web presence; please see our Links section.
The City of Tagbilaran is the flourishing capital and main gateway to Bohol. Upon arrival, getting around is easy and very manageable even for first time travelers to Bohol.
The Tagbilaran City Airport and Seaport are conveniently located within the city. Transfer from Tagbilaran City to Alona Palm Beach Resort and Restaurant takes less than 30 minutes, via taxi, or pre-arranged pick-up service.