Bantayan Proper

Bantayan Proper is the built-up center of Bantayan town, where century-old streets fan out from a coral-stone church and a working town plaza rather than a resort strip. Life here runs on fishing and boat-building — local yards still turn out wooden bangkas that supply much of the central Visayas — and the public market keeps that economy visible, stacked with danggit and other dried fish shipped daily to Cebu City. Walking the grid past Spanish-era houses and shopfronts gives a clearer sense of island life than the beaches a few kilometers out.

• The town plaza sits beside a centuries-old coral-stone church, the anchor of the original colonial layout.
• The public market is the place to see, and buy, Bantayan’s dried fish trade up close, including the danggit sold across Cebu’s own markets.
• Bicycles are the easiest way to cover the tree-lined streets; the grid is flat and walkable in under an hour.

Explore More in Bantayan Island

• North Cebu Churches: Historical & Architectural Guide
• Cebu Taoist Temple
• Pedro Calungsod Chapel