Leyte is the main island of Eastern Visayas, covering 7,214 km². Tacloban City, on the northeastern coast at the head of the Leyte Gulf, is the regional capital and the site of General MacArthur’s 1944 return to the Philippines — the Leyte Gulf naval battle of October 1944 was among the largest in history. Ormoc City, on the western coast, is the practical transport link to Cebu: fast craft services from Pier 1 Cebu City cross to Ormoc in approximately 2.5 hours, making Leyte accessible as a day-trip extension for Cebu-based itineraries. The San Juanico Bridge (1,246 metres) connects Leyte to Samar across the narrow strait of the same name.
For Cebu and Bohol travellers, Leyte is primarily relevant as a Cebu fast-craft connection (Ormoc) and as context for the Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) track — the storm made landfall near Guiuan, Eastern Samar, in November 2013 and caused catastrophic damage in Tacloban, context that often comes up in discussions of the region’s disaster resilience and rebuilding. Reference stub only.