Panay is the main island of the Western Visayas, covering 12,011 km² across four provinces: Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, and Antique. Iloilo City, on the southeastern coast, is the regional administrative and commercial capital — a heritage city with a well-preserved Spanish-era civic core and one of the strongest food scenes in the Visayas (La Paz batchoy, fresh pancit molo, dinagyang festival in January). Caticlan, in the northwest tip of Aklan province, is the jump-off port for Boracay Island, which lies a short boat ride off the coast. Kalibo Airport in Aklan handles the bulk of Boracay-bound air traffic; Iloilo Airport (IATA: ILO) serves the city directly.
For Cebu and Bohol travellers, Panay is primarily a context reference — the Iloilo–Bacolod axis is on the Cebu Strait’s western side, accessible by RoRo from Cebu or by the Cebu–Iloilo fast ferry. This entity is a reference stub.