Virgin Island In Cebu's North By Thaddeau Engaling on Feb 28, 2008 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

One of the more common activities for Bantayan Island tourists is a visit to an island known to locals as Virgin Island or more formally, Sili-on Island. From Sta. Fe town, Sili-on Island is accessible through outriggered boats locally known as pumpboats which are rented at a cost range of USD 20.00 to USD 122.00 for a day. It takes between 15-30 minutes to get to Sili-on Island from Sta. Fe town depending on which part of town you start from. The fee is inclusive of the boatman and a guide-cum-chef. While it is a popular destination of Bantayan Island tourists, Sili-on is but an ordinary island with the greater part covered by marshes and grassland. A small part is converted into a mini-resort that caters to transient picnic-goers, almost all of whom are Bantayan Island guests. Sili-on Island caretakers charge a uniform fee of USD 7.50 for every pumpboat that anchors on the island. Sili-on Island has no commercial establishments so island visitors must load up on food and supplies at nearby Sta. Fe town on the main island of Bantayan.

My friends in I chanced upon the opportunity to visit Sili-on Island while on a business trip to Bantayan town in Bantayan Island. All we did in Sili-on was picnic, bathe in its shallow waters and enjoyed watching marine life while snorkeling at Bantayan Island's protected marine sanctuary, not far from the coast of Sili-on Island and also neaby Hilantagaan Island.