Boracay is an incredibly beautiful island located in the Philippines and is a popular destination for tropical beach getaways. While the Philippines themselves are not the most easy destination to get to, traveling to Boracay is definitely worth it. Discover how to get to Boracay island in a few easy steps.
Where is Boracay Island
Boracay is located in the middle of the Philippines island chain just south of Manila. It falls in the Western Visayas region and is part of the Aklan province.
It’s a small island at just under 4 mi². You can’t see it on the map above, but it’s located just off the corner of the larger island of Panay.
How to Get to Boracay
There’s a few steps to get to Boracay Island but travel in the Philippines is pretty straightforward and easy to navigate. Most people speak English and I didn’t have any problems following the tourist crowd to get to where I needed to be.
Step 1: Flights
You’ll first fly into the capital of Manila and then have to take another flight down to the island. There are two airport options to choose from–Caticlan Airport (MPH; aka Godofredo P. Ramos Airport) and Kalibo International Airport (KLO).
Caticlan is the closest airport to the island and just a few minutes away from the jetty port, so I’d recommend using this airport. The flights from Manila to Caticlan are very inexpensive (I think I paid under $100 for a roundtrip ticket).
Kalibo on the other hand is further down the main island and will take about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get from the airport to the ferry terminal.
Step 2: Ferry
Once you arrive at Caticlan Airport, you’ll need to grab a tricycle outside for a short ride to the ferry terminal. It’s only a few minutes away (roughly 5 minutes) and will probably cost around 150php (about $2.57) per person, or less per person if you share a ride.
You can either purchase your ferry ticket ahead of time or buy it at the counter when you get there. If it’s peak season and one of the last departures, you might want to book ahead.
The boat ferry is short and sweet, taking only about 10-15 minutes to reach the island. Ferries run regularly throughout the day and you shouldn’t have a problem waiting for one or not planning ahead.
The boats are fairly small. They’ll throw your luggage on top and you’ll have a covered cabin to sit in while getting to the island.
Step 3: Island Transport
When you arrive off the ferry, there will be transport waiting for you. You can either arrange it with your hotel or accommodation beforehand, or just show up like I did.
There were jeepneys and trucks waiting at the ferry for all incoming passengers. They ask you where you’re staying, throw your bag on top and tell you to climb in. Jeepneys are a little hard to explain. They kind of look like a bus with open windows. I was in the back of a truck for my ride to my hostel with about 10 other people ha.
While this is a picture of tricycles in El Nido, you’ll see these on Boracay too. These will mostly be for getting around the island once you end up at your accommodation since there isn’t much room to transport luggage.
Make sure you have your accommodation name and address ready to go to show the driver. You’ll be in shared transportation with multiple people and they’ll drop you off along the way depending on where you’re staying.
White Beach is the main beach on the island and where a lot of the resorts and hotels are located. There are different stations of the beach, so the price of your transport will be dependent on where your accommodation is. But you can expect to pay just a couple dollars to get to your hotel.
Things to Know
And that’s it! I navigated the Philippines as a solo female traveler and didn’t have any problems getting to where I needed to be. There are tons of other people heading to Boracay also so you can always follow the crowd or ask questions to fellow travelers.
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