A good point of departure to visit Bantayan Island is Cebu City, the largest city at Cebu Island. There are frequent buses from Cebu City North Bus Terminal to Hagnaya, from where you can take a ferry to Santa Fe at Bantayan Island.
1. Taxi: Cebu City >> North Bus Terminal (Cebu City)
You should not have any problems getting to North Bus Terminal by taxi from any hotel in Cebu City. Make sure that a taxi has a meter and that it is turned on.
2. Bus: Cebu City >> Hagnaya
There are two bus operators running the Cebu City – Hagnaya route: Ceres Coach Busses (painted in yellow-white colour) and Cebu AutoBus Corp. (painted in orange-white colour). The buses are running every half an hour or so from 5am. The trip to Hagnaya takes about three hours. Please consider the information on bus frequency and travel time only as a rough guideline as schedules in the Philippines are not always respected. Buses sometimes depart earlier, sometimes later. There are fast direct buses and there are buses which stop at just about every village, thus the trip lasts longer. Then again, some drivers think that they are driving a formula one and get to Hagnaya in under two hours and a half. That is if they do not get into a traffic accident on the way (which happened to the bus that we took, so we had to disembark and wait for the next one, which was of course full even before we boarded so we had loads of squeezing fun in the end).
Vast majority of Cebu City - Hagnaya buses are non-aircon. The seats are small and uncomfortable. Buses are normally packed. All that said, the journey is not the most comfortable, but it is worth the effort.
Upon arrival at Hagnaya, buses get besieged by porters offering to carry your bags onto the ferry. The pier is less than a hundred metres away from the bus station so porters are not necessary, as long as you don't have unreasonable amounts of luggage.
2a. Taxi: Cebu City >> Hagnaya
If you wish your trip from Cebu City to Hagnaya to be more comfortable, consider hiring a taxi. It is essential to agree on the price before the trip. Depending on your negotiating skills, you should be able to get a taxi from Cebu City to Hagnaya for about 1500-2000 pesos (25-33 €). Taxi drivers expect that you buy them lunch on the way. Just for a comparison, a bus ticket costs less than 100 pesos (less than 2 €).
3. Ferry: Hagnaya >> Santa Fe (Bantayan Island)
There is a small waiting room and a ticket counter in front of the pier in Hagnaya. Buy your ticket from the counter. Advance bookings are not needed. For most ferries you have a choice of economy class and premium class ticket. The latter gives you access to an air-conditioned saloon on a ferry. Else, you sit at a covered deck, which is perfectly OK, as the breeze usually keeps you cool.
Ferries from Hagnaya to Santa Fe run from 7am, on average every hour. The last ferry departs Hagnaya at 5:30pm. If you get to the pier later, you will most probably have to spend a night in Hagnaya, unless you manage to get on a cargo/private boat. We recommend departing from Cebu City at 1pm at the latest. It is even better to leave Cebu City in the morning.
The sea voyage from Hagnaya to Santa Fe takes about 75 minutes.
Ferry accidents in the Philippines are relatively common. Some of the ferries are in a very bad condition. If you have any reason to suspect that taking a particular ferry isn't entirely safe (bad condition of the ferry, very bad weather or excessive crowds), wait for the next one.
4. Tricycle Santa Fe >> your chosen resort on Bantayan Island
If you have booked your accommodation on Bantayan Island in advance and informed the staff about your arrival time, you will most probably be picked up from the pier in Santa Fe. Otherwise, you can hire a tricycle to take you to your chosen resort. Expect to pay around 20 to 50 pesos (less than an Euro) to get to nearby resorts. If you are travelling in a group or have a lot of luggage you might be charged more. Haggle firmly but politely.