Isla de Gigantes is still for me, one of the most beautiful off-the-beaten-path beaches in the Philippines and despite the difficulty of getting here, I would still recommend visiting these islands. It reminds me of El Nido because of its limestone karsts, white sand beaches and one-of-a-kind lagoons. Although there is only one lagoon included in the tours, I heard there are other lagoons in the area but much more difficult to reach.
If you would like to make your trip hassle-free, there are tour groups that offer either a joiner tour or a private tour an almost all-inclusive day tour of the islands. Click here to check the inclusions and the price: Gigantes Islands with Sicogon Island Join In Day Tour from Iloilo
To those who still prefer to go on their own or plans to stay overnight in the island, here are the ways to get there.
Fly to Roxas City or Iloilo City
From Manila
If you are coming from Manila, there will be 2 possible airports of entry — Roxas City and Iloilo City. I would highly recommend that you go via Roxas City, which is nearer Estancia/Carles (the drop-off points to Isla de Gigantes). From Roxas City, Estancia/Carles would only be 2 hours away while it will be about 3-4 hours away if you’re coming from Iloilo City. Flights tickets are generally cheaper as well via Roxas than Iloilo. AirAsia and Cebu Pacific both offer flights going to Roxas City.
From other points in the Philippines
If you are coming from other parts of the Philippines, the only way would be through Iloilo City International Airport. There are direct flights to Iloilo City coming from Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Clark, Davao, General Santos City and Puerto Princesa.
From international airports
Only Singapore and Hong Kong via Cebu Pacific have direct flights to Iloilo City. All those coming from other countries need to pass through Manila.
To book the flights, here are the websites of the local airlines flying through Iloilo International Airport:
- Cebu Pacific: www.cebupacificair.com
- Philippine Airlines: www.philippineairlines.com
- AirAsia: www.airasia.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iloilo_International_Airport
Ride a bus/van going to Carles or Estancia
There are two seaports with boats going to Isla de Gigantes — Carles and Estancia. Since Isla de Gigantes is part of Carles, would make more sense to come from there. The islands are also closer coming from Carles so the boat trip would be expectedly shorter. However, traveling to Carles would take more time because it’s farther away than Estancia. There are also more public transportation heading for Estancia than Carles. So just weigh your options — shorter land trip but longer boat ride or shorter boat ride but longer land trip?
From Roxas City to Estancia Port
- From any point in Roxas City, ride a tricycle and ask to bring you to Roxas City Transport Terminal.
- Once you are at the terminal, hop on the Estancia-bound Ceres buses or v-hires/vans. The trip by bus will be about 2 hours all the way to Estancia. V-hires/vans are faster since there are fewer stops and will cut the trip by half an hour.
- All public transportation will stop at the Estancia Bus Terminal. From there ride a tricycle going to Estancia port.
From Roxas City to Carles/Bancal Port
- From any point in Roxas City, ride a tricycle and ask to bring you to Roxas City Transport Terminal.
- Once you are at the terminal, you can hop on the Carles-bound buses. Note however that there are very few buses bound for Carles. If you are not willing to wait, you can hop on the Estancia-bound buses instead but asked to be dropped off at Balasan crossing (which is the junction bound for Carles).
- At the Balasan junction/crossing, take a tricycle going to the public market or better yet, ask if the tricycle driver is willing to take you straight to Bancal Port in Carles. The tricycle trip to Bancal Port would be about 45 minutes.
- If you took the tricycle to the market, ride a jeepney heading to Carles town proper. The jeepney ride would be about 30 minutes.
- From Carles town proper, take a habal-habal to the Bancal port.
From Iloilo City
From any point in Iloilo City, go to Tagbak Terminal in Jaro District and ride a bus/van to Estancia or Carles. Then follow points #3 onwards from either of the instructions above.
If you’re coming from Iloilo and would like to go on a hassle-free trip, you also have the option to join a group day tour. Click here to check the inclusions and the price: Gigantes Island Tour from Iloilo
Board the boat going to Isla de Gigantes
Whether coming from Estancia Port or Bancal Port (Carles), you will need to ride a passenger boat to Isla de Gigantes via Langub Port in Gigantes Norte. Although the popular destinations are located in Gigantes Sur, Gigantes Norte would be a more popular drop off point since most of the resorts are here. From Estancia, the boat ride would normally take around 2 hours but coming from Bancal Port (Carles), the trip is cut to 1.5 hours only. Here are the public boat schedules:
From Bancal Port (Carles) to Langub Port (Gigantes Norte)
- Fast craft: 10:00 AM and 4:30 PM from Mondays to Thursdays
- Fast craft: 8:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 4:30 PM from Fridays to Sundays
- Ordinary passenger boat: 10:00 AM daily
From Langub Port (Gigantes Norte) to Bancal Port (Carles)
- 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM from Mondays to Thursdays
- 7:00 AM, 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM from Fridays to Sundays
- Ordinary passenger boat: 3:00 PM daily
From Estancia Port to Langub Port (Gigantes Norte)
- 2:00 PM daily
From Langub Port (Gigantes Norte) to Estancia Port
- 8:30 AM daily
IMPORTANT: Note that this schedule may change without prior notice so it’s best to check with the boat operators before making any plans.
More blogs and websites with information on how to go to Isla de Gigantes:
- The Lost Kids PH: DIY Travel Guide to the Island of Giants
- Explore Iloilo: How to Get to and Around Gigantes Islands
- The Lone Rider: Overnight in Carles Iloilo
- Manong Lakwatsero: 3D2N Enchanting Isla Gigantes Trip
Here are my blog entries on places that you can go to in Isla de Gigantes:
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