The Western Visayas comprises the islands of Panay and Guimaras, plus the Western half of Negros Island – Negros Occidental – and a number of smaller islands enjoyed by tourists and voyagers, including Boracay Island.
Panay Island
Panay Island is the largest island in the Western Visayas, with a mountainous center and Western coast, and flater Eastern half. The island is divided into four provinces of which the Southern province on Iloilo is the most developed.
Iloilo
The capital of Iloilo province is Iloilo City and the City has, since Spanish times, been focused on being the trading port for agricultural products from across Panay and the nearby islands. The Eastern Panay agricultural plains were recognized by the Spanish for their fertility and ease of harvest, especially rice and (introduced) sugar cane.
Iloilo City spans a major river tributary and there is a “boat club” situated up the Iloilo River (not suitable for tall-masted sailing yachts because of the relatively low road bridges spanning the river) but if you are looking for a sheltered anchorage in the City you could anchor off the Customs Building and, for Php1500 per day (2026), you can park your dinghy at the Iloilo Boat Club, a little ways up the river but still in the City.
The beaches to the West of Iloilo City – there used to be a sailing club at Oton beach – are welcoming but the nearby attractions are actually the islands to the East, where many feature resorts for affluent tourists seeking some privacy.
Located off the South-eastern peninsula of Panay Island are the Gigantes Islands. The Gigantes Island group is renowned for inexpensive seafood, e.g. frequently Php1 (about US2cents) for a scallop purchased by the roadside, attracting the slogan as the "Scallop Capital" of the Visayas. Thoroughly recommended, interesting island groups offering pretty beaches, caves, snorkeling and scuba experiences.
Capiz
If you chose to sail Panay along the Eastern shores you will next find the province of Capiz. Capiz is known as the "Seafood Capitol of the Philippines" and for sure it is an excellent place to find clams, crabs and oysters and also blue marlin, squid and shrimp. In reality, much of Capiz's seafood abundance is transported North to fill the seafood markets of Metro Manila. The capital of Capiz is Roxas City - renamed in 1951 in honor of the first Philippine President Manuel Roxas, who was a native of Capiz.
Capiz Is also know as the origin of some shape-shifting spirits of the night. Known as the "aswang" these apparently normal, female humans by day may transform after sundown into flying entities that especially feed on unborn children. Anyone pregnant in Capiz (and some farther afield) will wear a "pananga" to deflect the interest of the aswang.
Ashore in Capiz, apart from the risks of meeting an aswang, there are numerous Spanish-era structures and places of worship to visit and the occasional cave system to explore.
Both to the East and to the West of Capiz are sheltered bays with good anchorage. Best practice is to ask a passing fisherman if anchoring is allowed in a place you have identified, so as to avoid marine protected areas.
Aklan
The province of Aklan extends to the Northern tip of Panay Island, with the provincial capital at Kalibo.
Aklan, and the Northern half of Panay Island, is the first recorded negotiated settlement of emigrants from Borneo arriving in what is now The Philippines. The emigrants from Borneo, escaping a growing tyranny in their homelands, sailed East and decided that Panay was a suitable place to settle. Panay at that time was home to the indigenous Ati peoples and the emigrants negotiated land and habitation rights to the lowland areas, while the Ati continued to inhabit the uplands. Around 1213 AD the emigrants defined and organized what is now the province of Aklan with its capital as Kalibo, making it the oldest province in the Philippines.
Every year in January, Kalibo organizes the Ati-atihan festival – a spectacle of dance, music and decorated participants – known as the "Mother of all Philippine Festivals". An event well worth participating in if you in the vicinity.
Aklan is also famous for the "The Queen of Philippine Fabrics" – the primary national producer of traditional hand-woven pineapple leaf fiber, used for luxury cloth and especially for traditional formal attire. The fabric is listed by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
In the most modern era Aklan is most famous for the small island of Boracay that sits just off the Northern tip of Panay. Boracay Island has one of the World's most beautiful beaches and has an active kiteboarding and windsurfing community during the NE Monsoon season (November to April). Transformed from a isolated paradise island in the 1980s - filled with native charms - Boracay today is everything you would expect from a commercialized location that has been repeatedly rated as "the most beautiful beach in the World".
You can anchor immediately South of the reef on the West side of Boracay Island. If you find the anchorage a little congested then you can alternatively anchor off the beach at Caticlan (on the coast of Panay Island immediately South of Boracay Island), although that anchorage can be a little noisy with the frequent aircraft movements at Caticlan Airport.
Antique
The province of Antique effectively spans the entire Western seaboard of Panay Island. Its name derives from the "hantik" - a species of large, biting, red, Australasian weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) that were once abundant in Western Panay.
The coastline of Antique is mostly rugged, with cliffs rising from the sea into forested hills and mountains, so much so that the province has the catchphrase "Where the Mountains Meet the Sea". The highest mountain in Panay – Mount Madja-as – rising to 2,117 meters above sea-level, is in Antique province . . . a good climb with guides available if you are interested.
The coastline does not offer much in the way of invitation to anchor and explore with the possible exception of the sandbar at Malalison Island, and most cruisers will pass Antique to either, Boracay to the North or, Negros to the South.
Inland, as you can imagine, with so many mountains there must be rivers, fed by springs. There are hot springs and cold springs, bathing pools and rivers good for white-water rafting. Antique is also know for the Rafflesia Speciosa flowering plant that has one of the largest flowers on Earth (up to 22 inches diameter), the flower is found mostly in the Sibalom Natural Park, in Sibalom, near the southern peninsula of Antique province.
Guimaras
Do you know from where Buckingham Palace sourced mangoes for Queen Elizabeth II? Guimaras Island. Guimaras is famous for the sweetest mangoes and is known as "The Mango Capital of the Philippines".
The Western and Southern coast of Guimaras Island offers many bays and inlets where to anchor if you are wishing to explore ashore. There are however, marine sanctuaries dotted around the coast of Guimaras, where you are not permitted to anchor, e.g. Igang Bay and Taklong Island in the Southwest, so please hail the local fisherfolk or the Philippine Coast Guard for information before dropping the hook.
If you are interested in caves then Baras Cave and Daliran Cave could be on your list of activities on Guimaras Island.
Guimaras Island is also the location of the 54 MW San Lorenzo Wind Farm, highlighting the Region's efforts to increase the availability of electricity from renewable energy solutions.
Negros Occidental
The Western side of Negros Island is known as the province of Negros Occidental. Running the whole length of Negros Island, Negros Occidental has been known as the "Sugarbowl of the Philippines", with Bacolod City as is capital, because the Spanish found that sugar cane was easy to grow and harvest here. In the mid-1980s the province diversified somewhat, expanding its agricultural range and embracing geothermal energy from Mount Kanlaon in the North, in consort with geothermal energy produced at Palinpinon, West of Dumaguete City. By 2010 the entire island of Negros was powered by geothermal energy although it now shares with its neighbors and there are also fossil fuel powered generators in the energy mix.
One industry that most sailors have an interest in is rum. Produced from natural sugars, the abundance of sugar in Negros Occidental prompted the Tanduay Distilleries to locate the majority of their production there. Tanduay Superior is possibly the best quality, value for money rum available across the seven seas.
Mount Kanlaon in the North is surrounded by forested areas above 750 meters where there are numerous springs and waterfalls to explore. Encounters with endemic species of deer, hogs and fruit bats can are frequent along the forest trails.
Ashore in Negros Occidental there are many locations that illustrate its colonial and sugar-focused past. Silay, the municipality immediately North of Bacolod City, offers an insight to the historic wealth of the "Sugar Barons", through the preservation there of their Spanish influenced ancestral homes.
Marine attraction of Negros Occidental are mostly in the Northern waters of the province, especially the Carbin Reef, off Sagay City, that lies at the center of the 32,000 hectare Sagay Marine Reserve. The reserve is internationally recognized as a perfect example of community-managed marine protection, where former fisherfolk have become sea-guardians, guiding tourists wishing to snorkel and scuba dive the huge coral areas to view, among others, the giant clams, green sea turtles and dugong in their natural habitat.
If you voyage South of Bacolod City, the influence of sugar slowly gives way to forested mountains where rivers and waterfalls are abundant. If you find yourself wishing to shelter from foul weather then Sipalay City offers a large river estuary as anchorage, just South of the City.
Sipalay City, known as the "Jewel of the Sugar Island" has much to offer in its nearby waters and in the hills above. More than 40 recognized scuba diving sites are within easy reach, as are 60 caves and a mangrove nature park. Well worth a stopover . . .
Heading South again after Sipalay there are a handful of interesting bays to explore before the coastline becomes more uniform, with only small beaches apparent. Your next stop will probably be Port Bonbonon, in Negros Oriental.
