The Alona beach is a popular public beach located at the south-west tip of

Panglao Island Panglao is an island in the north Bohol Sea, located in the Central Visayas region of the Visayas island group, in the south-central Philippines. Geography The island has an area of . It is within Bohol Province, and comprises two municipalit ...

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is known for its white sand, rocky cliffs, and commercial facilities that line the stretch of the beach. It is located near a coral reef and is a popular scuba-diving and

snorkeling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a ...

spot. It is situated less than two miles from the Bohol-Panglao International Airport. The beach is named after

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

actress

Alona Alegre Maria Lourdes Jalandoni Salvador (January 1, 1948 – December 9, 2018), better known by her stage name Alona Alegre, was a Filipina actress. She was a daughter of Lou Salvador and LVN actress Inday Jalandoni. She was among the 102 children f ...

who ran naked along the beach in 1973 for the movie “Esteban” which she co-starred along with

Fernando Poe Jr. Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004), known professionally as Fernando Poe Jr., and often referred to by his initials FPJ, was a Filipino actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, and politician. His long and s ...

Geography

The beach is located at

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

Tawala in Panglao, one of the two municipalities in

. It is situated around from the port of

Tagbilaran Tagbilaran, officially the City of Tagbilaran ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Tagbilaran), is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 104,976 people. Encompassing a la ...

and about from the Bohol-Panglao International Airport. It is accessible by a sealed road, by car, motorbike, airport bus or jeepney. Alona Beach is rather small as it spans less than one kilometre (half-mile) of white powder sand surrounded by low rocky cliffs.

Economics

The dominant economic activity is tourism. The beach is usually busy with an estimated one million visitors per day during peak season, according to a 2014 survey. There are a number of restaurants, bars, and resorts located on the left side and the right side of the beach. Many resorts offer a wide range of accommodation options with scuba and snorkeling as the most popular activities. Following the 2018 Boracay closure and redevelopment, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu ordered the demolition of structures situated along the easement zone of Panglao beaches including Alona beach. Among those demolished were a two-story building and sea walls. Businesses along the beach were severely affected during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The beach is connected to the Anos Fonacier Circumferential Road. An airport bus directly connects the beach to the airport and to Tagbilaran.

Marine ecosystem

The underwater ecosystem is protected and the access to the marine reserve is limited every day. From time to time, boat trips are organized as far as

Oslob Oslob, officially the Municipality of Oslob ( ceb, Lungsod sa Oslob; tgl, Bayan ng Oslob), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 29,264 people. Oslob is bordered ...

to see whale sharks. Some can be spotted sporadically in the vicinity of the beach. The underwater fauna and the flora are rich ; there are many healthy corals (inc. black coral), schools of fish (e.g. sardines), turtles, barracudas, lobsters and if lucky one may even spot whale sharks or dolphins. The underwater current can be quite strong from time to time, creating a lot of turbidity in the water.

Scuba diving

Alona Beach is a reputed destination for

and more importantly

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

. The nearby Balicasag and Pamilacan islands are of particular interest since both are marine reserves. There is a large number of dive shops in Alona Beach offering a variety of diving certification courses, technical courses and excursions for divers of all levels. Drift diving is a popular activity.

Fishing

Some sport fishing is organised on the beach but the main center for this activity is the seaport of Panglao town. Urchins are picked by locals and sold as a delicacy snack on the beach.

References

{{Commons category Beaches of the Philippines Tourist attractions in Bohol Landforms of Bohol