Digyo Island and Cuatro Islas Guide [2024]
This is a guide to Digyo Island the rest of the Cuatro Islas in the Philippines. Read on to find out about Digyo Island, as well as Mahaba Island, Apid Island and Himokilan Island!
6 min read
Blue water of Digyo Island, Cuatro Islas
The Philippines boasts an impressive, endless amount of beautiful tropical islands, and the islands that form the Cuatro Islas are no exception to the rule.
Situated in the province of Leyte and in the Municipality of Inopacan are four beautiful islands called the Cuatro Islas.
The Islands of Digyo, Mahaba, Apid and Himokilan are infrequently visited and haven’t quite hit the levels of Instagram fame of places like Boracay, El Nido and Siargao. And that’s why right now is the perfect time to visit these islands, before they get too commercialised.
Digyo Island is one of the Philippine’s hidden paradises
How to get to the Cuatro Islas
There are a few ways to get to the Cuatro Islas.
1. From Tacloban
Take a flight into Tacloban Airport. From Tacloban, arrange a driver to drive you to the Inopacan Town Hall. This should take about 2.5 hours. I’ve heard from online sources that the fare is about 250 pesos per person or even less.
At Inopacan Town Hall you can find the tourism office to book your trip. Once you’ve done this, walk to the baywalk (located at the back of the Town Hall) where the pump boats are. From here, ride your pump boat to Cuatro Islas.
During our trip to the Cuatros Islas, we took a speedboat ride across all four islands but mainly spent time on our favourite, Digyo Island. If you’re looking for white sand beaches, green palm trees, exquisite sandbars and clear blue waters, then look no further.
2. From Hilongos, Baybay City or Ormoc
These cities are all quite close to Inopacan. Arrange a driver from any of these cities and reach Inopacan Town Hall. Once you get to the Inopacan Town Hall, follow the instructions above.
We drove from Baybay City to the Inopacan Baywalk, and the process was rather seamless.
Remember, if you get lost or unsure of what to do, you can always ask the locals.
Where to stay in the Cuatro Islas
Accommodation options are rather limited, but you have a few choices.
Bamboo Beach Conalum in Inopacan would be a convenient base to see the Cuatro Islas.
Click here to book a stay at Bamboo Beach Conalum.
A little further away, CITI Hotel in Hilongos is also a viable option.
Click here to book a stay at CITI Hotel.
If you’re staying in Baybay City, GV Hotel is a basic hotel that is available.
Click here to book a stay at GV Hotel.
The Islands of the Cuatro Islas
1) Digyo Island
Digyo Island is the smallest out of the Cuatro Islas (in fact, Digyo means “small” in Cebuano language). Realistically only in competition with Mahaba Island, Digyo Island is commonly considered the most beautiful out of the four.
Digyo Island is a short trip away from Inopacan, Baybay City and Tacloban and more
Plenty of nature on Digyo Island
Digyo Island is one of the islands of Cuatro Islas
Digyo Island’s sandbar is small but pretty nonetheless
Taking a dip, even on a cloudy day the water was blue
Digyo Island is one of the islands of Cuatro Islas
Digyo Island is the perfect island to just lay on the beach, relax, unwind and go for a swim. During our time here we rented out one of the cottages and had a tasty lunch. We also flew the drone around the island and got some great shots.
We rented one of the cute cottages available to have our lunch
We managed to capture some drone shots on the island
The water Surrounding the Cuatro Islas is dramatically blue
After we were done exploring Digyo Island, we cruised around the other islands for a glance to see what they had to offer.
Cruising around the Cuatro Islas
Taking a tour of the rest of the islands on our speedboat for the day
2) Mahaba Island
From the outside, Mahaba Island looked to be the most aesthetic of the other three.
The water around the island seemed to be particularly turquoise, and there were some truly unique rock formations on this island. Mahaba Island is even quieter than the already peaceful Digyo Island, so if you’re looking for an uber relaxing day out, you know where to go.
The waters around Mahaba Island might be the most glaringly blue of the Cuatros Islas
Mahaba Island was dotted with interesting rock formations and ridges
Even taking a short speedboat around Mahaba Island was enough to see the island’s beauty
We saw plenty of coral on our trip around Mahaba Island
3) Apid Island
Apid Island is an inhabited island with village people living on it. You can get more of a feel for the local culture and lifestyle here than the uninhabited islands of Digyo and Mahaba. The water here is still that fine, clear turquoise colour that the Philippines is so famous for.
Apid Island is inhabited by locals
4) Himokilan Island
Lastly, Himokilan Island is another island inhabited by villagers. The island looked beautiful from the boat, and it was clear that this was the largest island of the Cuatras Islas.
If you want to visit all four islands, don’t miss Himokilan Island as it is often overlooked.
Himokilan Island was another inhabited island
From afar, we could see houses along Himokilan’s coastline
Blue waters of Cuatro Islas
Entry Costs and boat fees
Boat fee
A pump boat fee to visit one island is 2,000 Pesos for groups of 10 people or below. The fee becomes 3,000 Pesos for 11-22 people, and 4,5000 pesos for groups of 23 or more.
This will cost more if you’re planning on visiting more than one island. Make sure to negotiate and have a chat with either the tourism office or your boat driver for more accurate rates.
Entrance fee
As of July 2019, the entrance fee to get to each island is 50 pesos per person.
Environmental fee
There is an environmental fee of 10 pesos per person.
Cottages
The fee to use open cottages on the islands is 350 pesos, and 500 pesos for closed cottages.
Tents
If you’re bringing one, the fee to use your own tent is 50 pesos.
Other important things to remember
Remember to bring your own food, drinks, water, utensils, hammocks, mats etc. These islands are not commercialised and will not have enough tourist infrastructure to cater to all your needs that you might have.
It’s important to come prepared if you’re planning on having a meal and spending most of your day here.
The water here was crystal clear
Of course, if you’re planning on swimming, remember to bring your swim gear and sunscreen. You can also bring a snorkel. A water bag will also be really useful. It’d be wise to also bring your own garbage bags as bin facilities on the islands may be limited.