---
title: "Living in Panglao (Bohol) as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/panglao
description: "Bohol's resort island with Alona Beach and an airport of its own"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Panglao (Bohol), Philippines

Panglao (Bohol) scores 50.4/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 868 of 1000 cities. Expect about $1,150 per month (country-level estimate), a nomad visa (Digital nomad visa (DNV)), and a measured median download speed of 21.3 Mbps.

Panglao is a small island joined to Bohol by bridges, with the dive resorts of Alona Beach, quieter beaches on the south coast and an international airport opened in 2018. Tagbilaran is 20 minutes away for shopping and hospitals; internet has improved with fibre in the resort areas, but the island is spread out, so most people rent a scooter.

Known for: Alona Beach, Diving at Balicasag, Chocolate Hills day trip, Bohol-Panglao airport.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 50.4 |
| Cost of living | 55 |
| Safety | 47 |
| Healthcare | 54 |
| Internet | 59 |
| Visa ease | 58 |
| Getting there & around | 24 |
| Climate | 17 |
| Air quality | 81 |
| Quality of life | 58 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,150 | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 4.31 | country | 2024 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 51 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 69 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 66.4 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 21.3 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 8.4 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | Digital nomad visa (DNV) | country | 2026-10-13 | [^10] |
| Visa guide | [Philippines long-stay visa guide](https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/philippines) | country | 2026-10-13 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | 30 days / 30 days / 30 days | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (TAG) | 7 | city | 2026-10 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 14 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 2 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 13.6 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.72 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | high | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 26.5 | 153 | 85 | no |
| Feb | 26.5 | 95 | 82 | yes |
| Mar | 27.1 | 86 | 80 | yes |
| Apr | 28.1 | 62 | 78 | no |
| May | 28.6 | 117 | 78 | no |
| Jun | 28.2 | 196 | 79 | no |
| Jul | 27.8 | 213 | 80 | no |
| Aug | 27.8 | 172 | 81 | no |
| Sep | 27.8 | 171 | 80 | no |
| Oct | 27.8 | 213 | 81 | no |
| Nov | 27.7 | 192 | 82 | no |
| Dec | 27.2 | 180 | 84 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bohol–Panglao International Airport | TAG | 7 | 2 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 7, of which 2 international (Wikipedia, 2026-10).

## Similar cities

- [Puerto Princesa](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/puerto-princesa) (52.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/panglao-vs-puerto-princesa)
- [Cebu City](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/cebu) (51) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/cebu-vs-panglao)
- [Davao City](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/davao) (51.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/davao-vs-panglao)
- [Boracay (Malay)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/boracay) (51.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/boracay-vs-panglao)
- [Bacolod](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/bacolod) (49.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/bacolod-vs-panglao)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Panglao (Bohol) as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $1,150 per month in Panglao (Bohol) (a country-level estimate for Philippines). That is a 55/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Panglao (Bohol) safe for digital nomads?

Panglao (Bohol) scores 47/100 on safety. Philippines records 4.31 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 51/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Philippines have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Philippines offers the Digital nomad visa (DNV). Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying. Full guide: https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/philippines

### How fast is the internet in Panglao (Bohol)?

Measured median download speed in Panglao (Bohol) was 21.3 Mbps (upload 8.4 Mbps) across 466,243 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Is Starlink available in Panglao (Bohol)?

Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Philippines (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Panglao (Bohol). Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.

### Which airports serve Panglao (Bohol) and how many nonstop flights are there?

Panglao (Bohol) is served by Bohol–Panglao International Airport (TAG) with 7 nonstop destinations, of which 2 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-10.

### When is the best time of year to be in Panglao (Bohol)?

The most comfortable months are Feb, Mar. Mean temperatures range from 80°F (27°C) in Jan to 83°F (29°C) in May (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Panglao (Bohol) or Puerto Princesa: which is better for digital nomads?

Puerto Princesa is the city with the closest factor profile to Panglao (Bohol) in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Plan a trip

[Hotels in the Philippines](https://navoy.io/hotels/philippines) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Nostos long-stay visa guides, Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/visas (retrieved 2026-10-04)
[^11]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^12]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^16]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^18]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/panglao