Boracay with its famous white beach

Boracay Island is a tropical island located approximately 315km (200 miles) south of Manila and 2km off the northwest tip of the island of Panay in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Boracay Island is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. The island comprises the barangays of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak (3 of the 17 barangays which make up the municipality of Malay), and is under the administrative control of the Philippine Tourism Authority in coordination with the Provincial Government of Aklan.

Boracay Island is the site of a world-class 18-hole par 72 golf course designed by Graham Marsh. In addition, Boracay Island now has in excess of 350 beach resorts with more than 2,000 rooms ranging in quality from five-star to budget accommodations, so tourists are sure to find whatever they are looking for.

Boracay Dragon boat races are held annually on Boracay under the auspices of the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation, with teams coming from around the Philippines and from other Asian nations to compete. The races usually take place sometime in April or May.

Since 2003, the Philippine Ultimate Association has been organizing the Boracay Open Asian Beach Ultimate Tournament, an ultimate frisbee event, which is usually held during summer.

The Olympic Council of Asia has announced that Boracay will host the 2014 Asian Beach Games.

To explore around the Boracay island's coast, motorized bancas and sailing paraws are available for rent. These are outrigger canoes and are common sight in waters around the island. The sailing paraw is a narrow hulled boat with outriggers either side and with passengers sometimes seated on a trampoline platform between the outrigger supports. These are extremely fast off the wind, but can be unwieldy for inexperienced sailors.