Some part of the strip is privately owned. I don’t know which part of virgin island sand bar strip you talking about but the rest is accessible but the the privately owned part

There are literally hundreds of boats travelling from Alona Beach (southern Panglao) on a daily basis for island hopping. You will most likely have a Virgin Island visit incorporated in a Balicasag Island trip (recommended for diving and snorkelling) or something along these lines. Do NOT take your first offer, shop around for best price. There are many shonky ‘salesmen’. From memory we paid 400PHP each (trip fee only). Some vendors will offer lunch and charge more. You can purchase food on Balicasag although the food is basic and quality varies. Also, if you can, check out the boat you will be travelling on. It may not be what you expect! Again, it may not be the boat you end up going on!! There is not a great deal to see at Virgin Island (largely a sandbar) and is not always accessible either so best to book on the morning of your trip or the night before to help confirm this. Ensure you take sun protection and water as there is little shade there (unless you purchase an overpriced coconut when the vendors will allow you to sit under their canvas).

El barco lo cogimos desde Alona Beach en Plangao, a unos pescadores de la zona, el precio no lo recuerdo porque eramos 4, pero al cambio serían unos 15-20 euros

3 islands, I think! We saw sea turtles on a small boat which was great. Virgin Island was a sand bar though, not so much fun.....

Visit Virgin Island early morning or maybe late afternoon. Just avoid noontime if you really wanna see the sandbar. It's high tide at noon. You can ask for suggestions from your tour provider though, we were just running out of time so we went there at noon.

Hi Tricia T, I know this answer is quite late but still answering for the sake of future travellers. :) When we went there November 2015, we did not pay any environmental fee upon entering the island. Yes, it is required to rent a boat but I don't think that a guide is necessary. For the boat rental fee, we just have contacted a boat person which packaged the dolphin watching, boat ride to Balicasag Island and boat ride to Virgin Island. The package costs P1,800.00 ($38.14) for 3 persons. Hope this helps and hope that you had fun in Bohol! Chad

If traveling alone and wants to save costs on the boat I would suggest you go to the tourism center in Tawala (it's beside the Biergarten restaurant) they arrange island hopping tours for tourists. So you can share the boat rates with others, (i.e. 400 each for three people on a small boat). This includes dolphin watching, Balisag island stopover (pay extra when snorkeling in the marine sanctuary) and Virgin Island (Isola de Francisco). Apart from that you shouldn't pay anything else. I visited Virgin Island last month and there were constructions on going, but it is still free to visit at the moment.