Dauis is one of forty-seven (47) municipalities (along with one city) comprising the province of Bohol in the Central Visayas. The town is politically subdivided into twelve (12) barangays, and is a part of the 1st Congressional District of Bohol.

Dauis is one of two towns on the island of Panglao, the other being the municipality of Panglao.

Two causeways connect Panglao Island from Dauis with Tagbilaran City, the provincial capital located in mainland Bohol, thus facilitating transportation and communication between the two islands.

No record exists of when the first bridge was built but this was possibly in the 1700s during the Spanish colonization. This bridge connects the poblacion of Dauis and the village of Mansasa in Tagbilaran. While this bridge is still intact, another bridge named after former Bohol governor Jacinto Borja was constructed near the old Tagbilaran City Hall, crossing towards the village of Totolan in Dauis.

Along with the town of Panglao, Dauis has become one of the top tourist destinations in the country, owing to its extensive marine biodiversity. About 1,200 decapods and 6,000 species of mollusks were identified around the island, in a study area of only about 15,000 hectares, with about 250 new species of crustaceans and an estimated 2,500 new species of mollusks believed to be found in the waters of Panglao and Balicasag. In comparison, the Mediterranean Sea has yielded only 2,024 species in a 300 million hectare area.

Other major tourist attractions include Hinagdanan Cave, Panglao Bird Sanctuary, Bohol Bee Farm, and the centuries-old Nuestra Señora de la Asunción church, convent and the nearby Spanish watchtower.

Dauis’s distance from Tagbilaran City, the provincial capital, is three (3) kilometers and travel time from the capital is about six (6) minutes.