Britania Islands

Britania is a scatter of around twenty-five small islands and rocks lying close together in shallow, pale-green water off San Agustin on the Surigao del Sur coast - most of them limestone knobs topped with trees, a few with beaches, and one or two with sandbars that appear at low tide. Naked Island here, confusingly sharing a name with Siargao's, is a bare bar; Hagonoy and Boslon have sand and shade and are the usual stops for swimming and lunch; Hiyor-Hiyoran and the smaller rocks are passed rather than landed on. Boats are hired at the port and run a circuit of three or four islands in a morning. It is a quiet, provincial operation on a coast that few foreign visitors reach, usually combined with the Enchanted River an hour south or Tinuy-an Falls further down, and the water is clear enough that the shallow crossings between islands are as good as the stops.

What you actually see

• The island scatter - two dozen green knobs in pale water.
• Naked Island - the bare sandbar of the group.
• Hagonoy and Boslon - the islands with beaches and shade.
• The shallow crossings - clear water between the stops.

When to go

December to May for calm seas. Low tide brings out the sandbars; weekdays are near-empty outside local holidays.

Honest expectations

Facilities are cottages and toilets on a couple of islands only. Boats are hired per vessel, so small groups pay more. Rough weather cancels the trip, and shade is scarce.

Nearby

The Enchanted River at Hinatuan and Tinuy-an Falls at Bislig are along the coast; Tandag is the provincial base.