Dahican Beach

Dahican runs for about seven kilometres along the Pujada Bay side of Mati, a long cream-coloured beach facing the Pacific with coconut palms behind and, at the northern end, the sandbar and headland where most of the activity is. It is best known for skimboarding - a local youth group known as the Amihan Boys grew up riding the shorebreak here and turned the beach into the country's skimboarding centre, and boards and lessons are easy to arrange. Surf works on the outer break through the amihan months. The bay is also a nesting site for marine turtles, with hatchling releases run by local volunteers, and dugongs are reported in the seagrass beds offshore, both of which are why parts of the shore are protected and why night lights and driving on the sand are discouraged. Accommodation is small resorts and camps rather than hotels.

What you actually see

• The long strand - seven kilometres of cream sand.
• The skimboard shorebreak - the wave the beach is known for.
• The turtle nesting shore - protected sections of the bay.
• The palm line - coconuts behind the whole length.

When to go

Year-round, since Davao Oriental sits largely outside the typhoon belt. October to March brings the amihan swell for surf and skim; the rest of the year is calmer for swimming.

Honest expectations

The shorebreak is powerful and the beach shelves steeply in places - swimming needs care. Accommodation is simple, and there is little in the way of restaurants outside the camps. Respect the nesting-area rules.

Nearby

Mati City and Pujada Bay's islands are close; Aliwagwag Falls at Cateel is three hours north.