Sagay Marine Reserve

The Sagay Marine Reserve covers a large area of shallow sea off northern Negros - tens of thousands of hectares of reef, seagrass and mangrove protected since the 1990s, and one of the biggest marine protected areas in the country. Carbin Reef is the part visitors see: a bright white sandbar sitting alone in clear shallow water an hour out from Old Sagay, with a few cottages and toilets built on it, coral gardens on the reef flat around and giant clams reseeded as part of the reserve's restoration work. Molocaboc and the mangrove islands nearby are the other stops, and the city runs a marine turtle and giant clam programme that visitors sometimes see. It functions as a day trip - out in the morning, snorkel and picnic on the bar, back in the afternoon - and the sandbar shrinks and grows with the tide, so timing matters as much as weather.

What you actually see

• Carbin Reef - the white sandbar out in open water.
• The reef flat - coral and reseeded giant clams around it.
• The mangrove islands - Molocaboc and its neighbours.
• The reserve waters - protected shallows in every direction.

When to go

December to May for calm crossings. Plan around low tide, when the sandbar is at its largest; at high water it shrinks to very little.

Honest expectations

Facilities are cottages and toilets - bring food, water and shade. Boat hire is per boat, so small groups pay more. There is no shelter from the sun on the bar, and trips are cancelled in rough weather.

Nearby

Silay's heritage houses and Bacolod are south; Cadiz and the northern coast run east.