Seco Island

Seco is a sandbank in the Sulu Sea about two hours off the Antique coast - a crescent of white sand a couple of kilometres long with a shallow lagoon inside its curve, no trees, no buildings, no fresh water and no shade of any kind. What it does have is wind: the amihan blows across it steadily from late in the year through spring, and the flat, waist-deep water in the lagoon makes it one of the better kiteboarding spots in the country, which is essentially the entire reason anyone goes. Trips are run by a small number of operators from Tibiao, usually as camping expeditions with everything carried out and back. Outside the wind season it is simply an empty sandbar with clear water and a lot of birds. The crossing is open sea and the island offers no shelter, so weather governs everything.

What you actually see

• The sand crescent - a bare bar with no vegetation.
• The inner lagoon - flat shallow water inside the curve.
• The wind line - the amihan that draws the kiteboarders.
• The open sea - nothing else in sight in any direction.

When to go

November to April for the wind season and the calmest crossings. Outside it, the trip is longer, rougher and often cancelled.

Honest expectations

There is no shade, water, shelter or facility of any kind - everything comes with you and leaves with you. The crossing is two hours of open sea. Sunburn and dehydration are the real risks, not the sailing.

Nearby

Tibiao's kawa hot baths and Bugtong Bato Falls are inland; Mararison Island is up the coast at Culasi.