Sumilon Island

Sumilon is a low limestone island off the southeastern tip of Cebu, notable for two things. Its waters became the Philippines' first marine protected area in the 1970s, a pioneering experiment in no-take zones whose results - and whose later collapse and recovery when protection lapsed and was restored - are still cited in fisheries science. And its sandbar migrates: a white spit that lies off one end of the island in the dry months and swings around to the other side with the change in wind and current, so the shape of the place is genuinely different depending on when you come. There is a resort occupying part of the island with day-use passes, a small lagoon, a lighthouse and cliff walks, and good snorkelling and diving on the sanctuary side. Most visitors combine it with the whale-shark trip at Oslob and Tumalog Falls in a single day, which is a lot for one morning.

What you actually see

• The moving sandbar - the spit that changes ends by season.
• The sanctuary reef - the protected coral wall and its fish.
• The lighthouse and cliffs - short walks on the island's high side.
• The lagoon - the small enclosed pool inland.

When to go

December to May for calm crossings and the sandbar in its dry-season position. Mornings before the day-trip boats converge.

Honest expectations

Much of the island is resort-controlled - day access is a paid pass, and the free-roaming portion is limited. Crossings depend on sea state. Fees stack up quickly when combined with the Oslob circuit.

Nearby

The Oslob whale sharks and Tumalog Falls are minutes away on the mainland; Dumaguete is across the strait.