Handpicked experience · Cebu
Cebu, Phillippines
A no-take reef that restocks the sea around it, and a sandbar island bought by a writer that now exports quilts.
Caohagan Island:- One of the beautiful islands found in Mactan reef. Best for snorkeling and you can also relax in their white sand beach area.
Another beautiful island to visit during the island hopping is the Hilutungan (Gilutungan) island.
Nalusuan Island Marine Sanctuary:- This is where you will be doing snorkeling and having your lunch during the tour which is included in the package.
A protected reef with fish density you can see from the surface
A shallow sandbar you can walk a long way out along
A meal set down beside the water rather than on the boat
Three islands reachable inside half a day
Crew who reorder the route to suit the water
Six hours from Mactan by boat around three small islands off Cebu: snorkelling at a protected reef, a sandbar to swim from, and lunch served beside the water.
Gilutungan is a no-take marine sanctuary, and that single rule is why the snorkelling is worth doing. Fishing has been prohibited inside its boundary since the early 1990s, and the difference is visible from the surface: inside the markers the coral carries dense schools that simply are not there in the open water you crossed to reach it.
Protected patches also feed the sea around them. Fish grow larger and breed more successfully when nobody removes them, and their young drift outward — so a sanctuary of a few dozen hectares restocks a much wider area. The fishermen working outside the line are, in a real sense, being supplied by it.
Caohagan is about a hectare and a half of sand, and in the late 1980s it was purchased by a Japanese writer who then lived there and wrote a book about the experience that sold widely in Japan. The island's families took up quilt-making, and Caohagan quilts — hand-stitched, unmistakably local in their patterning — have since been exhibited and sold abroad.
It is a strange history for a sandbar with a few hundred residents, and it explains why an island this small has an international reputation and a craft industry.
These islands sit on a shallow reef flat, and at low water a boat cannot get near several of them. Crews plan the running order around the tide rather than a fixed schedule, which is why the sequence of stops may be different from the one printed on your booking. It is not improvisation; it is the only way to reach all three in a day.
Each island collects its own environmental charge on arrival and these are not part of the booking, so carry small notes — you will pay more than once. There is little natural shade on a sandbar; bring cover rather than relying on finding some. Reef shoes help at Gilutungan, where the entry is over rubble, and reef-safe sunscreen matters in a sanctuary more than anywhere else on this route.
Open it to pick a date and work out the price.
What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.
The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.
Because it is a no-take sanctuary. Fishing has been banned inside the boundary since the early 1990s, and the difference in fish density is visible from the surface.
Yes. Fish inside grow larger and breed more successfully, and their young drift outward, so a sanctuary of a few dozen hectares restocks a much wider area — including the water the local fishermen work.
It is about a hectare and a half of sand that a Japanese writer bought in the late 1980s. He lived there and wrote a widely-read book about it, and the island's families took up quilt-making.
They are a genuine local craft. Hand-stitched Caohagan quilts have been exhibited and sold internationally, which is remarkable for an island of a few hundred people.
The tide. These islands sit on a shallow reef flat and at low water a boat cannot reach several of them, so crews sequence the day around the water rather than the itinerary.
Yes, in small notes, and more than once — each island collects its own environmental charge on arrival and these are not included in the booking.
Very little on a sandbar. Bring your own cover rather than expecting to find some when you land.
Something on your feet. The bottom at the first stop is broken coral, and a cut from it heals slowly in salt water.