Sambawan island, Philippines

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Sambawan Island

Top choice in Eastern Visayas


This idyllic, slender island with its crescent-shaped white-sand beach and turquoise water has excellent snorkelling and some of the best scuba diving around Biliran. Agta Beach Resort and Napo Beach Resort run trips here. Reef sharks, cuttlefish, turtles and barracuda are regularly spotted on the reefs, which are part of a marine sanctuary. Hike to the viewpoint above Sambawan's beach for a bird's-eye perspective of Sambawan's tiny sister island to the south and the cone of Maripipi in the distance.