Here’s a post of my trip to Sumilon Island in Oslob, Cebu. This trip is special to me because I was with my family. It is not very often that we make trips together since I was away for years before. After returning to the Philippines, one of my goals is to be able to travel with them as much as possible. So, we decided to have a short vacation to Sumilon Island early this year.
How to Get to Sumilon Island
Sumilon Island is located in the Southeast of Cebu, of the municipality of Oslob. Oslob is known by tourists for its whale shark viewing and swimming.
To get to the island from Cebu City, you can take a bus at the South Bus Terminal which is near Elizabeth Mall (E-Mall). Take the one heading to Oslob. The fare at that time was 170 PHP per person. The ride will take approximately 2-3 hours.
Oslob
We told the bus driver we’re heading to Sumilon Island. The first thing we did after our arrival in Oslob was getting some lunch. Thereafter, we asked locals around how we could get to Sumilon. No one in the family had religiously planned nor researched before this trip. I guess that shows something about us, that we are all kind of spontaneous travelers in some way. We go straight to our destination and from there, we see what happens, ha.
Luckily, we met a helpful tricycle driver who dropped us off at a resort, Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort. Later on, we learned that it is the only resort on the island where you seem to have your private sandbar. Oh boy, the package sounds incredibly exciting and convenient. However, there is no way we can afford to pay the fee for all of us.
Because we were being practical, with the same driver, we told him we needed to find something more affordable. He then dropped us off to a boat rental area. It was exactly what we wanted.
We rented a boat for the whole family, 6 adults and two kids, for 1,500 PHP. That was already the roundtrip fare. Since we haven’t booked any accommodation yet, the person we talked with allowed us to leave our bags. We changed to our swimming attire and brought only the essential stuff to the boat.
Boat ride
The boat ride, to be honest, was a little slow. I don’t know if it’s because it was too windy that day. I remember the water hitting our faces, getting us all wet. It was fun though. Some say the boat ride should only take 10-15 minutes but it was longer for us.
Sumilon Island Sandbar
The sand on the island is fine and white plus the water is cool to swim. It is a small island though so it will get crowded easily when there are many visitors. We spent a few hours swimming, playing with the kids, looking for shells and corals.
There’s also a short trail you can follow on the island.
Return to Oslob
Thereafter, once we were all satisfied and tanned, we took the same rented boat back to town. We collected our bags from where we left them off. We decided to stay overnight so we could rest and relax for the day.
Whale Shark in Oslob
If you’re interested to get a closer glimpse with the local whale shark, you can book for it for 500 PHP per person. Come very early in the morning because that’s when the whale sharks are usually out. In our case, my siblings and I already did that in 2017 so we decided not to any more this year. I have also read negative comments about it though. About changing the natural behavior of the whale sharks by feeding them for tourism purposes. So, do it as you choose.
This is the spot for the whale shark watching/swimming. We stayed the night near here too.
I didn’t take lots of photos on this trip because I wanted to be present with the family. But I want to share it on my blog so years from now, I will be able to read it again.
Finally, I will end this post with a photo of my beautiful sister because she’s a better model than I am. =)
Nice story peng.