South Cebu | Sumilon Island and Sandbar

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Sumilon Sandbar is the first sandbar I've ever set foot on and it was a great first! I had planned on going to Oslob way before I learned about Sumilon Island. All I wanted to see were the butandings and the waterfalls and never thought learning about this island and actually setting foot on it would be one of the most memorable highlights of the trip. It was recommended to us by our tour guide and in spite of the boat rental being a bit expensive for us, we couldn't say no. To save on the cost of the boat rental, my suggestion is to bring more friends with you to this trip or find other travelers in Oslob who might want to share the boat with you.

This trip is a part of our 6-Day trip around Dumaguete, Cebu and Siquijor. If you would like to know more about the entire trip, visit this blog entry here: A DIY Trip Around Dumaguete, Cebu and Siquijor in 6 Days
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Sumilon Sandbar (Photo © iHeartPH 2019)
Location of Sumilon Island

Sumilon is a tiny island about 20 minutes by boat from Tan-awan, Oslob. The island is part of Bancogon, Oslob and houses the Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort. It's only about 24 hectares so tourists can roam around the island by foot in under an hour. Several activities are available in the island, especially if you have checked-in at the resort.


​Ways to Get to Sumilon Island

First you need to get to Oslob. If you are coming from Cebu City, Oslob is a mere 4-hour bus ride or 3-hour drive if using a private vehicle. If you are coming from Dumaguete, you can take the pumpboat going to Liloan from the Sibulan seaport. From the seaport of Liloan, take the bus heading to Cebu City and ask the driver/conductor to drop you off at Tan-awan, Oslob. It should be a short 15-20 minutes ride. 

From Oslob, you need to hire a boat from Tan-awan, which is the famous place for whale watching. Other parts of Oslob also offer several boats going to Sumilon. The one we we used came from Tan-awan, which is supposedly the nearest point from mainland Oslob to Sumilon Island. 

If you would like to book your boat beforehand, you can contact Kuya Jeff who is a tourist guide in Oslob. His contact number is 0998-559-7198 or 0923-530-6331. He also has a habal-habal and he could take you around Oslob's waterfalls and town proper. He could also arrange for your accommodation if you do not have the time.

If you are a guest of the resort, whether overnight or day trip, you need to tell the Cebu City-bound bus driver to drop you off at the Puerto Sumilon or Bluewater Sumilon Resort Port. This port is located in Barangay Bangcogon, one barangay away from Tan-awan where the famous whale watching is. The resort offers free boat rides going to the resort from here.

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Our boat being anchored on the sand (Photo © iHeartPH 2019)

The Sandbar

Having been able to see at least 3 sandbars during our 6-day trip around Cebu, Dumaguete and Siquijor, I would have to say that Sumilon is quite unique for several reasons.​
  1. It's thicker (for a lack of a proper technical term to describe sand). It's not like other sandbars which are mostly flat and disappears easily under water. In fact, you have to climb up a little bit to get to the surface.
  2. Its visibility is not much affected by the tide (due to its thickness). I asked around in Tan-awan about the right time to visit the sandbar and they said I could visit anytime. Other sandbars are only visible at certain hours in the day depending on the tide but this one is visible the entire day. 
  3. It changes shape but so does other sandbars but what's interesting is its shifting location. Depending on the month of the year, the sandbar would have varying locations on the map, giving Google maps a hard time. :)
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Travelers on another boat who for some odd reason, didn't want to get off the boat (Photo © iHeartPH 2019)

The Resort

The island is owned by Bluewater Resorts hence spending the night in the island and pitching tents are not allowed unless you are checked-in at Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort. This company also owns Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort in Mactan. The resort offers several activities for its guests and boasts of its 4 dive sites around the island -- Garden Eel Plaza, Nikki's Wall, Coral Landscape and Julie's Rock. Apart from diving, you can also snorkel around the shallow reefs or go on a sunset coastal tour on one of their outrigger boats. You can also go kayaking and fishing and they can also arrange for a whale and dolphin watching. If you are tired of water, they have 3 nature trails all converging into an old watchtower. A map will be provided to you to help you navigate your way through the trails. They also have a spa called Amuma which means being royally pampered, at least that's what the website says. 

The resort has 2 restaurants The Pavilion and Pulo Restaurant and a bar called The Cliff Bar. It offers its guests 4 types of rooms - Deluxe Rooms, Premier Deluxe Rooms, One-Bedroom Villa and Family Villa. The nightly rate costs around P8,000 to 37,000 depending on season and type of room. The resort also offers glamping at about P10,000 to P12,000 per night. 

If you would like to check prices or book a room at the resort, please follow the links below:
Agoda offers the lowest prices but not all the time. As I always say, check with the resort and compare it with Agoda. Sometimes, the resort offers cheaper promos especially during lean season along with several freebies in the package.

​Day Trips Passes in the Resort

If the nightly rates in Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort is above your budget, you may also opt to avail of the day trip passes instead. This is available all days of the week even public holidays. The day trip pass includes the following: 
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  • Free roundtrip boat transfers from Puerto Sumilon to Sumilon Island and vice versa
  • Free use of parking area at Puerto Sumilon
  • Welcome drinks 
  • Lunch buffet at Pulo Restaurant with unlimited beverage
  • Complimentary use of mask and snorkel
  • Complimentary use of beach towel
  • Complimentary use of lagoon swimming pool, beach and shower rooms
  • Complimentary use of payag, kiddie park and sun beds on a first come, first serve basis
  • Complimentary Island Adventure activities (trekking, fishing at the lagoon fish feeding, kayaking and pedal boating)

There are two ways for you to avail of the day trip passes:
  • Book directly with the resort through their website: ​Bluewater Sumilon Official Website. The cost of the day pass is P2,500 nett of taxes per adult. Kids 6-11 years old gets 50% discount while kids 0-5 years old are free.
  • Book via Klook: Bluewater Sumilon Day Pass which you can do on the website or through the Klook mobile app 

You can contact the resort through these:
  • Phone number: +6332 353 5578
  • Mobile number: +63917 868 7392 or +63998 964 1879
  • Email: [email protected]
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The entrance to Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort and the only decent photo that I have of the resort (Photo © iHeartPH 2019)

Other Resorts near Sumilon Island

If you prefer to stay in mainland Oslob and just explore the Sumilon island sandbar, you can visit my list of budget accommodations in mainland Oslob here: Cheap Accommodations in Oslob. This list includes accommodations located in Tan-awan and other nearby barangays.
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A photo of Sumilon Island from another angle, coming from mainland Oslob. This is a few minutes before docking. (Photo © iHeartPH 2019)

Things to Do in Sumilon Island

Although we were not able to do a lot of these activities as most would require you to be checked-in Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort or have purchased the Bluewater Sumilon Day Pass, here are several activities that you can do. Some of which (particularly the first 3 in the list) can be done even by those who are not guests of the resort.
  1. Snorkelling 
  2. Picnics 
  3. Bird-watching
  4. Diving
  5. Fishing
  6. Hiking/trekking
  7. Paddling
  8. Trekking up to the lighthouse and baluarte
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Yet a photo from another angle. This is a few seconds before docking as we had to go to the opposite side of the sandbar. (Photo © iHeartPH 2019)
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Me taking a photo of that kuya who was running Baywatch style :) (Photo © iHeartPH 2019)
Expenses

Here are the expenses during our trip to Sumilon Island. We were not guests of the resort so we had to hire a boat from Tan-awan, Oslob. This excludes transportation expenses and accommodation in Oslob.

  • Entrance fee: P50 per head
  • Boat to Sumilon Island: P2,000 for the entire boat (can sit 10 pax or more)
  • Snorkeling gears with fins: P200 per set

These prices are subject to change without prior notice. Original price of the boat was P2,500 but we were able to haggle ours for P2,000 since there were only 2 of us in the trip.

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Different shades of blue. You can snorkel anywhere around the island (Photo © iHeartPH 2019)

​Tips during your Trip

  1. If you are not a guest of Bluewater, please bring your own supply of water and food as you will not have access to restaurants in the island.
  2. The same goes with snorkelling gears. Bring a set from the mainland. Snorkelling gears are available in Tan-awan for P200 or so per set. Just ask around.
  3. Make sure you are ready to soak up the sun. There are no huts or cottages on the sandbar so there's nowhere you could go to for a shade. It's just a sandbar with nothing on it. There are several shaded areas under rocks at the right side of the sandbar and that's it. If you cannot find any shade, there's always your boat.
  4. Don't forget to bring your camera and your underwater camera if you are snorkelling. I heard marine life is abundant.
  5. There are no bathrooms or toilets in the sandbar so if you would like to take a shower, you can do this in mainland Oslob.​
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