For individuals seeking a vacation from everyday life, Sambawan Island's offerings of warm blue waters lapping up the shoreline bordered with trees, white sands, and healthy marine life should be on their bucket list.
Sambawan Island, which lies five kilometers south of the Samar Sea and on the west coast of Maripipi Municipality, is quickly rising to the top of the region's tourist destination list.
A sense of enchantment is created by the curved coastline and the towering rock formations covered in green grass, which give off the impression that one is entering a paradise-like realm.
Rocks and the beach
Sambawan Island appears as a network of connected stony islets with tall rocks when viewed from a distance. Its rocky surface is covered in grass and consists of two large islands.
Explorers can appreciate the island's granite karst on one side and its lengthy white beach on the other. On the other hand, volcanic rocks top the hill, where a small entrance fee grants one access to a viewing deck that offers a breathtaking 360-degree panorama of the surrounding islands.
While the sands of Sambawan are not as finely powdered as those on more well-known beaches in the country, the beach is still white, with rocky bits of coral and shells.
Marine Sanctuary
Sambawan Island is well-known as a dive spot and a marine sanctuary. It boasts many marine life, clear underwater visibility, and healthy corals.
As a result, the island offers multiple dive sites. The eight designated dive spots surrounding the Sambawan Islets are typically home to scuba enthusiasts enthralled by the stunning Black Tip and Bull Sharks.
To help tourists, there are also diving shops around the shore, but one will need to have their booties, mask, fins, and wetsuit.
There are frequently seen reef species, sea snakes, and turtles there as well. All levels of divers should be able to handle the gentle current.
Reaching the island
The island, northwest of Biliran, may be reached by motorized bangca in 50 minutes from Kawayan Wharf for between PHP 2,000 and PHP 3,000.
Using a motorized bangca, one can also go from Naval to Sambawan in around one hour and thirty minutes, although it would take about PHP 8,000.00 to PHP 10,000.00 to get from Naval to the island.
