Camiguin Island Hopping — White Island & Sunken Cemetery

Camiguin is often called the Island Born of Fire — seven volcanoes have erupted here since the 19th century, shaping a landscape of extraordinary geological drama. But it's what those eruptions left behind that makes island hopping around Camiguin unlike anywhere else in the Philippines. A concrete cross rising from the sea marks the Sunken Cemetery, where an entire colonial-era town sank beneath the waves following the 1871 eruption of Mount Vulcan Daan. Above the surface, a perfect white sandbar — White Island — floats like a mirage in the azure Bohol Sea. This island hopping tour connects these marvels and more in a single unforgettable day.

Your banca departs in the morning for White Island, a pristine crescent of brilliant white sand that appears and disappears with the tides. At low tide, the sandbar stretches wide enough for volleyball and picnics; at high tide it narrows to a sliver surrounded by impossibly blue water on all sides. With the cone of Hibok-Hibok volcano rising dramatically in the background, the photographs taken here are among the most stunning in the entire Philippine archipelago. Snorkeling follows over the nearby reef, where hard coral gardens shelter hundreds of species of reef fish.

The afternoon brings the Sunken Cemetery — a surreal experience of snorkeling and glass-bottom boat viewing over the submerged graveyard where tombstones, crosses, and coral have merged into a single haunting underwater landscape. The large cross erected offshore marks the site and serves as a navigation aid for fishing bancas. Rounding off the day, the boat calls at Mantigue Island — Camiguin's top snorkeling spot — before returning to port as golden light catches the volcanic peaks. This is the single best way to experience Camiguin.