Sumilon Island Resort, Oslob

The picture on the upper left is a dock. Through it you get on the boat that takes you on a 30-minute ride to Sumilon island, Oslob — a slice of near-heaven with its sand bar and intimate, middle-of-nowhere ambience. While it’s better to go to this island via Dumaguete, it’s always nice to take that roadtrip from the city to the countryside. Observe your anxieties melt away as you drive, and you’ll believe me.

While there are many options available on the island — for one, romantic picnics for two, scuba diving another, a boat tour one more — the reason I’d come here the most is for good old-fashioned peace and quiet. Believe me, with Cebu developing at a rapid pace, we need it now more than ever. Rooms are, well, roomy and they all come with a view. Life is quiet, and you might want to try sleeping on the beach under a blanket of stars. On my last stay, I saw three shooting stars in one unbelievable night.

The beach is okay — you’ll be lying on naked white sand with barely a cabana to shade you from the sun. Some irresponsible beach-babies have left shards of broken glass on the beach. Sumilon island is open for daytrips and given the popularity of the resort, you’re bound to run across apathetic beachgoers. The water is an unbelievable blue but the bed is rarely anything other than coral and rock formations. Proper footwear is a must. It takes a while before you get to the deep in the normally low tide.

You’ll need to order food eventually but let me tell you that it’s nothing great for the price.