Bohol Island

If you're interested in more than just beautiful beaches, Bohol Island offers one of the most fascinating escapes from Cebu. The island, located southeast of Cebu, is only the tenth largest in the Philippines archipelago but has arguably the best natural beauty and most spectacular dive sites. As with many of the frequently visited islands in the nation, Bohol has plenty of white sand beaches and Spanish colonial architecture, but those are far from the main attractions.

Jutting out of the center of the island are well over 1,000 conical, grass-covered hills. Geologists aren't sure how the Chocolate Hills were formed, and the surreal landscape they form is one of the most stunning in the country, particularly during the dry season when the grass turns brown, giving them a chocolate color.

Bohol is also known for a wide-eyed little creature called a tarsier. Native to only a few islands in the Philippines and Indonesia, these tiny primates are thought to be the smallest on earth, and you can see them at the Tarsier Research and Development Center.