Zamboanga Cities best Places as a Tourist Spot

Even before Boracay and Puerto Galeragot its fame as some of the most popular beaches in the country, there was the great santa cruz island and its famous rare pink sand beach stretching 3 miles across the island shores . An old coral vendor on island reminisced the days when they would get a large number of tourist in the area and they would get considerable profits selling some of their wares. 

The Santa Cruz Islands, the most popular among the 28 islands, is composed of the “Great Santa Cruz Island” and the “Little Santa Cruz Island.” Only the Great Santa Cruz Island is open to the public since the whole area is a protected natural park.It will took you  around 40 minutes to get to Great Santa Cruz Island from Paseo del Mar. You could get there faster by speed boat.

The Great Santa Cruz Island has a big mangrove laden lagoon with a small Badjao village and their increasingly larger burial ground nearby.  The island interior is lushly covered with island vegetation and grass, with some flowering trees, providing a welcome shade from the near equatorial sunshine.  

The Great Santa Cruz Island can be reached with any motorized vinta (outrigger) or boat from downtown in about 15-20 minutes, for about 800 pesos, depending on type of boat.  All trips must be coordinated with the Philippine Tourist Authority located in the Lantaka Hotel front side.  The water current of the adjacent Basilan Straight is strong, and swimmers should proceed with caution - there are no lifeguards on duty.  The Basilan Straight acts as a channel between two vast seas (the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea) and a natural conduit for migrating fishes.  The underwater scenery here can be spectacular.  In the 1970's and early 1980's, Zamboanga and Santa Cruz Island was frequented by German and Italian tourists who called it their hidden paradise in the little Spain of Asia - Zamboanga!

The Great Little Santa Cruz Islands are, arguably, this city's best beaches and one of the country's best island beaches destination. In it's ideal natural state, there is no comparison to the uniquely beautiful "PINKISH" sand ( a coloration effect of pulverized are RED ORGAN-PIPE CORAL ( tubipora musica) from eons of surf erosion mixed in with the white sand) and a colorful coral reef  just a few feet away from the shore of the GREAT SANTA CRUZ ISLAND.

The nearby Little Santa Cruz Island has beautiful white sand instead , and a military installation (read: Navy Resort). Snorkeling and scuba diving are excellent diversions for the sun worshipers with lots of colorful marine life experience in excellent water visibility , depending on weather conditions. In the Great Santa Cruz Island , there are some covered huts around for picnicking (food and water can be brought in), and adequate bathroom facilities.

OPINION : 

Though the popular beach resort in the country in the present time are those places which are very beautiful and are very famous, if you will be able to visit or study about the SANTA CRUZ ISLAND of ZAMBOANGA CITY, you will realize that even the places/province that are not popular have many beautiful spots when visiting there. Getting the famous name of SANTA CRUZ ISLAND as PINK SAND BEACH will make you curious if the sand of the island is pink or not. If you want to know the answer the best thing you should do is to visit the ISLAND called SANTA CRUZ ISLAND......

Hope you will be interested in visiting ZAMBOANGA CITY , not just to discover the SANTA CRUZ ISLAND but to discover more about ZAMBOANGA CITY :)) 

THANK YOU !! :)