A 15-minute boat ride from the city's port lies one of the most unusual beaches in Southeast Asia: a soft strand of pale pink sand on the seaward side of Great Santa Cruz Island. The colour comes from crushed organ-pipe coral and red foraminifera mixed into the white reef sand — subtle in flat light, vivid at dusk and when wet.
Behind the beach is a lagoon, a small fishing village of the Sama-Bajau, and an old Muslim cemetery that has been used for at least three centuries. Access has been controlled in recent years for environmental and security reasons — go through the tourist office at the Paseo del Mar in the morning to register, get the permit, and arrange the legal boat transfer. Bring water, food, and reef shoes; there are no facilities on the island.