3 spots, sorted by rating within each category.
The classic motorbike-or-van loop up Siargao's east coast: swim in the gin-clear natural infinity pools at Magpupungko in Pilar, swing over the palm-lined Maasin River, and stop at the Coconut View deck where thousands of palms roll to the horizon. Most tours finish with Secret Beach or Pacifico's empty sand.
Natural infinity pools carved into a reef shelf in Pilar, revealed only when the tide drains away to leave glassy, jade-green basins deep enough for cliff jumps. A giant balancing boulder (the 'pungko') looms over the flats, and the surrounding beach is a beauty in its own right. At high tide the whole thing disappears under the Pacific.
A guided wade-and-swim through a dark limestone cave system in Pilar, where headlamp beams catch stalactites and roosting bats before the passage opens into a sunlit gorge with a cool, spring-fed natural pool. The finale is a rope swing and jump into startlingly clear green water. It's short, muddy, slightly spooky and enormous fun.