Siargao Island is
one of the best places to visit in the Philippines. Dubbed as the "Surfing
Capital of the Philippines". Siargao
Island has a lot of attractions aside from surfing, you can jump on a cliff,
swing like Tarzan, swim with the jellyfish and explore enchanted caves.
Now, Let me tell
you the story of how my friends and I enjoyed Siargao.
I was able to book
a peso fare flight from Cebu to
Siargao with Cebu Pacific way back
February which is 9 months earlier from our scheduled flight. This gives is
ample time to save money and plan for the trip.
Fun Fact: I don’t
book flights unless there’s a peso fare promo.
HOW TO GET TO GENERAL LUNA FROM
SAYAK AIRPORT and vice versa
General
Luna is a town in Siargao where most hotels, restaurants and resorts are
located. This is the town where the most popular surfing spots are located.
I
contacted one of the locals in Siargao to accommodate us for transportation from
the Airport to General Luna. A
tricycle good for 3 persons is P500 per tricycle or 4 persons for P150 each.
For
Multicab, good for 5-6 persons is P1,000 per multicab or 7 or more persons for
P150 each
WHERE WE STAYED
I booked a house via AIRBNB which is good for 11
persons. The house is located in General Luna and is very accessible to restaurants,
souvenir shops and bars. If you are looking for a spacious house to stay for
the entire vacation then you might want to consider this place.
PLACES TO VISIT IN SIARGAO
LAND TOUR
For
the Land tour, we got a multicab accommodation for P3,500. We hired the same
person who accommodated us from Airport to General Luna.
1.
Coconut Farm Mountain View
2.
Mapupungko Rock Pools
One
of my favorite place in Siargao. Make sure you visit the place when it is low tide.
3.
Coconut Road
4.
Pacifico Beach
Aside
from Cloud 9, Pacifico beach is also a surfing spot for the beginners.
5.
Tayangban Cave and Pool
Honestly
speaking, the place is not worth the money. You may skip this in the land tour
to save time.
6.
Maasin River
An
exciting place to do the Tarzan Swing. There are no fees just a small tip for
the locals assisting you to do the swing. If you want to take a picture in a
Bamboo Rack, there’s a fee of P20. The local photographer will take your
picture. He will also teach you how to pose to make the picture very
instagrammable.
7.
Sugba Lagoon
The
place is far from all the tourist spots mentioned above. Plus, you need to ride
a boat going to Sugba Lagoon from Del Carmen port. Boat ride takes about 30
mins. In Sugba Lagoon, you can do cliff diving, kayaking and of course
swimming.
PLEASE
NOTE: This should be part of your land tour so you could save money. If you’re
going to Sugba Lagoon the next day you will pay again for your transportation
going to Del Carmen Port and vice versa which will cost around P2,000 to P3,000. Start the land tour as early as possible.
It’s either you pay P3,000 or you wake up early.
BUCAS GRANDE TOUR
For
the Bucas Grande Tour, go to the tourist office in General Luna as they will
provide the boat going to Sohoton Cove. This tour will eat your entire day
because of the boat ride which takes 2-3 hours depending on the sea waves. It
was the craziest boat ride I’ve ever experienced.
1.
Sohoton Cove
You
have to ride a smaller boat for the tour. Check rates below.
2.
Crystal Cove
3.
Hagokan Cliff Diving
Once you go inside the cave and climb up, make sure that you are 100% ready to jump off the cliff. The only way out is to jump.
Once you go inside the cave and climb up, make sure that you are 100% ready to jump off the cliff. The only way out is to jump.
 |
| The cave going to the cliff diving area. |
4.
Sting-less Jellyfish Watching
Rate
depends on how many people will be going. We hired a boat good for 9 persons for
P7,000. Check rates below
TRI ISLAND TOUR
Same
with Bucas Grande tour, go straight to the Tourist Office in General Luna for
the accommodation.
1.
Naked Island
2.
Daku Island
3.
Guyam Island
CLOUD 9, SURFING AREA
Cloud
9 is the most popular surfing spot in Siargao Island. Your trip is not complete
if you don’t visit this place.
WHERE TO EAT
There
are a lot of restaurants in the island. We had a hard time choosing where to eat.
Here
are a few restaurants my friends and I went:
1.
Emilia’s Restobar
2.
Mama’s Grill
3.
Isla Mercato
For
land tour, we had our lunch in a restaurant near the Pacifico Beach, I forgot
the name. They have good food.
For
our Bucas Grande Tour, we bought groceries in the market first before going on
the tour. The locals will cook while you do the Bucas Grande tour. Rate is
P120 per kilo.
For
Tri-Island tour, we bought cooked food and ordered additional food in Daku
Island.
PLEASE
NOTE: When you go on a tour, make sure to feed your driver and boatmen. They’re
hungry too.
NIGHT LIFE IN SIARGAO
There’s
a Disco/DJ every day in Siargao but not in all bars. Every bar has a schedule
as to when to host a party. Just ask Tricycle drivers to take you where the
party is.
Now,
here’s a sample budget itinerary
PLEASE
NOTE: Some expenses are divided to 9 persons
DAY 1
|
2:20
PM
|
Departure
from Cebu
|
|
3:20
PM
|
Arrival
in Siargao
|
||
4:30
PM
|
Arrival
in General Luna – Check in AIRBNB
|
Multicab
P150 per person
|
|
6:30
PM
|
Dinner
at Emilia’s Restobar
|
Meal
Budget P300 per person
|
|
9:00
PM
|
Chill
– Early tour the next day
|
DAY 2
“Land Tour”
|
4:30
AM
|
Breakfast
+ Getting ready for Land Tour
|
Meal
budget P100 per person (cooked our meal in AirBnb)
|
5:30
AM
|
Pick
Up - Multicab
|
P3,500
Multicab rental good for 9 persons – P389 per pax
|
|
5:30
AM – 11:00 AM
|
Coco
Farm View
|
||
Coco
Road
|
|||
Mapupungko
Rock Pools
|
Entrance
fee: P50
|
||
Pacifico
Beach
|
Surfing:
P500 per hour + P100 for picture taking
|
||
11:00
AM
|
Lunch
|
Meal
Budget P350 per person
|
|
12:00
PM - 2:00 PM
|
Tayangban
Cave and Pool
|
Entrance
fee: P150
|
|
Maasin
River
|
Entrance
fee: P20
Tip for Tarzan Swing: P20
Picture
Taking in Rack: P20
|
||
2:00
PM – 5:00 PM
|
Sugba
Lagoon
|
P1,600
Boat Rental good for 6 persons + P200 for extra persons (3) – P245 each
|
|
6:00
PM
|
Back
at AIRBNB house
|
||
7:00
PM
|
Dinner
|
Meal
Budget P100 per person (cooked our meal in AirBnb)
|
|
9:00
PM
|
PARTY
|
DAY 3
“BUCAS GRANDE”
|
5:30
AM
|
Breakfast
+ Getting ready for Land Tour
|
Meal
budget P100 per person (cooked our meal in AirBnb)
|
6:30
AM
|
Buy
Groceries in Market for Lunch
|
Tricycle
to Tourist office P20 per pax
Meal
Budget P200 per person
|
|
7:00
AM
|
Pick
Up - Boat
|
Entrance
fee Tourist Office: P50
P7,000
Boat Rental good for 9 persons – P778 per pax
|
|
9:00
AM – 5:00 PM
|
BUCAS
GRANDE TOUR
Sohoton
Cove, Crystal Cove, Hagokan Cliff Diving, Jelly Fish Watching
|
Government
fees: P140 per pax
Eco
Tour fees: P185 per pax
Cook
fee (P700): P78 per pax
Jellyfish
watching: P100 per pax
|
|
7:00
PM
|
Dinner
at Mama’s Grill
|
Tricycle
from Tourist office P20 per pax
Meal
Budget P250 per person
|
|
9:00
PM
|
Chill
|
DAY 4
“ISLAND HOPPING”
|
7:00
AM
|
Breakfast
+ Getting ready for Land Tour
|
Meal
budget P60 per person (cooked our meal in AirBnb)
|
8:00
AM
|
Buy
Food in Market for Lunch
|
Tricycle
to Tourist office P20 per pax
P374
per person including food bought in Daku Island
|
|
9:00
AM
|
Pick
Up - Boat
|
P1,500
Boat Rental good for 5 persons – P300 per pax
|
|
9:00
AM – 3:00 PM
|
Tri
Island – Naked Island, Guyam Island, Daku Island
|
Entrance
fee Tourist office: P50 per person
Docking
fee in Daku Island: P100 per boat (divided by 5)- 20 per person
Cottage
Rental (P200)- P40 per pax
Guyam
Island Entrance fee: P30 per pax
|
|
4:00
PM – 6:00 PM
|
Chill
in Cloud 9
|
Tricycle
to Tourist office P20 per pax
Entrance
fee: P50 per pax
|
|
7:00
PM
|
Dinner
at Isla Mercato
|
Meal
Budget P300 per person
|
|
9:00
PM
|
Chill/PARTY
|
DAY 5
|
6:00
AM
|
Breakfast
+ Getting ready for Check Out
|
Meal
budget P100 per person
|
7:00
AM
|
Check
Out
|
Multicab
P150 per person
|
|
8:55
AM
|
Departure
|
Total
cost as per table above – P5,929.00
Miscellaneous
Expense (party drinks/souvenirs) – P1,500.00
Flight
Fare (roundtrip) – P
1,219.00
AirBnB
(4 nights good for 11 persons = P22,448) – P2,040.00
TOTAL APPROXIMATE EXPENSE: P10,688.00
Things to take note:
1.
Locals in Siargao speak Bisaya.
2.
There are already ATMs in Siargao.
3.
There are some areas that do not
have network signals.
4.
Bring snacks and water during the
tour. It’s hard to find stores while on a tour.
5.
Do your research. Locals might take
advantage on you.
6.
Be responsible.
Five days in Siargao is not enough, there are
still some tourist attractions that we were not able to visit like
Corregidor
Island, Alegria Beach, etc. But in summary, my friends and I had so much fun
and made a lot of
memories.
Ciao.
