Jess Roams Around Siargao

Tired of listening of the nagging of your teacher or your boss? Then you got the right choice in listing Siargao as one of your break time place to chill. The perfect diversion of busy city life and just enjoy the sound of waves and taste of island life.

How to get there?

• Via Ferry - A trip via ferry won't be that bad if you have enough time or if you want to visit Surigao first. From Cebu, go to Cebu City Pier 1 and get a ticket going to Surigao. At night, when the waves are calm, the ferry silently glides the ocean for which it was tactfully scheduled to transport a mass of humanity. The ticket will cost you around 800 - 1,000 PHP.  Then from Surigao, ride a ferry going to Dapa (Siargao Island).
• Via Plane - In our case, since we do not have enough time, we booked our flight via Cebu Pac for 1,898.00 round-trip (promo fare).

Transportation

• Via Van - After arriving at Sayak airport, there are lots of vans waiting for you and the cost is 300 PHP per head. One hour of travel time won't be a pain as the greenery side of the place will entertain you.
• Via Tricycle - From the airport, walk a few meters away and you can see a lot of tricycles waiting for you. The ride will cost you 200 PHP and the duration of the ride will took you 2 hours.

Places We Roamed

Day one
After searching for a place to stay and ended up at Jing’s place, we arrived approximately at 10 AM. We are still waiting for our friend as she is scheduled to arrive at 2PM so we just took our early lunch at Kermit.

At noon, the rain falls hard so we got no choice but to stay at the hotel

Boardwalk

Went straight to this relaxing place after the rain stops 😂.  Instantly felt jealous while the surfers glide the strong waves of Cloud9 but visiting Siargao is not all about surfing. Keep scrolling and you will find out why.

Finally~ She's here after 5 hours of waiting.

At dinner, we went to Harana which is just 5 minutes’ walk from the Boardwalk. The place’s ambience is so good and dogs are friendly too. After our dinner, we met kuya Peteng who was sleeping on the tricycle that he does not own. He offers a cheap tour and see how lucky we are? Not much progress on day one but day one was food tripping day so no regrets at all.

Day two

Sohoton Bucas Grande tour and Island Hopping

Giddy to explore the islands of Siargao and Surigao. Be sure to get up early as the whole ride to Sohoton (the place is part of Surigao) will took you 2 hours. Bring some pack lunch or snacks as the price of the food in Sohoton was quite pricey. You can buy fruits or something you want to grill in the market near the docking site.

•  Bangka ride including going to Surigao - 1600 PHP  (it is best to go in a     group to share the cost of the rental)
•  Sohoton Tour - 2700 PHP

Stopped over to this place to pay for the entrance, rent of Bangka and environmental fee

Jellyfish Sanctuary

Another small Bangka will get you to the jellyfish haven. We went on last week of March which is not the season of jellyfishes in the area but we are still satisfied on the abundant stingless creature we have witnessed.

Swimming in this place is not allowed

Horse' Shoe Rock Formation

Since the rock formations of the place are quite similar, locals used this rock formation as their indicator if they are heading to the right direction.

Hagukan Cave

It is best to go there on low tide so you can fully witness the large opening of the cave. We went there on high tide so we swam on the opening of the cave with the help of the tour guide. Hold your breath for 8 seconds (but I think it was 15 seconds) so you can go underneath the entrance. Illuminates glow of the light will amaze you inside.

Cliff Diving in Magkukuob Cave

No turning back if you decide to give it a try. Cliff jumping and tour guide will assist you if you do not know how to swim in the deep water.

I did not join them so I can take pictures. Joke! Okay the truth is, I was afraid to jump after we went inside the Hagukan Cave

After cliff jumping, the tour guides decided to let us witness the large number of jellyfishes and even got to swim with these wonderful creatures!

sting less golden color jellyfish

transparent stingless jellyfish

Be sure to hold on its head, not on the bottom part to protect their tentacles from detaching 😱

Naked Island

Island that do not have anything to shade you from the unforgiving heat of the sun so be sure to bring some sunblock or anything to protect your skin.

Side planking at the beach

Daku Island

The biggest of the three islands and there are locals who lives in this little paradise. We also ate our lunch here and that was almost 3:00 PM. Empty tummy but the heart is full.

There will be an entrance fee of 10 PHP now to these islands.

Guyam Island

The exact opposite of Naked Island as there are lot of coco trees that group perfectly and looking from afar is just so stunning. We stayed and waited for the sunset at this tear-drop shaped island.

Ending our tour with a dramatic sunset

Day three

Surfing -Quicksilver

Excited to glide the waves in Siargao so even though the weather was not that good, we still pushed to go surfing.

Surf at the Quicksilver for 500 PHP/hour or you may rent a surfboard if you don’t need an instructor for 350 PHP.  The waves at that time was small and irregular due to unfriendly weather but I am so glad I made it! Standing tall in the surfboard and shouting like a crazy man (glad I made it coz the first time I surfed in Baler, I didn't get a chance to stand and glide into the waves). Too bad we have no pictures while surfing coz an extra payment of 200 PHP (you can share the 200 PHP if you are in a group) was needed and both of us were quite short in budget that time. Locals also don't advice to mount the action cam in the surfboard due to unfriendly weather. Try surfing so you can help locals there as this is one of their means of livelihood.

Practice first before we proceed to surf

Tayangban Cave

Before going to Magpupungko, be sure to visit this newest attraction. Jump or swing on the vine and just enjoy the cold turquoise water. The trail is not that hard but be vigilant as the water may drag you due to the strong current at the end part of the place.

        Entrance: 70 PHP with guide

Magpupungko

You can’t miss to visit the famous Magpupungko Tidal Pools. A swimming pool like but it is so natural (Isn’t that amazing?!). Be sure to visit this popular spot during Low tide so you can witness the wonder and unique touch of the place. During high tide, locals told us you can’t enjoy the place as the waves are too strong for you to swim.

              Motorbike with driver: 800 PHP (Minimum of three persons to ride)

              Entrance: 50 PHP

And all I thought there will just be a small tidal pool there but I am wrong. Strong waves at the other side makes you feel thrilled and makes you stare at the powerful waves. And oh, be cautious at the tidal pool as there are lots of sea urchin at the place but you can easily perceive those spiky creatures as the water is so clear. Before going to this place, you may ask the locals as they know the tide schedule of the place.

Places you may want to Roam

Sugba Lagoon

Who doesn't want to swim and dip to this enticing place? It was me that time 😂. I was afraid of the crocodile rumors and when I asked the locals? They said the crocodile was already captured but I was really hesitant to believe them... Well.. who feels jealous and regrets now 😞.

Where to Eat at Siargao?

Café Loka

Grab some energizing shakes while watching the surfers glide the waves

Harana Surf Resort

Good food. Chill night

And the ambiance is so good.

Kermit's Place

Kermit's Entrance

The ambiance is perfectly good as the people are so friendly and accommodating.

Curry is love 👌 You can't miss to try their avocado shake too

Delicious in it's own kind 👌

They serve the best pizza in town. Finished this whole pizza and I still craved for more! 💟

Our 3rd time at Kermit? It was really obvious that we love the place cause they served good food, and the lava cake? It's a must try! It's so addictive 😍 We are a little bit hesitant to try first but the waitress assured us we won't regret it.
Lava Cake Price - 200 PHP 👌 Pricey but worth it

Aventino's Pizza

Pizza in the island? Why not. Siargao trip won't be completed without trying their famous pizza in town

Shaka

Power Bowl is a must try. Dig some refreshing island fruits, quinoa, granola and coco in a bowl

Menu in Shaka

There are lots of delicious food at the place that needs to be explored. Bravo, Point Café, & Mama’s grill, and a lot more. Check it out and fill your tummy with good food and memories.

Accommodation 

You may want to check the places below. 

Alongside Boardwalk

Ocean 101

Price: 1540/night good for two. 700 for extra bed.

Tel # 0910 8480 893

Villa Solaria

Tel #: 0920 4077 730

Wayfarers

Tel #: 0918 4434 800 
You can view the rates and book online  www.wayfarerscloud9.com/reservations.html

10 Minutes away from the Boardwalk via Motorbike

Kermits

Tel #: 0977 8372 515/0930 4024 356

Jing's Place – Just beside the Paglaom

Price: 1500/night good for two. 300 extra bed

Tel #: 0910 2596 493

Paglaom – Bunkbeds – 350 PHP/night

Ronald’s Inn - Tel #: 0998 8525 589

Contact

For island hopping tours, Sugba Lagoon tour, van transfer and motorcycle, you may contact Kuya Peteng - 0910 517 4239

for more pics on our travel, you may check #JessRoamsAround #JessRoamsAroundSiargao in Instagram