The Best Things to Do in Siargao, Philippines
Siargao is truly paradise. When we landed we felt like we were inside a never ending palm tree forest. Siargao is one of the more popular islands in the Philippines to visit right now, but it still has a lot of charm and isn’t overrun with people just yet. Our few days in Siargao were some of our favorite days of our whole trip, and that’s because the island is absolutely magical.
How to Get to Siargao
There are flights frequently from Cebu-Mactan airport & Manila. We decided to fly as it would get us there the fastest, but it was not cheap. We booked our flights too late in the game and ended up paying over $200 USD per person. The flight gets you from Cebu to Siargao in about an hour, but we just recently found out there is an overnight ferry you can take to a nearby island Surigao, and then take another boat to Siargao. If you’re down for an 8 hour ferry for only $16 USD then maybe that’s the route for you!
From the Siargao airport to General Luna it was about 600 pesos ($12 USD) each to take a tourist bus. When we landed we found a tricycle to take us there for 500 pesos but when it was time fly back we had to take the tourist bus because there were no tricycles around. Just keep that in mind when coming and leaving the island!
Where to Stay
We stayed in the General Luna area at the Avocado Tree Hostel. It was a little bit loud at times for us but we were able to rent a motorbike super cheap (350 pesos a day/$7 USD) and it was in a great location! So if you can take some loud partying then this is the place for you.
You could also stay in the Cloud 9 area as well. We heard General Luna was “the place” to stay in Siargao, but Cloud 9 is super close on motorbike and all the restaurants and bars are between the two towns. Cloud 9 looked a bit cheaper as well so deff check out some accommodations there as well.
Best Things to Do
Visit the famous bent palm tree swing on Maasin River
Take a surf lesson at Cloud 9
Find a boatman and go island hopping to Guyam Island, Naked Island, & Daku Island
Walk along Tourism Road to find the best shops & restaurants
Admire all the palm trees along the famous ‘palm tree road’
Grab a motorbike and head to to the epic Pacifico Beach
Where to Eat & Drink
Kermit
Olas Banditos Seawadeeka
Miguel’s Taqueria
Cafe Honest
Bulan
The Pleasure Point Cafe
Things to Note
Bring Plenty of Cash. Theres only 1 ATM in General Luna and it’s not always topped up. A trick we learned is you can go to this restaurant called Ronaldo’s and swipe your debit card for cash there. But everything on the island is cash only besides the restaurant Kermit which takes card.
There are lots of plant based food options. On this island we has no problem finding plant based food! There were tons of options everywhere we went, which was such a change from the problem we were having in Cebu City.
Rent a motorbike. It’s the best way to get around the island and you have so much more freedom to explore. A lot of the main attractions on the island are too far to walk to and plus riding a motorbike in Siargao is super fun! Also, to fill up the gas for your motorbike there are little stands on the side of the road with gasoline in old coca cola bottles! If you can ride a motorbike (or learn) we highly recommend renting one here.
For more info and tips on what we did while we were in Siargao, make sure you check out our Siargao vlogs below! We truly had the best time there and we would tell anyone visiting the Philippines to go to this island!
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