Exploring Siargao: Sand, Surf, and Sun

The days leading up to this trip had been quite trying to say the least. Writers block had been hanging around for the last few weeks having trouble to make the last few trips relatable had been a challenge. Plus seeing the internet blow up during holy week about how tourists are trashing Siargao had made me a little less excited about the trip. But I knew I needed to get my fix of Sand, Sea and Surf! We almost missed our flight which gave me an anxiety attack! As the plane took off we were laughing and pumping adrenaline through our veins!

We arrived in Siargao after a 1-hour flight and hopped on a 30-45 minute van ride to General Luna where most of the hostels and surf spots are in. We had booked full moon house, a very affordable house on Airbnb that catered to 5-6 people. The amenities include beds, a dining table, kitchen area where you can cook, a fridge, TV, bathroom and a huge yard where you can just stay and chill. The care taker kuya Cesar also has all the contacts you will need from surf instructors, motor bike rental, a boat for island hopping, van services to take you back to the airport, he is the go to guy for everything. Plus the huge yard provides a great space to practice driving around on a motor cycle if you are a bit rusty or a beginner at it. You get the whole space to yourselves. It doesn’t have Air-conditioning but they provide fans and the nights in Siargao prove to be cool compared to warm days.

Since our flight left Cebu at 2pm we were lucky to have arrived General Luna by 4pm giving us enough time to settle in and take the motorcycle out for a spin to explore and also catch the sunset at the boardwalk. The Boardwalk is a long wooden walkway where boats are parked when they aren’t used to transport tourists all over the different islands in Siargao. Boats of different colors some used for island hopping and some used for fishing.

You can even see fishermen preparing meals on the boat while they get ready for the long night of fishing ahead.

As the clock neared Six the sun started to set which greeted us with a breath-taking golden sunset. We had dinner just around the boardwalk boulevard only to be in awe by how littered with stars the sky was. Even with the moon out you can see more stars than you usually do during moonless nights in the city. We actually spent several hours under the cover of stars, grateful, in awe and filled with wonder as the cosmos shined on.

No Siargao trip will be complete without going surfing, so the next day we went surfing. Kuya Cesar the caretaker reserved us slots for Surf board rentals and Instructors with Kermits, probably the most popular hostel, restaurant and surf guide in Siargao. We got there and we had a short intro to surfing.

1.Paddling

2.Pushing up

3.Surf Stance

Once we got the basics down we headed down to the beach to test out what its really like to surf. For one its way harder to balance and hold the stance once you’re riding the waves! But man was it great to finally get the hang of it and ride the waves all the way to the end. We had so much fun we ended up spending two hour surfing under the noon sun, even the heat could not stop us. With all the time I’ve spent on the ocean it still surprises me to learn more ways to explore, enjoy and love the seas.

After spending a couple hours surfing we hopped on our bikes on a 1 hour drive to the neighboring town of Pilar to go visit the Magpupungko Rock Pool. A great tip is to visit Magpupungko during low tide so you get to see the Natural Rock formations that form pools, some shallow but Magpupungko is known for its Rock pool that’s roughly 3-4m in depth.

Aside from the rock pool what you won’t hear about is the breath taking view of waves crashing unto the rocks. Massive waves sometimes as big as a full grown person crashing unto the edges of the rock formation leaving a lot of sea foam in its wake.

After a quick dip in the pool we dried off and started to drive back to General Luna as the sun was setting. The trip back had been really earie as you don’t really see a lot of vehicles after dark. And the highway isn’t lit so you have to be careful when driving.

The next day started out with a little(quite the understatement) motorcycle malfunction. Needed a few bandages and a beer to get the day started. But we soldiered on and proceeded with our island hopping plans. Before the trip we were able to get in touch with Kuya Lito, the boatman who reserved a spot for us at a very affordable rate. To make the most of our time we decided to go do either Sugba Lagoon or Sohoton lagoon, and the typical island hopping rout, Naked island, Daku Island and Guyam island.

Two hours from Siargao, Sohoton lagoon was a great surprise for us, we didn’t really have a lot to go on except the recommendation of kuya Lito but it was beyond beautiful. We were greated with a lot small islands with greeneries. If you’ve seen Avatar the last airbender, you would say it looks like lion turtle islands, I was ready to dive down and ask the lion turtle for the power to bend the elements. The lagoon had secret beaches, small huts for eating on emerald green waters it almost looks like you're in Palawan. One thing we didn’t know was that Sohoton has a tourism office which you have to register in once you arrive, they offer a paddle boat ride to the stingless jellyfish, and they also have the a cove tour which we honestly weren’t too excited about so we opted to only do the stingless jellyfish tour.

We paddled to the small area where the jellyfish are, you can find the Brown Spotted Jellyfish and the Moon jelly(which is harder to take a picture of because of its transparent appearance). Now we only took the tour so we can see more of the lagoon, when we got there it wasn’t the season where there would be thousands of jellyfish but it was worth seeing all the same. Now unlike previous blogs you might have seen, it is now prohibited to swim with the jellyfish since the sunblock that most tourists wear has harmful effects on the jelly fish but you can however take a dip outside the jellyfish sanctuary, which I highly recommend! After the jelly fish tour we went back to the floating hut to have a very delicious lunch prepared by kuya Lito.

We hopped on the boat to get back the islands near Siargao Mainland( Naked Island, Daku Island and Guyam Island) the trip still took 2 hours. We first landed on Naked Island, and as the name suggests it’s a small white island where you can chill out, swim and take photos.

Then we headed to Daku Island where I was able to witness the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. Seeing the sun sink into the seas in a wave of golden light, it was just phenomenal. (we weren’t able to get to Gayum island because it had already been dark so we chose to stay and catch the sunset instead of rushing to the next island)

We headed back to shore for dinner near the boulevard and a few drinks in Bayums, a small cozy place where you can chill out and order beers, cocktails, shots, and shakes. Then headed back to the house to pack up our things and rest up for our early flight the next day.

The Budget:

Tickets: Promo fair Back and forth from Cebu Pacific is 1,500PHP/30USD

AirBnB: costs 1,200PHP/24USD per night x 4 nights = 4,800PHP/96USD among 5 people 960PHP/19.20USD

Van transport from General Luna to Airport: 300PHP/6USD x2 = 600PHP/12USD

Motor Cycle Rental: 500PHP/10USD per day

SURFING: 500PHP/10USD PER HOUR with Instructor x2 = 1000PHP/20USD

ISLAND HOPPING: 5000PHP among 5 people for whole day trip is 1000PHP/20USD

Food, Souvenirs, and entrance Fees: 3000PHP

TOTAL: 8,560PHP/171.20USD

CONTACT DETAILS

Full Moon House: 09954646195

Kuya Lito (Boatman and a great cook): 09073103333

A FEW FINAL THOUGHTS

Food in Siargao is surprisingly cheap, even the Popular restaurants aren’t too pricey you can get a good meal ranging from 100PHP/2USD-300PHP/6USD. What makes the experience expensive is the Amenities like surfing, motorcycle rentals and the like. Which makes sense given that it’s probably expensive to import materials to this small island.

Rent a Motorcycle, even if you don’t know how to drive one, they have automatic transmission that’s easy to learn. There aren’t a lot of cars in the area so it’s really safe and ideal to go and test your motorcycle skills here. If you aren’t comfortable with driving a motor cycle you can also rent a bicycle which only costs 150PHP/3USD per day.

Take a day to explore the island, relax, talk to locals and see the professionals ride the waves! Siargao is one of those destinations where you let loose and chill out.

I actually brought my fins thinking I would be able to freedive but Siargao isn’t really freedivers paradise, the coral reefs aren’t too deep and most of the island is bombarded by waves which is perfect for surfing but not so much for freediving, you can still go and freedive but I suggest you leave the fins behind.

Siargao’s white sandy beaches and laid back lifestyle is something I can totally vibe with. My favorite thing about Siargao might be the breath taking skyline, from the clear blue skies, glittering starry nights and some of the best sunsets I have ever laid my eyes on, this tiny island in Minadao truly is one for the books, and on which I will not hesitate to come back to.

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So I have been inactive for a while, work has been busy and I have been having trouble with writing tme previous trips and making them relatable. But I’m back now and I still have another article I am working on about a few lessons I learned while in Siargao.

For the Adventure Initiative, don’t worry I have no forgotten, I am yet to award the giveaway. So stay tuned!!

Upvote, Resteem and tell me in the comments your Siagao Story, or if you have any questions I can help you with!

As always thank you for reading! Stay Awesome!! And keep Wandering!!!