While some individuals think that the beautiful island of Siargao has already been commercialized by social influencers, you’ll soon realize its magnificence and serenity once you land.
You can book flights from Manila to Siargao on domestic airlines such as Philippine Airlines, SkyJet, and Cebu Pacific.
We were able to get a flight on Cebu Pacific (booked a few weeks prior to trip) which cost us around 10k pesos (200 USD) round trip per person —— 7 kilos carry-on baggage allowance.
Personally, I would prefer SkyJet as their flights are much quicker and they allow 10 kilos of checked in baggage along with your carry-on. However, flights are not always available. Sometimes they do have seat sales —— averaging around 6k pesos (120 USD) for a round-trip flight.
We stayed in Siargao for three days,which is definitely not enough time,but we made the most of our stay.
If you ever decide to visit Siargao Island, here’s the run down:
1. IF YOU LOVE TO TAKE PICTURES AND VIDEOS, DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR GADGETS.
Whether you a professional or not, you cannot miss the opportunity to capture moments on this island (and take to social media lol) On this trip (since my brother and I are kind of gadget geeks), we brought our cellphone (who wouldn’t lol), 2 DSLRS, 1 Go Pro, 1 polaroid with film, and 1 DJI Mavic Pro Drone. The DLSR and go pro were all around, especially if one gadget runs out of battery, we would just end up using the other. The Go Pro was used for those motion shots like riding the motor bikes through out the town.
The drone took some amazing aerial while we were island hopping — check out our video here.
2. BOOK YOUR HOTELS IN ADVANCE
We were greeted with refreshments when we arrived at our hotel
We originally wanted a beach front hotel, however, due to the volume of expected guests, it was really difficult to find one. We even tried to call the hotels directly, but still no avail. This was us trying to book a hotel 3 weeks prior to the flight. Luckily, we were able to find a suitable hotel, even though it wasn’t a beach front, we had a great stay at Buddha’s Surf Resort.
3. GO ISLAND HOPPING
You should at least do an island hopping tour. We went on a 3-island day tour that was organized by our hotel (Buddhas) and our tour guides were actually entertaining! For this particular tour, it will cost you around 1k pesos (20 USD) per head, but there should be a minimum of 5 people (this is for the boat rental).
Guyam – basically the island where you take more pictures None the less, all beautiful islands that you surely need to visit.
4. RENT A MOTOR BIKE
Your island adventure won’t be complete if you don’t rent a motor bike. Unlike the bustling cities where motor bikes can be dangerous, this island offers long roads and few vehicles so you’ll enjoy the ride. It’s a great way to get some fresh air and not to mention get that adrenaline pumping.
5. REQUEST A SPECIAL BOODLE FIGHT ON YOUR ISLAND TOUR
Nothing is more relative to island hopping than having a boodle fight. It is the mere essence of the island life (in terms of food). The tours provide lunch, but if you want the want the whole experience, I suggest you go with a boodle fight. We requested a special boodle fight 2 weeks prior to going to Siargao. We wanted to have an all seafood lunch and we provided a list of items that we wanted. Down side: not all items are available in the market because they are not in season, but they will try to provide all the requested items.
6. WATCH A SUNRISE OR SUNSET AT CLOUD 9
You can watch the sunrise or sunset anywhere on this island, but watching it while walking on the pier walk way and give you a different experience.
7. JUMP OFF THE DIVING BOARD AT SUGBU LAGOON
This can be a scary experience. If you see pictures of Sugbu Lagoon, you’ll often see that infamous diving board. It’s actually a wooden plank. It’s definitely Instagram worthy. Some visitors go up there to take pictures, but never jump. When you go up there, the jump seems higher than expected and you’ll be diving into a body of salted fresh water. Anyways, you only live once so make the jump and live to tell the tale.
8. THIS IS AN ISLAND, BUT GO ITALIAN
Kermit is one of the go-to places in Siargao, showcasing authentic Italian Cuisine. I first tried Kermit in Manila (located in the Makati Area), but I knew I had to try it in Siargao. Your best bet for the perfect ambience is dinner time. However, Kermit is always queuing so you need to be prepared to wait. We waited for an hour before we could get out table.
Tip: Order while you are waiting so the food can be served when you table is ready. They mostly have Italian dishes like pizza, pasta, salads, and calzones, but they also offer filipino dishes on their menu.
Other restaurants worth trying?
- Mama’s Grill (Filipino Cuisine)
- Shaka (Smoothie Bowls)
- Bravo (Spanish Cuisine)
- Buddha’s Surf Resort (Thai Cuisine)
9. HAVE A FEW DRINKS AND CHECK OUT THE NIGHT SCENE
Besides sight-seeing and Island hopping, you can also go bar hopping during the night time. Siargao is one of those places that has an active night life. Popular bars include Rumbar, Viento, Bravo, and Kermit. If you want a fun and wild experience, they also have a thing in Siargao called Jungle Disco in a hidden place between the palm trees that seems to be popular with locals and tourist alike.
10. ISN’T IT OBVIOUS? GO SURFING IN SURFERS’ PARADISE
Back in the 80’s two foreigners, Tony Arruza and Steve Jones were in search of the perfect wave. They were able to find it in General Luna. The perfect is what people know today as Cloud 9. If you are a beginner, just surf in the neighboring areas. The Cloud 9 area is for expert surfers only. When I went to Cloud 9, they had a map of the island posted with the location and skill level to help tourists check which surf spot is the best choice. 
