Patricia Cruz goes to Siargao Island Philippines: Siargao just gave Cebu a run for its money because they’re now tied in my list of favorite places in the Philippines. This time, I went with my Saudia bff/housemate/flying partner Micah for this trip. We arrived on a Sunday and left Wednesday which I think are good days because the places we went to weren’t as packed as I imagined.
I highly, highly, highly recommend you to contact Kuya Bebot for your Siargao tours – Patricia Cruz
SIARGAO ISLAND PHILIPPINES, ITINERARY (4 days, 3 nights)
Day 1
9AM – Departure from MNL to CEB
1PM – Arrival at IAO from CEB
2PM – Arrival at Hotspot Resort Siargao Island Philippines
2:30PM – La Carinderia restaurant for Lunch
4PM-5PM – Surfing lessons in Cloud 9
7:30PM – Dinner at Bulaloan Bankerohan and tried to find a good place to drink but the island was pretty much dead on a Sunday night ? settled with our hotel bar for some drinks after.
Day 2
6AM – Call time for Sohoton Cove tour / Breakfast at meeting place: General Luna market
6:30AM – Boarded the boat to Sohoton Cove
9AM – 1st stop: Sohoton Cove (yes, boat ride was loooong) and registration
9:15AM – Start of tour – stingless jellyfish sanctuary + cave tour + cliff diving
12PM – Lunch (Provided with our tour)
1PM – Left for tri-island tour
3PM – 2nd stop: Naked Island
3:30PM – Left Naked Island
3:45PM – 3rd stop: Daku Island
4:30PM – Left Daku Island
4:40PM – 4th stop: Guyam Island
5:20PM – Left Guyam Island
5:30PM – Arrival at Siargao Island/End of tour
6:10PM – Arrival at Hotspot Hotel
7:10PM – Left for dinner/night out
8PM – Dinner at Bebe’s Barbecue
8:45PM – Night out at Rumbar
12:45AM – Back at Hotel
Day 3
6AM – Pickup at hotel for land tour
6:30AM – 1st stop: Malinao Beach
7AM – 2nd stop: Coconut Farm Viewdeck
7:20AM – 3rd stop: Coconut Plantation
8AM – Breakfast
8:30AM – 4th stop: Sugba Lagoon
9AM – Start of activities at Sugba Lagoon: cliff diving + choose 1 among paddleboard, kayak, and bamboo raft + snorkeling
10:30AM – Left Sugba Lagoon
11:40AM – 5th stop: Pacifico Beach (Sightseeing only, low tide that time)
12PM – 6th stop: Magpupungko / Lunch
1:15PM – Went to Magpupungko Rock Formation
3PM – Bought souvenirs / left Magpupungko
3:30PM – 7th stop: Maasin River
3:45PM – Left Maasin River / End of tour
4:30PM – Arrival at Shaka Cafe for merienda
5:30PM – Went back to hotel to rest
8:30PM – Went to Vivo Hotel for dinner and last night out with newfound friends
Day 4
10AM – First time waking up this late!!! Lol was supposed to watch the sunrise but it was raining ☹️
10:30AM – Went to the Cloud 9 Boardwalk for some alone time which I enjoyed so much because the view deck was almost empty, I had some muni-muni moments haha (Micah took an earlier direct flight to Manila so I was alone starting this time)
12PM – Lunch at Offshore Cafe
1:30PM – Pickup at hotel to the airport
4:20PM – Departure from IAO to CEB
5:30PM – Arrival at CEB
6PM – Went to Bucket Shrimps to meet my AirAsia batchmates
9:45PM – Left Bucket Shrimps to airport
11PM – Departure from CEB to MNL
12:35AM – Arrival at MNL ?
EXPENSES (everything for 1 pax)
Airfare: 3,729.88
Hotel: 330 (yes, you read that right. 660 for us 2, ask Micah how she did it on booking.com ?)
Souvenirs: 100 (3 ref magnets), 50 (1 bundle of 20 bamboo straws costs 100, Micah and I shared), 250 (Siargao shirt)
Trike Rides: 20-30 pesos/pax during the day and 50 pesos/pax by midnight, depending on the distance
Alcohol: 60-80 pesos for beer, 150-250 pesos for cocktails
Day 1
Van transfer – 250
Lunch (La Carinderia) – 500
Surfing lessons with instructor – 500
Non-pro Photographer – 175 (300/hour + 50 for waterproof bag rent so we just divided it by 2)
Dinner (Bulaloan) 362.50
Trike – 40
= 1827.50
Day 2
Kuya Bebot Tour Package A – 1500
Breakfast (pork Steak and rice + coffee)- 75
Snorkeling gear – 150
Dinner (Bebe’s Barbecue) – 187.50
Trike – 90
= 2002.50
Day 3
Kuya Bebot Tour Package B – 1600
Breakfast (puto’t bibingka + coffee) – 70
Snorkeling gear – 200
Shaka Cafe – 250
Dinner (Vivo Bistro) – 610
Trike – 70
= 2800
Day 4
Offshore Bowl – 220
Van transfer – 250
= 470
Total Expenses: 11559.88
It doesn’t include tips and alcohol lol that’s another story. Also, we originally booked the airfare at 1440.20 but we booked different dates so I had to book a more expensive fare to adjust to Micah’s flight so this total could’ve been cheaper. This itinerary is not very budget-friendly tbh. Food in Siargao is generally expensive but if you have the time to find cheaper meals, it’s possible.
Reviews
SIARGAO’S BEST: KUYA BEBOT’S TOURS
I highly, highly, highly recommend you to contact Kuya Bebot for your Siargao tours. His itinerary is probably the best as we always departed and arrived on time to our destinations without sacrificing the crowdedness of the place. Special mention to when we went to Sugba Lagoon, as we arrived there early and there weren’t a lot of people yet. When we left, the place was already quite crowded but at least we already finished all the activities that we wanted to do. Also, I think Kuya Bebot has the cheapest rates (3,100 for a 2-day tour which includes a HEAVY, DELICIOUS, SUMPTUOUS LUNCH, boat rides, entrance fees, and permits). I was walking around Siargao and saw tour packages which ranged from 1,200-2,600 for only 1 destination. Kuya Bebot also offers airport van transfers priced at 250 pesos. Kuya Bebot’s tours are definitely “Siargao’s Best”. You can find them on Facebook: Nicolas Salgado, SIARGAO’s BEST- Tour Organizer Kuya Bebot Nicolas Salgado #hashtag Siargao Island Philippines
HOTSPOT RESORT SIARGAO
PROs – room was big for 2 persons, we had a balcony where we left our clothes to dry, bathroom has hot/cold water, bidet is provided lol
CONs – staff were not so friendly, amenities were not provided (but we’re not complaining, for 330 pesos per person for 3 nights, we don’t expect to have these anymore lol), there were too many small insects outside our room and some even went inside too. They were harmless though.
LA CARINDERIA
Food was good but it was quite expensive, 420 pesos for 1 serving of pasta ? 80 pesos for a glass of calamansi juice and 100 pesos for coconut juice. I recommend Tortelloni Di Zucca (hand-made stuffed pasta with pumpkin, walnuts, nutmeg, and parmesan cheese in a truffle creamy sauce)
BULALOAN BANKEROHAN
In all fairness, their bulalo was good and tasty priced at 260. They also offer unlirice but I didn’t even need to have another serving of rice because their first serving was already HUUUGE. ?
BEBE’s BARBECUE
I’m not sure about the name, that’s what I remember lang haha. Was supposed to eat at Mama’s Grill but the place was packed af. This was our cheapest meal in the trip. Isaw is 10 pesos, pork bbq, atay, and balun-balunan were priced at 25 pesos.
RUM BAR
Entrance fee is 60 pesos but consumable. Beer is priced at 80 pesos, fries for 150 pesos, and fish fingers for 180 pesos. The ambience gives legit beach vibes but there won’t be a crowd until around 10:30PM.
SHAKA CAFE
Their power bowls are priced at 250 pesos and the serving is already good for 2 people, if you only mean to have this as merienda. It’s quite overwhelming if you’ll eat it alone. The ambience of the cafe is very relaxing so that probably explains why it’s more expensive than other cafes.
VIVO BISTRO
This was where our new friends stayed so we had dinner here. We bought big crabs outside and made paluto with the cooks there (ang conyo ng part na to hahahahaha). We also had sinigang and pinakbet which were both good too. But the star of my dinner is their special chili garlic sauce. Sobrang nakakaadik ? For pulutan we had sisig which was also good. (Pardon me, all food in Siargao was good for me ?)
OFFSHORE CAFE
I ordered a breakfast bowl which was similar to what we had in Shaka but this was cheaper, priced at 230 pesos. It tasted just as good as Shaka’s, minus the coconut shell bowl as they served mine with a normal ceramic bowl.
#blogs #youtube #philippines #island #news SIARGAO ISLAND PHILIPPINES
