Siargao Island: Travel Guide

𝐀𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐭, 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲, 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐟𝐬, 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐞𝐬, 𝐞𝐜𝐨-𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐟 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐘𝐄𝐒! 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫: 𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐘 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐧. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬. 𝐍𝐨𝐰, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬!!

Siargao is becoming one of the most iconic and popular islands in the Philippines. With its beautiful beaches and wild nature, it’s the place to go for backpackers looking for something off the beaten track. One of the best things to do in Siargao is to go island hopping to Guyam, Daku and Naked Island on a Three Islands boat trip.

The clear turquoise water you will see while island hopping in Siargao, Philippines

Siargao is ALMOST synonymous to surfing, but more than its waves, there are other attractions that dot the island. Dip in the natural infinity pools and beach of Magpupungko in the town of Pilar; hop and laze under the sun in the sand bar and fine white sand islands off General Luna; dive the underwater caves and unspoiled sites around the island; paddle board in Sugba Lagoon; go bird watching or game fishing; feast with fresh seafoods and other local delicacies; or explore other beaches, waterfalls, and natural attractions of the place.

But Siargao is not only all about surfing, it has evolved into an all around adventure and eco-tourism destination. Come and discover its manifold of offering and be amazed of the tropical paradise that is Siargao!

• TRAVEL BLOG CONTENTS
• 1 About Siargao
• 2 General info about island hopping in Siargao
  • 2.1 Hiring a private boat
  • 2.2 Entry fees
  • 2.3 Lunch
  • 2.4 Island hopping difficulty
• 3 Siargao island hopping
  • 3.1 Guyam Island
  • 3.2 Naked Island
  • 3.3 Daku Island
• 4 How to book your island hopping tour in Siargao
• 5 How to Get to Siargao
• 
  

About Siargao

Siargao is located 800 kilometers southeast of Manila in the province of Surigao Del Norte.

It is quickly becoming the new backpacker hotspot in the Philippines. Fortunately, unlike the famous white sand beach-Boracay and the limestone cliff formations of Palawan, it is still off the main tourist radar. If you’re looking for a truly unique island where you can enjoy beautiful pristine beaches away from the tourist crowds, while at the same time having fun at sick beach parties and living the island life, make sure to add Siargao to your Philippines itinerary.

General info about island hopping in Siargao

There are three main islands close to Siargao that are the traditional destination for island-hopping day trips: Guyamn, Daku and the Naked Island.

Hiring a private boat

You can hire a private boat for 1500 PHP. They say these carry 6 people but I’ve seen some with considerably more people than that. If you can get a group of friends together, this is the cheapest way to go island hopping in Siargao.

Entry fees

The entry fee to Guyam Island is 30 PHP per person and 100 PHP for Daku Island per boat, although its worth to keep in mind that on both island hopping trips nobody asked us for the latter fee.

Island hopping in Siargao

Lunch

The private boats will not cater for your lunch. Instead, you can either bring your own with you or buy food at Daku Island. It is worth nothing that there is no normal food menu – the shacks sell fresh fish that are sold per kilo and they will cook it for you.

Prices on foods of Siargao Islands range from 600 PHP for one kilogram of prawns and 500 PHP for one kilogram of calamari. If like me you’re trying to do the maths and figure out if that is expensive or not and just how much food one kilogram of prawns is, worry not, they have scales there so you can weigh the fish and decide how much you want.  

Fresh seafood lunch during Siargao Island hopping tour in the Philippines

They will also charge for the cooking, rice and any extra ingredients that you ordered or requested to be on your dish – like the sauce and grilled vegetables.

While your food is being cooked and you’re waiting for it to be served you can rent a cabana for 300 PHP where you can sit in and relax before eating. They will then bring it out to your cabana when it’s ready.

With drinks and adding all the expenses, it came down to 500 PHP for lunch. How can you say no to eating fresh seafood that is cooked on the moment while overlooking the beach? It was totally worth the expensive price tag.

Island hopping difficulty

Cruising across the islands is very easy – the islands are all within the reef break so the sea is pretty flat and there were no big waves. The islands are all close together so you will never be sailing for too long. The longest time  spent sailing on the boat at any one time was never more than 40 minutes.  

Traditional Filipino boats on Guyam Island

Siargao Island Hopping 

Guyam Island

The island hopping can be started at 9:30AM by setting off from General Luna. The sail will be about 30 minutes before reaching Guyam Island. Tourist can stayhere for two hours, a good amount of time for your first stop.

Guyam is a small, circular island that is covered with palm trees. Hidden in the cover of the palm trees are some amenities – the basketball court, a burger shake shack and other establishments.

The water is very shallow, with one side of the island covered in rocks and a small beach on the other side. The water here is amongst the clearest you'll ever seen.

Guyam Island 

Naked Island

Once you’re done relaxing on the beach of Guyam Island it will take about 30 minutes to get from Guyam to Naked Island. Famous for being “naked” – as the name suggests, the island itself is nothing but a huge sand bank.

There are no trees, no shacks, nothing there. There is no shade and you will be sat in the sun the whole time you’re on Naked Island. Make sure to bring sunscreen if you don’t want to get burnt! (Also most boats have shade cover so you can always sit in your boat if you want to be out of the sun!)

The water here is deeper than in Guyam so you can comfortably sit on the sea by the shoreline to cool down, or go for a snorkel and swim around the island. 

Naked Island from a distance

Daku Island

The journey from Naked Island to Daku is about 20 minutes. It is the biggest of the three islands and inhabited by people, as you will see by the houses built on it and bigger groups of locals wandering around.

The huts by the beach serve lunch and there are also beach volley courts where you can play and have fun with your friends. The water on this island is pretty deep so you can properly swim and snorkel around if you want to.

We stayed in Daku Island until around 5PM when the light started turning golden, this way we got to enjoy a beautiful sunset on our cruise back to General Luna.

Approaching Daku Island

The beach on Daku Island

How to book your tour in Siargao

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7 kgs Hand Carry Baggage returning to Destination

Airport Terminal Fee (for Manila Departing passengers only)

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Island Hopping Tour with Lunch visiting Guyam, Daku and Naked Island.

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How to Get to Siargao

Manila to Siargao 

Siargao Island has an airport (Sayak Airport) that serves commercial but currently, only Skyjet and Cebu Pacific fly there direct from Manila. Check out their website for the latest flight schedule and fare.

Sayak Airport is located in Barangay Del Carmen, approximately 45 minutes from General Luna, where most tourist facilities and attractions are located. There are vans parked outside the terminal to transport passengers going to General Luna. The current prevailing rate is P150 per person, you may work out your charm and bargaining skill to lower it down. Alternatively, you may also take a tricycle (as low as P500 per tricycle good for four) or habal-habal (as low as P400 per motorbike good for two).