Why I struggle to recommend the beautiful island Siargo, Philippines

Grace and I want to travel. Ideally to places that are exciting or beautiful, or better both. In order to find that places we do some research. Normally that looks like this.

Go to Google
Enter e.g. Top 10 Asia Travels
Look at the pictures
Look into instagram for the respective hashtag
If you like it; continue, if you are not convinced repeat step 1-4
Check out the flights
Go on booking or Airbnb and book
Pack and dream

Now somehow we arrived in between that steps on one of familiar travel blogger we already liked when we were traveling through Hawaii. He also was writing a lot of nice things and posted beautiful pictures about this secret island Siargao (I will post his website link later). Well, then it took not long and we have booked flights and hotel, off we went. Now this is now my struggle. I was hoping this island is protected, unique and my greatest hope is that it stay that way. But already when we arrived we recognized it is not that of a secret pearl it was used to and is now advertised. Siargao is experiencing a fate that has impacted many other fellow islands before. From a secret treasure to a wide known overtourism… You can call it the Bali effect. This marketing strategy of the „secret Pearl“ is just working too well. And its customers are exactly looking like us. We are weak. We should know better. As soon a Lostleblanc is advertising for something in his popular youtube videos it is done and dusted. We are generally up for protecting nature, yet we are also in fear of missing out. So now is the point I am right now struggling to tell you to do the same. The trip to Siargao was simply amazing, but please also consider. If everyone goes there, it will soon be not as amazing as before. Also consider the travel time and costs. Siargao is a remote Island. Getting there is a nightmare. Imagine how much CO2 this is wasting… lots of trees to be planted.

What to do in Siargao:

Diving / Learn Diving
Surfing on Cloud 9
Visit Guyam & Daku Island
Visit Naked Island
Drive to Magpupungko Pools
Drive to Maasin Bridge / hanging tree
One day trip to Sohoton Cove and the Jellyfish Sanctuary
Feasting in General Luna
Sundowner at Dedon Island
Experience an Earthquake (not recommended)

Diving / Learn Diving

Not sure if there is a place in the Philippines that is not ideal for diving. Siargao is for sure not the best island within the Philippines yet not the worst either. It does offer great reefs within close perimeter, so you do not have take hours of bumpy rides on a small boat. We have decided to actually start with the diving adventure and took the Padi open water course. By all means you will find even cheaper and maybe even better locations, Siargao however offers ideal environment as well. Taking the course does take precious travel time, however it was making the whole vacation even more adventurous. The first few days we spent time in the pool and studying for the theory test on the beach. Finally we also went for open water dives, and I tell you what. It is simply amazing! Also it was a great way to make friends. The group was fun to hang out with and the diving coaches had great stories and tips for Siargao, since they are locals.

Big recommendations to the Palaka Siargao Dive Center

2. Surfing on Cloud 9

It is one of the regular World Series spots and a must do surfing spot. The popular Cloud 9. Even for beginners it can offer easy and convenient waves. A bunch of local surfers offer their coaching and Board rent for a fair amount, so the entry barrier is quite low. Watch out for the tides, which determines how shallow the reef will be and off you go. There is a peak season as well, then the waves will be only for experts, but you would have figure out by then… since then the place would be packed by pros and spectators on the unique wooden Cloud 9 Outlook. Unfortunately we could not enjoy a surfing experience. Next to the unfortunate wave conditions there was a jellyfish invasion going on. So we watched some of the tourists jumping on and off the boards to catch some white water. Our highlight on Cloud 9 was anyways the Shaka Cafe. Heaven on earth, I tell you that.

3. Visit Guyam & Daku Island & 4. Naked Island

These three islands are close to each other, so you can take a boat and cover the islands within one round trip. However if you have more time to spare you can do also each island individually. Naked Island is yet only a tiny little sand dune in the water, so you will not find much there other than tourists and sand. I would say within 5 min you can walk across the whole island and that is exactly the amount of time I would recommend to stay there. Guyam and Daku Island on the other hand offer a bit more. Especially on Daku you are offered nice Filipino BBQ Lunch, beach, shade and snorkeling activities. Guyam looked like a drawing. It is literally only 5 square meter of a island, yet you find one of the most remote basketball pitches in the world. Filipino love apparently to take some hoops in between their breaks. I mean there is also not soooo much else to do. After 30 min you have taken all the instagram pictures including the drone shots, that are amazing by the way. On Guyam Island you also can line up for a smoothie, be aware there is a monopoly situation going on. So once again a lesson learnt, take enough snacks & water with you. Also take a book. If you are not into taking pictures or snorkeling you might need to kill time otherwise.

5. Drive to Magpupungko Pools & 6. Maasin Bridge / hanging tree

Also these two agenda points can be combined in one trip. Basically the Hanging Tree & the Maasin Bridge is on the way to the Magpupungko Pools. You need either a own rental motorbike or rent a Tuk Tuk driver. Either way make yourself comfortable for a few hours of bumpy roads and scary road conditions. It is definitely a nice way to get to know the Island, since General Luna is really only the smallest part of the island. On the countryside you can experience the real life of the local farmers, including their living conditions and water buffaloes. We started on our little motorbike the journey to the pools even though it was pouring cats and dogs. If you are not an talented motorbike driver, be careful or even consider to take a bus or Tuk Tuk. Especially in the pouring rain. We made it all the way to the pools luckily without any further incidents. The Pools are really cool to see. It is a touristy area, which does hurts to see. Everyone is waiting for the tide to go low so the pools magically appear. Then an armada of tourists makes its way over the reef to the pools, takes a few pictures and then after approximately 30 min makes it way back to the beach, where the lunch / dinner is prepared. Actually there is a lot of different restaurants to choose from. Mostly BBQ. If you have a weak stomach the Philippines are not your place anyways. Lots of BBQ and lots of seafood. With salty hair and filled stomachs we made our way back to General Luna. Of course, not without a stop at the Maasin Bridge. This place is only popular due to the hanging palm tree. They really try to make the most of this palm tree. It looks cool and all, but if you cannot make a backflip or do not have any kind of feeling for your body you will look miserable on that tree anyways. Take your drone and take some pictures from above, looks cooler anyways. After several hours of shaky motorbike riding I was looking forward for the proper shower, massage and a pizza at Kermit Surf.

7. One day trip to Sohoton Cove and the Jellyfish Sanctuary

Consider this before you take on that one day adventure: It is hours on a really small, extremely loud and uncomfortable vibrating and shaking boat. Is this trip to the Islands of Sohoton nevertheless worth it? Simple answer, yes. Nevertheless prepare well or spend the extra money on a bigger boat. You can prepare by packing some earphones or earplugs, drink ginger beer (helps against the ocean dizziness) and take a towel or something to cushing your seating. Once you arrive all the troubles are forgotten. Also it could get quite cool, so have a small sweater or long sleeve with you. We were lucky that even the weather was playing along. All day showers, but once it was necessary the sun was shining. We first entered a cove which offered us a chance to fill the stomach a bit. Also there is a ca. 5 m wooden diving board. The place is called Club Tara Resort. I assume you even can stay there overnight. Only a relative short boat drive further we ended up at the Magkuku-ob Cave. A great adventure. On busy days you need to however wait a bit to get the chance to crawl and dive through the tiny caves. Also at the Jellyfish Sanctuary patience is king. I would guess we had in total another 45 to 60 min waiting time until we got the chance to hop into a small paddle boat and snorkel with the Jellyfish. An interesting experience, unfortunately did not meet my expectations. Either my expectations were far to high or simply the few jellyfish we did see were a bit disappointing. Maybe you are more lucky. The great lunch however lifted quickly my spirits. Before the start of the tour we have negotiated with the boat driver that the lunch is included and we were not let down. Great BBQ with great fellowship. So stay strong during the negotiations.

8. Feasting in General Luna

Coming to my favorite chapter: Dinner time. So the Philippines are not necessarily popular for their kitchen skills. And it is true. Compared to the kitchen of other Asian countries Philippines are somewhat not my favorite. I would choose a dish from Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, or even China any given time over the Filipino dish. Yet you will not have to go hungry to bed. If you are fan of BBQ then you might even love the Filipino Kitchen. In Siargao there is also plenty of international food available. From healthy Poke Bowls, fresh Sushi or even handmade Pizza. So here my favorite places in General Luna, Siargao:

Mama’s Grill: Best BBQ, especially the Chorizo Sausages! Cheap as well.
Kermit Surf Restaurant: Best oven Pizza on the Island.
Shaka Cafe: Best Coffee and Smoothies. Hence best place to start the day.

9. Sundowner at Dedon Island

There are plenty of sundown places on Siargao. Even if you spent it in a Massage Place, it is a perfect night spent. General Luna is on the South East corner of the island. As you know the sun sets west, therefor all beaches around General Luna are looking in the wrong direction. One Sundown Place however sticked to my mind. Within a short Motorride you can reach Dedon Island, basically the most southern tip of Siargao. By the way, one of the nicest hotels is down here. Even though I have not stayed there one night, from what I have seen from the drone footage, this must be the place to stay if you are on a honeymoon travel (Bayud Boutique Resort). Anyways, this little half island is well maintained and gives you a great scenery and perfect place to spent a nice cozy sundowner.

10. Experience an Earthquake (not recommended)

Last but not least. I am not sure if that was ever on my bucket list, now it is and I can fortunately cross it of the list as well: Experience an Earthquake. On one of the beautiful warm evenings we were sitting underneath the roof of Mama’s Grill and enjoying my favorite dish as all of the sudden the whole place was shaking and rumbling. 5,6 on the Richter Scale. This absolutely took me by surprise. I have never ever experienced something with that magnitude and it was quite humbling. After the 15 seconds of shaking, everyone returned to the seats and started to finish their dinner. Almost like nothing happened. Especially the locals were actual quite relaxed, the tourists were definitely more concerned. After the first shock has settled I got more and more worried about the after effects of earthquakes. Tsunamies!? Even after we returned to our hotel rooms, every half hour it would still have some smaller magnitude earthqakes rolling in. An rolling in is quite literally. Once it is really quiet at night, from the far distance you can hear the earthqake basically approaching, then hitting you for seconds and then rolling away into the distance again. In my head I was planning escape roots in case I would hear Tsunami alarms or whatever. By the way, what do you think would you do if a tsunami hits your vacation island? The next hill would be at least 1 hour away… so my reasoning was to take one of the paddle boards and paddle out on the sea… that still would require minutes, probably the best solution though… what do you think? Anyways, after hours of not being able to sleep and having downloaded every Tsunami Warning App and read thousands of articles I have found out, that Siargao is not prone to Earthquake Tsunamis. The quite logic explanation. The sea is too deep. So even if there is a big earthquake nearby, let’s say east of Siargao, then it is not even big enough to create a wave, since it would happen thousands of km on the bottom of the sea (compared to an earthquake around the Thailand in the Indian ocean, the Philippine Sea / Pacific is far deeper). There are only a few Tsunamis documented for Siargao. And all of them seem to have originated by wind and weather.

Lessons Learnt:

Scuba Diving yes, Surfing is on Siargao king though.
Shoutout to the best blog for Siargao (and many more places): Check out Journey Era before booking.
Earthquakes might happen on Siargao, Tsunamis however are not likely.
Evenings and Boat rides can be cool. A sweater and even a little waterproof jacket on the motorbike is recommended.

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