Complete Guide to Visiting Siargao Island in the Philippines

Siargao is a small island located on the eastern edge of the Philippines. It is known for the insane amount of palm trees on the island and is also a world renowned surfing spot. It was our first introduction to the islands of the Philippines and made us absolutely fall in love with this beautiful country! Here is our guide to visiting Siargao Island in the Philippines including how to get there, where to stay and what to do!

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We loved that Siargao has so many options for accommodations (especially if you’re traveling on a budget) as well as restaurants, cafes and shops. There is so much to do on the island you could spend a few weeks there and still need more time. But at the same time there is still so much authenticity on the island. You can really get a glimpse of what it’s like for local families that live on the island. We love that there is tourism and infrastructure but it’s not exploding with visitors yet. We loved the balance we saw on Siargao right now and think it’s the perfect time to visit!

It really felt like the locals were making intentional strides towards welcoming tourists. At the same time there is a huge effort to help keep Siargao clean and trash/litter free.
On the island we didn’t see a single plastic bag, in fact no places ever gave us one. We saw recycling containers for plastic bottles everywhere and all the straws we got in drinks were either bamboo or metal straws.

How to Get to Siargao Island

Siargao has an airport, Sayak Airport (IAO), on the western side of the island making it pretty easy to get to. You can fly directly to Siargao from Manila or Cebu on Cebu Pacific Airlines. From Manila it’s about a two and a half hour flight and to Cebu it’s about an hour flight.

The airport is very small and has only three gates so don’t expect a big international airport.
It’s recommended to book a flight early in the morning to Siargao as sometimes weather and visibility can delay or cancel flights later in the day.

Once you exit the airport there will be a row of vans waiting to take you wherever you are staying on the island. It’s not necessary to book it ahead of time although you can easily arrange it through your accommodation. We landed, walked out and immediately got into a van with several other people that had just come off our flight.

The van to General Luna should cost 200-300 PHP or $4-6 USD which is very affordable.
The ride takes about 45 minutes to get from the airport to where they drop you off outside of General Luna.
From the drop off point you can either walk to your accommodation or hop into one of the waiting tricycles to get to your accommodation.

Where to Stay on Siargao Island

Most people stay in the town of General Luna when they visit Siargao. General Luna sits on the southeastern part of the island and has everything you could want during your visit!

General Luna has a combination of local eateries and family homestays mixed with modern restaurants and a few larger hotels. You can find any type of food you could want from local Filipino dishes to pizza and even tacos. There are shops where you can buy clothing items, dry bags and so many supermarkets and sari sari stores which are like small convenience stores.

If you’re looking to do nothing but surf you can stay in Cloud 9 to be as close as possible to the best surf spot. There are some places to eat and it’s a short 10 minute tricycle ride to General Luna!

Pacifico is another option if you really want to be secluded. There are a few nice resorts there but it is significantly farther from General Luna.

We absolutely loved General Luna and would recommend staying there! You can stay right on the main road or stay a few streets back where it’s a little quieter.

We stayed at Let’s Gold Hostel in General Luna. For a private room (fan only) it cost us $24 USD a night so it was incredibly affordable. It was in a great location and we could walk to dinner in General Luna every night but it had a nice quiet feel. They were also able to arrange everything from a motorbike rental to a van transfer for us which was so helpful!

Read More: 3 Week Philippines Itinerary

What To Do on Siargao Island

Siargao 3 Island Tour

The 3 island tour from Siargao goes to the three nearby islands of Naked Island, Daku Island and Guyam Island. You can book it literally anywhere. If you’re walking on Tourism Road (the main road in General Luna) you will walk past many places that advertise island hopping tours. A lot of those tours visit the 3 islands and might also included lunch on Daku Island which is the largest and most built up of the 3.

Naked Island is like a large sandbar in the water and gets it’s name because there is nothing on the island. Make sure you bring sunscreen for this one because there is no shade! When the tides are low you can walk out into the water and take some really beautiful pictures!

The earlier you leave from General Luna the less other people will be on Naked Island with you. It is small so it’s more enjoyable when it isn’t jam packed with other boats.

Daku Island is the largest of the 3 islands and where we spent the most time. It is so beautiful we honestly could have spent an entire day just on Daku! There is a large beach area where we laid down our towels and enjoyed both some sun and some shade from nearby palm trees.

You can get fresh coconuts for 50 PHP or $1 USD or enjoy an impressive lunch cooked for you including seafood, meat, rice and fruit. We saw so many people getting it and it looked delicious!

Guyam Island has a large beach area as well as a bunch of hammocks to relax in if you’ve had too much sun. On the back side of the island at low tide you can find rock pools. We walked through the warm water and enjoyed the relaxed, quiet vibe of this small island.

There is a small café where you can get some food and drinks if you’re hungry or a basketball court if you’re looking for something a little more active!

Enjoy the Magpupungko Rock Pools

The Magpupungko Rock Pools form during low tide and create beautiful pools where you can swim and enjoy the calm waters. It’s important to visit during low tide though otherwise you won’t find rock pool like you’re expecting.

The Rock Pools are actually quite far from the beach area so it’s recommended to have water shoes for the walk out to them.
This is a popular spot so make sure to get there early in the day or late in the day!

To drive down the road to the pools it cost 50 PHP or $1 USD. There is a large sign so you won’t miss it. Unfortunately we drove to the Magpupungko Rock Pools to find them completely closed. So if you are planning to visit them make sure to ask someone if they are open as usual.

Rent a Motorbike & Go Explore

Regardless of where you go you have to rent a motorbike on Siargao and just go explore the island! It is so beautiful we absolutely loved riding around. You can rent a motorbike pretty much anywhere in General Luna. We rented ours from our hostel for 500 PHP or $10 USD for the day.

Make sure when you rent a motorbike that it comes with a helmet.
Ours also had a card on the inside of the seat with information about the bike in case we got pulled over by police.
We had to give an ID card as a deposit in order to ensure we brought it back. They told us not a drivers license (because you should have that if you’re driving) or a passport (don’t give away your passport!) so we gave Dave’s old student ID which has his full name and picture.

Travel Truth: It is cheaper to rent a motorbike for more than one day. So if you know you want it for more than just the 1 day go ahead and rent it for 2 or 3 days and you will get a discount on the total rental fee.

Once you start driving you will see about a million palm trees, pigs, cows, ox, beautiful fields and so much more! It honestly doesn’t really matter where you go it’s more about getting out and seeing more of the island.

We rented it and made our way to the Magpupungko Rock Pools which ended up being closed. Honestly we weren’t even mad they were closed though because the drive was incredible! We stopped so many times to take pictures because it is a seriously beautiful island!

On your way out of General Luna stop by Secret Beach. Then you will pass the Palm Viewpoint and soon after the Maasin River. Once you get to the Magpupungko Rock Pools it’s only a few minutes further to Pacifico Beach. We road around to all of these spots in 1 day and had plenty of time!
- All of these spots are on the map above so you can plan out your route!

There are gas stands on the side of the road so you never have to worry too much about running out. They are usually small stands with coke bottles filled with gas. It costs 60-65 PHP or about $1 USD per liter. We noticed we saw a lot of them on the outskirts of towns and villages. Every time we thought we might need to get gas one of the stands magically was right there on the side of the road.

Get Some Sun at Pacifico Beach

Pacifico Beach is another beach located about an hour from General Luna. It’s a more secluded area so if you’re looking to do nothing but go back and forth from the beach to your room this is the place to be! The drive to Pacifico Beach from General Luna is an absolutely stunning drive! Make sure to give yourself more than the 1 hour Google Maps say it will take you because you are bound to stop a bunch of times.

We actually started driving with the Magpupungko Rock Pools as our end destination but continued onto Pacifico Beach when the pools were closed. There is a a large area to park your motorbike and a pathway down to the beach area.

The large strip of sandy beach has plenty of room to find a place to yourself although when we visited there were only a few other groups there. We laid our towels down and enjoyed some sun at this beautiful and quiet beach!

If you walk to the left (looking out at the water) the beach curves around the coastline giving views of the surrounding palm trees and turquoise water.

Watch the Surfers at Cloud 9

Cloud 9 is known as one of the best surfing spots in the world. It’s located about a 10 minute drive from the town of General Luna. A tricycle between General Luna and Cloud 9 should cost about 50 PHP or $1 USD.

The Cloud 9 Boardwalk is a long boardwalk that extends into the ocean. It costs 50 PHP ($1 USD) to walk on and is maybe a little rickety but goes really far out into the water. At the end is a large structure where you can climb up to the top floor to get views looking down at the beach. You can also get some really cool pictures on the boardwalk!

There are a few cafes and snack stands as well as a sandy area where we saw a lot of people laying out.

We stayed and watched some very brave surfers attempt to surf the huge waves at Cloud 9. When we went it was low tide though so all of the surfers were far out in the water.

Go to the Palm Viewpoint

You have to stop by the palm viewpoint while on Siargao! This island is known for the amount of palm trees and this viewpoint really puts it into perspective. All you can see out into the distance are palm trees. It has become quite a popular spot on the island so you will probably see other people stopping to take pictures.

There are a few food stands on the other side of the road if you’re looking for something to eat or people that will be selling bamboo straws. Be careful as there are signs saying not to sit or stand on the concrete barrier and we actually saw one person asked to get off of it because it’s a pretty big drop.

This spot looks really nice at golden hour when the palm trees are lit up as the sun starts to go down.
It should take about 30 minutes to get to from General Luna. You can get a tricycle but we would recommend renting a motorbike for the day to see as much as possible!

Swing at the Maasin Secret River

You have probably seen pictures of people swinging on the palm tree at the Maasin Secret River on Siargao. From pictures it appears like it’s a secret spot in the middle of palm trees but it’s actually right off the road so it has a different feel than we expected. We drove by and saw a line of people waiting to take pictures on the famous palm tree so we decided to skip it and keep going!

If you do go it’s one of those places to get to early so you can enjoy it without lots of other people!

Where to Eat on Siargao Island

We found there were so many good options for places to eat in General Luna! You literally could find whatever type of food you want. We honestly couldn’t believe how many places there were!

One thing you have to try is one of the local eateries. Walking along Tourism Road you will see so many of them. Families will cook large portions of local foods such as rice, noodles, pork, grilled meats, vegetables, fried bananas and so much more. You get a plate, select what you want and then pay based on the items you chose.

We went to J&M Mulubay Store and Carenderia. The sign is ripped down though so you can find it right after Big 9 Hostel and Bar on the same side of the road.

If you’re on a budget these are the cheapest places to eat! For a large plate with enough for both of us to eat it cost 230 PHP or $4.60 USD.

Boyum’s – BBQ

Boyum’s is located on Tourism Road and you won’t miss it. There is a large grill out front where they grill all the food and tables are scattered across the lawn. We had some of the best BBQ we have ever had at this restaurant and went back more than once because it’s that good!

We tried the special ribs, the grilled pork and the grilled fish and they all were delicious. Seriously it was probably the most delicious fish we have ever had.

We also found it to be really reasonably priced! The grilled dishes include a very large portion of meat as well as rice for $5-6 USD.

La Trattoria Altrove – Italian

La Trattoria Altrove has multiple locations and can be found on other islands within the Philippines so you are bound to try it at some point. We saw it in Moalboal as well as in El Nido. There you can get brick oven pizza as well as pastas. If you’re craving something different their pizza is really delicious!

It is a little more expensive than more local options but we found the prices consistent on all three islands.

A personal margherita pizza cost 320 PHP or $6.40 USD.

Shaka – Café / Smoothie bowls

Shaka is the place to go for a cup of really good coffee or a picturesque smoothie bowl! If you’re feeling like you’ve had too much rice and are looking for a healthy option this is the place to go! They have quite a few juice as well as smoothie bowl options depending on what you’re in the mood for. Plus they are literally so pretty and make for a good photo!

The smoothie bowls are on the pricey side at 250 PHP or $5 USD. Which compared to other things in the Philippines is pretty expensive.

We also saw a Shaka café in Moalboal on Cebu!

Miguel’s Taqueria – Filipino Tex Mex

The owners of this place categorize it as Filipino tex-mex as they put their own Filipino spin on tacos, burritos and quesadillas. It was almost always busy and a good option if you don’t eat meat as you can get vegetable tacos or burritos.

A burrito cost 180 PHP or $3.60 USD for a fairly large size portion.

We absolutely loved our time in Siargao! It has the perfect combination of slow, island life mixed with lots of things to do and places to eat! This was definitely one of our favorite places we visited in the Philippines and we are already dreaming of going back and staying for a lot longer!