itinerary

Siargao Itinerary And Expenses

There are some destinations that you travel to only to discover that you don’t want to share it with the rest of the world. We put Siargao island in that bucket. Except unfortunately, a lot of the world do already know about this beautiful place in the Philippines and many others have flagged it as their next must-see.
We spent 4 days and 4 nights in Siargao (departing on the morning of the 5th day) which was sufficient time to see the main attractions and settle into the island lifestyle. Below, we detail our Siargao itinerary and expenses day by day. This post is not just a Siargao itinerary for couples; the island is a beach bum’s paradise so solo travellers will embrace the vibe quite easily. We unanimously agree that Siargao was our favourite stop during our Philippines trip. Should you visit, we have no doubt it will be your favourite too.

SIARGAO BUDGET | 4 DAY ITINERARY WITH EXPENSES

12:00pm

Welcome to Siargao! The fastest way to get to Siargao is to fly with Cebu Pacific or Philippine Airlines via Cebu. The plane lands at Siargao Domestic Airport which is on the west side of the island. Transfer to accommodation will be via minivan, tricycle or taxi. We chose the minivan option as we had already travelled for 30 hours and were exhausted. The minivans are air-conditioned and we were piled in with several other travellers. The trip from Siargao Airport to General Luna is approximately 50 minutes.

2:00pm

Most visitors to Siargao stay in General Luna or Cloud 9 in the south-east of the island where there are a range of Siargao hotels. General Luna is one of the larger towns where there is a multitude of shops, resorts, homestays, restaurants and tour companies. Cloud 9 is also one of the most popular surfing areas on the island. Our Siargao accommodation was at Nine Clouds Homestay at Cloud 9.

4:00pm

Head into town to organise an island hopping boat tour. Before arriving in Siargao, we read some blog posts recommending tours organised by Kermit Surf Resort & Restaurant. Kermit arranges group tours that include the tour cost, admission fees and lunch. If you wish to organise a private tour, it’s best to head to independent surf stores or to wander down to the harbour to enquire in person. We asked for a quote from Kermit before walking down Tourism Road to try our luck. We arranged a private boat tour for the next day at Jose’s Surf Shop with relative ease.

7:00pm

The main hub for dining is all along Tourism Road. There is a plethora of eateries offering grilled meat, seafood and vegetables, tacos and woodfire pizzas. On our first night, we stopped in at Yeah Yeah Tacos where we ate their famous tacos and washed them down with a beer.

DAY 2

7:00am

Depart for a morning of azure blues, pristine sands and lazing underneath palm trees. Unfortunately, we were a bit unorganised this morning. As we opted not to hire a scooter during our stay, we relied on tricycles to ferry us between Cloud Nine and General Luna. If you don’t have your own transport or arrange a transfer with a group tour, we’d recommend pre-booking transport if travelling early in the mornings.

Arriving at Jose’s Surf Shop, we ordered a rushed breakfast at the neighbouring Fayayeh Bar which delayed our departure and our aim to get ahead of the crowds.

The first stop on our island hopping experience was Guyam Island. Approximately 10 minutes away, Guyam Island is a circular island paradise with a throng of palm trees in the middle. It’s surrounded by shallow and exposed rocks that peak out from the aquamarine water. You’ll find a sandy basketball court, hammocks swaying between palm trees and warm shallow waters for swimming.

Our next stop was Naked Island. In hindsight, we should have requested our boat captain to take us here first. The oval sand island features nothing but sand, hence its name. We arrived mid-morning and thus the small strip was quite crowded with several other boats dropping off passengers.

The last stop, Daku Island, is the largest and the only inhabited and commercialised island of the three islands. Here, wooden cabanas are available to hire along the beach. Shacks sell snacks and cold drinks. On the edge of the palm tree grove, locals sit behind piles of coconuts, waiting with their machetes to serve a heaving green coconut to their next customer. We chose to lay our towel underneath the palm trees (we kept a wary eye out for falling coconuts!) and drank fresh coconut water from a coconut for only PHP 50.

1:00pm

We decided to eat lunch back on Siargao as we knew there would be more options. We stopped in at Barrel Sports Bar & Grill ordering chicken shawarma and chicken pesto quesadillas. Yum!

5.30pm

The Jacking Horse Trail at Cloud 9 is a popular spot to watch the sun go down. It’s the perfect location to lay down your beach towel, buy a San Miguel from one of the stands and wait for the sinking sun to cast a fiery orange glow across the sky.

8:00pm

You’ll notice a number of restaurants along Tourism Road emitting wafting smoke and it’s likely to be from their open grill. We spotted the queue outside Mama’s Grill on our first night so we made it a point to return. We’re so glad that we did as it was our favourite meal on Siargao! Choose your dinner selection from the fridge menu and watch as it goes from the kitchen to the BBQ grill in seconds. The spicy chorizo was our top pick of the night!

Expenses
Day 1
Airport Transfer PHP 300 per person
Private Boat Tour PHP 1,500
Dinner PHP 410
Tricycle Transfer (Evening) PHP 80
Day 2
Tricycle Transfer (Morning) PHP 40
Breakfast PHP 530
Coconut PHP 50
Lunch PHP 500
Tricycle Transfer (Afternoon) PHP 40
Beers PHP 120
Dinner PHP 600
Tricycle Transfers (Evening) PHP 80
Day 3
Tricycle Driver (Whole Day Tour) PHP 1,500
Sugba Lagoon Boat Hire PHP 1,600 per boat (try to find people to split this with)
Sugba Lagoon Entrance PHP 200 per person
Sugba Lagoon Environmental Tax PHP 100 per person
Sugba Lagoon Kayak/SUP Hire PHP 300 per hour
Lunch PHP 230
Magpupunko Rock Pools Entrance PHP 50 per person
Magpupunko Rock Pools Parking PHP 5-20 depending on vehicle
Magpupunko Rock Pools Food PHP 120
Massin River Entrance PHP 20 per person
Massin River Rope Swing By donation
Dinner PHP 480
Day 4
Surfing Lesson PHP 200 per hour
Surfboard Rental PHP 300 half day, PHP 400 full day
Coffee PHP 120 + 220
Breakfast PHP 500
Lunch PHP 770
Dinner PHP 500
Tricycle Transfer (Evening) PHP 80
Day 5 Expenses
Airport Transfer PHP 300 per person (arranged with our homestay the day prior)
How much does it cost to go to Siargao?
Item Costs (PHP) Notes
Accommodation 3,000 Cloud Nine Homestay – 4 nights
Food & Drink 5,150 Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner plus a few extras
Activities 1,140 Kayak/SUP Rental, Rope Swing, Surfing
Admission Fees & Taxes 740 Sugba Lagoon, Maasin River
Tour Costs 2,300 Island Hopping, Sugba Lagoon Boat
Transportation 3,030 Airport Transfers, Driver Hire Land Tour, Tricycle Transfers
TOTAL 15,360

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