The Philippines Hidden Gem: Siargao Island #travel #philippines #Expat Life #SouthAsia #SIARGAO

Lucia Quintela Bosch

Hong Kong 05/01/2018 

                                      Illustrations by Sergio Gómez López

The Philippines Hidden Gem: Siargao Island

Offshore to the Northeast of Mindanao, this little tropical island is a rising  Filipino star, becoming the best travel destination for those looking for an unexploded Pacific paradise off to the mass radar of tourism.

The tear-drop shaped island of approximately 437 square kilometres has everything a traveler could dream for. Shining white sand beaches, coral reefs, coconut palms, farm and fishingvillages, paddy fields, mangroves and saltwater pools and lakes with turquoise waters…But there´s more: Cloud 9, the most famous Siargao spot, a perfect wave who makes the island ¨The Surfing Capital of the Philippines¨.

First time I heard about Siargao was 4 years ago, when Corón and El Nido Palawan were the treasures to discover if you wanted to avoid the over-exploited and crowded tourism of Southeast Asia. I typed -best secret spot beach Philippines- in google bar, and then one of the most beautiful beach photos I have ever seen drove me to a travel blog, where I read about the 
blogger´s life changing 
experience when she met this little gem, hidden to the mass tourism.

The lack of direct flights or convenient transport connections isolated the little island for years, leaving the wonders of Siargao just for those brave enough to face a very long and rough trip to the island. Since last year, 2 domestic flights per day links the little local airport with the capital Manila. This has changed everything, the travelers thirsty for off-the-radar paradises found their way to the hidden secret place and they all fell in love with the island at first sight. After its first year welcoming an in crescendo traveler crowd, Siargao has been recognized as number one of Top Ten destinations 2018 in South Asia by the most awarded publications of tourism area. 

So, “it´s now or never”, I thought on October of 2017. 
With 8 days off from my job in Hong Kong, I was more than thrilled to make my dream of meeting Siargao come true. Planning your trip is easier now than ever, from dozen instagramers and vloggers posts to travel guides and local business sites offering all information and advices needed for travelling on the island. 

Top things to do and see in Siargao: Is not all about surfing

My dream of Siargao was full of real life island experiences and feelings, all packed in an easy-to-explore and affordable place that would enclose all the wonders of the Philippines. And this Island accomplished it. Are you dreaming about paddling Coron famous blue lake without crows? Or Swimming and laying on isolated white sand beaches like Boracai was 10 years ago? Looking for inhabited tropical islands like El Nido´s, where you can actually enjoy a decent Island-Hopping experience? Keep reading…

The south east coast is where everything happens, General Luna with its vibrant nightlife, surfing scene and a laid-back vibe, is the most known and developed village on the Island. A few resorts and a variety of bungalows, surfing camps and backpackers style lodges offer accommodation for all budgets, from a very basic bamboo huts to a still few (and expensive) deluxe villas.

General Luna owns a long stretch of white sand and coconuts palms, a beautiful large beach amazing for sunbathing and watching sunsets, that limits to the north with Cloud 9, the famous surfing spot. 

The biggest event of the year runs in late September, SiargaoCloud 9 Surfing Cup is a mayor international surfing competition in its 19th edition (2017) welcoming a bigger audience each year. Witnessing the sport event, being part of it, or learning how to ride waves with the local surf-stars is one of the main reasons to visit Siargao in September, best weather of the year as plus.

Island Hopping 

Offshore, close to General Luna, 3 little islands will fulfill your Robinson Crusoe soul. Guyam, Naked and Dako islands are the main attraction in Siargao. With nothing to envy to its sisters in Palawan or Koh Phi Phi in Thailand, you will be able to enjoy this island hopping tour in a relative privacy and freedom from masses. 

                                                                                                                                                  Just to the right of General Luna beach you will find Siargao´s most Instagram-able spot, Guyam. This little and uninhabited tropical island resembles the Cayos Cochino in Honduras, for having dozens of palms in the center of its circular shape and being surrounded by coral reefs, a perfect place for those looking to feel like a shipwrecked. Snorkelling or kayaking its clear turquoise waters and having a nice picnic or sleepingunderneath the coconut palms shadow will make your day remarkable. Guyam island is reachable by a 10-minute boat trip from General Luna, for the most adventurous even by kayak when the sea is calm and it´s low tide. 

Naked island is an isolated and nude stretch of sand, some 200 meters long. The beautiful scenary relays on its powdery white sand and the absence of trees or plants. A place for chilling and sunbathing or swimming in crystal clear waters. Around Naked Island you will find the best sea life and snorkeling in Siargao. Best time to go is always in low tide when the island is in its biggest shape.

Dako is the biggest among the three islands, the only one with a small local community of habitants living there without electricity or water facilities (it has been announced that electricity service will start running from 2018). There´s a luxury resort with private beach on the left coast of the island, locals own a few huts based inside the little forest. 

Dako Beach is terrific and extremely beautiful. Coconut Palms, colorful huts to hide from the sun, shining white sand beach where you can swim 24 hours for real, forgetting about coral reefs or tides. 
Dako is also famous for offering the chance to have a tasty meal cooked by locals and served at the attractive wooden huts on the beach. Fresh fish caught by the locals or the Filipino specials like rice, chicken bbq or pork ribs are offered by the tiny shop at the beach, where you can buy drinks or rent a tent in case you want to spend the night there. 

Most of the tours in Siargao are offered by accommodation business based in General Luna. Bravo´s Resort is the one in charge of running the tours in a weekly schedule, which offers the chance to do a different tour each day to all attractions in the island. Choosing between Mornings or afternoons, you will discover the beauty of the three islands in about 3 or 4 hours, with a very reduced group of people and drinks and fruits included.

But what you will love about Siargao is the sense of freedom as you can arrange your own tour with locals, whom have opened a hiring point at the local pier in General Luna, where local sailors offer their wooden and bamboo boats to fit your wishes about time and duration at very good rates. In my case, I was travelling with my husband, both crazy about taking the most of our tropical beach time in Siargao. We did the Island Hopping tour the first afternoon on the Filipino island, from 12pm till 4pm we visited the 3 islands with our hotel boat, including the picturesque Guyam, the white paradise of Naked and the enjoyable and stunning Dako. We also shared our time on the islands with other tourists and their tours, although it wasn´t as crowded or busy at all, neither at peak time, as you could expect or be afraid of.

This first tour allowed us to fall in love with Dako and then, we decided to keep our last day in Siargao for hiring our private tour arranged by the locals, spend a whole day having fun in the amazing beach, eat fresh fish and watch the most gorgeous sunset of our time in the Philippines. We did it, and most of the time the wonderful Dako was a paradise just for us to enjoy.

Magpupungko Rock Pools

About 45-minute ride by motorbike or tuk tuk to the northeast of General Luna, the majestic Magpupungko Rocks Pools delight nature lovers around the world and it´s also a famous place for locals on weekends. 

Be ready for a road trip among coconuts palms, rice paddles fields, little farm villages, bamboo huts and water buffalos. 

If the trip to get there wasn´t appealing enough, at Magpupungko you will be jumping into a crystal-clear turquoise natural pool from a coral reef rock, swimming and snorkeling in the most unique spot, secretive to the tourism until recently, but it has become very popular at peak time. 

The best time to go is always two or three hours before high tide, when strong waves willcover the coral reef hiding the pools to the visitors’ view. Watching how the brave young locals jump from the dangerous rocks is a thrilling spontaneous show to witnesses for free.

Magpupungko is protected by the local government so there is an entrance fee to the beach where the rock pools are. There´re beach facilities and a few humble restaurants running by locals where you will eat some Filipino dishes like fresh fish and meat bbq after making the most of yourselves swimming on the stunning pools.

Even though one of my must-do on this trip was riding a motorbike to discover Siargao, my husband´s common sense about our driving skills won the battle this time and we hired a tuk tuk driver to take us to Magpupunko Rock pools on our second day on the island. Locals drivers have similar rates for the trip depending on the length and distance from General Luna to the main attractions on the island, but you can always try to ask for a better deal according your interests. 

One of the highlights of my trip to Siargao was our day in Magpupunko, which started at 11am and lasted till 3pm, when hide tide happened and the pool were closed to visitors. 

Like at other destinations in South Asia, the tropical weather is unpredictable even within dry season. Likely, a thunderstorm will appear every afternoon before sunset, that was the case in our return trip from Magpupunko. It didn´t last but it was quite intense and enough to form big mud ponds across the road, forcing us to stop several times before arriving at General Luna, an hour and a half after we left the rock pools.

Sugba Lagoon

For those dreaming with secret natural lagoons like the ones in Coron, El Nido or Thailand, here in Siargao you will meet Sugba Lagoon, a secluded treasure inside a huge mangrove area, house of the protected and vast population of alligators.

Sugba lagoon is located to the north of Dapa, the capital of Siargao, belonging to El Carmen village. To get there, it is compulsory to arrange one of the tours offered and pay the entrance fee. It is about an hour ride by car from General Luna. 

We hired Bravo´s Resort tour to Sugba Lagoon, because they offer pickup and drop off service, boat ride and a large local meal plus paddle boards, snorkeling sets and kayaks. 

You will enjoy Sugba lagoon for 6 hours, being part of a very reduced group at reasonable rates. We booked 3 days in advance since it´s becoming quite difficult to get a seat on this tour, one of the funniest on the island. There are wooden platforms above the lagoon waters with local little restaurants or resting areas full of colorful hammocks. 

You will feel like a child when jumping from high wooden springboards, exploring the lake by bamboo rafts or kayaking and snorkeling on its turquoise waters.

Like all attractions in Siargao, the wild and untouched nature and the attractive peace that wraps every little corner on this magical place, makes Sugba Lagoon one of the few places in South Asia where you can still find the real deal. 

More in Siargao

Locals: Best thing about the island is the Siargao People, its actual treasure. They keep their culture and traditional way to do things, and their legendary smile. Humble but proud, they love enjoying their precious paradise and lucky for us, they don´t mind to share with tourists up till now. 

For us, Siargao was a very special place where we made good local friends. We felt welcomed every day, sharing quality time with them like we were residents for a long time. 

Let’s see what happens when its friendly, open, fun and happy people would face sooner or later the consequences of a developed tourism on the island. There is an agreement and a willingness to protect Siargao from a mass tourism by businessowners. There is also the goal to keep the island like a strict eco-friendly tourist place. Despite this, the fast development of the construction and the accommodation industry in just a few years is a proven fact.

Nightlife: Siargao has a vibrant nightlife on both weeks days and weekends. General Luna is the place where every night,locals and tourists will meet at the same place to have fun and enjoy the night together. From the famous and wild Thursday nights at Jungle Bar to Bamboo Bar on Mondays, each day is saved by one venue to gather the party or live music gigs, making it easy to meet and be friend with everyone on the island after 2 days. Before you travel to Siargao, you may get an email from your accommodation host explaining all you need to know about the agenda of the week, otherwise you can always ask for free info at Bravo´s and the staff will text you a guide of the top trendy restaurants and schedule for your nightlife. Don´t hesitate to look for your own entertainment, amazing places off the radar will show up to you every night. For example, in our trip we were very lucky to find an unexpected tribal jam, played by locals at the Primitive Art, a brand new little venue at those days. This unplanned discovery allowed us to have a very special first night in Siargao that we will never forget, because of their talent, because of their hospitality. 

Little Villages: El Pilar, Burgos, Pacífico, El Carmen

Wild untouched Beaches: Bamboo Beach and Pacifico Beach to the North of General Luna.

The secret cave and hidden waterfall. If you want to share a quality time with the locals, find your way to these unknown spots and enjoy!

                                   

More photos coming soon on Instagram!