“ADVENTURE IS TOO OVERRATED. IF THINGS DOESN’T GO RIGHT, I THINK THAT’S ADVENTURE.” - PAM OF KAWILI RESORT, 2016DAY 5: 5AM - SURIGAO CITY TO SIARGAO
From Surigao Port, we took the first boat heading to Dapa. It would take two hours via fast-raft and roughly three to four hours via standard roro. Although the ticket person told us it would only take two hours, we arrived in Dapa a little past 7:00 in the morning.
We met Kuya Toni, a local habal-habal driver. He drove us from Dapa to our resort in General Luna, Kawili Resort. If ever you’re in Siargao, give Kuya Toni a call, aside from land tours in Siargao, he also offers island-hopping tours which includes the Sohoton Cove in Bucas Grande. (4000PHP in total)
General Luna, the town with a long strip of resorts by the beach, is roughly seven kilometers or 40 to an hour away from Dapa.Our general plan was to check out the resorts first hand and do walk-ins. Since we missed the last boat heading to Siargao the previous day, we searched them online instead. There were different resorts with different price ranges from budget to luxurious types. I was particularly looking for a relaxing and cozy place yet would still fit our budget. Then, we came across Kawili Resort.
We arrived in Kawili Resort around 8:00 in the morning. Since check-in was at 1:00 in the afternoon, we decided to explore Siargao Island. From Kawili Resort, we rented a scooter from Max, which Kawili Resort referred us to. We thought it would save us a lot of time and money, especially when going back and forth from GL to Dapa. We decided to rely on my phone in getting around. In short, we can go wherever we want.
Mapupungko Beach and Pool Lagoon was a one hour drive from General Luna. Since we rented a motorbike, we decided to use an app heading to Pilar town. At some point, we were doubting if we were heading to the right track. We’ve passed three barangay and it seems that we were the only ones going there. But after a few minutes, we finally saw signages ahead.
We didn’t expect the last signage pointing to Mapupungko beach. It was too fast and too late for the scooter to turn right and we fell off the scooter, out the road and into the open grassland. We just laughed it off and headed back to the beach.
Siargao Island is known as the Surfing Capital of the Philippines. But Siargao has a lot more to offer. One popular attraction is the island-hopping. The island hopping includes Naked Island, Daku Island, Gayum Island and even Sohoton Cove— all of this for only 4000PHP. Much cheaper coming from Surigao City or Hayanggabon Port.
Before heading back to Kawili Resort, we headed to Cloud 9, a famous surfing spot in Siargao. We spend the afternoon watching surfers at the boardwalk.For me, Siargao gives a feeling of a care-free, fun and relaxing life. It maybe because of the people and their lifestyle, or the beach scene itself, but overall, it makes me want to come back even though I haven’t left yet. At some point, I regretted staying there only two days.
DAY 6: 5AM AT CLOUD 9
We woke up early to catch the waves of Cloud 9. This is when the waves are high enough and perfect for surfing. We were eager to start our day so we took the the surfing lessons and headed to the shore. Since this was our last day, it was a good fit to head to Cloud 9 early. We would be catching the first fast-raft going to Surigao City at 1pm and we would still need to buy tickets before 10am.
ITINERARY:
Siargao is part of our 6D5N Backpacking Surigao del Norte & Surigao del Sur. Check out our itinerary here:
DAY 1: BUTUAN
DAY 2: SURIGAO DEL SUR'S ENCHANTED RIVER & BRITANIA GROUP OF ISLETS
DAY 3: SURIGAO DEL SUR'S TINUY-AN FALLS
DAY 4: SURIGAO DEL NORTE'S BUCAS GRANDE & SOHOTON COVE
DAY 5: SIARGAO
↠Breakfast: prices ranges from 50-100PHP
Accommodation to Surigao Port: 5 minutes via tricycle | 20PHP
Surigao Port to Dapa Port: 4 hours via roro | 220PHP
Dapa Port to Accommodations: 30-40 minutes via habal-habal | 200PHP | We booked our hotel at Kawili Resort in General Luna
↠Lunch: prices ranges from 100-200PHP
Accommodations: ranges from 1000PHP-2000PHP | got ours for 1500PHP good for 3 pax
Motorbike rental: 400PHP
Motorbike gas: 120PHP (40PHP per liter)
Mapupungko entrance fee: 1 hour via motor-bike or habal-habal | 50PHP
↠Dinner: prices ranges from 100-200PHP
DAY 5: 3010PHP for Solo; 1890PHP/pax for 2
DAY 6: SIARGAO-SURIGAO-BUTUAN
↠Breakfast: prices ranges from 100-200PHP
Surfing: 1 hour tutorial and board rental for the day | 500PHP | Since we wont use it for the day we asked our instructor if we can both use the board. We both payed 250PHP.
General Luna to Dapa Port: 30-40 minutes via habal-habal | 300PHP
Dapa Port to Surigao Port: 2 hours via roro | 220PHP | Please note that the first trip is at 12NN and the last is at 1PM
↠Lunch: prices ranges from 50-100PHP
Surigao Port to Surigao Bus Terminal: 20 minutes via tricycle | 50PHP
Surigao to Butuan: 2 hours via Van | 200PHP
Butuan terminal to Airport: 30 minutes via habal-habal | 200PHP | the van didn't drop us at the airport, which was what we've paid for. So to not miss our flight, we hailed a habal-habal to the airport which costs us a lot.
Terminal fee: 150PHP
DAY 6: 1920PHP for Solo; 1520PHP/pax for 2
Click here for the complete itinerary.
FOOTNOTES:
Photos taken with Canon EOS 1100D DSLR Camera w/ EF-S 18-55mm Lens, Samsung S3 GT-I9300 and GoPro Hero 4 Silver. Shot by Cheloi Marasigan & Rae Argallon | Siargao Island, Surigao Del Norte | June 2016 | Updated August 2018
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