Get ready to discover one of the Philippines’ most extraordinary islands. This Siargao itinerary covers the best of the island in three days: tidal rock pools, an emerald lagoon hidden in the mangroves, deserted sandbars, legendary surf and a full-day adventure to swim with stingless jellyfish.
Siargao is the kind of island that creeps up on you. I went knowing it was famous for surfing (Cloud 9, the legendary reef break, the whole thing) and came home talking almost entirely about everything else: the emerald lagoon tucked behind the mangroves, the prehistoric-looking rock pools you can only see at low tide, and a lagoon full of jellyfish that I swam among for a happy 15 minutes.
I based myself in General Luna for three nights in May, which is exactly the amount of time this plan needs. The island’s best sights are spread out and most of them run on the tides, so a little planning is the difference between swimming in Magpupungko’s pools and staring at a stretch of sea where they should be. Each day below is built around one big outing: a land tour, a day on the water, and the long boat trip to Sohoton Cove.
You can absolutely come to Siargao and surf every day. But if you don’t surf, or you’re somewhere between beginner and enthusiast, this island has more than enough to fill three days without once looking at a wave. Here’s how I’d spend 3 days in Siargao.
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Siargao itinerary
Day 1: The land tour: Magpupungko rock pools, Maasin River, Sugba Lagoon, Secret Beach, the coconut viewpoint and dinner at Mama’s Grill.
Day 2: Cloud 9 at sunrise, then the tri-island hopping tour to Naked, Daku and Guyam, with an optional cave pool in the afternoon.
Day 3: A full day at Sohoton Cove on Bucas Grande: Hagukan Cave, Magkukuob Cave and the Tojoman jellyfish lagoon.
Where to base yourself
General Luna, on the island’s south-east coast, is the place to stay for three days. Almost every tour picks up here, the island-hopping boats leave from its seafront, and Cloud 9 is a few minutes up the road. Tourism Road, the strip that runs from the town towards Cloud 9, is lined with cafés, surf shops, hostels and guesthouses, and it’s where most of the evening action happens.
I stayed at Happiness Hostel on Tourism Road, in a private double room with a balcony rather than a dorm. It sits a short walk from the beach at Basakan and about a mile from Cloud 9, and it has its own restaurant and beach bar. Rooms book up fast around Easter and during the autumn surf competitions, so book well ahead if your dates fall then.
Suggested stay: Happiness Hostel Siargao, or browse all accommodation in General Luna.
Day 1: the land tour
The land tour is the best day on the island for first-timers, and the one I’d put first because it covers the most ground and gives you a real sense of Siargao’s extraordinary natural variety. It’s a long day, so leave early and you’ll fit everything in beautifully. My Siargao land tour guide has the operators and prices.
You can join a group land tour (most include hotel pick-up in General Luna, a driver and lunch, with entrance fees paid on the day), hire a private driver, or do the whole loop yourself by scooter. The order below starts with Magpupungko because it only works at low tide. If low tide falls in the afternoon on your dates, simply run the loop the other way round and finish at the pools.
Magpupungko rock pools
The alarm goes off early and you go anyway, because Magpupungko only works at low tide and you are not going to miss this.
These extraordinary natural tidal pools, carved into flat rock on the island’s eastern coast near the town of Pilar, are one of Siargao’s most spectacular sights. The name is usually traced to the local word for squatting, after the huge boulder that squats on the rocks at the edge of the beach. At high tide the pools are submerged and you’d walk straight past the site with no idea what’s beneath the water. At low tide they appear: a series of beautiful, crystal-clear pools sitting in the open rock, with nothing but the Pacific Ocean beyond. The colour of the water against the dark rock is genuinely otherworldly.
You can swim in the pools, wade from one to the next, and (if you’re feeling brave) cliff-jump from the higher rocks into the deeper pools below, some of which are around three metres deep. I stuck to swimming: I’m a baby when it comes to climbing up the rocks, not the jumping in. Either way, it’s the kind of place that makes you stop and just look, and you absolutely shouldn’t miss it. My Magpupungko rock pools guide explains how to time the tides.
It’s about 45 minutes’ drive from General Luna. Entrance is ₱50, parking is ₱20, and you can rent a snorkel set or a life jacket at the entrance. The beach behind the pools has a row of simple places selling food, cold drinks and fresh coconut shakes, which is handy if you’ve skipped breakfast to beat the tide.
Top tip
Check the tide chart before you book anything. This is non-negotiable: if you arrive at high tide, the pools are gone, and the rangers may not let you onto the rocks at all. Morning is the best time both for tides and for beating the tour groups that arrive heavily after 9am. Get there early, and you’ll largely have it to yourself. Wear wet shoes or sandals with good grip, not flip-flops. The rocks leading down to the pools are sharp and can be genuinely slippery, and the access path rewards caution. Take it slowly on the way down, and you’ll be fine. My water shoes were an absolute godsend here.
Maasin River
After the rock pools, Maasin River is the change of pace: a lovely, laid-back stop with a pretty river setting, coconut palms leaning over the water and a wooden jumping platform from which to launch yourself in. You can also rent a kayak or take a small boat along the river at your own pace, which has been enthusiastically recommended to me by everyone who’s done it (on my tour we had half an hour, so I ran out of time, and I’m still thinking about it). It was boiling hot when I got there, so I went straight in off the steps, and the cool water was so refreshing. If you’re travelling independently, budget a relaxed hour here.
Entrance is ₱50, which covers the jumping platform, and a boat along the river costs around ₱600, shared between however many of you there are. It opens at around 7am and gets noticeably busier from mid-morning, when the land tours arrive.
One honest update worth knowing: the rope swing at Maasin Bridge is no longer there, and nor is the famous bent palm tree that people used to jump from. If you’ve seen either on older guides or Instagram, they’ve gone, replaced by the jumping platform, but the river itself is absolutely still worth the stop.
Sugba Lagoon
Sugba Lagoon is where the day goes from good to extraordinary.
A 30-minute longboat ride from Del Carmen carries you across the mangroves. Del Carmen has one of the largest mangrove forests in Mindanao, and the crossing itself is lovely, the trees closing in on either side as you weave through the channels. Then the lagoon appears on the other side: an expanse of emerald-green water enclosed by tall cliffs, completely calm, completely beautiful. It reminded me of the karst scenery around Railay Beach in Thailand, and my first reaction was just “oh wow”. It’s the kind of place that feels like a discovery even when you’ve specifically come to find it. My Sugba Lagoon guide has the fees, boats and best times.
Once you’re there: rent a kayak (around ₱300, or ₱500 for a crystal-bottomed kayak if you want to watch the water through the hull), go stand-up paddleboarding, or swim in the designated area. There’s a good jumping-off platform too, on the side of the floating cottage where the boats tie up. The moment I rented my kayak, it started to rain (this happens to me every time I get in a kayak), but the water was a perfect temperature for swimming, so it didn’t matter much.
The boat from Del Carmen is priced per boat rather than per person (around ₱2,150 for the round trip), so it’s worth sharing with others or booking a tour that includes it. On top of that there’s a ₱100 entrance fee and a ₱50 environmental fee per person, and life jackets can be rented for ₱50. Visits are capped at around three hours, because the floating cottage can only take so many people at once.
Top tip
Time your arrival for the morning and leave before lunch. After midday, tour groups arrive in serious numbers and the lagoon fills up fast. The swimming area is small, so it fills up fast: it was very busy when I went, and it would have been even lovelier a little quieter. Get there early and you’ll have an experience that feels almost private. Get there late and you’ll be sharing it with half the island.
Secret Beach
On the way back to General Luna, Secret Beach, in Malinao, is a welcome wind-down: a beautiful, quiet stretch of sand on the edge of a lagoon with calm, clear water that’s perfect for a swim. Kayaks and SUPs are available for hire if you want to explore along the shoreline, but there’s nothing wrong with simply lying here for an hour after the morning’s activity. It’s genuinely lovely.
Coconut viewpoint (the sea of palms)
The simplest stop of the day, and somehow one of the most memorable: a roadside viewing deck, usually signed as the Coconut Tree Viewpoint, where lush coconut palms stretch in every direction as far as you can see. Coconuts have long been one of Siargao’s main crops, and from up here you get a sense of just how much of the island they cover. It’s a five-minute stop, but the scale and the greenness of it are striking, and the photos you’ll take here are some of the most distinctly Siargao of the trip. Group land tours often stop here for a “human drone” photo, taken by the guide from the edge of the deck.
Evening: Mama’s Grill
Back in General Luna as the light starts to go golden. Go to Mama’s Grill on Tourism Road for dinner. It’s an open-air barbecue joint rather than a smart restaurant: pork skewers, grilled tuna belly and fish, grilled aubergine and a sweet and spicy sauce, at prices that feel like a reward after the day you’ve just had. It’s the kind of place where the evening stretches out pleasantly without you entirely meaning it to. It opens for lunch and dinner most days but closes one day a week, so check before you walk over.
Day 2: island hopping and Cloud 9
Start day 2 at dawn. Cloud 9 at sunrise, before the crowds, before the noise, just the wave and the light, is one of those things that stays with you. Even if you’ve never surfed and never intend to, the legendary right-hand reef break that put Siargao on the world map is worth seeing up close. The story goes that it took its name from a Cloud 9 chocolate bar, after it was photographed for an American surf magazine in the early 1990s. Walk the boardwalk out over the reef and watch the sets come in. It’s genuinely thrilling. I paid ₱100 to walk out (multi-day passes are available), and afterwards walked a few steps to Loka, a beachside café and bar right by the boardwalk, for a flat white and a mango pudding: so chill, and so good.
The old viewing towers at the end of the boardwalk are being rebuilt as a larger, multi-level viewing platform, so part of the structure may be fenced off while work goes on. The break also hosts the Siargao International Surfing Cup, now a World Surf League qualifying event, every autumn, when the boardwalk is packed with spectators.
After Cloud 9, the rest of the day belongs to the water.
The tri-island hopping tour
The classic Siargao island hopping tour visits three very different islands just off the coast of General Luna, and each one is distinct enough to feel like its own destination. Boats leave from the General Luna seafront, and the local government sets standard rates to stop overcharging: around ₱3,000 for a private boat and guide for up to five people, rising with group size. Shared tours, usually with lunch included, cost less per person, and there are small entrance fees at the islands, paid in cash on the day.
Naked Island is exactly what its name suggests: a bare, low sandbar rising from the middle of the ocean with nothing on it whatsoever. No trees, no shade, no buildings, just a crescent of brilliant white sand and the sea in every direction. It sounds minimalist and looks surreal. You arrive and you just… stand there, marvelling at the fact that this exists.
Daku Island is the largest of the three, with proper palm trees, a small local village and the option of a BBQ lunch on the beach. “Daku” means big in the local language, and it’s a proper island rather than a sandbar, and the most relaxed stop of the three: a lovely place to slow down, eat lunch in the shade, and let the morning’s energy settle. You can rent a shaded cottage for the afternoon, and boats often bring fresh fish to grill.
Guyam Island is tiny and photogenic: a little palm-fringed islet with a thatched shelter on the beach that turns up endlessly on any visual search for Siargao. Small enough to walk around in five minutes, beautiful enough to want to stay much longer.
Top tip
Go for a smaller group boat if you can. The difference between cramming onto a 20-person vessel versus a small group is significant, especially on the smaller islands where space and quiet are part of the appeal. There is almost no shade on Naked Island, so take a hat, plenty of water and reef-safe sun cream.
The cave tour
If the island hopping finishes with time and energy to spare, the cave tour makes an excellent afternoon addition. Siargao’s caves contain a series of beautiful freshwater pools inside dramatic rock formations, perfect for swimming in, and the combination of the cave environment and the extraordinary clarity of the water is unlike anything else on the island.
The best known is Tayangban Cave Pool in Pilar, about 30 minutes from General Luna. A guide leads you by torchlight through a narrow crack in the rock and along a cave passage, wading waist-deep past stalactites and roosting bats, until you come out at an emerald-green pool where you can swim and jump from the rocks. Entrance is around ₱100, and a guide is compulsory. Take a dry bag for your phone.
Getting there
The cave tour can be arranged through your accommodation or a local operator in General Luna. It works well as a half-day activity and is usually bookable on the morning of your visit. If you have a scooter, you can also ride up to Pilar yourself and pick up a guide at the entrance.
Day 3: Sohoton Cove
Day 3 is the big one. Set your alarm for 6am, because the boat leaves early and the whole day is built around the tides.
Sohoton Cove is on Bucas Grande Island, south-west of Siargao, roughly two hours by outrigger boat from Dapa port, a 35-minute drive from General Luna (the ride is long, beautiful and loud, so bring headphones or earphones, and a windbreaker for the open-sea crossing). Most people skip Sohoton because the commitment is significant. This is the wrong decision. Go. I’d 100% recommend it: it really does feel like you’re on a deserted island, Robinson Crusoe meets water park, and just when you think you’ve had your once-in-a-lifetime moment, you turn a corner into another amazing place.
Most visitors join a day tour from General Luna, which picks you up from your accommodation around 7.30am and gets you back in the late afternoon. Shared tours cost around ₱2,700 to ₱3,000 per person with lunch and fees, but check whether the park fees are included: if not, budget anything from about ₱300 to ₱800 for the entrance, environmental and paddle-boat fees, and ask when you book. My Sohoton Cove guide has the operators and prices. Expect a packed minivan to the port (I wasn’t sure my knees would ever recover), a slow start, and a massive Filipino feast for lunch, and bring a sun hat.
Hagukan Cave (the snoring cave)
The first stop inside Sohoton is Hagukan Cave, named from the Visayan word for “snore” because of the sound the waves make as they push through its entrance. You swim into a half-submerged cavern, and when you splash the water, the mineral-rich walls catch the light and the whole cave glows blue-green around you. It’s genuinely magical: one of those natural phenomena that sounds like hyperbole until you’re inside it. It’s also very dark, and caves are not my favourite place, but I was really glad I went in.
Hagukan is only accessible during low tide, which is why the whole day is planned around the tidal window. Your tour operator will have timed it correctly. Trust the schedule.
Magkukuob Cave
From Hagukan, the tour moves to Magkukuob Cave, where a short climb through stalactites and stalagmites brings you to a cliff-jumping point back into the sea. It’s the adrenaline moment of the day, and entirely optional, but if you’ve come this far, you might as well.
Tojoman Lagoon: the jellyfish sanctuary
The centrepiece of Sohoton is Tojoman Lagoon, where thousands of small, translucent spotted jellyfish drift through a sheltered, warm body of water that has kept them naturally cut off from predators. Their sting is so weak that you can’t feel it, which is why they’re known as stingless. You swim in among them. They float against your skin and past your face, and they are completely harmless.
There are only a handful of places in the world where this is possible, and Sohoton Lagoon is one of the finest. It’s a genuinely otherworldly experience (quiet, slow, a little dreamlike) and worth every minute of the two-hour boat journey to get here. It was my highlight of the day: alongside the white, translucent jellyfish were tiny orange ones, all just chilling out in the water, and I spent a happy 10 to 15 minutes swimming after them. My only gripe was the crowds’ selfie game, which was out of control, so be patient and wait for a quieter moment.
Top tip
The jellyfish are most abundant and most visible from around March to June, which is peak season, and I swam with plenty of them in May. Outside this window numbers drop and can vary a lot from year to year, so ask your operator before you book if the jellyfish are the reason you’re going. Crucially: no splashing around the jellyfish. They’re fragile, and the respectful thing, and the thing that keeps this experience available for everyone, is to move calmly and gently through the water around them.
Have more time? Add these to your itinerary
Surf lessons in General Luna: Even if you’ve never surfed, a beginner lesson in Siargao is a wonderful experience, and the schools in General Luna are excellent. Cloud 9 itself is a reef break for experienced surfers, so beginners learn on gentler breaks nearby, such as Jacking Horse, just along from the boardwalk. Expect to pay around ₱500 to ₱1,000 for an hour’s lesson. The best conditions are early morning (6 to 9am) before the wind picks up, and March to May brings the smallest, friendliest waves.
Maasin River kayak: I didn’t get to do this on my visit and it’s been recommended to me by everyone who has. Rent a kayak in Maasin, paddle along the quiet, tree-lined river at your own pace, and take your time. It’s a lovely, unhurried counterpoint to the more activity-packed days.
Pacifico and the other side of the island: Most visitors never leave General Luna. If you have an extra day, rent a scooter and ride north to Pacifico, a surf village on the north-east coast, and on to the long, empty beaches around Burgos and Alegria at the island’s northern tip. It takes about an hour and a half to reach Alegria, the roads are good and quiet, and it’s a completely different, much less developed side of the island. Closer to General Luna, the small village of Santa Fe is a quieter base for a longer stay.
A rest day: Siargao rewards slowness. A day of doing very little (a beach, a book, a long lunch, a sunset) is a legitimate and excellent use of your time here.
Map
Getting around Siargao
Rent a scooter. This is the single best piece of advice for the island. Siargao is spread out, and a scooter gives you the freedom to stop wherever you want, reach the quieter spots independently, and move at your own pace. Rental places in General Luna are easy to find and charge around ₱300 to ₱500 a day. You need your driving licence and an International Driving Permit, and helmets are compulsory. The roads (while occasionally rough) are manageable.
If you’d rather not scooter, habal-habal (motorcycle taxis) and tricycles connect the main spots (agree the fare before you set off), and most tours include land transport from General Luna. Vans are available for hire for larger groups.
Handy tips for planning your 3 days in Siargao
Getting there: Siargao has its own domestic airport at Sayak (IAO), in Del Carmen. Direct flights from Manila stopped in March 2026, when turboprop services were moved out of Manila’s airport, so most people connect through Cebu, which is under an hour away and has the most flights, or fly direct from Clark or Davao. I flew out to Cebu at the end of my stay, and it’s a quick, easy hop. From the airport it’s 45 minutes to an hour to General Luna: a shared van costs around ₱300 to ₱400 per person, and most places to stay can arrange a pick-up if you ask in advance. You can also take a ferry from Surigao City to Dapa, from around 1.5 hours by fast boat.
Don’t miss: Magpupungko at low tide (check the tide chart before you plan anything), Sugba Lagoon in the morning before the tour groups arrive, Sohoton Cove, and Cloud 9 at sunrise.
Best time to visit: March to June for the best jellyfish visibility and the driest, calmest weather, with April and May the sweet spot. August to November brings the big Pacific swells and the main surf season, peaking in September and October. December to February is the wettest time of year, with rougher seas that can disrupt boat trips. Easter week and the autumn surfing competitions are the busiest times, so book ahead.
How long to spend: This itinerary covers 3 days. Five days is ideal for doing everything at a relaxed pace; a week lets you add surfing, the rest-day explorations and the quieter north of the island.
Tide tables matter: Magpupungko and Hagukan Cave at Sohoton are both tide-dependent. Check before you book, and make sure your tour operator has timed the day correctly.
Currency: Philippine Peso (PHP). Most tour operators, local restaurants and smaller venues are cash only, and nearly every entrance fee on this itinerary is paid in cash on the day, so bring enough before you head out.
What to pack: Wet shoes for the rock pools and caves, a dry bag, reef-safe sun cream, a hat, a light waterproof for the boat crossings, and seasickness tablets if you need them for the Sohoton trip. My Philippines packing list covers the rest, and the Siargao travel guide has more on where to eat and what else to do on the island.
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