Guide to Siquijor

A magical place and one of my favorite Philippine islands. Laidback, beautiful, with so much nature to explore and the coziest vibes

Siquijor is one of those really special places. I can’t quite capture exactly what makes the place feel so magical, but it’s some combination the friendly mix of travelers and locals who all just have a simple appreciation of being able to be there, that creates this sense of warmth, coziness, and just pleasantness, that’s hard to exactly describe. Siquijor is a place to go if you just enjoy the slower life. If you enjoy having an abundance of beautiful nature to explore, cruising around an island by scooter, and just simply being there, appreciating the times, and soaking in the vibes. It’s a perfect mix of being able to adventure and explore, while also relax and just be.

Contents

Getting to and around Siquijor

When to visit Siquijor

What to do in Siquijor

How long to spend in Siquijor

1 week in Siquijor itinerary

Where to stay in Siquijor

Where to eat in Siquijor

Nightlife in Siquijor

Getting to and around Siquijor

Getting around Siquijor

You definitely need to rent a scooter to explore Siquijor. Here are options for renting a scooter:

• Renting a scooter at Siquijor Port: If you’re comfortable driving a scooter with all your gear, I would highly recommend this option. When you arrive at Siquijor Port, there will be several scooter rental shops right at the port. The cost is 350php/day ($6), and you can usually negotiate the price down for a longer rental (such as 5+ days). If you’re staying in San Juan, the drive from Siquijor Port to town is about 20 minutes.

• Renting a scooter in town (San Juan): If you’re not able to drive from the port to your accommodation with all your luggage, you can take a tuktuk to your accommodation, and then arrange a scooter rental through your accommodation or in town. The main street of San Juan has many scooter rental shops along the street. I rented from Lucy's Scooter Rental and would highly recommend. She has new scooters in great condition, and is very responsive and accommodating. Note that it’s a bit out of town (7 min drive), so you’ll either have to get a ride there, or you can ask her to drop the scooter off in town for you.

When to visit Siquijor

High season on Siquijor is December to May. During these months, the weather is dry and hot, and the waters are calm, making for better snorkeling and diving conditions.

Low season is June to October, when the weather is rainy and the water is choppy and windy, creating less ideal snorkeling conditions.

I’ve been to Siquijor twice, once in April (high season) and once in July (low season), and definitely noticed the difference in busyness between the two.

During high season, it’s much busier and popular accommodations book out a week or two in advance. If you’re like me who like to book things as I go day-by-day, Siquijor is one place where you have to plan a little in advance, or risk getting stuck with limited, worse options. While it’s busy during high season, Siquijor draws a lovely type of person. Everybody is relaxed, peaceful, and just happy to be there, and the vibes are warm and pleasant.

During low season, you don’t need to book anything in advance. It’s noticeably less crowded but doesn’t feel too empty. The vibes are still very pleasant, but there will be less people at restaurants and attractions, which in many ways, is a positive thing. However, we did get lucky with a week of sunshine in July, which is normally rainy season there. So unfortunately I can’t say how much weather would impact your low season experience.

Overall, visit during high season for reliably good weather and if you want a more lively atmosphere with more people around. But, be prepared to book your accommodations in advance. Visit during low season if you’re okay with chancing rainy weather and worse snorkeling conditions, but you’ll enjoy less crowded attractions and don’t need to worry about booking in advance. Overall, I enjoyed both of my visits a lot and was happy to see both sides of Siquijor, and see that it stills boast a wonderful vibe no matter what.

What to do in Siquijor

• Go snorkeling!

  Siquijor is an absolute marine haven and it’s amazing to explore all the marine life here. There are 3 main snorkeling spots:

• Tubod Marine Sanctuary – Nice reef with lots of colorful fish and a chance to see turtles. This is the most accessible snorkeling spot, just at Tubod Beach. A guide is not required, and the reef is not too big or far out. You can rent equipment right on the beach. Park here and walk along a short path to reach the beach.

• Tulapos Marine Sanctuary – An amazing reef, and probably the most notable one of Siquijor. You’re required to go with a guide, but I was happy we did, as the reef is huge and far out, that it would’ve been difficult to explore on our own. You can find giant clams, white tipped reef sharks, and turtles. And lots of them! You can rent equipment and a hire a guide when you arrive. Since the reef is far out, you’ll want to go during high tide so that you can swim out instead of walking over the reef.

• Caticugan Marine Sanctuary – A smaller but also nice marine sanctuary. When you arrive, you can rent equipment and hire a mandatory guide there.

• Secret Beach – A hidden snorkeling spot that’s a bit of an adventure. It’s down a tough dirt road, but tucked away and not busy at all. The snorkeling is not better than the other spots, but it makes for an adventure of an experience.

Since the sanctuaries are all on different parts of the island that are exposed to different swells and weather conditions, make sure to check with a local dive shop on which spots are best during your time there. During high season (December to May), you’ll likely be able to snorkel all of the spots. Between June to October, the southern half of the island is subject to high winds and snorkeling at Tubod isn’t possible most times.

• Scuba or freediving

  Siquijor is amazing for all things marine life - snorkeling, scuba, and freediving! We personally aren’t divers, but were recommended to go to Apo Divers to learn. While we didn’t take a scuba course, we stopped by just to ask about snorkeling spots around the island and they were very knowledgeable. I’d recommend checking them out for information or for diving. We also looked into taking a freediving course, and Siquijor Freediving was highly recommended to us.

• Cliff jumping at Salagdoong Beach

  Salagdoong Beach makes for a really fun afternoon of cliff jumping, swimming, and relaxing on a beach. The beach is small and like a little cove. It’s not necessarily the most beautiful beach ever, but if you want to do some fun activities like cliff jumping, it’s a nice place to spend a few hours. When you arrive at the beach, you’ll see the cliff jumping area to the left of the beach. There are 3 platforms you can jump from which are approximately 10 feet, 20 feet, and 30 feet high. There’s also a nice place for good local food right on the beach.

• Visit waterfalls

• Kawasan Falls and Cave – This was our favorite! There’s hardly anyone there, and we even had the place completely to ourselves for a while. There’s a beautiful small waterfall with a nice blue pool you can take a refreshing dip in. There’s also a rope swing, jumping platform, and a small cave behind the waterfall that you can swim into. For some added adventure and seclusion, there’s also a second small waterfall you can ask your guide to take you to. There will be nobody there, and you can enjoy some small pools completely to yourself in nature. Note that a guide is mandatory to take you from the parking area down to the falls (about 5-10 min walk), and you can voluntarily tip them.

• Cabugsayan Falls – We really enjoyed these falls as well because it’s a nice small waterfall with hardly anyone there, that it feels more like a true nature experience. There’s also a rope swing and jumping platform that you can play around as well. It’s similar to Kawasan Falls, but doesn’t have the little cave or second waterfall to explore. You can start by parking and eating at Firefly Treehouse Cafe which has great food, and then walking down from there.

• Locong Falls – We didn’t make it to this one, but it seems to also be a nice small waterfall that’s not too crowded.

• Cangbangag Falls – We also didn’t make it to this one, but from what I read, it’s a nice adventurous experience that requires a bit of hike down a hidden path to what will be a true waterfall in nature! This waterfall is probably the least accessible on the island, but it also makes for the most real nature experience!

• Cambugahay Falls (I don’t recommend this one) – These waterfalls are probably the most famous and popular ones of Siquijor, and this was exactly what I didn’t like about it. While the waterfalls themselves are large, cascading, and very beautiful, it was super crowded and touristy, that it made the whole experience not enjoyable. They charged people to go on the rope swing, and the whole thing felt like a commercial experience, and not like something truly in nature. I personally would not recommend this one!

• Treat yourself to a kawa bath and massage at Secret Siquijor Resort & Spa

  One of my favorite experiences on Siquijor! Secret Siquijor is a resort located on a hill with breathtaking views overlooking the ocean. They offer kawa bath (a bath heated by hot coals from underneath and decorated with flower petals) and massages, both perched on the cliff overlooking the ocean. A 1 hour massage costs 600php ($10) and 1 hour kawa bath also 600php ($10). I recommend going for the massage followed by kawa bath at sunset time, for the ultimate sunset treat. It’s also less hot at this time.

• Catch sunset at Bukid Cafe

  Bukid Cafe is a cafe and restaurant perched up on a hill with stunning sunset views over Siquijor and the ocean. The vibe of the cafe isn’t my favorite, as it’s not particularly homey, but the views are stunning and if you’re with good company, that’s enough! There’s a full bar and restaurant you can order food and drinks from.

• Catch sunset at Jungle Kingdomes Cafe

  Jungle Kingdomes is also a nice place to catch sunset. It’s smaller than Bukid Cafe and has much more of a homey feeling, bu the view is a bit more sheltered and you can’t see sunset directly. It’s still a nice option if you want to have a relaxing drink or snack with decent views and cozy vibes over sunset time.

• Relax at Tubod and Paliton Beach

  These are my two favorite beaches for a relaxing beach day! They are both beautiful and pleasant to lay around for an afternoon of sunbathing and swimming. Tubod is larger and also has good snorkeling, while Paliton is smaller, has food options, and is popular for sunset. The main Paliton beach is small and has a few casual food spots right on the beach, but if you want more seclusion, you can continue on a path to the left (facing the water) which opens up to a larger, beautiful, and more secluded beach. This tucked away spot is very nice for a private, peaceful sunset. Tubod is also very nice for sunset, though not as popular, making it a good chill sunset spot without too many people around.

• Visit Mount Bandilaan for 360° views over Siquijor

  You can drive up to Mount Bandilaan for a beautiful viewpoint that gives you 360° degree views over the entire island of Siquijor. We didn’t make it here ourselves, but heard it’s a very nice view. It’s not recommended to drive up there if it’s been recently raining, as the dirt road turns to mud and it’s very easy to have a scooter accident (happened to a few people I know).

• Cantabon Cave

  Cantabon Cave is nearby Mount Bandilaan, so if you’re going to explore this area, it’s nice to combine the cave with Mount Bandilaan. Cangbangag Falls, the waterfall that requires a little bit of an adventurous hike into nature, is also in this area, so it’s nice to combine them altogether.

How long to spend in Siquijor

I went to Siquijor twice in same Philippines trip because I loved it so much, and both times I went for 1 week. I would say for most people, 1 week in Siquijor is a perfect amount of time. But if you’re like me and like to travel slowly, take some rest days, or are working remotely, I would say 10 days to 2 weeks is ideal.

• 5 days if you’re going to explore everyday and just want to see the main highlights

• 1 week if you want to see most highlights while being able to have a couple lazy relax days

• 10 days - 2 weeks if you want to see most (or all) highlights at a relaxed pace, with a few lazy days in between

How to spend 1 week in Siquijor

• Day 1: Arrive at the port, rent a scooter, and settle into your accommodation. Dinner at Roadside Diners (a good central option with great local food, a nice vibe, and is open late).

• Day 2: Go snorkeling at Tulapos Marine Sanctuary, followed by cliff jumping at Salagdoong Beach. Catch sunset at Bukid Cafe if you can make it back in time. Dinner at Aroi Makmak Thai (really good Thai food in a very nice setting by the water).

• Day 3: Go snorkeling at Tubod Marine Sanctuary and have a chill beach day at Tubod or Paliton Beach. Catch sunset at the beach, Bukid Cafe, or Jungle Kingdomes. Dinner at OceanBowls (located in Barefoot Backpackers Hostel) - go on a night they do their buffet.

• Day 4: Explore the waterfalls in the south around Lazi (Kawasan Falls, Cabugsayan Falls, and Locong Falls) and go to Secret Siquijor for a massage and kawa bath at sunset. Dinner back Roadside Diners, classic good option.

• Day 5: Go snorkeling at Caticugan or Tubod Marine Sanctuary, followed by a chill beach day at Tubod or Paliton Beach. Catch sunset at Paliton Beach. Nice dinner at Dolce Amore (really good pizza and Italian spot - expect a wait).

• Day 6: Explore the center of the island: Mount Bandilaan, Cantabon Cave, and Cangbangag Falls. Dinner at wherever you haven’t tried yet that you want to try!

• Day 7: Enjoy your last slow morning and have breakfast at your favorite spot.

Where to stay in Siquijor

Where on the island to stay: San Juan

The main part of Siquijor that travelers stay in, is the town of San Juan. San Juan is basically one long strip of road, with restaurants, cafes, bars, and accommodations spread out all throughout. San Juan is generally flanked by Paliton Beach in the north, and Tubod Beach in the south.

I think of San Juan as kind broken up into two main sections which are delineated by a little curve in the road in the middle (it will be obvious once you get there). The northern half, between the curve and Paliton beach, is quieter and more peaceful. The southern half, between the curve and Tubod beach is more hectic and busy. I prefer staying in the northern half of San Juan for more peace and quiet, but with plenty of restaurants and places to go out to nearby.

Accommodation recommendations

Budget, backpacker hostels:

• Fable Hostel – Known for its very special cozy, warm, and social vibe. Beautiful dorms.

• Blue House Backpackers – Social place with a good vibe, nice dorms, and centrally located.

• Wonderland – Cute bungalow accommodations and a warm, social vibe. Nice for couples that like to be social.

• The Lazy Lizard – Small hostel with cozy and laidback vibe set in the jungle. Good location, but not the nicest dorms.

Mid-range option: Paliton Heights Resort. I stayed here when I came back with my boyfriend the second time, and we loved it. It’s run by a family that creates a very warm and friendly atmosphere. It’s a nice sized property with 6 bungalows, an infinity pool, and a restaurant. It’s perfect for a cozy, comfortable, private stay, but with a nice community vibe where you can meet other travelers. Plus, the infinity pool to catch sunset from is amazing.

Where to eat in Siquijor

Breakfast and lunch:

• Wonderland Restaurant – Hostel with a delicious breakfast and lunch menu.

• Belle’s Beach Bar – Nice spot for breakfast or lunch right on the beach.

• OceanBowls – Really good lunch spot. Small but delicious menu, located at Barefoot Backpackers Hostel.

• Shaka – The food is decent, but what’s nice is its location directly on the beach. A nice place to relax at the beach while having some food.

• CocoRico – Very good breakfast and lunch. It’s on the beach, but the place is big, bare, and not the best vibes.

• Kape de Guyod – Cute coffee shop with AC.

• Jainin's Cafe – A good place to work. Spacious and has a generator, so wifi and AC works when the rest of town doesn’t have power. Not the best food.

Dinner:

• Aroi Makmak Thai – Really good Thai food in a lovely setting on a deck overlooking the water. A nicer, but still casual restaurant.

• Dolce Amore – Delicious, authentic Italian style pizza. A bit pricey, but very good food. A fancier spot, expect a wait during high season.

• Roadside Diners – Very good local food. A classic go-to restaurant when you don’t know what else you feel like eating.

• Annabelle's 24/7 Express Diner – Good spot for good local food at big portions and cheap prices.

• Baha Ba’r – Nice place for dinner. Good food in a nice setting with live music.

• OceanBowls (buffet night) – They do a buffet night once a week where you pay a flat amount to eat however much you want. It’s very good food with a nice atmosphere and live music.

• Habagat Hideaway – Nice and casual spot right on the water with good local food.

Siquijor nightlife

Believe it or not, for being such a small and peaceful island, Siquijor has some great nightlife! The drinks are incredibly cheap (150php / $2.50 for a cocktail), and there are a ton of places you can enjoy a drink at.

For afternoon or sunset drinks:

• Habagat Hideway and Republika Beach Bar are nice spots to have a drink right at the beach

• Catch sunset at Paliton Beach and grab a beer from one of the eateries there

For evening drinks:

• Don Juan Mobile Bar – My absolute favorite place in Siquijor! It’s a mobile bar located on a bridge where many mobile bars setup. But this one is my favorite with great cocktails for cheap prices and awesome bartenders. Highly recommend the bridge area in general for cozy, warm, and lively vibes, that are at the same time lowkey and casual.

• Baha Ba’r – A nice spot that you can also eat dinner at that has live music until 9pm. At 9pm, they start late night happy hour with cheaper cocktails. Go a bit earlier for nice vibes with live music but full price cocktails, or later for a more a peaceful spot to yourselves and cheaper cocktails.

• Rum Bar – I never went here since I prefer the chiller vibe of the bridge and Don Juan Mobile Bar, but this is supposed to be a good spot to get some drinks in a more rowdy and lively place. More of an actual bar vibe.

• Tipsy Bar – I also never went here, but it’s a popular spot for people to get dinner and drinks at! This is more like a restaurant setup, but always lively with a lot of people.

• CocoRico – Right next to the mobile bars setup on the bridge. They try to create more of a party atmosphere and give out free shots ~every hour here. Come here for a decent pregame and party atmosphere but otherwise I prefer the chill vibe on the bridge just for some drinks out with friends.

For a party:

• JJ's Backpackers Village – There’s a party every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night at this hostel, and it’s extremely, extremely fun! Probably my favorite party I’ve been to in all of the Philippines. There’s a live band that plays, which then switches into a DJ at some point in the night. There are tons of locals as well as tourists, so it’s a nice diverse mix in the crowd. The dance floor is always full with good vibes. It also backs onto the beach so you can take breaks on the beach when needed. Note that during low season, it’s only Saturdays and Sundays and not as crowded as high season.

• Wakanda – This Spanish restaurant holds regular electronic parties (except for when they’re closed during low season in August and September). Check their IG for party updates.