Things to do in Siquijor
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Siquijor
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Amihan north east monsoon. Drier on land but the Dumaguete crossing and north coast sanctuaries are rough, with December ferry cancellations common.
Dry hot season and the best window: calmest seas, clearest falls and reefs, most reliable ferries. Holy Week brings the healing festival and peak crowds.
Habagat south west monsoon. Frequent rain, rough seas and the most ferry cancellations, greenest island, fullest waterfalls and cheapest rooms.
Transition month. Rains ease and seas improve unevenly, so keep ferry plans flexible.
What's on
- Folk Healing Festival Holy Week, preparations on Good Friday and Black Saturday (in some years late March)
Healers from across the Visayas and Mindanao gather on Mt. Bandilaan to prepare traditional herbal mixtures, the island's most distinctive event.
- Saging Festival Mid May, around the Lazi town fiesta
Lazi celebrates the banana and its many uses a few days before the town fiesta on 15 May.
- Bugwas Festival Late August
San Juan honours St. Augustine and the springs that give the town its harvests and catches.
- Solili Festival and Araw ng Siquijor 17 September
The provincial founding day, marked by the traditional Solili marriage dance and a festival showdown.
Best things to do in Siquijor
Cambugahay Falls
Turquoise tiered pools and rope swings in the jungle above Lazi, superb at opening time and crowded and commercial by midday.
Salagdoong Beach
A managed east coast beach park famous for graduated cliff jump platforms into deep, clear water.
Paliton Beach
A white sand crescent of leaning palms that hosts the island's sunset hour, with Apo Island on the horizon.
Old Enchanted Balete Tree
A balete tree said to be over 400 years old, its spring pool full of fish that nibble dangled feet.
San Isidro Labrador Church
Lazi Church, a sea stone neoclassical National Cultural Treasure with its original wooden floor still in place.
San Isidro Labrador Convent
The vast 1890s convent across from Lazi Church, now holding the Siquijor Heritage Museum.
Capilay Spring Park
San Juan's spring fed public pool in the middle of town, the most local swim on the island.
Pitogo Cliff
A small clifftop park with wide strait views and rock swimming when the sea is calm and the tide is right.
Where to stay in Siquijor
San Juan
the default base, beach, food and sunset
Most rooms, restaurants and bars sit on one coastal strip through Tubod, Maite and Solangon, with the Tubod reef and Paliton sunsets.
Island interior hills
quiet, views and couples
One hillside resort above the coast trades walk to beach access for silence, breeze and the island's best views.
Lazi
a quiet split stay near the falls
The south coast town puts Cambugahay, the church and convent, the balete tree and the east coast beaches on your doorstep.
Siquijor town
early ferries, budget rooms and practical stops
The port town has the main pier, the market and the banks, but a port shore rather than a swimming beach.
Think twice about
- Larena as a sleeping base
A working RoRo port town with few places to eat and a 30 to 40 minute ride to San Juan every evening. Fine for a ferry tied night, poor as a beach base.
- Mount Bandilaan and interior roads after dark
Steep, unlit and slippery after rain, with animals on the road. Ride the interior in daylight and be back on the coast by dark.
Best restaurants in Siquijor
Dolce Amore Italian Restaurant and Resort
The island's splurge table, stone fired Neapolitan pizza and homemade pasta with imported ingredients in Paliton.
Sunset Restaurant
Coco Grove's beachfront restaurant, Filipino and international menus on the sand and a Thursday beach barbecue night.
Baha Ba'r
The island's best evening room, tapas style Filipino plates and the strongest cocktail list on Siquijor, from 4pm.
Luca Loko Restaurant
An Asian bistro in Maite serving smoothie bowls, bulgogi and strong vegetarian options, open long hours.
Dagsa Resto Bar
Filipino classics done properly, ribs, kare kare and lechon belly in a garden room that handles groups well.
Joel's Lechon Manok
The port town's lechon manok institution, charcoal roasted chicken and rice at simple tables for a few hundred pesos.
Salawaki Bar and Cafe
Budget Filipino rice bowls, sisig and Bicol express with cold beer and live band nights on the strip.
Hapitanan Cafe and Restaurant
The famous broomstick photo stop near Lazi, backed by a simple cafe serving Filipino comfort plates at local prices.
Best bars in Siquijor
RumBar Siquijor
A beach bar with rum cocktails and frozen mango margaritas that runs later than anywhere else on the strip.
Best coffee in Siquijor
Jainin's Cafe
A small San Juan cafe for coffee, homemade cakes and Filipino breakfast plates before the dive boats leave.
Outdoor things to do in Siquijor
Tubod Marine Sanctuary
The easiest serious snorkel on the island, coral gardens and turtles off the Coco Grove beach at high tide.
Tulapos Marine Sanctuary
The island's largest sanctuary, a guided swim over a huge reef with barracuda schools, turtles and reef sharks.
Caticugan Marine Sanctuary
A quiet 1989 sanctuary on the north coast with coral, reef fish and giant clams close to the entry steps.
Cantabon Cave
An 800 metre guided cave wade past flowstone and an underground pool, with two guides, helmet and light included.
Sambulawan Underground River
A shorter guided cave river wade and swim in Lazi that rounds out a Cambugahay day without the interior ride.
Mount Bandilaan National Park
The island's highest point, a forested park and view deck, and the sacred ground of the Holy Week healing festival.
Sea Pearl Divers
An established PADI 5 Star centre on the San Juan road running daily boat dives and courses on sanctuary reefs.
Bahura Dive Siquijor
The south coast PADI dive base for quieter reefs, macro diving and occasional arranged Apo Island day trips.
Best hotels in Siquijor
Coco Grove Beach Resort
The island flagship resort, 800 metres of Tubod beach, several pools, dive shop and the sanctuary off its sand.
Salamangka Beach and Dive Resort
A quieter top tier beachfront dive resort away from the strip, with pool, long hour restaurant and its own diving.
White Villas Resort
A small, well kept mid range resort at Solangon with pool, restaurant and sunset frontage, strong with families.
Infinity Heights Resort
Three hillside cottages and a pool with panoramic sea views, trading beach access for silence and breeze.
U Story Resort
A small, stylish San Juan resort with a well liked restaurant, the romantic mid range pick on the coast.
Tori's Backpacker's Paradise
The long running budget base in Maite, dorms and nipa cottages, hammock garden, small beach and a bar restaurant.
JJ's Backpackers Village
Budget dorms and rooms at Solangon with a cafe bar that anchors the strip's small evening scene.
Is Siquijor expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₱1,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₱4,500 a person |
| Splurge | ₱11,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Sea Pearl Divers: a few days ahead
- Bahura Dive Siquijor: a few days ahead
- Freediving Nomads & Yoga Siquijor: a few days ahead
- Coco Grove Beach Resort: weeks ahead
- Salamangka Beach and Dive Resort: weeks ahead
- White Villas Resort: a few days ahead
- Infinity Heights Resort: weeks ahead
- U Story Resort: a few days ahead
- Book ferries and San Juan rooms well ahead for Holy Week and the March to May dry season, and reconfirm every sailing the day before.
- Infinity Heights has three cottages and U Story and White Villas are small, so reserve weeks ahead in the dry months.
- Ask dive centres about Apo Island charters days ahead. There is no scheduled Siquijor to Apo boat and charters need numbers and calm seas.
Is Siquijor safe?
- Box jellyfish occur in these waters and have been noted around Caticugan and mangrove edges. Ask attendants, wear a rash guard, and know vinegar is the beach first aid.
- Swim sanctuaries at high tide, wear reef shoes over the flats, and never stand on coral.
- Cliff jumps at Salagdoong and Pitogo are unguarded. Check depth and conditions, one at a time, no alcohol.
- Carry two days of spending in small bills. ATMs are few and often offline, and most sights, sanctuaries and small businesses are cash only.
Siquijor travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Never plan a flight on the same day as a ferry off Siquijor. Cancellations in rough seas can last days, most often June to October and on strong amihan days.
- At Cambugahay the small extras stack: parking, swings, raft, life jacket and photo help are each charged on top of the 50 peso entry.
- Anyone quoting a high fixed price to heal you, or offering to curse someone for money, is running a con. Real mananambal work for a donation.
- A casual same day boat to Apo Island offered by a San Juan tout is not a real service. Apo is reached from Malatapay on the Negros mainland.
Getting around Siquijor: public transport and more
- There is no airport. Dumaguete is the gateway, with OceanJet fastcraft to Siquijor Port in about 40 minutes to an hour, plus cheaper Montenegro, Aleson and HS Star boats, some using Larena Port.
- Tagbilaran in Bohol connects daily by OceanJet in about two hours. Cebu connects only via Tagbilaran at about five hours, or by slow Lite Ferries RoRo to Larena three times a week at about ten hours.
- Rent a scooter for 300 to 500 pesos a day and ride the coastal loop of roughly 75 to 80 km, or hire a tricycle island tour for a negotiated day rate.
- Police run licence checkpoints and stop foreign riders. Bring a licence that covers motorcycles, wear the helmet, and be home by dark on unlit roads.
Who Siquijor suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Siquijor your trip
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