04.09.2022 | Asia, Philippines

Get to know the cute little island Siquijor!

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From Cebu it’s best to take the ferry from Liloan ferry port in the South to Siquijor. Normally there are some direct ferries, but with Covid we had to choose between limited departure times. Therefore we first had to get the local ferry to Dumaguete and a second bigger ferry to Siquijor. Siquijor is a small relaxed island with two absolutely beautiful waterfalls and some nice beaches. Our highlight was the jungle hut we rented for my birthday. It is located directly next to the incredible Cambugahay Falls, so you can go there first thing in the morning before other tourists arrive.

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WHAT TO DO ?

1. Cambugahay Falls – close to the center Lazi

Cambugahay Falls are definitely the highlight of this island. These falls are so beautiful. You will find them in the South of the island close to the center Lazi, they are very easy accessible. We highly recommend going there as early as possible. We actually went there around 6:30am and there were only some locals around. We had the waterfall around 1 hour for ourselves, until the first tourist group arrived. There is no entrance fee, but if you want to jump from the ropes and platforms you have to pay 50 PHP on each platform. However, they allow you to jump as often as you want on each platform. We really loved the atmosphere there, the water was really fresh and there are many jumping options. There were some cute puppies, too.

2. Enjoy a jungle hut close to Cambugahay Falls

We found this jungle hut accidentally on airbnb when we searched for a good place to stay on Siquijor. And we just had to try it since it wasn’t that expensive and looked pretty epic. The beautiful hut is located close to Lazi center, around 30 minutes away from the main center with all the restaurants. But the best thing is, it’s located only 5 minutes away from the beautiful Cambugahay Falls. You can drive there with the scooter or you go by foot through the fields along the river. Downstairs there is a kitchen and a bathroom with a shower and upstairs there is the bedroom with another bathroom. The time there was incredible! The house is so beautiful surrounded only by jungle!

3. Old buildings in Lazi

If you stay in the jungle hut in Lazi you should have a look at the beautiful old center. We found these beautiful old church. Lazi is a little further away from the main tourist area, however the little town felt pretty authentic.

4. Visit the Butterfly Garden & Quesol Mountain Viewpoint

If you have some time left, there is a butterfly sanctuary in the middle of the island. Just behind the butterfly sanctuary there is a little hill. It’s a short hike and you have a better view of the area from the top.

5. Enjoy Paliton Beach near San Juan

This beautiful beach with absolutely clear water is located very close to the main area San Juan with all the restaurants. The turquoise water was really incredible! At first you arrive at a beach with many beach bars and a lot of locals. But you can go further through a private property (of course for some tip), and you get to another beautiful beach. At the first beach you can rent paddle boards and there is a swing. We heard that you can see starfish sometimes, but unfortunately we didn’t see one.

6. Tubod Beach close to San Juan

If you have some time left you might want to visit Tubod Beach. It’s a nice clean beach with a dive resort and a lot of local boats. We found this cute little family and the father allowed me to take a portrait of his little boy. You can ride your scooter on a sand road almost down to the beach.

7. Visit the incredible Lugnason Waterfalls

I think these falls are a real secret tip! When we arrived, there were only local kids jumping from very high ropes down in the pool. You can leave your scooter at the road, then you have to walk down a few steps to the fall. There is no entrance fee or tip. It felt really peaceful down there surrounded by jungle. I was really impressed by the jumping skills of the young kids.

8. Salagdoong Beach Cliff Jump in the East of the island

We heard that Salagdoong Beach Cliff Jump in the East of the Island is wonderful. However, when we’ve visited it was under construction because of the damage of the typhoon. You might want to check it out when you visit this island.

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WHERE TO EAT ?

1. Dolce Amore, the best Italian food!

We found this restaurant by accident, a lot of the famous vegan cafés were closed due to covid and the typhoon, and this one had really good reviews. It turned out to be our favorite restaurant of the island, we visited several times! A wonderful Italian couple runs the place, she is a chef and he is pizza chef. They travelled the world together, worked in different countries and finally built this restaurant and a hotel with a few rooms here on Siquijor. The food there is so good! They make their own pasta and even the smoothie bowls are incredible!! They also have a lot of vegan options.

2. Eat at Monkey Business

This restaurant was our second favorite place to eat. It’s located in the main area, too, and offers some nice chill out areas and good curries. It’s a nice place to relax.

3. Tomato and Basil

We were told that this Italian restaurant is another good option. However, in our eyes nothing beats Dolce Amore listed above!

4. Luca Loko & Glow Beach Café

These two cafés were listed as one of the best vegan places on the island. Sadly, they were closed due to Covid and the typhoon when we visited. Hopefully they will reopen again.

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WHERE TO STAY ?

1. Experience some nights in the middle of the jungle: Balay Presca Jungle Hut

Oh, how we loved this place!! We already told you above that staying in this place is a highlight itself. Furthermore you are just 5 minutes away from the famous Cambugahay Falls, which is pretty nice, because you can visit them early in the morning before all the other tourists arrive. We stayed here for 2 night around my birthday and really enjoyed the jungle vibes!

2. Book a room at Dolce Amore

If you search for a place in the main area, check out the rooms next to the restaurant Dolce Amore. The owners showed us a beautiful pool area and a nice building.

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HOW TO GET TO SIQUIJOR ?

Siquijor doesn’t have an airport, therefore the easiest way to get there is by taking a ferry from Bohol or Cebu. Since there weren’t a lot of ferries, especially not the direct ones, we had to get a local ferry from the South of Cebu to Dumaguete (just a few minutes) and another ferry from Dumaguete to Siquijor. But it still worked out pretty fine! When we went from Siquijor to Bohol we got a direct ferry.