Island hopping is one of the most popular things to do in Siargao, taking you to the islands of Naked, Daku, and Guyam.
You can explore all these islands in a single day on a tour that departs from General Luna, or by hiring your own private boat, allowing you to explore at your own pace.
In this article, I’ll guide you through both methods of island hopping around Siargao and give you a clear idea of what to expect on your adventure.
How to go Siargao Island Hopping
There are two ways to go on a Siargao Island Hopping Tour. Each option has its pros and cons. I’ll go over both methods below so you can choose the one that works better for you.
Method 1: Group Tour
The first option is to book a Siargao Island Hopping group tour.
The group tour provides ground transportation to/from your hotel to the pier, boat transportation to all 3 islands and a boodle fight lunch. It’s all-inclusive so you don’t need to worry about anything. You just show up and have an awesome time.
On the group tour, you’ll be sharing a boat and having lunch with other people. If you’re down to make a few new friends the group tour is the best option.
Method 2: Private Tour
The second option is to book your own boat and do a Siargao Island Hopping private tour. This is the DIY way.
First, make your way down to the General Luna Tourism Office. It’s located at the General Luna pier, where all the boats depart for the island hopping tours.
Next, speak with the person at the desk to book your tour. You need to pay in cash, and all the fees for the boat and the islands are paid upfront in this office.
The advantage of going island hopping the DIY way is that you’ll have control over the order in which you visit the islands and the amount of time you spend on each island.
The main drawback is the price. You’re basically hiring your own private boat for the day, so expect to pay more than a group tour unless you have a few friends to split the cost with.
The boats don’t provide any lunch so you’ll need to bring your own food if you do a private tour. An option is to pick up something from the General Luna Local Market and pay one of the cooks on Daku Island to barbeque it for you.
You can also add-on another island to the basic Tri-Island package for an additional fee. We added Corregidor Island to our tour and it was an awesome choice. I’ll explain more on that in the section below.
Here are the prices for the Siargao Island hopping private tours:
Siargao Island Hopping: What to expect
The Siargao Tri-Island Hopping Tour starts at the General Luna Pier where you’ll board a boat and then visit 3 different islands. All 3 islands are off the coast of General Luna. and it takes about 20 minutes to get to Naked Island, which is the furthest island.
Naked Island
The adventure starts at Naked Island, a small strip of powdery white sand surrounded by clear, aquamarine waters. It’s a great spot to swim, soak up the sun, and enjoy the scenery.
If you’re wondering why it’s called Naked Island, it’s because there are no plants or vegetation on the island – only sand! It makes for awesome pictures and is in my opinion the best beach in Siargao for swimming. The only thing you might find on the island is a piece of driftwood, but that’s about it.
Even though it’s a tiny sandbar in the ocean, Naked Island is absolutely stunning, with white sand and bright blue waters.
Most people stop at Naked Island for about 30 minutes to an hour to swim in its clear water. There is absolutely no shade on Naked Island, so if you want to spend more time there, bring an umbrella or a way to stay out of the sun.
Naked Island is most visually appealing to visit during high tide when it shrinks down and becomes completely surrounded by white sand.
During low tide, Naked Island triples in size. However, due to the low tide, some areas surrounding the island become rocky.
If you can choose, I recommend timing your visit with high tide. However, there’s no need to stress about it—we visited Naked Island during both high and low tide, and it’s an awesome experience either way.
Daku Island
Daku is the biggest island on the tour. It even has its own village. But most people don’t go to Daku to explore. Rather, Daku Island is where you eat lunch.
If you join a group tour, your tour guides will treat you to a boodle fight — a massive spread of local dishes laid out on a table for everyone to share. After taking a few photos, everyone digs in together. It’s a communal way to enjoy a delicious meal and connect with your tour group.
If you have some extra time, Daku Island is quite large so it’s a neat place to just wander around on its trails. During our time there, we found neat little spots under the coconut trees and around the coast.
Guyam Island
The final stop on the Tri-Island Tour is Guyam Island, a tiny, circular island ideal for lounging and relaxing. It’s surrounded by white sand and the middle of the island is covered in palm trees.
Guyam Island has a laid-back atmosphere and a small bar, so it’s the perfect place to grab a drink and unwind on the beach before heading back to General Luna.
Corregidor Island
Corregidor Island is an optional island to add to your Siargao Island hopping itinerary. We added it to our Tri-Island tour and it turned out to be our favorite stop!
So what makes Corregidor Island so special?
Unlike most islands around Siargao, the highlight of Corregidor is hiking rather than swimming.
You’ll arrive at Corregidor Island on a white sand beach, then you’ll meet up with a local guide who will bring you on a hike to the top of the island.
A short trail from the island’s coastal village goes directly to the center of Corregidor, where you’ll hike through grassy hills dotted by coconut trees. It’s a unique landscape unlike anywhere else in the Philippines.
Honestly, there is so much to Corregidor Island that I can’t explain it all here so I’ve written an entire blog post about what to expect at Corregidor Island.
Read our full blog post: Corregidor Island from Siargao: Our Complete Guide
Siargao Island Hopping Tips
- Start early to beat the crowds. Though the islands are beautiful at any time of day, Naked and Guyam Islands are rather small, so when big crowds arrive it can be less enjoyable.
- Do the island hopping route in reverse. Most island hopping tours start at Naked Island, then go to Daku Island for lunch, then Guyam Island last. If you’re on your own private boat, consider doing the route in reverse: start at Guyam Island, then go to Daku Island for lunch, then finish at Naked Island in the afternoon.
- Bring earplugs. The diesel motors inside the boats are super loud. If you have earplugs wear them while on the boat to protect your hearing.
Siargao Island Hopping: Our Experience
Our Siargao island-hopping adventure began at the General Luna Pier early one morning.
We went into the General Luna Tourism Office and spoke with the woman behind the desk. I told her we wanted to book a tri-island tour plus Corregidor Island and paid her with cash. A few moments later, she introduced us to our caption Deyoy and we were on our way.
As we walked to the boat, Deyoy pointed at the nearby market and asked us if we wanted to buy any seafood since there wouldn’t be any food served on this tour. When visiting Daku Island you can pay the cooks to prepare the food you bring. Pretty cool! We politely declined as we just ate a big breakfast and couldn’t think of ordering any more food.
We walked through the shallow water at the boat pier to our boat. Our captain let us know we were heading to Corrigedor first since it was the furthest away, then we would backtrack to Naked, Daku, and end at Guyam Island. Sounded good to us!
On the way to Corregidor, we spotted Naked Island with only 2 boats on it. We kindly asked our captain if we could stop there first since it was nearly empty. He agreed and we made a turn toward Naked Island.
Our experience at Naked Island
As our boat pulled up to Naked Island, we glassed over white sand. The ocean water was crystal clear and super clean.
We walked around Naked Island to see what was there. Honestly, there’s not much. The only thing we found besides sand and rocks were a few pieces of driftwood.
This wasn’t our first visit to Naked Island. Two days earlier, we had paddleboarded there from Secret Beach during high tide. But this time, we arrived at low tide. It was a unique experience to see the island in two completely different conditions.
As we got to the center of Naked Island we realized its a lot bigger than it looks. It happened to be low tide, and the island expanded in size. The island was much smaller than when we visited a few days ago during high tide.
After spending some time there, other boats started to arrive so we had to stay out of their way. We always try to be mindful of boat traffic when out swimming.
Our experience at Corregidor Island
After a swim at Naked Island, it was time to set sail to Corregidor! We’d been eyeing Corregidor for a while because of its beautiful grass-filled landscape. It’s a unique landscape and a noticeable place. If you look south from General Luna you’ll easily spot its green grassy hill popping out from the ocean.
When we arrived on Corregidor we landed on a long white sand beach with restrooms, beach huts, and a store that serves snacks. But the beach was not the reason we went there. We were there to hike.
Our boat captain introduced us to our guide, Ronald, who lives on Corregidor. Then we started our hike to the top of the island. First, we walked through a grassy palm tree-lined road, then through the island’s only village. While in the village, we bought a cold coconut and drank it to stay hydrated for the hike ahead of us.
This portion of the walk took us 10 minutes until we finally got to the stairs. The stairs took us out of the village and into the hilly interior of the island. From this point on, there was not much shade so if you decide to do this hike bring plenty of water and sun protection.
When we got to the top of the stairs we stepped into a landscape full of tall grass and coconut trees. We looked around and saw amazing views of the surrounding islands. Siargao looked so beautiful from there.
We walked through the hills until the trail ended at a little shelter. The locals call the area ‘Little Batanes’ for its resemblance to the Batanes Islands in the north.
We stopped for a moment to chat with a few others and spotted a bent coconut tree. It turns out that the tree is one of the photo ops of the trail, so of course we had to get a photo of her own!
We hiked a bit beyond the shelter to a view overlooking the eastern side of the island. This was our opportunity to fly our drone and see everything from the air before heading back down the trail.
Once we got back to the beach, we swam around in the ocean to cool off. Hiking in the direct sun was so hot that we were stoked to finally have a place to cool down.
Through all the hiking, we worked up quite an appetite, so we ate a snack of pancit noodles from the local restaurant before hopping back on our boat and heading to the next island on our tour.
Our experience at Daku Island
We jokingly refer to Daku Island as ‘Lunch Island’ because that’s the purpose it serves on the tour. Daku Island has a village and the villagers are pros at creating boodle fights.
If you don’t know what a boodle fight is, its a huge spread of food laid out on a banana leaf-covered table. Everyone gathers around and digs in at once using their hands.
We hired our own boat and didn’t bring any seafood to cook so we had to fend for ourselves. Luckily we weren’t feeling too hungry, having just had a snack. The first thing we did was jump in the water at the beach to cool down.
After a while, we went into the lunch area to see what the boodle fights were all about. The beach was lined with little barbeque shacks, and each one was preparing a boodle fight for hungry guests. Boodle fights are more than just lunch, they are a work of art, so I urge you to try one if you get the chance.
I spotted a trail going off into the bushes so we decided to check it out. The trail went into a little grove of coconut trees. We didn’t go too far down the trail, but if we ever return, I want to get lost on the trails that seem to zigzag through the island.
Our experience on Guyam Island
Our final stop on our island hopping tour was Guyam Island. It’s a tiny circular island surrounded by sand and covered in palm trees. In the center of the island is a bar, so we took the opportunity to get a mango shake and relax on the beach in the shade.
Guyam Island has a tiny swimming area, a basketball hoop, and a volleyball net. There really isn’t much else to do there. Most people were relaxing, having a beer, chatting with their friends, or playing a friendly game of basketball with the locals.
After finishing our mango shake, we hopped back onto our boat and returned to General Luna.
Looking for more island hopping around Siargao?
During our adventures in Siargao, we explored places much further than the typical Tri-Island hopping. We’ve put together guides to help you explore those areas. You can check them out by clicking the links below.
Where to Stay in Siargao
Choosing where to stay in Siargao is pretty straightforward. General Luna is the island’s main tourism hub. Most of the accommodations, restaurants, and shops are located in General Luna, and it’s also where all the tours and activities depart from. If you want to be close to everything, General Luna is the place to be.
Here are our recommendations on where to stay in Siargao:
- Luxury: If you’re looking for the best place to stay in Siargao, Las Palmas Villas is hard to beat. It has everything you would expect from a resort, including a swimming pool, a garden, and a full-service restaurant and bar.
- Mid-range: Camanolo Homestay is located right in the heart of General Luna, but down a quiet side street. The rooms are clean and all have their own private bathrooms and AC.
- Budget: We enjoyed our stay at Hostel Bajala so much that we ended up extending it a few times. The place is clean, cozy, and comfortable. We couldn’t ask for more.
If you prefer to find your own place to stay, you can visit Booking.com to explore all your accommodation options in Siargao.
What to Pack for Siargao
Here are some of our must-have items you might not have thought of when packing for a trip to Siargao.
- Crocs: During our time in Siargao, I was so glad to have Crocs to protect my feet when exploring caves and islands. They are the ultimate shoe in the Philippines for a reason – many Filipinos wear them too!
- Earplugs: If you’re planning to do any island hopping while in Siargao, I recommend bringing a set of earplugs for the boat rides. Most boats in Siargao have super loud diesel engines that will make your ears ring!
- Sunscreen: For some reason, sunscreen is expensive in the Philippines and I’ve even encountered places selling fake sunscreen that doesn’t work! So I recommend bringing your own sunscreen to Siargao.
- Dry Bag: With all the sand, salt, and water flying everywhere during our adventures out to Siargao’s islands, I was so glad to have a dry bag to keep all my things safe from the elements!
- Travel Towel: In my opinion, a travel towel like this one is super necessary for a trip to Siargao! It packs down nicely and was there for me anytime I went swimming, or just needed to brush sand or dirt off.
Our Siargao Google Maps Locations
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Are You Following Our Siargao Blog Series?
We spent 16 days in Siargao and found so many things to do there—from caves to beaches, mangroves, and lagoons. To help fellow adventurers, we’ve put together guides to the best places we found. You can check them out by clicking the links below.
- Start planning your trip here: Siargao Travel Guide
- Our ultimate guide to Siargao: 26 Awesome Things to Do in Siargao
- Our Siargao accomodation/area guide: Where to Stay in Siargao
- How to plan your Siargao vacation: Siargao 3 Day Itinerary
- Our Siargao Beach Guide: 15 Best Beaches in Siargao
- Our favorite place to swim in Siargao: Beto Cold Spring
- Our most intense adventure in Siargao: Exploring the Marvelous Somyot Cave
- Our favorite day tour in Siargao: Sohoton Cove
- Our favorite beach in Siargao: Pacifico Beach
- How to rent a motorbike in the Philippines
I hope you enjoyed our Siargao Island hopping guide! Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions. 🐸
