Siargao is packed with incredible places to explore, but Sohoton Cove stands out as one of our favorites. The cove is a maze of turquoise lagoons, crystal-clear waters, and hidden caves. It’s like stepping into another world.
We visited Sohoton on a day trip from Siargao, and in this post, we’ll walk you through our experience: how we got there, what the journey was like, and all the places we visited in Sohoton.
If you are based in General Luna, you can book the top-rated Sohoton Tour in Siargao, which includes ground and boat transportation into and around Sohoton Cove.
Sohoton Cove: What to expect
Sohoton Cove is famous for its limestone cliffs, hidden lagoons, and caves. It’s one of the most beautiful destinations you can visit from Siargao, but getting there is difficult. That’s because Sohoton is not in Siargao at all, it’s actually located on nearby Bucas Grande Island.
The journey to Sohoton Cove begins with a 35-minute jeepney ride from General Luna to Dapa, then a 2-hour boat ride from Dapa in Siargao to the Sohoton Tourist Center in Bucas Grande.
Access to Sohoton is managed at the Sohoton Tourist Center, where authorized guides will take you into the cove on their boats. Each boat holds six tourists along with two guides.
The guides take you into Sohoton Cove through a narrow cave passage, where the ceiling is so low that you must wear a helmet and duck down to avoid hitting your head.
Once you enter Sohoton it feels like you’re in another world. Tall green cliffs surrounded by milky blue water. It’s the kind of stuff you see in movies.
Your guides will take you to three places in Sohoton Cove: Hagukan Cave, Magkukuob Cave, and Jellyfish Lagoon.
Hagukan Cave, also called the Luminescent Cave, gets its name from the shimmering blue-green glow of its waters when you splash them. Access to the cave is through a passage that’s fully submerged during high tide. If you’re not comfortable diving in, your guide can assist you in entering and exiting safely.
The next stop in Sohoton Cove is the Magkukuob Cave. Once inside the cave, you’ll climb up a passageway that leads to a jumping platform. The only way out of the Magkukuob Cave is to leap off the platform so I hope you’re ready for a cliff jump!
The last stop in Sohoton Cove is the famous Jellyfish Lagoon. From March through May, you can spot the brown, stingless spotted jellyfish here, which are safe to touch and won’t hurt you. If you visit outside of these months, you may still see the clear Moon Jellyfish. Though not stingless, the Moon Jellyfish sting is very mild, making it safe to swim among them as well.
After exploring Sohoton, you’ll definitely work up an appetite. Luckily, most tours include a nearby stop for a traditional boodle fight lunch — a spread of food served on banana leaves that everyone eats together by hand. It’s the perfect way to refuel after an adventurous day before the boat ride back to Siargao!
How to get to Sohoton Cove
Sohoton Cove is one of the most beautiful destinations you can visit from Siargao, but getting there is challenging. To make things easier, I recommend booking a Sohoton Tour online. The tour handles all transportation from General Luna directly to Sohoton Cove.
I’ll explain how we got to Sohoton Cove to give you an idea of the entire process.
Our journey started in General Luna. We booked a tour with Wow Siargao which handled all our transportation straight to Sohoton.
The first leg of our trip was a 35-minute jeepney ride from General Luna to Dapa Port. We shared the jeepney with other tourists, all of us headed to Sohoton.
After reaching Dapa, we boarded a large boat with 21 other tourists and three staff members for the long journey to Sohoton Cove. Our boat set sail from Dapa and passed through the mangroves and followed the coastline of Bucas Grande Island.
Before entering Sohoton, however, our boat stopped at Socorro Port for a mandatory check-in. As luck would have it, were there for the very first day of a new policy requiring all tourist boats to check in at Socorro before heading into Sohoton, so there was a bit of chaos in the port.
The coast guard was checking all the boats, and they wouldn’t let us leave until every single person was wearing a lifejacket. Thankfully the boat’s crew was able to prove that they had enough life jackets for everyone and we left Soccoro Port and got to the Sohoton Cove Tourist Center shortly thereafter.
The boat ride from Dapa to the Sohoton Cove Tourist Center took about 2 hours in total, and we were fortunate to have calm seas on the way there. Unfortunately, our luck changed for the return trip, but I’ll get back to you on that later in the post.
Our experience at Sohoton Cove
Upon arriving in Sohoton, we stopped at the tourist station, a small platform on the water just outside the cove. Here, we disembarked from our large boat, and received helmets and life jackets (you can also rent snorkels there, but we brought our own). Afterward, we split into groups of six and boarded smaller boats, each with two guides, that took us into the heart of Sohoton Cove. Funny enough, our boat had the same lovely women we met on our Sugba Lagoon tour! It was a pleasure spending time with them again.
Once we got on the boat, we had to navigate through a cave to enter Sohoton Cove. The captain steered the boat while another guide helped us dodge the stalactites, and we even had to duck down a few times. It was quite a thrilling experience!
Hagukan Cave
When we arrived at our first stop in Sohoton Cove, Trey and I were a bit lost. The tour guides were speaking in Tagalog, but they told us to jump in the water and put on our masks. Once we were in, a guide grabbed us one by one and pushed us down through an underwater passageway. We popped up on the other side into a cave.
The first thing I noticed was the cave’s high ceiling and stunning clear emerald water. When we splashed around, the water reflected the light, creating a beautiful blue-green glow. Some stalactites even shimmered with a clear sparkle! I used my mask to take a look underwater—while visibility was limited, the rays of light coming into the cave through the underwater entrance made for an epic visual. It was a completely new experience for us.
It’s important to note that there was nowhere to stand in the cave. So, unless you’re an experienced swimmer or wearing a life jacket, it’s best to think twice before entering Hagukan Cave. It’s a bit intimidating, especially when you’re tired from swimming. The cave is rather dark, illuminated mainly by flashlights, so it’s a good idea to stick close to your group for safety.
If you take this tour, you might not have to dive to get into the cave. We just happened to visit during high tide. Our friends who had visited Sohoton before mentioned that during their last trip, they didn’t need to dive underwater to enter the cave.
Magkukuob Cave
Next on our tour was Magkukuob Cave. We hopped into our boat and our guides took us around the corner to the cave’s entrance. We jumped out of the boat and walked through chest-deep water into Magkukuob Cave.
We navigated through the cave where we spotted tiny baby bats, then dove underwater to get to the cave’s inner chamber.
Water caves always fascinate me—who discovers these places and decides they’d be great for cliff jumping? I’d love to hear the stories of the Filipino cave explorers!
Next, we climbed up a narrow tunnel that opened up to a spot overlooking the lagoon—right next to a jumping platform! That’s right—the only way out of Magkukuob Cave is to leap off the platform straight into the lagoon below.
Water caves always fascinate me—who the heck discovered this and decided this would be a great cliff jumping spot? It turned out to be one of the easier jumps we’ve done—at 4 meters high, we leaped down back into the cove. While that may sound a bit mundane, the journey to get there is what makes it exciting!
Jellyfish Lagoon
Our last stop on the Sohoton Cove tour was the famous Jellyfish Lagoon. Our guide dove in the water first, and when he resurfaced, he was holding a jellyfish in his hand! He handed it to me, and I was a bit hesitant to take it—who wouldn’t? But he reassured me that these jellyfish are harmless as long as I rinsed my hands off after touching them. After that, we couldn’t wait to dive in ourselves.
Once I dove in, I saw about 10 moon jellyfish swimming around. Trey was a lot more adventurous and was swimming all over the lagoon to find them! His adventuring paid off since he got a picture with a big one!
After the Jellyfish Lagoon, our guides took us to another area in the bay to view corals but they seemed quite dead to us. But there were some corals with large clams which was cool to see.
Unfortunately, we visited just outside the season for the brown spotted jellyfish, which arrive in droves from March through May. By coming in June, we narrowly missed them! But we were still glad that we got to see the clear moon jellyfish in Sohoton.
Lunch and Boodle Fight!
After returning to the Sohoton Tourist Center, we waited for the rest of the tour group to arrive. Once everyone was back, we got onto the big boat and headed to a nearby resort for a traditional Filipino boodle fight lunch.
If you’re not familiar with a boodle fight (we weren’t either!), it’s an interactive feast where various dishes are laid out on banana leaves, and everyone eats together, usually with their hands. Although we didn’t all sit around one table since it was a tour, it was still so much fun—and the food was fantastic! My favorites were the pork, shrimp, sea grapes, and pancit. Other options included skewers, fresh fruit, and more. I enjoyed it so much I’m determined to have a boodle fight with my friends back home!
At the resort, we had extra time to swim around and enjoy the beautiful lagoon, which was complete with two jumping platforms, a waterslide, and a rope swing. The larger jump was about the same height as the one at Sugba Lagoon, so it wasn’t too intimidating but still loads of fun!
The resort also has a little shower room where you can take a traditional Filipino “tabo” shower—using a bucket to rinse off with fresh water. Trey and I were so grateful for the shower after a full day in the salty sea, especially with the long ride back home still ahead of us.
And then came the long ride home! Our return trip took a solid 2 hours and 30 minutes by boat—much longer than expected. The seas were pretty rough, not terrible, but enough to make the ride challenging. The poor folks at the front of the boat were getting soaked from all the splashing for the first two hours of the boat ride!
Here’s a little tip if you ever find yourself in the same situation: sit in the middle of the boat if the seas are rough. The only catch with the middle was that there was a gas tank right at my feet on the way over, and the fumes were tough to bear. I chose the front on the way back to avoid the fumes, but that meant I got wet. Thankfully, I didn’t get seasick (which I usually do!), though I had my doubts during this ride. It was a slow, careful journey, but we finally made it back to Dapa in Siargao.
When we finally got back to Siargao, we were exhausted but made plans to go out that night with some of the other people on the tour. And that’s exactly what we did! It was a Saturday so Siargao Beach Club was popping! We had an awesome time drinking beers and trading travel stories with our new friends. I absolutely loved it and am constantly amazed by the kindness of the people in the Philippines.
The tour we took to Sohoton Cove
We booked our Sohoton Cove tour through WOW Siargao by sending them a WhatsApp message. They told us the pickup time was between 6:30 AM – 7:30 AM but they actually picked us up at our hostel at 8:30 AM. Luckily, we were the last ones to be picked up and the first to be dropped off!
Our tour included:
- Jeepney ride from our hostel in General Luna to Dapa Port and back
- Boat ride from Dapa Port to Sohoton Cove Tourist Center and back
- Tour within Sohoton Cove – 3 locations for us but possibly more if you get there early enough
- Boodle Fight lunch at Tiktikan Lagoon Cottages
If you are based in General Luna, you can book the top-rated Sohoton Tour in Siargao online, which includes ground and boat transportation into and around Sohoton Cove.
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: Big Waves Boutique Hotel is located right in the heart of General Luna, in a local neighborhood. 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
- 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 guide to Sohoton Cove! If you have any questions feel free to drop a comment below 🐸
You forgot to mention the cost of Sohoton cove adventure…please give us sone idea.