Siquijor Island, Philippines

21/1/2017

Magic and sorcery in Siquijor

Siquijor has a long-time reputation as a place of magic and sorcery which both attracts and repulses visitors. Siquijor is also well known for its festivals that focus on healing rituals where incantations are sung while the old folks make potions out of herbs, roots, insects and tree barks. Among the many attractions are the beaches, caves, waterfalls, Bandilaan natural park and butterfly sanctuary. White sand beaches make up most of the 102-kilometer coastline of Siquijor. The coral reefs ringing the island offer some of the best diving in the Philippines for snorkelers and scuba divers.

Siquijor my favourite island!

Voodoo dolls for souvenirs.

The pier

View at Salagdoong Beach

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My favourite island in Visayan

This is so far my favourite island among the Visayan Islands. I was here almost two weeks. As long as you have a motorcycle everything is easy accessible. You can dive, snorkel and swim at beautiful beaches with white sand. In San Juan you have a variety of nice restaurants which can satisfy even your most hard headed tastebuds. I stayed at Xylla’s Guest House in Lazi, a simple and nice accommodation. It was located a little bit far though from San Juan and the beaches but on the other hand, if you appreciate the quietness this is the right place to be. But with your rented motorcycle you can easily go everywhere.

The friendly hotel dog

La Gann Falls in Lazi

View at Salagdoong Beach

Danish Lagoon Siquijor Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Nice sunset at the Danish lagoon.

Salagdoong Beach Siquijor Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Sunbathing at Salagdoong Beach

My highlights

Kagusuan Beach, a nice and quiet white sand beach without tourists. Suitable for relaxing, swimming and snorkelling. The beach is little bit hard to find but with some map reading it will be no problem. There is a sign at the last turn, but sign is well hidden by a tree though.
Tulapos Marine Sanctuary, for its nice snorkelling. It costs 20 PHP for snorkelling. You can also rent equipment there. You will probably be asked to be accompanied by a guide. It’s not really necessary, just go straight out a couple of hundred meters and you will see some rocks. There it is. Try to be there at high tide, the sea is very shallow at low tide.
Baha Bar, for its food and drinks. The house is built in traditional Filipino style with four different woods and the ambience is really nice there.
Larena Triad Coffee Shop, for its nice location with the most beautiful view. They have good Filipino food and a bakery with delicious bread.
Infinity Heights Resort, for its good food, nice view over the north of the island. They also have a pool which shares the same astonishing view.
Old Enchanted Balete Tree, for its fish spa. You can drink buko juice at the same time you enjoy the fish cleaning your feet. There are some bigger fish there too, but don’t be afraid it feels really nice when they are chewing, almost like foot massage.
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Kagusuan Beach with white sand and no tourists.

Tulapos Marine Sanctuary

Baha Bar, the building is built with four different type of woods

Fantastic view from the Larena Triad Coffee Shop

The pool at Infinity Heights Resort is nice for a swim

Old Enchanted Balete Tree

The fish spa at the Old Enchanted Balete Tree. The big fish felt almost like foot massage.

The pool at the Danish Lagoon

How to get there

I went there from Dumaguete with the Ocean Jet company and paid 220 PHP one way trip. You can also take the ferry from Cebu. If you encounter bad weather the Ocean Jet Ferry might be cancelled but then you can try with Montenegro Shipping Lines. They are using bigger and slower ferries and are not likely to be cancelled as easy as the Ocean Jet due to bad weather.

Where to stay

There are numerous resorts and guesthouses scattered allover Siquijor. Most of them you will find in San Juan where the most tourists are. I stayed at Xylla's guesthouse and paid 810 PHP. It was a simple accommodation with AC and fan in the room. Private toilet with cold shower. Breakfast was not included, but you could order Filipino breakfast for around 75-100 PHP. They had also motorcycles for rent. The nice Honda Beat automatic for 300 PHP day. I also stayed at Charisma Beach Resort in San Juan and had a nice bungalow for 1000 PHP. If you need to stay in Siquijor Siquijor I can recommend the Belleview hotel near the pier. New and fresh rooms from 1200 with AC and hot shower. They also have a very good restaurant which serving Cafe Latte and freshly baked bread from the Triad bakery.
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The Belleview hotel near the pier. They had a nice restaurant also.

Xylla's guesthouse in Lazi. A good simple accommodation.

Going around

Siquijor is a small island, you can drive around the whole island with motorcycle in a couple of hours. And talking about motorcycles you must rent one otherwise it will be both expensive and difficult to travel around. You can rent a motorcycle for around 250 to 350 per day depending on the rental time and your negotiating skills.
There are also tricycles and Habal Habal. The tricycles are using a tariff system with fixed prices for tourists. So for example going between the the port and San Juan expect to pay 250 PHP. Going from the port to Lazi is 500 PHP. There are also tricycles going fixed routes and if you can catch one of those you pay only 20 PHP for going Siquijor Siquijor (the port) to San Juan.
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It's necessary to rent a motorcycle in Siquijor.

Riding a motorcycle is a perfect way to explore the island.

Where to eat

You have plenty of restaurants in San Juan. You find the whole range from small barbecue places and canderias to more expensive resorts. My favourites in San Juan are Baha Bar and Danish Lagoon which serving Scandinavian food with a beautiful view over the sea. In Larena, try the Infinity Heights Resort and Larena Triad Coffee Shop. If you are in Siquijor Siquijor you have the Belleview hotel or Joel’s Lechon Manok, just opposite the Belleview hotel. Joel’s is really a good budget alternative for dinner. The secret is that they use lemongrass when they barbecues their chicken which makes it so delicious.
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