Sohoton Cove & Island Hopping in Siargao – a Day in Paradise
Visiting Sohoton Cove and island hopping are 2 of the best activities to do on Siargao. Even if the cove isn’t really located on the island. This National Park is surrounded by epic mountains covered with green vegetation. You can combine in a single day visits to this incredible location together with island hopping on your way back. In this guide you will find details on how to spend the best day in Siargao!
Sohoton Cove
At 7 AM you will leave the beach in General Luna and head to Sohoton Cove in a long tail boat. The trip takes about 1-1,5 h.
We were very unlucky waking up that morning to a huge storm and rain, and worried that our trip would be cancelled. But arriving at the friendliest boatman shop, he greeted us with smiles and said that the rain is not a problem. And so we took off.
After a fun, yet extremely cold ride because of wind and rain, we pulled up by the pier that serves as an entrance to the Sohoton Cove. Big boats cannot enter the National Park. Here you have to pay an entrance fee to the National Park, collect helmets, life jackets and listen to the directions of the crew.
Entering Sohoton Cove
You will be taken inside the Sohoton Cove in small, paddle boats. There are 2 guides per boat that can fit up to 6 people. As the weather was far from good and there were only few people on the site, it was just us and 2 guides in the boat exploring the Sohoton Cove.
Mind your head upon the entrance as you’ll pass in a tunnel cave below a giant mountain. From that point on, the views are just incredible. Even if it was super cold and grey, we couldn’t believe that mother nature created a place like this and that we were able to explore it.
Spots to see in Sohoton Cove
There are few stops you will do within the Sohoton Cove:
The Titikan Lagoon
It’s the most stunning part of the tour, if you are visiting on a sunny day. ?We were so lucky that at one point the sky cleared and we were finally able to see the incredible colours of the blue waters and of the green lush vegetation covering the mountains around.
The Hagukan Cave
Super fun experience! You swim inside a long dark cave and dive underwater facing the entrance. The green light coming from the outside makes the dive so incredible. Try splash the water around you and you will soon discover why this is labeled as the luminescent cave.
↬ TIP : We have asked our guides if we could take our jackets off as we wanted to go underwater and are good swimmers. They were happy to allow us do so. And by the way, the water was hotter than the outside temperature.. such a pleasure to swim.
The Magkuku-ob Cave
You will jump out of the boat, swim a bit and then climb out at the entrance of a small cave. Here you must wear your helmet, as you will try to find your way out from this cave and the celling is rather low. There is complete darkness inside of the cave, but your guide will have a torch. It’s was such a fun experience finding the way out from a dark cave! Once you find the exit, you’ll end up on outside on a wooden platform, from which you have to just 5 meters down into the water! What a thrill!
The jellyfish sanctuary
You will arrive here in a 2 place boat: you and the guide who uses only paddle this time. Together you will enter a small lake which is full of small jellyfish! You cannot exit the boat right here, but it’s fun to see so many of those creatures right below you.
Outside of the space created for jelly fish, you can ask your guide to stop which will give you a chance to swim, free dive and enjoy this epic place to the fullest.
↬ TIP : Having lunch at the pier is a good idea. You only finish half of your adventures for the day, so it’s time to get some delicious food!
Island Hopping in Siargao
You’ve just finished your exploration of the Sohoton Cove, so it’s now time to do some island hopping close to Siargao. It will take about 40 minutes to reach the first island.
The Naked Island
The name Naked Island is fully understandable as soon as the island comes in sight. It’s a bare piece of sand, that you can walk across in 30 seconds. It’s a fun spot to relax a bit. We loved the spot at one end where two currents meet and the water was splashing. We stayed there jumping up and taking pictures for good 10 minutes, before just collapsing on the sand and enjoying the sun that finally came out in all its glory.
Daku Island
The next spot is Daku Island, the biggest island on the tour. There are small huts and people live here. We found a cute path on the right side, behind the rocks, and just few steps later were all by ourselves on this idyllic piece of land.
Guyam Island
The last island is Guyam Island. This tiny island is covered in palms. We walk all around it and found beautiful natural pools on the other side. It was such a pleasure to float in the waters of this little oasis!
↬ Note : There is a boat fee for each island of around 20 PHP (0.35 EUR).
As the Guyam Island is just few minutes boat ride from General Luna, you can ask your boatman to stay there for sunset and head back once the sun will hid, catching the last lights over the water.
Both the island hoping and Sohoton Cove tour can be done separately, giving you more time at each place to explore, swim and relax. We though however that this was the perfect combination and a day full of adventures. If you don’t have much time on Siargao, we highly recommend this to be your main attraction.
How to organise your Tour
Getting there and prices
Sohoton Cove is located on Buca Grande island, 1 or 1.5 h boat ride from General Luna.
By private boat
You can hire a private boat from one of the shops in General Luna. It will allow you to spend as much time as you’d like at each of the places. We found a cute, little hut on the road in General Luna and made a deal with the boat owner for the following day.
The cost of hiring a private boat to visit both Sohoton Cove and island hopping is 4000 PHP (70 EUR) and the boat fits up to 6 people from Siargao. If you are a little group, it is definitely a bargain.
You will also have to pay the entrance fee to Sohoton Cove of around 800 PHP (14 EUR) per person. It covers the entrance fee, the environmental fee, the safety gear, the permit and the boat fee.
Lunch on the pier in Sohoton Cove costs around 200 PHP (3,5 EUR).
By organised tour
You can join an organised tour and do this trip with 20 or more other tourists. It will be cheaper, but it will mean that you depend on others for time and will never find yourself alone, on this thrilling trip. The price for organized tour to Sohoton Cove and Island Hopping in Siargao will be around 2000 PHP (35 EUR) per person including the entry fees and lunch.
If you’d like to do this tours separately on different days, it is of course also possible:
The boat for visiting only Sohoton Cove will cost around 3000 PHP (52 EUR). The boat for visiting only the 3 islands would be 1500 PHP (26 EUR).
Hiring a private boat has lots of advantages, but the lunch (around 200 PHP pp) and entry free (around 20 PHP) for each island as well as entry to Sohoton Cove will be not included in the price of the boat.
We always opt for the private boat as arriving to a spot with 20 or more other people and waiting around for everybody is not for us. The ideal would be to find another couple that wants to do the same tour as you and share the boat cost with them.
Overall this was the most expensive activity we did during our 2 weeks in the Philippines. It was worth every peso, even with the rain and clouds at the beginning of the day.
Do It Yourself
There is a way to visit Sohoton Cove and not ruin your budget, but it’s a bit complicated and requires you to stay a night in Buca Grande.
Get to Dapa Port by motorbike or tuk-tuk. From Dapa take a 1h ferry to Sorocco (100 PHP, 2EUR) . From Sorocco hire a long tail boat to take you to Sohoton Cove. The boat will cost around 1000 PHP and fit up to 6 people. You will have to pay the entry fees to Sohoton Cove as well. As the ferry from Sorocco going back to Siargao runs only in the morning, you have to stay overnight. If you are not short on time, it’s gonna be a fun to experience yet another island and will allow you to save some money.
What to bring
- Swimwear and flip-flops, although you will most likely spend the day barefoot
- Towels
- Biodegradable sunscreen
- Sunglasses and a har or a scarf to cover your head from strong sun
- Go Pro for underwater pictures and videos
- Camera with plenty of memory and spare batteries
- Waterproof backpack that you can leave on the boat when visiting the Sohoton Cove
- Plenty of water in reusable bottles, snacks
- Money for lunch at the pier in Sohoton Cove or Guyam Island
- Light water & wind proof jacket: you never know if the rain won’t start pouring. And trust us: being in the middle of the sea during strong rain you’ll get cold even in the tropics.
↬ Read : Simple hacks to be eco friendly while traveling
What’s Next?
Check out our 18 Days in the Philippines – Complete Guide to find out all the best spots, routes and activities while on this beautiful trip to the Philippines.