Siquijor Island
Siquijor Island is sixty kilometres round, a ferry from Dumaguete or Bohol, with a waterfall, a cliff jump, a beach and a church all on the one coast road and a folk-healing tradition that is not marketing. Three or four nights, a motorbike rented at the pier, and Cambugahay before ten.
Siquijor Island in a nutshell
Siquijor Island: what to expect
336,000+ stops in the Philippines are planned on Stippl, and this is the shape they make for Siquijor Island.
Three or four nights on Siquijor Island, and the loop road is the itinerary. Cambugahay Falls is three tiers of turquoise pools reached by a hundred and fifty steps with rope swings over the main one, the sixty-kilometre coast road carries everything and is done in a day on a motorbike, Paliton Beach on the west coast is white sand at sunset, Salagdoong has cliff platforms at five and ten metres jumpable at high tide only, and the balete tree is four hundred years old with a spring at its base. Most travellers give Siquijor Island 3 nights on Stippl.
Siquijor Island is the deepest room in the Philippines, and the one people are told to start on. 56.3% of stops here run three or four nights, of everyone who plans it on Stippl, it opens only 0.7% of the trips it appears on, the lowest share measured in the country, because it is a ferry from another island, 43.2% of its trips stay inside the Philippines, and its plans run longer than any other Philippine destination's.
Sleep in San Juan on the west coast, rent the motorbike at the pier, ride the loop clockwise and start early, treat the healing tradition as a practice rather than a photo opportunity, and buy a SIM before the boat. Skip the island as a short stop, since the ferries make it a three-night minimum, and skip the expectation of nightlife, because this is deliberately not that island.
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Motorbike travellers
A sixty-kilometre loop with a waterfall, a cliff jump, a beach and a church on it is the island's entire proposition, on 5.0% of the 337,493 Philippine stops of Philippine stops on Stippl.
Visayas circuit builders
Bohol and Moalboal both read double the usual rate from here on Stippl, and the three are one circuit with the ferries between them.
Quiet-seekers
Every guide says the same thing: this is not a party island, and the west coast goes dark by ten.
Folk-culture travellers
The healing tradition is live, open and unusually well documented, with the healers gathering every Holy Week on the mountain.
Swimmers rather than divers
Waterfalls, rope swings, a cliff jump and calm west-coast water, with the reefs shallow and the dive shops few.
Three-night planners
56.3% of Stippl stops here run three or four nights, because the ferries in and out each take a half day.
Maybe not for you: anyone on a short trip, because it is a ferry from another island and the boats make it a three-night minimum; divers expecting Moalboal or Balicasag; and anyone who wants nightlife, which the island has chosen not to have.
The best time to visit Siquijor Island
The dry months
December to March
The calmest water and the best riding weather, with 64.5% of starts on Stippl in the wider dry window and January (19.8%, n = 2,581), index 1.13 the busiest month.
The wet months
June to November
Rain rather than a season, with the falls running harder, the roads slick on the interior climbs and August (2.6%, n = 334), index 0.69 the quietest month on Stippl.
The heat peak
April to June
Hot and still, the months the older advice says to avoid, and April reads below the national average on Stippl, which no other Philippine destination does.
Holy Week
March or April
The Healing Festival at Mount Bandilaan, when the healers gather to prepare the year's remedies, and the island's one week of crowds.
- Most travellers give Siquijor Island 3 nights on Stippl, and 56.3% of stops run three or four. The loop in one day, the falls and the beach on the second, and the ferries on either side.
- January (19.8%, n = 2,581), index 1.13 is the busiest month on Stippl, and April reads below the national average. Holy Week pushes the country's April elsewhere, and the island empties in the heat.
- Holy Week brings the Healing Festival. Held at Mount Bandilaan every year since 2006, when the healers gather to prepare the year's remedies, and the one week the west coast's beds fill.
- Power cuts are more frequent in the wet season. Which matters on an island this small, so the phone is charged in the day and the SIM is bought before the boat.
- Most travellers plan Siquijor Island about 78 days ahead on Stippl, and 13.0% inside a fortnight. The Bohol boat books out, and it is the one booking warning that applies.
- The ecological fee is paid on departure. A small tourism fee collected at the pier since early 2026, with students and seniors discounted and residents exempt, and the receipt is kept.
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Things to do on Siquijor Island
Photo by Kaiser Concha via Pexels
Photo by Jiferson Mondragon via Pexels
Photo by Amaia Garcia via PexelsCambugahay Falls
Three tiers of turquoise pools reached by a hundred and fifty steps, with rope swings over the main one and the crowd arriving from ten.
The circumferential loop
Sixty kilometres of sealed coast road with everything on the island on it, done in a day on a rented motorbike, clockwise.
Paliton Beach at sunset
White sand, palms and starfish on the west coast, quiet except at the weekend, and the evening walk from San Juan.
Salagdoong cliff jumping
Two platforms at five and ten metres straight into clear water on the east coast, jumpable at high tide only.
The enchanted balete tree
A four-hundred-year-old fig with a spring at its base and a fish spa in the pool, on the road out of San Juan.
Lugnason Falls
A quieter waterfall five minutes' walk down a jungle path, free, with a rope swing and usually nobody there.
The areas of Siquijor Island
San Juan
The west-coast strip
Most of the island's resorts, hostels and restaurants along the sunset side, with Paliton and Tubod beaches at either end and the rentals at the door. For a first stay.
Every restaurant and beach on foot, but the busiest stretch of a quiet island.
Siquijor town
The ferry port
The provincial capital on the north-west with the church, the market, the banks and the cheapest rooms, where the boats land. For arrival and budgets.
The pier, the market and the cheapest beds, and a town rather than a beach.
Lazi and the south
The waterfall coast
The quiet southern coast with the Lazi convent and church, the road to Cambugahay and very little tourism. For the falls.
The falls and the convent away from the strip, though a ride to dinner.
Salagdoong and the east
The cliff-jump coast
The eastern coast with the cliff platforms, a white beach, a forested road in and almost nobody staying overnight. For day trips.
The cliff jump and a white beach almost to yourself, and nowhere much to sleep.
Mount Bandilaan and the interior
The forested centre
The island's high point with the butterfly sanctuary, the viewpoints and the Healing Festival site, reached on the interior climbs. For the ride and the curiosity.
The viewpoints and the healers' mountain, but mixed surfaces on the climbs.
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Where to stay on Siquijor Island
San Juan is the answer everyone gives, with the beachfront resorts, the hostels and the guesthouses along the west coast facing the sunset, and the town by the pier is the budget alternative for a late boat. Most travellers give Siquijor Island 3 nights on Stippl, and the west coast's beds fill only in Holy Week.
San Juan
€15–90
Beachfront resorts, hostels and guesthouses on the sunset coast, €10 to €150 a night.
Siquijor town
€12–40
Pensions and the cheapest rooms by the pier, €10 to €35 a night.
Lazi and the south
A few guesthouses and a resort near the falls road, €20 to €80 a night.
Salagdoong and the east
One resort by the cliff-jump beach, €40 to €90 a night.
Mount Bandilaan and the interior
A homestay or two on the mountain road, €15 to €40 a night.
What to eat on Siquijor Island
whole fish over charcoal with rice
raw fish cured in vinegar and kalamansi
Visayan whole roast pig
sticky rice with coconut, steamed in banana leaf
shaved ice with beans, jellies and ube
drunk from the shell, sold along the loop road
seaweed eaten fresh with vinegar
a dense local sponge cake, a Visayan snack
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Siquijor Island customs and what not to do
Healing is a living practice
Mananambal healers work openly, the remedies are prepared from forest plants during Holy Week, and the tradition is a practice rather than an attraction.
Witchcraft is the outside label
Siquijorodnons live with the reputation rather than perform it, and the province has worked to reframe it as healing.
The churches are parishes
The one at the port is the first thing you see from the ferry, and the Lazi convent is among the largest in the country and still in use.
Do not stand on the coral
Visitors have been seen standing on and striking the reef in front of Tubod, which is a marine sanctuary with a shallow reef.
Cebuano on the loop
English works throughout, and the roadside coconut sellers and the healers speak Cebuano first.
The fee is for the island
A small ecological fee on departure funds the waste and the reefs, and the receipt is asked for at the pier.
Do
- Ride the loop clockwise and start early, before the falls fill
- Pay the ecological fee on departure and keep the receipt
- Rent the motorbike at the pier; it is cheaper and simpler than later
- Go to Cambugahay before ten in the morning
- Treat the healing tradition as a practice, not a photo opportunity
Don't
- Swim over the coral at Tubod; it is a sanctuary and the reef is shallow
- Expect nightlife; this is deliberately not that island
- Count on wifi; buy a SIM before you arrive
- Jump at Salagdoong at low tide
- Plan the island as a short stop; the ferries make it three nights
What a Siquijor Island trip costs
Budget
€19–34
A San Juan hostel, carinderia food, a shared motorbike and all the entry fees.
Mid-range
€43–80
A beachfront double, a bike to yourself and restaurant meals.
High-end
€105+
A west-coast resort, a private guide and a dive day.
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Fun facts about Siquijor Island
Siquijor Island is known across the Philippines as the island of sorcerers. The province has run a Healing Festival at Mount Bandilaan every Holy Week since 2006 to reframe that as healing.
The balete tree on Siquijor Island is around 400 years old. It has a spring at its base where the fish nibble visitors' feet, and it is the most photographed tree in the Visayas.
Siquijor Island is sixty kilometres in circumference. Small enough to ride round in a day, and the sealed coast road is the whole itinerary.
Cambugahay's rope swing on Siquijor Island costs less than a euro for unlimited turns. The cheapest headline attraction in the country, and the pools are the point.
Siquijor Island has some of the clearest water in the Visayas. Dive visibility is reported up to thirty metres, though the island is not a dive hub.
Siquijor Island opens only 0.7% of the trips it appears on. Of everyone who plans it on Stippl, the lowest share measured in the Philippines, because it is a ferry from another island.
Local tips for Siquijor Island
Ferries only
The Dumaguete crossing is the one to plan around at forty-five minutes on the fast craft, and Bohol is about ninety.
Rent the motorbike at the pier
Every guide says the same: this is a motorbike island and the rental happens on arrival, at five to seven euros a day.
The Bohol boat books out
The one booking warning that applies to this crossing, so the ticket is bought before the loop rather than after.
The motorbike is the risk
Sixty kilometres of coast road, mixed surfaces on the interior climbs and a licence requirement the police do check.
Salagdoong is tide-dependent
The platforms at five and ten metres are real jumps, and the water is only deep enough at high tide.
Three nights, the deepest room
56.3% of Stippl stops here run three or four nights and only 0.7% of trips start here, because the ferries bracket the stay.
Siquijor Island questions, answered
Three or four nights: most travellers give Siquijor Island 3 nights on Stippl and 56.3% of stops run three or four, because the loop takes a day, the falls and the beach take another, and the ferries in and out each take a half day.
Ferry only: forty-five minutes from Dumaguete on the fast craft, about ninety from Bohol, or a bus down Cebu and a boat from Liloan. Put it into Stippl as the three nights between Bohol and Moalboal, then ask people who did the Visayas in subreddits like r/Philippines which crossing they took.
Effectively yes. The island is a sixty-kilometre loop and that loop is the itinerary, so the rental happens at the pier on arrival for five to seven euros a day, with the licence checked and the interior climbs on mixed surfaces.
The healing tradition is, practised openly by mananambal healers with an annual festival at Holy Week when they gather on the mountain to prepare the year's remedies. The witchcraft framing is the outside world's, and the province has worked to reframe it as healing.
It has clear water and shallow reefs, with visibility reported up to thirty metres, but it is not Moalboal or Balicasag; come for the island rather than the dive log. 43.2% of Siquijor Island trips on Stippl stay inside the Philippines, and the Visayas cluster fills the weeks without it.
Almost nobody does, and the reason is the loop: only 12.7% of stops here on Stippl are a single night and the typical stay is three, because the ride needs a day and the falls need the morning before the crowd. January (19.8%, n = 2,581), index 1.13 is the busiest month and August the quietest.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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