BREATHTAKING SIARGAO

Frequent island girl Mary Reyes lists down her top places to go in the surftown paradise

1. La Mari - Amazing architecture, where mostly foreigners hangout now, great food too! Owned by two Cebuanos. One of them is a friend of mine.

@lamarisiargao

2. Kalinaw - Italian boutique hotel 5 private villas only, with a private pool each

@kalinawresortsisrgao

3. L’Osteria - Italian Restaurant with 4 bedrooms, beach front, very good food.

@losteriasiargao

4. Bulan Villas Roadside new Italian restaurant with few rooms and pool.

@bulanvillas

5. Siargao Island Villas / Warung - Indonesian cuisine restaurant and somewhat beach front rooms. Food is all spicy!

6. Isla Cabana - One of the first beachfront and luxurious resorts. Has big villas which are beach front and have amazing mini dip jacuzzi pools each.

@islacabanaresort

7. Kaimana - new roadside resort, owned by Americans, from what I know the restaurant is not fully operational yet

8. Bayud - Next to Nay Palad Hideaway, in the Malinao area. Owned by Niño Barbers

@bayudsiargao

Other signature Siargao places you should checkout:

1. White Banana: A beach front cocktail bar. Nice to have sunset drinks there! It’s owned by an Italian married to a Filipina, who wanted to make a bar with high-end drinks.

2. Bravo: Spanish resort and restaurant, most Spaniards stay there for 4-8 months at a time.

They offer kite surfing, etc.

3. Harana: Classic Siargao landmark and hangout places. Owners are Ian Sermonia, Mike “Mooks” Medina, and Paul Soriano.

Other restaurants to try:

1. Cev: a Ceviche and Kinilaw restaurant in a place called Loose Keys. The chef is Pinoy, but studied in New York how to make really good Ceviche.

2. Kermit: The first Italian restaurant there, very good too. The owner is Gianni Grifoni, the pioneer of the ‘Gwapitos’ brand, which profits support local surfers.

Island hopping:

1. Naked Island

2. Daku Island

3. Guyam Island 4. Sohoton Cove, found two hours away where there’s a glowing enchanted cave, and where you can swim with hundreds of jellyfish in certain times a year.

5. Mam-on Island is the best for me. Get there via big bangkas in just 1 hour.