The next stop on our Philippines island hopping trip was Siquijor, the spooky island, because of the local witch doctors.
To reach the island we had to get a boat back to shore from Apo Island, a tricycle to the port of Dumaguete and from there, it was only an hour by ferry.
Siquijor
Upon arrival, we right away rented a scooter, which we read is the best way to explore. To get our luggage to our accommodation we had to get a tricycle to take our backpacks.
We stayed at JJ’s because they allow you to pitch your tent directly on the beach which we were super excited about. Apart from us, there was just one other couple with a tent so it was also really quiet at night. The place itself seems to be the best around this part of the island, the beach is really nice and clean and the food is great as well. A lot of people always arrived just to grab some food. Read our review of JJ’s here. The first evening we were spoiled with an amazing sunset which we could enjoy from our tent site with the excellent San Miguel beer.
Scooter tour and waterfalls
The next morning we were happy that it wasn’t raining (we have had a lot of rain so far), and we took off on our scooter. The first stop was the Lugnason Falls which turned out to be the highlight of our day. The falls are fairly new, according to our fun and informative guide, they were discovered only in 2015. After some jumping from the waterfalls, our guide took us along a newish walking trail that leads you upriver and you pass 12 waterfalls named after the star signs.
We left and drove on to the next destination, the Cambugahay Falls. The Falls themselves were beautiful, but it was very busy with people, and we weren’t impressed by having to pay extra for the swings or bamboo rafts. After being alone at the Lugnason Falls, the number of people was overwhelming. So we just had a quick dip and left to our next stop, Salagdoong Beach.
Salagdoong Beach and the Century Old Balete Tree
Salagdoong Beach was the next big disappointment. To be fair it was also a weekend so it was extremely crowded and probably there was more garbage than normal. This place is popular with a lot of picnic tables, a slide and jumping board. We had a little relaxing time but were off pretty soon to head back towards our hotel. On the way, we stopped at the Century Old Balete Tree which is famous because it has a very enchanted feel to it. At the foot of the tree, there is a little pool where small and big fish nibble at the dead skin on your feet. We enjoyed some time here until we saw that they have a caged monkey on display which is a no-go for us and we instantly left, regretting that we even paid for the place.
Rainy Days
Back at the “campsite”, it started pouring down and we spent the evening eating the delicious vegetable curry for the third time in two days and drinking with a group from France and a couple from Poland. The next day it didn’t stop raining until the afternoon so we had some time to book some accommodation and flights for the next days. Then we took our scooter to beautiful Paliton Beach to watch the sunset, before having some rum and coke with friends at JJs.