Siquijor in a Day

After a day of diving in Apo Island, Ate Claudia and I crossed the Bohol Strait to visit the neighboring island province of Siquijor, a totally contrasting experience from the city life of Dumaguete.

Salagdoong Beach in Olang, Maria, Siquijor

Only one hour by fast craft from the port of Dumaguete City, Siquijor is a small, mystical, laid back island with rich history and endowed with amazing natural attractions. The island, slightly bigger than Camiguin, has a 75-kilometer circumferential road that spans in its six towns of San Juan, Lazi, Maria, Enrique Villanueva, Larena and Siquijor, the provincial capitol.

Its attractions include old churches, waterfalls, natural springs, century-old trees and structures, caves, and white sand beaches. Numerous diving sites also dot the water surrounding the island.

Aboard the Delta Fast Craft from Dumaguete to Siquijor

We took the 9AM Delta Fast Craft from the port of Dumaguete to Siquijor. A P175 (P160 for fare and P15 for terminal fee) short ride to the province and by 10AM, we were already in the port of Siquijor. Tricycle and multicab drivers mobbed us as we exited the port, they were all offering island tour.

We noticed that if there’s one thing lacking in Siquijor, it is the regulated tourism. There is no organize way of attending to tourists, not even standard rates of tours. With so many offers and sales talk, it was Haypee who got us. At first he priced us P1000 for five-hour trike tour of the island, but we haggled and brought it down to P700. We needed to be back to Suquijor port before 3PM to catch the last trip of Delta Fast Craft to Dumaguete. He made sure we would be back in time for the trip.

Tour Siquijor on a trike 🙂

So our tour went on with first stop at St. Francis of Assisi Church and Belfry. Located just outside the port, the church is the oldest in the province which is said to be constructed from 1795 to 1831.

St. Francis of Assisi Church

Next stop was at Capilay Spring Park, just along the main highway in the town of San Juan, a favorite hangout for locals and tourists for its cold water originating from the natural spring. The complex was converted into a public park with pools, cottages, trees and well designed landscape.

Capilay Spring Park

Just a few minutes away from Capilay Spring Park is a smaller spring with the century-old banyan (balete) tree. This is the oldest tree in the island and a popular landmark of Siquijor due to the myths and legends attached to it.

Century-old banyan (balete) tree

By lunch time, we were already in the town of Lazi, home to the San Isidro Labrador Parish, one of the few remaining Baroque Churches in the Philippines, and a candidate for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. The church was established by Augustinian Recollects in 1857. Across from the church is the convent and museum. The convent, which was erected in 1887, is one of the oldest and biggest in the country. Entrance fee to the museum is P20.

San Isidro Labrador Church
San Isidro Labrador Convent

Also in the town of Lazi is the Cambugahay Falls, one of the main attractions of the island. It is a multi-tiered waterfalls with the cold water coming from the natural springs in the mountain area of the island. We had to go down the 135-stone steps from the jump-off point along the road just to see the falls.

The 135-stone steps down to Cambugahay Falls
Cambugahay Falls

From the town of Lazi, we headed to the neighboring town of Maria for our last stop – the Salagdoong Forest and Beach in Barangay Olang. But an unfortunate thing happened on our way to Salagdoong when our trike broke down, it was half past the hour of one in the afternoon. Haypee stopped at a repair shop to ask for help from the mechanic and after 30 minutes past and some workaround, the trike was back to its shape and we continued our tour. We reached Salagdoong Beach past 2PM and just spent a little time exploring the area.

“What are you looking at?” – A cow across the repair shop.

Salagdoong Beach is now a developed beach. With slides, cottages, halls and rooms, the public beach is being managed by the local government of Maria and a popular destination for tourists. Entrance fee is P15 per person and parking fee (for our trike) is also P15. They have restaurant inside and rooms for those planning to stay overnight.

Salagdoong Forest

Twenty minutes before 3PM, Haypee advised us that it takes almost an hour back to the port of Siquijor. To our surprise, it was almost 3PM, and the last Delta Fast Craft leaves on the same hour. But our worry eased a bit when he said that there is a Montenegro Ferry that leaves at 3:45 PM.

Salagdoong Beach

We quickly left Salagdoong Beach and Haypee drove his trike in full speed. We took the short cut road, the one that crosses the mountain area of Siquijor from Maria to Larena instead of the circumferential road that will pass to Enrique Villanueva. By 3:30 PM, we reached the port just before the ticket counter stop issuance of tickets. Whew!

We thanked Haypee and bid him goodbye. He was such a kind tour guide so we handed him a little over of what we agreed earlier.

The Montenegro Ferry fare was cheaper at P109, plus P13 terminal fee. The ferry is bigger than Delta’s but a bit slower. Travel time from Siquijor to Dumaguete was two hours, inclusive of almost half an hour stop before docking in Dumaguete.

Montenegro Ferry to Dumaguete

Before going back to our hotel, we walked to the nearby baywalk and ended the day with sweet treats from Sans Rival.

It was a mystical day for Ate Claudia and me, we had a glimpse of the beautiful island of Siquijor in just a day. It was short but an experience we will forever cherish.

Comments

  1. Ian Uba

    Just read this blog, and I can’t wait to visit there….its a big help.

    …😁

  2. Hi, Do you have a landline? Thanks

  3. Kheibi

    Hello po! May number ka pa po ba nung driver na sinakyan nyo in ur daytour sa siquijor?

    1. Rollie jimenez

      09065806033….rolly po name…..

    2. Rollie jimenez

      0906-580-6033…….kuya rolly po ang name……..

  4. JHILON BIAIS

    hi!
    whole day is enough na po ba for a tour at siquijor island or at least 2 days?
    medyo hesitant ako sa 2 days stay since kinaya sya ng day tour. hehe what do you think…
    thank you in advance …

    1. Yes sir ….enough nayan for costal tour sir wholeday na yan…..

      1. jhilon biais

        thank you so much, cant wait to visit siquijor …..

  5. Pao

    Do you have the hourly sched of Delta Craft from Dumaguete to Siquijor?

  6. rollie jimenez

    Kuya rolly po siquijor tour guide…….09065806033…

  7. Kimberly Juarez Binga-an

    This is gonna be helpful for my Siquijor Trip! 🙂

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  10. Super helpful. Shared to my friend asking about a day in the island.

  11. elite

    I visited Siquijor last week. It was indeed great! we stayed at Villa Marmarine(best beach resort in siquijor for me). Pwede mag rent ng single motorcycle(250 – 500 a day) excluding gas. Tapos pwede mong ikutin buong siqui. anywhere basta may daan. sa sobrang saya inalis namin sa itinerary ang pagpunta sa Apo island.:)

  12. enaj

    “when i saw the picture of siquijor i missed the place where i was born..hope to be back soon there..yeah its quite good to be there.

  13. cba

    …next time i must not miss blowing bubbles to explore its tropical marine life and meet a shaman, perhaps! 🙂

    1. next year ate clau 🙂

  14. wow! great photos! i wish to visit siquijor really soon. thanks for the info! 🙂

    1. thanks! 🙂

  15. wow! great photos! i hope to visit siquijor really soon! thanks for the info! 🙂

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