Island Hopping - Naked, Daku, and Guyam Islands
This was one of our favourite island hoping experiences, as you can completely customize it. You can easily spend half a day cruising around the islands like Robinson Crusoe. The water around the islands was some of the bluest ocean water we have ever seen- almost comparable to the water in the South Pacific! It takes about 20 minutes from the General Luna harbour to get to the islands, and the islands were around 15-20 minutes apart from one another.
We arranged a private boat tour from the harbour front of General Luna for which we paid 1500 PHP ($30 USD) for the entire boat and captain for the day. We were able to entirely customize our own itinerary. We started our island hopping at 6:30 am, and found that the islands started getting moderately busy with tours around 8am.
We started off our day on Naked Island, arriving right before 7 am. Naked Island gets its name from that fact there is literally nothing built on it- it is a pure sand bar with no shade and just a few strands of grass. Don’t forget to bring your sunscreen and water!
Next up we visited Daku Island, which is the biggest island of them all. Here you will find beach side cabanas you can rent and buy food and drinks. If you brought your own food from the mainland, you can pay the locals to cook it for you. When swimming in these pristine waters, don’t forget about the stinging jellyfish here!
Guyam Island is the tropical paradise you envision in your dreams. With crystal clear waters, white sand beaches, and palm trees, this is the island you’d want to be stranded on. This island is tiny- you can walk from one side to the other in 30 seconds! The front part of the island is all sandy, while the back half is surrounded by reef. Recently, some new infrastructure has been being built on the island. There is now a place to grab a bite to eat, and they unfortunately put one of those “I LOVE GUYAM” signs up. The cost to park your boat and come onto the island costs 25 PHP (50 cents) per person.
When going island hopping, be sure to check the tides, as both Naked Island and Guyam Island are best experienced at high tide.
The Cost of Island Hopping around Siargao:
There are a couple of ways that you can do this tour. One way is to book an organized island tour that will take you to all 3 islands. The price ranges from $26 USD to $40 USD, depending how fancy (and how much alcohol) you want to have. These tours all include a beach side seafood buffet for lunch. You can book these tours at any of the travel agencies in town.
Another option is to arrange a private, no frills tour like we did. We just showed up at the harbour front of General Luna at 6 am and google translated our way in to asking for a boatman to take up to the 3 islands for the day. The boat and captain cost 1500 PHP - $30 USD- for the full day, regardless of how many people you invite to go with you- the boats fill up to 10 people. This cheaper options means that we did have to pack our own water and buy our lunch at Daku Island. The captain took us to the islands at our own leisure and let us take our time shooting photos and relaxing on the beach. If you are interested, we really recommend our captain, and his number is +63-86-0946-8156-290. He did not speak very good English so you might need a local’s help when calling to book him.
If you arrange the boat yourself, you also have the option to buy fresh fish and fruit from the market in General Luna and bring it on board with you. For a little bit extra, the locals on Daku Island can cook up a feast for you with the lunch you brought.
Looking for more siargao guides?
Best Things to Do in Siargao
Island Hopping in Siargao
Everything You Need to Know Before You Go to Siargao