Surf lessons, island hopping, lagoons and everything worth doing on the water and off it.
14 spots · sorted by rating
A dedicated freediving school and hostel in General Luna that has quietly become one of the island's best-reviewed activity operators. Coaches Jen and Dale specialise in talking nervous first-timers through breathwork on land before guiding them down the line in Siargao's warm, clear water, with courses running from intro sessions to AIDA certifications.
Siargao's longest-running international dive operation, teaching the full PADI ladder and AIDA freediving courses in four languages from its General Luna base with a training pool and its own boat. Twice-daily fun dives visit sites from the shallow coral gardens of Secret Garden to the drop-offs of Blue Cathedral on the Pacific side.
The go-to board rental and surf shop on Tourism Road, stocking a deep quiver of well-maintained Surftech shortboards, fish, quads and eggs alongside wax, fins and its own apparel line. Staff give honest board recommendations for the day's conditions and let you swap boards mid-rental if something isn't working.
One of the island's original surf institutions, run out of the Italian-founded Kermit resort where lessons, wood-fired pizza and 'sleep-eat-surf' culture blend into one compound. Head instructors Eloy and Jong are ISA Level 1 certified with over 20 years in Siargao's waves, and every lesson runs on a strict 1:1 student-to-instructor ratio with transport to breaks like Cloud 9 and Jacking Horse included.
A long-established tour office on Tourism Road running private and joiner island-hopping trips to Naked, Daku and Guyam plus land tours across the island. Their signature private tri-island day (10am–4pm) includes snorkeling stops and a generous grilled seafood lunch on the beach.
The classic motorbike-or-van loop up Siargao's east coast: swim in the gin-clear natural infinity pools at Magpupungko in Pilar, swing over the palm-lined Maasin River, and stop at the Coconut View deck where thousands of palms roll to the horizon. Most tours finish with Secret Beach or Pacifico's empty sand.
The surf school at Harana Surf Resort on Tuason Point, where patient local instructors like Kwa Kwa, Dion and Lo-loi coach everyone from first-timers to intermediates working on their reef-break confidence. Lessons come with the resort's laid-back Filipino surf-culture vibe, and the on-site Bayani restaurant is a favourite for post-surf meals and cocktails.
A full-day expedition (about two hours by boat from Siargao) into a labyrinth of limestone lagoons, glowing caves and hidden lakes on Bucas Grande Island. Small paddle boats thread through Hagukan and Magkukuob caves, and in season you can swim among thousands of harmless stingless jellyfish in the sanctuary lake.
A 30–45 minute bangka ride through the Philippines' largest mangrove forest ends at a jade-green lagoon walled in by jungle-covered limestone hills. The floating pontoon has a wooden diving board, and paddling a SUP or transparent kayak across the glassy water is the signature Siargao postcard moment.
A Yoga Alliance-registered school (est. 2015) whose open-air shala looks out over General Luna's rice paddies — regularly called the most beautiful yoga space on the island. Daily drop-in classes span Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin and breathwork, and the centre also runs 200- and 300-hour teacher trainings.
Hands-on Filipino cooking classes run from garden kitchens along Malinao Road, where you cook — and then feast on — island staples like chicken adobo, pinakbet in coconut sauce, lumpia and a local dessert. Variants include a vegetarian menu, an evening class in a traditional local kitchen, and a beachside class cooking everything inside bamboo over charcoal.
Siargao's classic tri-island day trip: a bare white sandbar (Naked), a big lazy beach island where boat crews grill a boodle-style seafood lunch (Daku), and a postcard islet ringed by palms and coral (Guyam). Bangka boats leave General Luna all morning and the three stops sit within sight of each other across impossibly turquoise water.
The island's main kite school, operating from the beachfront of Bravo Beach Resort on Tourism Road with IKO-style progression from kite control through waterstart to wave riding. The shallow lagoon in front makes a forgiving classroom, and the school teaches ages '7 to 77' with rental and storage for travelling kiters.
Learning to surf beneath the famous wooden pier and tower that put Siargao on the world surf map is the island's classic rite of passage. Local instructors certified through the Siargao Island Surfing Association wait along the boardwalk daily, pushing beginners into the forgiving whitewash at Jacking Horse while barrel-hunters thread the reef out back.
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