The Ultimate Guide to Siquijor: Island of Magic
I am in the lucky position that I live close to the wonderful island of Siquijor, in the Visayas region of the Philippines. Having experienced a bit of a tourism boom lately, I think that the island is still very much worth traveling to, and I would like to use this blog post to provide a few tips on how to best experience the “Island of Magic”:
How To Get There
So, let’s get to it: Siquijor is both an island as well as a Philippine province. The capitol city of Siquijor is also called Siquijor. I always wanted to open up a bar in Siquijor/Siquijor, which would then be called The Siquijor in Siquijor/Siquijor. Bad jokes aside, you can reach Siquijor/Siquijor by ferry from Dumaguete, Cebu or Bohol. There are the roro ferries, onto which you can bring your car or motorcycle, or the fastcrafts, which are passenger-only ferries. There are a few companies running these ferries, with some you can book online. Their contact info and schedules occasionally change, so I won’t list any time-tables here, please do a quick Google.
As usual, avoid Christmas and Easter for your actual travel days, meaning, if you want to spent Christmas in Siquijor, then arrive a few days before. During the peak holiday times a lot of people who work in bigger cities will come home to their province homes, and the ferries will be crowded, and you might not be able to get a ticket.
An option I haven’t explored yet, but which seems like great fun is Royhle Air Way Charter, flying out of Dumaguete. They offer charter flights in small propeller planes. If you fill the plane up with your friends, the flights are not that expensive:
Very Good General Travel Tip
Generally, if you travel in the Philippines, take your time, have a coffee on the beach, talk to some people, explore spontaneously, smell the roses, but don’t rush things. This is especially true in Siquijor. The video below elaborates more on this idea. Seeing the amazing sunsets off San Juan is a must!
What To Do on Land
Chill, hang out on the beach, do yoga, have cold drinks looking at the sunset. It’s that kind of place. Recent travel writing coverage has focused on the travel boom currently happening in Siquijor, and on the crowds which have gotten more on the island. While this is somewhat true, I haven’t seen any crass effects in my recent (early 2025) visit. A friendly German guy (Siquijor resident) chatted me up on a near-empty beach, to tell me that Siquijor is getting crowded. Besides him and my family, there was no one in sight on that beach…. There are more tourists now, but it’s not like Boracay or Kutta in Bali. As usual, there are fewer people outside of the few weeks of peak tourist season (Christmas/Easter).
In below travel vlog I’m showing you probably the best drone shots I have gotten so far, ever, from Siquijor. Also, I introduce some Philippine history, as seen at the Lazi convent. We also went to the famous balete tree, where you can have your foot skin cleaned by hungry fish. Not in the video, but also worth visiting is a butterfly farm up in the mountains.
Where to Stay and Where to Eat
For a small island, there are lots of top culinary options in Siquijor. To mention a few (non comprehensive list!): Aroi Makmak Thai station cafe and restaurant (San Juan) is great, with lots of vegetarian options. Dagsa Restobar is nice if you like seafood (I don’t). JJ’s has good burgers.
We had a lovely stay at the Coral Cay Resort in San Juan during our recent visit. The location on this endless white beach is just unbeatable.
The Magic
I’m not an expert in magic, religion, or anthropology. But, Siquijor is known for its magicians/faith healers, who convene around Easter. I believe that among these traditional/faith healers, there is always a mix of superstition/religion, and actual good traditional healing knowledge. I had a really interesting, and very positive experience with one such traditional healer, and a misguided attempt at triceps training:
Also Magic: The Diving
Siquijor has excellent diving, like so many other places in the Philippines. The strengths of Siquijor diving are top walls (Paliton), and reefs very rich in shrimp & nudibranchs, especially at night. And, there are lots of turtles, too. The times I have dived there, we almost never encountered other dive groups underwater. The newer travel boom to the island is not mainly composed of divers.
I am friends with the great people at Apo Diver in San Juan, who run a smaller, well-organized dive shop. They have explored a lot around the island, so they’ll be able to show you a lot of different dive sites. Ask them about the shoal off San Juan! Sea Explorers, whom I’m also friends with, has a relatively new dive shop on the island too.
Below is a whole YouTube playlist covering all of the diving and filming I’ve done in Siquijor. Lots of amazing marine wildlife, such as a wunderpus and a massive fish storm in a well-managed marine protected area. Enjoy:
I hope this information is useful, and see you in Siquijor,
Best,
Klaus
