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| Looking east at Tangbo and beyond |
Going to northern Siargao in the Philippines is like taking a trip back in time to what Bali was 50 years ago, before mass tourism steamrolled the island and turned it into the crowded, overdeveloped cesspool it is today. Northern Siargao is the less sophisticated but more serene end of this 169-sq. mi. island where the municipality of General Luna in the south and its famous Cloud 9 surf break attracts the bulk of tourism. For parties and crowds, stay south (see my post on Southern Siargao). For empty lineups and solitude, head north.
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| Sunrise at Alegría, the northernmost point of Siargao |
Rice paddies - not villas or hotels - dominate the verdant landscape. Palm trees and coconut trees line a coast of virgin beaches and 85°F turquoise water. Locals outnumber the tourists and they live in villages that branch out from the main road encircling the island, Siargao Circumferential Road, the only paved road up here. Clockwise, from west to north to east, the road passes through the town of Santa Monica, then the villages of Tangbo, Alegría, Garcia, and Bitaug, and the growing towns of Burgos, San Isidro, and Pacifico.
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| A bangka (small outrigger boat) at Tangbo |
Life is simple up north. Some locals still live in nipa huts made of wood and bamboo. Kids play a game where they throw their tsinelas (slippers) at soda cans on a clearing where the dirt roads intersect. Infrastructure is very basic, with frequent power outages*, and sometimes no running water due to a lack of electricity to power the pumps that draw water out of wells. Sourced from deep underground, the water coming out of the sink can be brown.
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| Thatched roof huts |
There are no sprawling all-inclusive resort bubbles. No beach amenities (showers or bathrooms) nor lifeguards, but also no traffic. I passed by only a few scooters and one or two cars a day. Riding home on balmy summer nights, catching glimpses through the trees of moonlight shimmering in the ocean while your shirt and hair flutter in the wind, is a delicious experience - and the best way to dry one's hair without a hair dryer.
Depending on which break you surf at, there's not much traffic in the water either. For the month of March, I surfed at a reef break alone or with a danish girl I met at a hostel. At sunset, more surfers would join us, bringing the crowd up to 10-15, but by then I've had my fill of waves for the day. It rained half the month of March, but the rain only lasts a couple hours then it's sunny the rest of the day. Surprisingly, there wasn't much pollution in the water after a rain - mostly leaves and tree parts.
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| Not much to do but surf, sit in a hammock, and go coconut bowling |
I estimate this little paradise will vanish in a decade as overflow from the bustling south (where Cloud 9 draws surfers from around the world) spills over to the north. The word is out. Both foreigners and enterprising locals are buying up property in droves and driving up prices. 2 years ago, beachfront property could be had for as little as 200 pesos per square meter. Now it costs PHP 20,000 (about $360 at the time of writing).
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| View from Little Hawaii, Siargao |
Surf Spots
March exhibits mixed and inconsistent swells as it transitions between the northeast monsoon from November to February and the southwest monsoon (July to September), when the southern and eastern side of the island light up. Waves in March were on the small side, mostly up to head high. As the swells originate from an increasingly eastern direction, the waves on the northwestern side of the island (Tangbo Beach, Secret Paradise) get softer and less frequent while the eastern side of the island (Burgos, Pacifico) begins to light up. Regarding wind, the western side was calm in the mornings with some offshore ruffle in the afternoons, while the east side was often howling.
Except for Secret Paradise, there are no onsite amenities, such as board rentals, so B.Y.O.B. (bring your own board).
Tangbo Beach
I favored Tangbo beach for its often empty lineups. It's a narrow, sandy beach lined with a rocky coastline - similar to Laniakea in the North Shore of Hawaii. The shore break here will dump you unceremoniously onto a bumpy reef ridden with potholes, as a dear, hapless friend found out. It's best to paddle back to the wide channel where the bangkas, or little outrigger boats, launch out.
There are two peaks at Tangbo Beach and both are reef breaks. The main peak on the left side of the channel is an A-frame with longer rights than lefts. The reef is not very sharp and is covered in some sort of grass that makes it feel like moss or shag carpeting. The other peak is a fast righthander with steep walls breaking over sharp, shallow reef. It's called the Barbecue for the hash-like scars you get on your back if you venture too far inside.
I preferred low to mid tide at the main peak. High tide tends to make the wave too mellow and mushy for shortboards, but it's probably fine for a longboard. A mild current pushes you away from the peak but try to stay in line with the glass house on the beach. Even at low tide, the main peak was deep enough (about 4-6 feet) on the inside to duck dive without scraping knuckles. The Barbecue spot, on the other hand, is only surfable at mid tide or higher. Low tide will dump you onto exposed reef.
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| High tide at Tangbo Beach |
There's a tiny snack shack that's sometimes open and some trash cans in the parking area. No board rentals, schools, changing areas, or bathrooms onsite (unless you want to fight the goats living in the doorless and nonoperational toilets behind the snack shack). The area is safe - people leave their belongings and even their keys in their scooters and everything will still be there when they come back from surfing.
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| Head down to Jamer's for post-surf BBQ and karaoke |
Things are changing fast though. At the beginning of the month, I was able to walk 2 minutes from the hostel to the beach for a surf check. Parking was also free back then. That direct path was shut down 2 weeks later with a corrugated metal fence, leaving only one trail to the beach that takes 5 minutes to walk from Kaha Island Stay and charges a 10 pesos entry fee - even if you're just doing a surf check and not going in the water. The entry fee is higher if you bring in a scooter or other vehicle. And there are all sorts of other fees piled on if you want to use the parking or the newly built beachside storage (which are really just wooden cubby holes).
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| Fees, fees, more fees |
Secret Paradise
Despite its name, Secret Paradise is not so secret anymore. Already, mornings at the Tangbo surf spot called Secret Paradise sees schools of thirty surfers from all over the island jostle for party waves at the longboarding peak in the middle of the wide bay. That said, it remains less crowded than Canggu and the crowd thins out and the boards get shorter the closer you get to the point on the northern end of the bay, where the waves are fast, hollow, and sectiony.
The not-so-Secret Paradise
Secret Paradise is quite a picturesque beach with that classic bent palm tree that people love to climb on for a photo. It also has some on-site amenities, such as lodging, a coconut stand, board rentals, surf instructors, and a restaurant with a karaoke machine. The rental boards are mostly longboards and they were in surprisingly good shape. The inside is shallower than at Tangbo Beach - the water is only waist high halfway out to the break, which makes it great for pushing first-timers into whitewater.
Trogon's Perch
The break in front of the pricey Trogon's Perch hotel produces a wondrous left-hander that was too perilous for me to attempt except at the tail end that runs past the old Coast Guard watchtower (the white tower with spiral staircase for which the hotel was named). The swirling currents here split in front of the watchtower. Go too far north, and you'll be grated across razor sharp reef then splattered against the cliff. Go too far south, and you will be whisked away into the relative safety of Bamboo bay. Catching a wave here is playing Russian Roulette. You either get a wave right away when you make it out, or you don't and end up back at square one.
Bamboo
At the northern end of Pacifico, Bamboo is where some Pacifico surf schools take their beginner students. It's a long, mellow, right-hander with waist-high waves that terminate in the middle of a small bay next to Bamboo Surf Beach hotel. Currents are very strong here, so people usually take advantage of the shallow reef and walk their boards (and students) to the inside reef break instead of paddling.
The outer reef breaks are taller but blown out due to the high winds, except for the one day near the end of the month when the winds died down for a glorious morning of glassy waves with approachable channels. Of course, it's the day I was leaving the area. March just isn't the time to surf Bamboo or any of the Pacifico surf spots.
Big Wish
Like Bamboo, Big Wish doesn't really come alive until October when the winds blow offshore. At its best, it's a long, barreling left at the southern end of Pacifico. At its worst, it's short, blown out waves with strong currents.
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| My Big Wish is that the strong currents and wind here chill the f*ck out |
The currents change direction depending on where you start paddling out. In front of Pacifico Beach across the street from Klay's Surf School, the current takes you south towards the sharp rocks in front of the aptly named The Rock. But, round the bend, north of Pacifico Sunrise Beach, the current takes you north towards Trogon's Perch until it stops in front of the coconut plantation next to Banua Resort (until it changes direction again so that it pushes you away from the Bamboo surf spot). I found out by letting myself float down the entire coastline and see where the currents take me.
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| Left at Big Wish |
Other spots
There are many unnamed spots to explore in northern Siargao if you're willing to mess around in the outer reef. I found a left-hander near Alegría that had an excellent channel but best surfed at high tide due to the myriad coral bommies.
Accommodations
There are no 4-star resorts here, but you can find some comfortable hostels, homestays, and a couple hotels that provide filtered water, AC, wifi, and warm showers, such as those below.
Tangbo
In Tangbo, I recommend the Kaha Island Stay for its clean hostel accommodations (with a few private rooms) located a 5-minute walk to Tangbo Beach, which makes surf checks a piece of cake. It's the most affordable of the options listed here at $13 a night for a dorm bed. The staff can hook you up with scooter rentals as well. There's AC, hot water showers (though the water pressure leaves much to be desired), and a communal kitchen and living room where you can access the Starlink wifi. The wifi is not so accessible inside the dorm, unfortunately, so it's not the best place for digital nomads.
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| Dormitory at Kaha Island Stay |
By November 2025, my friends and I will add a new offering to the Tangbo area: a surf camp! Overlooking a rice field and situated along the main road, Tangbo Surf House will be the first surf camp in northern Siargao to offer not just a hostel, but all-inclusive packages catering to surfers and digital nomads. We offer dorm beds, private rooms, AC, Starlink wifi, hot water, an onsite cafe, scooter rentals, board rentals, surf instruction, and backup power in case of outages. Tangbo Beach and Secret Paradise will be a mere 5-minute scooter ride away. Later on, we plan to add solar power and an air-conditioned gym.
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| Future site of Tangbo Surf House |
Alegría
In Alegría, the town at the northernmost point of Siargao, I recommend the beachfront rooms above Manding's Kitchen, the restaurant (and currently the only building) inside Hilner's Resort. The rooms sport AC, wifi, and modern western bathrooms, including a wall separating the shower from the toilet and sink area, plus adjustable hot water, good water pressure, soft lighting, and finished walls and floors (instead of bare cement). To book, go to the restaurant and ask the manager (who is also the owner's personal assistant).
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| After 3 years in developing countries, I start pining for bathrooms like this |
No mold. No stank. Even the public bathrooms downstairs are the cleanest I'd seen on any island. Plus, you have a decent restaurant downstairs, so you don't have to hop on a scooter every time you get hungry.
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| Manding's Kitchen has beachfront rooms upstairs for your food coma |
Pacifico
In Pacifico, I recommend Trogon's Perch and Banua Resort. Trogon's is expensive but the views from the rooms and the restaurant are unbeatable. The bed and the lounging area in your room all face the ocean. Tasteful design and high-end construction materials. Backup power in case of a brownout. The hotel also has an infinite pool and the only air-conditioned gym in all of northern Siargao. A delicious treat for a special occasion.
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| View from the room at Trogon's Perch |
For more modest pricing but still beachfront, I recommend Banua Resort, with spacious rooms right on the beach, all with at least a side sea view from the porch. There is one room facing the ocean but the resort is building another set of rooms. It's right next to Serai Resto restaurant and the Bamboo surf spot. Walking distance to downtown Pacifico.
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| Banua Resort |
Food
If you have access to a kitchen and prefer to cook, there is a grocery store in Alegría where you can pick up pasta, cereal, canned goods. You can get fresh local veggies from The Hub by Lokal Lab in Burgos or go around to various farmers. If you like seafood, the sea is abundant - you can go fishing or purchase fish from the local fishermen.
If you prefer to dine out, food is hard to come by unless you have a scooter. DoorDash, Grab, GoJek, and UberEats don't work here. At the moment, most restaurants up north are on the east side of the island. In Tangbo, you've only got Jamer's Resto, which offers BBQ with rice and karaoke. None of the restaurants anywhere have AC and tend to be open air. Bring mosquito repellent wherever you go. Suggested restaurants, from north to south:
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| Manding's Kitchen |
Manding's Kitchen - Breezy, beachfront, all-day dining with salads, pastas, and western and asian dishes. I recommend the Vegetable Chop Suey, Pork Sinigang, Bolognese, and Truffle Carbonara. Located in Alegría, inside the Hilner's Resort (you don't need to be a resort guest to enter. In fact, there is no resort yet - only a wall around the property and a restaurant with a few rooms overhead).
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| Coconut Nut |
Coconut Nut - Beachfront restaurant serving the best pepperoni pizza and french toast in Siargao. Breakfast portions lean towards the stingy side but you get some fruit. Also a good spot to relax on hammocks and beanbag chairs, or in the shaded dining area with its sand floor. Located in Alegría.
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| Kolekbibo |
Kolekbibo - Another breezy, beachfront restaurant. One of the most vegetarian-friendly restaurants up here. Smoothie bowls, veggie wraps, mashed potato balls, and pumpkin donuts. Located in Burgos.
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| The Hub |
The Hub by Lokal Lab - Cafe and digital nomad hub serving small portions of filipino food made with local ingredients. Proceeds go towards funding community projects such as sustainable farming. Located in Burgos.
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| Burgos |
Beshie's - BBQ and filipino dishes served in a popular roadside restaurant with plastic chairs. Beware, the dishes contain Magic Sarap, which has MSG and other flavor enhancers. Located in Burgos.
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| Trogon's Perch restaurant |
Trogon's Perch - Best sea views. Does not serve any filipino food but I recommend the truffle mashed potatoes. Located in Pacifico.
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| Serai Resto in Pacifico |
Serai Resto - Serves asian and western dishes and homemade ice cream made by a 4-star resort chef who set up shop in Siargao after his resort shut down during COVID.
Conclusion
Enjoy this last bit of paradise before the mass tourist hordes invade. Less crowded reef breaks than Bali and Hawaii. Peace and solitude in spades.
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| Like other asian countries, we love our karaoke here in the Philippines |
Footnotes
*Siargao's main source of power is basically a very long extension cord running across sharp reef at the bottom of the ocean all the way to mainland Mindanao. Last year, strong wave action rubbed the cable against the reef until it cut through the insulation, leaving the island without power for 2 weeks.
Reviewed by beachplease
on
June 09, 2025
Rating:
