Swimmers beside Guyam Island’s sandy shore and coconut palms off Siargao

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Itineraries
Philippines
Bohol to Siargao

Bohol to Siargao

One Cebu night, three on Panglao and four in General Luna.

Trip length: 9 days / 8 nights
Nights per base: 1 Cebu, 3 Bohol, 4 Siargao
Between bases: Fast ferry, then ferry and flight
Finish on day nine: Siargao flight to Cebu

Finding rooms on Siargao

Countryside and reefs first, surf and sandbars to finish

Choose this route if you want inland Bohol as well as Siargao’s boats and surfing. Carmen’s Chocolate Hills and the Corella forest sanctuary take you away from the coast for a full day. The next morning, Balicasag brings you back to the reef. General Luna changes the focus again: small offshore islands, a first lesson on a suitable beginner wave and a lagoon reached through Del Carmen’s mangroves.

The nine days contain five full sightseeing days and one Bohol arrival afternoon. You land in Cebu on day one, cross to Panglao on day two and spend days three and four on Bohol. Day five is the long move to Siargao, where days six to eight are free of flights.

Cebu City is the connecting stop, while its airport sits across the channel on Mactan. Bohol’s ferry port is in Tagbilaran, with the hotel on Panglao beyond it. On the other side of the route, Sayak airport is near Del Carmen and the Siargao stay is in General Luna, about an hour away by road. The return to Cebu between the island stays is substantial: this plan gives it a full day, including the port and airport transfers.

Use Alona for restaurants and the two Bohol departures. The countryside car gives you time to visit both the hills and the Philippine Tarsier Foundation without joining a fixed coach circuit. The Balicasag boat is private for the small party used in this budget. On Siargao, shared excursion vans and boats cover the longer outings; the lesson includes a ride to a nearby break. You do not need to hire a scooter to follow this route.

Carmen’s limestone hills

See the rounded cones from the Chocolate Hills Complex viewing deck before continuing west towards the tarsier sanctuary.

Resting tarsiers at Corella

Follow the sanctuary’s forest path with a guide who locates the animals among the branches.

Balicasag’s reef

Take a private boat from Panglao for Balicasag’s coral reef, sharing the outing with your own small party.

Guyam, Naked and Daku

Move between a palm-covered island, an exposed sandbar and Daku’s lunch huts on the General Luna boat circuit.

A lesson with your own instructor

Spend two hours learning to paddle and stand on a board at a break chosen for your level.

Sugba’s mangrove boat ride

From Del Carmen, take a pumpboat towards the lagoon and its swimming and paddling areas.

Best for

A first Bohol visit followed by an introduction to Siargao surfing
Two or three friends who want a private countryside car and Balicasag boat, then shared Siargao outings

Think twice if

Travellers who want short transfers every day: the return ferry to Cebu, airport ride and Siargao flight use most of day five.

StartBooker answer

Can I combine Bohol and Siargao in nine days?

Yes, with one night in Cebu City, three on Panglao and four in General Luna. A fast ferry reaches Bohol; returning through Cebu connects you to Siargao by air. The ferry-and-flight day takes roughly ten to thirteen hours from hotel to hotel, so protect it as a travel day. This leaves five full sightseeing days: two on Bohol and three on Siargao. Stay around Alona for the Bohol excursions and central General Luna for the surf lesson and island tours. Day nine ends with the domestic return to Cebu; a connecting international-flight overnight adds another night.

Nights: One Cebu City, three Panglao, four General Luna
First connection: Cebu Pier 1 to Tagbilaran in about two hours
Siargao flight: About one hour from Cebu to Sayak airport

City, countryside island, surf island

Ayala for the Cebu arrival, Alona for the Bohol outings and central General Luna for the longer island stay.

3 stops · swipe

1

Cebu City
1 night

Magellan’s Cross, the National Museum and Cebu Pier 1

Stay near Ayala Center for the arrival night, with restaurants close to the room. This is separate from downtown’s heritage sights and Cebu Pier 1; a booked car handles the ferry-morning ride. An arrival late in the day leaves the museum and fort for another visit.

Watch out: Specify Cebu Pier 1 for the ferry pickup; the port has several numbered piers.
Read the Cebu City guide →
2

Bohol (Panglao)
3 nights

Carmen’s hills, Corella and the Balicasag reef

Alona gives this three-night stay a walk to shore restaurants and dive desks. The inland excursion starts and ends on Panglao, and the following morning’s private boat leaves from the same coast. Keep a room near the beachfront lanes if you want to reach dinner on foot.

Watch out: Alona’s dive boats and beach venues make it a lively working shore; a beachfront room above a bar can be noisy.
Read the Bohol (Panglao) guide →
3

Siargao (General Luna)
4 nights

Offshore island boats, beginner surf lessons and Sugba Lagoon

Choose a General Luna room close to Tourism Road for meals between the outings. This is the pickup area used by both shared tours and the airport shuttle. A room set back from an evening venue helps with early excursion starts; Pacifico would add a long road journey to these southern-island departures.

Watch out: Some properties advertised for General Luna sit far beyond the central pickup area. Use the address when reserving shared-tour collection.
Read the Siargao (General Luna) guide →

Nine days from Cebu to the Pacific coast

Bohol’s full days are three and four; Siargao’s are six to eight. Keep day five for the ferry, airport and flight chain.

1 Day 1 Arrive in Cebu, with time for downtown Transfer

Take Grab from Mactan–Cebu airport to the Ayala area, about ₱500 for the car and thirty-five to forty-five minutes. Use the signed app pickup area after collecting your luggage. If you arrive early, leave the bags at the hotel and give downtown around two hours. Start at Magellan’s Cross, continue to Fort San Pedro, about ₱50 entry, and finish at the nearby National Museum, which is free and closes at 6pm. Cebu lechon, roast pork eaten with puso rice parcels, makes a useful first local meal before returning to Ayala. A late landing leaves the city walk out of the plan; the next morning’s ferry is the priority.

Mactan airport to Ayala
Magellan’s Cross and Fort San Pedro
The free National Museum

Base: Cebu City

2 Day 2 Cross to Tagbilaran and settle on Alona Ferry

Book a morning OceanJet from Cebu Pier 1 to Tagbilaran at oceanjet.net, about two hours and ₱960 per tourist-class seat before port and luggage charges. Reserve Southwest’s private city-to-seaport car for about ₱900 per vehicle carrying up to four; allow around thirty minutes from Ayala and reach the pier an hour before sailing. On Bohol, the same provider’s port-to-Alona car is about ₱1,000 for up to four, with a thirty-to-fifty-minute drive. Give the driver the Panglao hotel address. Spend the afternoon walking Alona’s shore and eating grilled fish around its restaurant lanes. The three-night room covers both the countryside day and the following Balicasag morning.

Cebu Pier 1
OceanJet to Tagbilaran
Alona’s shoreline

Base: Bohol (Panglao)

3 Day 3 Chocolate Hills, then the Corella forest Car

Hire Ultra Mint’s car or SUV for about ₱3,000 per vehicle, up to four passengers, for an eight-hour countryside day. Book at ultramintbohol.com and specify the Philippine Tarsier Foundation at Corella when requesting the route. Visit Carmen’s Chocolate Hills first; entry is about ₱150 per adult from outside Bohol. Have lunch in Loboc, then reach Corella by 2:30pm, leaving time for the guided visit before its 3:30pm closing. The sanctuary charges about ₱150 per person. Follow the guide along the forest path, speak quietly and leave the camera flash off around the resting animals. This car price excludes tickets and lunch: for two adults, the driver and these two admissions come to about ₱3,600.

The Chocolate Hills Complex
Lunch in Loboc
Corella’s guided forest walk

Base: Bohol (Panglao)

4 Day 4 A private Balicasag snorkelling morning

Reserve Ultra Mint’s private Balicasag boat for about ₱3,700 carrying up to three people. Its morning runs roughly 6:30am to noon, with transport, the boat and life vests included. Add about ₱500 per foreign adult for the environmental payment, entry and mask rental; the two-person total is around ₱4,700 before food. The offshore boat ride takes about thirty to forty minutes. At the reef, keep clear of the coral and give turtles room to move past you. Eat lunch back around Alona after the early return.

Balicasag’s reef
A private boat for the small party
Lunch back on Alona

Base: Bohol (Panglao)

5 Day 5 The full travel day back through Cebu Flight

Take an early Tagbilaran–Cebu ferry and an afternoon Cebgo flight to Siargao. An early-October 2026 example uses the 6am ferry, reaching Cebu around 8am, then the 14:55 flight arriving at Sayak at 4pm. Book at oceanjet.net and cebupacificair.com, leaving at least four hours between the ferry arrival and flight departure for your dates. Budget ₱960 for the ferry and around ₱2,500–4,500 for the flight. Southwest’s Alona-to-port car is about ₱1,000 per vehicle; for that 6am sailing, leave the hotel around 4am. Allow an hour from Pier 1 to Mactan airport in Southwest’s prebooked car, about ₱900 per vehicle. Eat before boarding the flight. ADAII’s shared airport van to General Luna is ₱300 per person and takes about fifty-five minutes.

The early Bohol ferry
Mactan airport connection
General Luna arrival

Base: Siargao (General Luna)

6 Day 6 Guyam, Naked and lunch on Daku

Join ADAII Travel and Tours’ three-island outing at siargaoislandhopping.com, from about ₱1,700 per person. The ticket includes General Luna hotel pickup and return, the boat, guide, lunch cottage and entrance, docking and tourism payments. Keep the whole day for the shared outing, including its later Guyam stop. Naked Island has exposed sand without trees; save the longer shaded stop for Daku, where lunch is served by the beach. Guyam supplies the small palm-covered island at the other end of the excursion. Take a sun shirt for the exposed crossing. The first boat ride towards Naked Island takes about forty-five to sixty minutes from General Luna.

Guyam’s coconut palms
Naked Island’s open sandbar
Daku’s lunch stop

Base: Siargao (General Luna)

7 Day 7 Learn to surf with Kermit

Book Kermit’s two-hour lesson at kermitsiargao.com for about ₱1,600 per person. It gives you one instructor, a board and a motorbike ride to a nearby break; the instructor chooses the place for your level. Two friends each book their own lesson, so the pair costs about ₱3,200. Start with paddling and standing on the board before trying to catch the small waves. After the session, eat brick-oven pizza at Kermit’s restaurant in Purok 5, General Luna; the named Kermit Pizza comes with cheese and Parma ham. The included transport covers nearby lesson breaks, with farther outings priced separately.

One instructor for your lesson
A nearby beginner break
Kermit’s Purok 5 restaurant

Base: Siargao (General Luna)

8 Day 8 A shared land tour with Sugba Lagoon

Book Shuttle Siargao’s five-stop joiner land tour for about ₱2,200 per person at shuttlesiargao.com. General Luna collection is roughly 7:30–8:30am, with the day ending around 4pm. The route combines Maasin River, Magpupungko’s rock pools, Siargao’s Secret Beach and Mountain View with Sugba Lagoon. Ask how the stops will be ordered around low tide at Magpupungko. The package covers the van, driver, guide and lunch, plus the Sugba boat and entrance, environmental, docking and parking charges. From Del Carmen, the boat travels through the mangroves towards Sugba’s swimming area. Keep cash for equipment rental if you decide to add paddling.

Sugba’s mangroves and lagoon
Magpupungko’s rock pools
Maasin River and the road viewpoints

Base: Siargao (General Luna)

9 Day 9 Leave Siargao on the Cebu flight Flight

Reserve ADAII’s shared General Luna–Sayak van for about ₱300 per person through siargaoislandhopping.com. The drive takes around fifty-five minutes; aim to leave the hotel about three hours before the flight, with breakfast finished beforehand. Fly to Cebu in roughly an hour, budgeting about ₱2,500–4,500 for a one-way seat. Buy the return through Cebu Pacific when fixing the outward flight so both flights use your four General Luna nights. Choose the baggage you need with the flight fare. Arrival at Cebu ends day nine. An overnight before a separately booked international departure is another room beyond the eight nights here.

The shared van to Sayak
Siargao–Cebu flight
The end of the nine-day route

Base: Siargao (General Luna)

Two connections through Cebu

Tagbilaran links the Panglao stay to Cebu Pier 1; Sayak airport links the flight to General Luna.

2 transfers

Cebu City Bohol (Panglao)

Ferry Travel time: About two hours by ferry, then thirty to fifty minutes to Alona

Sail OceanJet from Cebu Pier 1 to Tagbilaran for about ₱960 per person. Southwest’s prebooked Alona car is about ₱1,000 per vehicle for up to four; give it the hotel address on Panglao.

Booking note: Buy the ferry at oceanjet.net and the car with Southwest Tours. Arrive at the pier an hour before departure.
Bohol (Panglao) Siargao (General Luna)

Flight Travel time: About ten to thirteen hours from hotel to hotel

Return from Tagbilaran to Cebu by ferry, about ₱960 per seat, and fly to Sayak for roughly ₱2,500–4,500. The day includes Alona’s port ride, the cross-city airport drive and General Luna’s shared van.

Booking note: Use oceanjet.net and cebupacificair.com, with the connection planned as described on day five. ADAII’s Siargao shuttle is ₱300 per person.

Ferry fares below are per tourist-class seat, before port and luggage charges. Flight figures depend on the selected fare and baggage.

The selected costs for two people

The pair used here shares the Bohol car and private boat, then buys individual Siargao tour and lesson places. The figures keep per-vehicle payments separate from per-person tickets.

Siargao flights Four one-way seats between Cebu and Siargao. The flight into Cebu on day one and any baggage upgrades are outside this figure.: About ₱10,000–18,000 for the pair, both ways
The two ferry journeys Two adults each travel Cebu–Tagbilaran and back at about ₱960 per seat. Add port and checked-luggage charges separately.: About ₱3,840 for two people
Bohol countryside day One ₱3,000 car for up to four, plus two Chocolate Hills and two Corella entries at ₱150 each.: About ₱3,600 for two before lunch
The three boat outings Private Balicasag ₱4,700 with the selected foreign-adult fees and masks; ADAII islands ₱3,400; Shuttle Siargao’s lagoon day ₱4,400.: About ₱12,500 for two
First surf lessons Two ₱1,600 Kermit lessons, each with an instructor, board and transport to a nearby break.: About ₱3,200 for two people
Port and airport rides Cebu arrival car ~₱500; hotel–pier ₱900; two Bohol cars ₱2,000; Cebu pier–airport ₱900; four Siargao van seats ₱1,200.: About ₱5,500 for the pair
Accommodation One Cebu City night, three Panglao nights and four General Luna nights. Price each room for the same two adults and breakfast terms.: Eight nights across three hotels

Booking tips

The named flights, road rides, ferries, excursions and lessons total ₱38,640–46,640 for two before hotels. Add the first flight into Cebu, meals outside the two Siargao tour lunches, baggage upgrades and any equipment rental. Optional Cebu attraction tickets and port or checked-luggage charges are also outside this subtotal.
Ultra Mint’s selected countryside car carries up to four passengers, while the private Balicasag boat price covers up to three. A fourth traveller needs a different boat booking even though the same countryside car has room.

Compare central General Luna rooms for the four nights, with the shared-tour pickup address in mind.

Compare Siargao rooms →

Cebu City, Alona and General Luna

The map opens on Alona. Zoom out to see all three overnight bases.

Bohol and Siargao: common questions

Should a first-time surfer book Cloud 9’s main wave?

No. Cloud 9 breaks over reef and is shallow at low tide; Kermit identifies it as a wave for experienced surfers. Book the beginner lesson and let the instructor take you to a suitable break. You can watch the advanced riders without choosing their wave for your first session.

Are the tarsiers awake for the afternoon visit?

They are usually resting: tarsiers are nocturnal.

How much luggage can I carry onto the ferry?

OceanJet Tourist passengers can carry one handbag up to ten kilograms and 25 × 35 × 40cm. A larger suitcase uses the separate baggage arrangements. Keep the ferry’s size limit in mind when choosing the trip bag; the flight ticket’s baggage allowance is a separate purchase condition.

How can I pay for ADAII’s three-island tour?

Pay a fifty-percent bank-transfer deposit to reserve, or the full amount by card or PayPal. At the roughly ₱1,700 ticket price, the bank deposit is about ₱850 per person. This payment belongs to the selected island tour; the airport shuttle is a separate reservation.

Does the UK’s Mindanao warning cover Siargao?

Siargao is excluded from the UK Foreign Office’s advice against all but essential travel to the rest of Mindanao.

When is a useful season for Bohol and Siargao together?

April–May is a useful compromise: Cebu and Bohol are relatively drier around March–April. Rain records for nearby mainland Surigao peak November–January and ease towards May. Experienced surf peaks mid-September–November; beginners learn year-round. Rough seas can change boat outings, so swap the lesson and island-day order.

Ferry, flight and island records

Editorial team StartBooker Editorial Travel guide editorial team

Checked on 2026-10-06

Updated 2026-10-06

Research approach: Read the selected ferry, flight, transfer and activity offers. Checked the three hotel bases, eight nights, connecting-day duration, included charges and two-person budget, then edited repeated advice.

35 Source records

Operator and travel sources