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Siargao, Philippines: Is It Worth It for Surfers in 2026? · Phil and H Travel - Is It Worth It? Top Travel Destinations Explored!

• 0:00
  Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are doing something a
• 0:03
  little different. We aren't just looking at a
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  topic. We're virtually packing our
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  bags, putting on or maybe forgetting our sunscreen, and
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  heading to a specific coordinate on the map that is just
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  completely dominating the algorithm right now.
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  It is arguably the most hyped coordinate in all of Southeast
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  Asia, no question. We're talking about Sierra Gao,
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  Philippines. But, and this is a massive but,
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  we are not looking at the glossy brochure version.
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  We're looking at the reality of Sir GAO as it stands right now,
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  in February 2026. Precisely, yeah.
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  And the date is the most critical piece of data we have
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  today. I mean, if you're listening to
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  this and remembering a trip you took back in 2018 or even 2022,
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  you need to just scrub that memory.
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  It's obsolete. It's a different planet.
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  It's. A completely different planet.
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  The data we have in front of us, it paints a picture of an island
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  that has undergone a complete metamorphosis.
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  It's known as the Teardrop Island, mostly because of its
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  shape, but looking at some of these budget reports we have, it
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  might be because of what it does to your bank account.
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  That is a very, very valid interpretation.
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  The narrative we're seeing everywhere, TikTok, Instagram,
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  all the travel blogs is that Sure Guy is the new Bali.
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  It's the ultimate digital nomad haven, the surfing capital of
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  the Philippines. You know, paradise found the
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  dream, the dream. But we have a stack of sources
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  here. Trip reports economic analysis
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  on the ground logs that suggests a massive tension.
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  There's a real conflict between that paradise narrative and the,
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  well, the brutal reality of the actual experience.
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  The core argument from our source material is fascinating
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  and honestly a bit polarizing. It suggests that for about 50%
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  of our listeners, booking a trip to Sierra GAO right now in 2026
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  would be an absolute disaster. Wow, 50.
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  Percent, 50% A financial black hole wrapped in palm trees.
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  But for the other 50% it could be life changing.
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  But only, and I really have to stress this, only if you do the
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  math before you land. OK, so that's our mission today.
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  We are going to unpack this island, but we're going to do it
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  through a very specific lens, surf progression.
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  This isn't a general Eat, Pray, Love guide.
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  We are looking at this for the person who wants to go from
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  beginner to intermediate, or maybe the intermediate surfer
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  who's just trying to survive a reef break without leaving a
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  significant portion of their skin on the coral.
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  Which is a statistical probability we will absolutely
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  to get to later. Oh good.
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  We've also got some serious contrarian surprises in the
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  research today. Apparently the best surf spot is
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  not the famous Cloud 9. Correct.
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  Total myth. And the rainy season might
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  actually be better for learning than the dry season.
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  For some people, yes, it's counterintuitive.
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  And this was the biggest surprise for me.
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  Staying in the main town of General Luna might be the
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  absolute worst way to experience the island.
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  It's a lot to untangle, OK? Let's set the scene.
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  We need context. How did we get here?
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  Because SER GAO wasn't always this corporate cool destination
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  with like $8 lattes. No it wasn't, not at all.
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  To understand the CR go of 2026 you really have to look back at
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  the pivot point. December 2021, that was typhoon
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  Odette. It was a catastrophic event.
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  It just it flattened the island pre Odette.
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  CR GAO was this rustic up and coming darling.
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  It was all bamboo huts, dirt roads, and a very specific quiet
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  charm. I remember seeing photos from
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  back that it looked like a castaway fantasy almost
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  untouched. It was, it really was.
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  But the rebuild, that's where things get interesting.
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  The analysis shows that the island didn't just bounce back
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  it it mutated. Mutated.
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  That sounds ominous. Well, think about the economics
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  of a rebuild like that. When everything is destroyed,
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  who has the capital to rebuild quickly?
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  Not the local. It's not the local family with a
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  small homestay. It's big money for Manila.
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  It's international investors, so the island shifted from that
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  rustic charm to what all the sources are calling corporate.
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  Cool, so the bamboo is gone and the concrete is in.
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  Exactly. You now have this really jarring
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  visual landscape where a stunning brutalist concrete
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  boutique hotel sits right next to a plywood shack.
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  The whole island has been polished, commoditized and
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  packaged for a completely different kind of consumer.
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  And that brings us to the demographic shift, because the
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  people filling these new concrete hotels aren't the same
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  people who were, you know, sleeping in hammocks 10 years
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  ago. Not at all.
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  The 2026 crowd is defined by the remote worker aesthetic.
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  You walk into any cafe and it's just a sea of $3000 Macbooks.
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  You see families trying to push strollers through sand.
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  Strollers on sand? That sounds like a physics
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  problem nobody can solve. It's a complete nightmare, but
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  that's the expectation gap. People arrive expecting the
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  movie, the beach secluded, quiet, untouched.
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  They've seen the drone shots on Instagram where the water is
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  glass and the beach is totally empty.
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  And what's the reality when they get there on the ground?
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  The reality is saturation. It's dusty, or if it rained 10
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  minutes ago, it's just muddy. It is so noisy.
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  You have to understand the building boom hasn't stopped, so
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  the soundtrack of the island isn't just waves anymore.
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  It's jackhammers, saws and cement mixers.
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  So the lie of social media is the silence, the emptiness.
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  The lie is the emptiness. The reality is gridlock on the
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  main road in General Luna. The reality is surf instructors
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  who are fully booked three days in advance.
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  I mean you have to realize it's a major tourist hub now, not
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  some secret getaway. OK, let's walk the listener
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  through this step by step. Let's simulate the journey
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  because I think the shock starts the moment the wheels touch the
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  ground. You land at Syak Airport.
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  IAO. Right, IAO.
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  What is that moment like? Well, the terminal has been
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  expanded since the early days, but it is still tiny relative to
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  the volume of people coming through.
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  The first thing that hits you, and this is universal in all the
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  reports, is the air. The air, it's not a breeze, it's
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  a blanket. The humidity in C argao is a
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  physical weight. You step out onto the tarmac and
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  you are immediately damp. Like instantly.
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  OK, so you're sweating, you've got your bags, now you need to
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  get to your hotel. In most places you'd look for a
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  taxi or maybe call an Uber. Don't even bother looking.
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  You are now entering the jurisdiction of what the source
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  is affectionately and sometimes not so affectionately.
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  Call the Van Mafia. The Van Mafia, that sounds
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  organized. Oh, it is highly organized.
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  This isn't some chaotic free for all.
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  There is a system. You exit the terminal and you
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  are just funneled towards the line of white vans.
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  There are no meters, there's no haggling.
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  The Reed is fixed, usually 300 to 400 Philippine pesos per
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  person depending on where you're going.
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  So you pay your fee, you hop in, and you go.
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  Sounds simple enough. If only it were that simple.
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  This is where you encounter the sardine experience.
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  You see, the business model of the Van Mafia relies on maximum
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  density. The van does not leave when you
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  are ready. Oh no.
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  The van leaves when the driver determines that the laws of
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  physics will not allow another human body or another piece of
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  luggage to fit inside. So you're getting intimate with
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  strangers. You are interlocking knees, you
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  are inhaling your neighbors deodorant, and you just sit
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  there sweating, waiting for that very last seat to fill up.
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  And then finally, the drive begins.
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  It's about 45 minutes to an hour to get to General Luna.
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  And the drive itself is a bit of a tease, isn't it, based on what
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  I've read? It is the ultimate bait and
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  switch. The 1st 30 minutes are
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  absolutely spectacular. You're winding through these
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  lush green corridors of coconut trees, thousands of them.
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  It feels ancient. It feels like the paradise you
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  books. You think, OK, this is it I've
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  made. It and then.
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  And then you hit the outskirts of General Luna.
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  Coconut trees disappear. They're replaced by corrugated
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  metal fences and construction sites.
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  The sound of birds is replaced by the roar of motorbikes and
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  tricycles. And then smell hits you.
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  The sources were very, very specific about this Ciargo
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  bouquet. It is a distinct olfactory
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  signature, a very unique smell. It's a mix of three main things.
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  Burning trash because Waste Management is still trying to
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  catch up to the population boom, salt air from the ocean and
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  grilled pork from all the street vendors.
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  It's smoky, salty, and meaty all at once.
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  It's just sensory overload completely.
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  And visually, it's just chaotic. You have that eclectic
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  infrastructure. We talked about a luxury villa
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  with glass walls right next to a little sorry, sorry store made
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  of plywood. And the traffic.
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  We have to talk about the traffic on Tourism Road.
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  Yeah. I thought this was a tiny
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  island. How can there be traffic?
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  It's a 2 lane Rd. that serves as the main artery for the entire
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  tourist economy. So you've got delivery trucks,
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  you've got vans, tricycles, hundreds of scooters, and
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  pedestrians all fighting for the same bit of space.
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  It's a crawl, but there is one hazard that overrides all
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  others. The dogs.
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  The dogs. This is the first rule of
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  driving in. See Cargo.
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  The dogs there are not like dogs in the West.
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  They do not chase cars. They do not fear cars.
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  They simply exist on the asphalt.
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  They sleep in the middle of lane.
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  They sunbathe on the yellow line.
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  They do not move. So if you're driving a scooter.
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  You move, you swerve. If you expect the dog to get out
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  of your way, you are going to crash.
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  It's that simple. You navigate around them like
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  they are plot holes with a pulse.
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  So you've survived the van, you've dodged the dogs, you've
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  arrived at your accommodation. Now the real shock sets in for
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  your wallet. We mentioned the Shiagao
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  premium. Let's drill down into the
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  numbers because I think people assume Southeast Asia
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  automatically equals cheap. That is a very dangerous
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  assumption in 2026. You have to understand that
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  prices and share go are inflated by about 20 to 30% compared to
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  the mainland Philippines or even other tourist hubs like
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  Dumaguet. Everything has to be shipped in
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  and there's a definite hype tax on top of that.
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  OK, let's breakdown accommodation.
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  If I'm a backpacker, what am I looking at per night?
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  The days of the $5 hostel are long gone.
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  If you want a dorm bed in a place that has air conditioning,
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  which is trust me non negotiable in this heat and decent starlink
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  Internet, you are paying between 800 and 1200 pesos a night.
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  So that's roughly 13 to 20 U.S. dollars.
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  Exactly which is approaching European hostile prices in some
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  cities. It really is.
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  But the real trap, the financial danger zone, is the mid range.
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  The source is called this the sweet spot in terms of what's
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  available, but the worst value in terms of what you actually
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  get for your money. Explain that why is the mid
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  range such a trap? You're looking at private
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  bungalows for about 3500 to 6000 pesos.
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  That's 60 to 100 U.S. dollars a night.
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  Now in Bali or Thailand, 100 bucks gets you a stunning villa,
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  maybe with a private pool. Right, something really nut.
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  In CR Gal for 100 bucks it often gets you a plywood Hut with a
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  rustic bathroom, which means the shower is basically a pipe in
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  the wall and a fan that barely moves the air.
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  You are paying for the aesthetic of simplicity, but at a luxury
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  price point. And if you want actual luxury,
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  the nice concrete places. You're starting at 15,000 pesos
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  a night. That's 250 U.S. dollars, and it
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  goes way up from there. For that you get the concrete
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  walls, the good AC, the generator, which is crucial
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  because power outages happen all the time, and the beachfront
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  view. No food.
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  I feel like food is where the budget really, really bleeds
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  out. We see all these photos of
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  avocado toast and, you know, Akai bowls.
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  The avocado toast index is very high here.
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  If you were eating at the trendy western style cafes, the ones
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  with the nice branding and the big espresso machines, you're
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  paying New York City prices. An avocado toast and a flat
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  white will easily set you back 800 to 1500 pesos per meal.
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  That's like 15 to 20, five U.S. dollars.
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  For breakfast it is, and if you do that three times a day, you
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  are just burning through cash. However, the sources really
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  emphasized that local value still exists, you just have to
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  leave. The AC get out of the tourist
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  bubble. Exactly.
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  If you go to a Karen Deria, a local canteen where the food is
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  in pots on the counter, you can get a huge plate of pork, adobo
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  rice and maybe some vegetables for 150 to 250 pesos.
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  That's three to 5 bucks. So the strategy has to be to mix
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  high and low. You have to.
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  If you eat Western for every meal, your budget just explodes.
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  The recommendation is a budget about 2500 pesos, around 40 to
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  40, five U.S. dollars per day just for food.
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  That allows for a nice dinner, a cafe breakfast and a cheap local
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  lunch. OK, let's get to the heart of
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  the matter. The reason most people are going
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  to see or go the surf, but we're calling this section the surf
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  tax because if you are there to learn or progress, the ocean is
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  definitely not free. It's an investment sport here
• 12:29
  for sure. First you need a board.
• 12:33
  A rental is going to cost you 500 pesos for a few hours.
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  If you want a high performance board for the whole day, it's
• 12:39
  1500. But the real cost, and honestly
• 12:42
  the most important one for safety, is instruction.
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  What's the going rate for a guide or an instructor?
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  It is standardized significantly across the island.
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  Do you only get 1500 to 2000 pesos per hour?
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  That's roughly 25 to 30 five U.S. dollars.
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  And you might be thinking I'll just watch a YouTube video and
• 13:00
  paddle out by myself. I can literally hear the
• 13:02
  listeners thinking that exact thought right now.
• 13:04
  Please do not do that. We'll get to the safety reasons
• 13:07
  why in a minute, but strictly from a progression standpoint,
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  you are paying for local knowledge.
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  You're paying for someone to tell you where the reef is
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  shallowest and where the currents can drag you out to
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  sea. And you mentioned boat fees
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  because not all the spots are right off the beach.
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  Yes, this is key. Unlike some surf destinations
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  where you just walk off the sand, many of the best
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  progression spots in Sir GAO, like Rock Island or Daku, are
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  outer reefs. You need a boat to get there.
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  That's another 500 pesos per person round trip.
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  So if we tally all this up, let's create some listener
• 13:39
  personas to see what the daily burn rate actually looks like.
• 13:42
  Good idea. Let's start with the dirtbag
• 13:44
  surfer. This is the person staying in a
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  fan only dorm, eating only pumpkin Curry at the local spot
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  and not taking any lessons. They can maybe survive on about
• 13:52
  2500 pesos a day. Which is roughly 42 U.S.
• 13:56
  dollars. Doable, but that's a tight
• 13:57
  budget. Very tight.
• 13:59
  Now let's look at our target listener for this deep dive, the
• 14:02
  progression traveler. They want a private room because
• 14:04
  they need sleep to recover. They want a daily surf lesson.
• 14:08
  They want that boat trip to Daku.
• 14:09
  They want a nice dinner and a couple of beers at night.
• 14:12
  OK, what's the damage? You are looking at 7000 pesos a
• 14:15
  day minimum. That is 115 U.S. dollars every
• 14:19
  single day. Wow, that really puts it in
• 14:22
  perspective, $115.00 a day is a serious budget for Southeast
• 14:26
  Asia. That's not a cheap trip.
• 14:27
  It is not, and if you're the comfort traveler, staying in a
• 14:31
  beachfront villa, eating steak, drinking cocktails, you are
• 14:35
  easily over 250 U.S. dollars a day.
• 14:38
  So the big question just hangs in the air.
• 14:40
  Is it worth it? It's a nuanced answer.
• 14:43
  I mean if you look strictly at cost per wave, how much money
• 14:46
  you spend, or is how many ways you actually catch, the answer
• 14:49
  is probably no. Bali is cheaper.
• 14:52
  You'll get more waves in Bali just because there are more
• 14:54
  spots. But Ciargo offers something
• 14:56
  else. You are paying for the quality
• 14:58
  of the wave. These are world class reef
• 15:00
  breaks. When they are on they are
• 15:02
  mechanical perfection and compared to the really
• 15:05
  aggressive localism in places like California or parts of
• 15:08
  Australia, the vibe in the water here is generally friendlier.
• 15:11
  If you hire a local guide, you're kind of paying for the
• 15:14
  vibe. OK, let's pivot to the surf
• 15:15
  progression strategy because if you were spending $115.00 a day,
• 15:19
  you do not want to waste it and our sources identify a massive
• 15:23
  dangerous trap the I'll learn at Cloud 9 myth.
• 15:26
  This is the single biggest mistake that beginners make.
• 15:29
  They see the famous boardwalk. They see the big viewing tower.
• 15:32
  They think, this is the spot. This is where I'll paddle out.
• 15:35
  What's the reality of the Cloud Nine Wave?
• 15:37
  Cloud 9 is a world class wave for a reason.
• 15:41
  It is a hollow, heavy, incredibly shallow reef break.
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  When we say shallow, we mean thigh deep water over razor
• 15:49
  sharp coral. It is for experts only experts.
• 15:53
  If you were a beginner and you paddle out there, you are a
• 15:55
  hazard to yourself and to everyone else.
• 15:57
  You'll get screamed at and you will most likely get hurt.
• 16:00
  But right next door is jacking horse, right?
• 16:02
  That's supposed to be the beginner spot.
• 16:03
  Jacking horse is the trap within the trap.
• 16:06
  Yes, the weight itself is smaller and softer, but in 2026
• 16:10
  it is described by every source as a zoo pitcher.
• 16:13
  Bumper cars with surfboards. You have hundreds of people on
• 16:16
  soft top foam boards, many of whom have never been in the
• 16:19
  ocean before. No one knows the rules of right
• 16:21
  of way. Boards are flying everywhere.
• 16:23
  It is chaotic, it's stressful, and frankly it's dangerous just
• 16:26
  due to the sheer volume of human bodies in one small space.
• 16:30
  That sounds absolutely miserable.
• 16:32
  So where should our listener actually go?
• 16:34
  What is the strategic fix? You have to get out of the main
• 16:37
  Cloud 9 orbit if you're an intermediate, meaning you can
• 16:39
  paddle, you can turn, and you can go down the line.
• 16:42
  Get a bike and go north to Pacifico or go South to the
• 16:46
  secret spot in Guan. Is the secret spot actually, you
• 16:50
  know, a secret? Not anymore, not really, but it
• 16:54
  spreads the crowd out, which is key.
• 16:56
  However, the golden ticket for beginners and early
• 16:58
  intermediates is Daku Island. Why Daku specifically?
• 17:02
  Daku is a soft rolling wave. It breaks in deeper water so
• 17:05
  that fear factor of hitting the reef is much lower.
• 17:08
  It gives you time to stand up and actually surf rather than
• 17:11
  just plummeting straight down. And it requires a boat ride
• 17:15
  which filters out the penny pinchers so the crowd is
• 17:17
  slightly better managed. Now I want to double click on a
• 17:20
  piece of gear advice that kept appearing in the notes.
• 17:22
  It was written in all caps in one of the reports booties.
• 17:26
  This is non negotiable. If you take nothing else from
• 17:29
  this entire deep dive, take this.
• 17:31
  Bring your own high quality reef booties.
• 17:33
  Why can't I just rent them when I get there?
• 17:35
  Have you ever smelled a rental booty?
• 17:38
  Fortunately, no, I have not had that pleasure.
• 17:40
  It is a biological weapon. They're perpetually wet, they're
• 17:43
  filled with other people's foot bacteria, and they often have
• 17:46
  holes in the toes which renders them completely useless.
• 17:50
  The reef and chair gal is not dead rock, it is live sharp
• 17:54
  coral. It cuts like glass.
• 17:56
  A single cut on your foot can get infected with staph bacteria
• 18:00
  within hours. We are talking about trip
• 18:02
  ending, potentially serious infections.
• 18:04
  Bring your own booties. Spend the 50 bucks.
• 18:07
  And rash guards, same level of importance.
• 18:09
  Essential The sun is incredibly aggressive, but there's also the
• 18:13
  thimble jellyfish factor. Usually around April and May,
• 18:16
  you get these tiny, almost invisible jellyfish.
• 18:19
  They won't send you to the hospital, but they sting like a
• 18:21
  nettle. A rash guard saves you a lot of
• 18:23
  misery. Let's talk about timing, because
• 18:25
  nothing reins a surf trip faster than a typhoon or a completely
• 18:29
  flat ocean. Right.
• 18:30
  So if you're an expert hunter looking for barrels at Cloud 9,
• 18:33
  you want the typhoon season, September to November.
• 18:36
  That's when the Pacific really wakes up.
• 18:37
  But that's also when the crowds are at their absolute peak.
• 18:40
  And for the learner, the progression focused traveler.
• 18:44
  You want the small surf season, April to August.
• 18:47
  The water is clear, the wind is usually better for the beginner
• 18:50
  spots, and the waves are fun and manageable, not terrifying.
• 18:54
  Is there a do not go window a time to absolutely avoid?
• 18:57
  Yes, December and January. Which is weird because that's
• 19:00
  peak holiday travel for most Westerners.
• 19:02
  Christmas. New Year's.
• 19:04
  It is, and that's why so many people have a miserable time.
• 19:07
  Is the peak rainy season and in Charde Gao rain isn't just 20
• 19:11
  minute shower, it can be days of torrential down.
• 19:14
  Tour the roads, turn to mud pits.
• 19:16
  Your clothes never dry, they just grow mold.
• 19:18
  The surf gets blown out and messy.
• 19:21
  Unless you enjoy sitting in a damp room watching Netflix.
• 19:24
  Avoid December and January at all costs.
• 19:26
  OK, let's move to logistics. We've covered the what and the
• 19:29
  how much, but let's talk about the where, specifically where to
• 19:32
  sleep, because the map can be really deceiving.
• 19:34
  There is a massive location trap here.
• 19:37
  You look at a map app and you see a cute guest house that
• 19:40
  looks central, but what the map doesn't show you is the road
• 19:43
  surface. Many of these central spots are
• 19:46
  down these long dirt roads that have never been paved. 1
• 19:50
  rainstorm and you are literally living in a mud pit.
• 19:53
  And the commute seems to be a major pain point in all the
• 19:56
  reports. It is the island has two main
• 19:58
  nodes of activity, the Cloud 9 area which is North General Luna
• 20:02
  and then the town proper which is South.
• 20:04
  They're separated by about 3 to 4 kilometers of that traffic
• 20:07
  clogged Rd. we mentioned earlier.
• 20:08
  So what's the strategy? How do you avoid that
• 20:11
  frustration? Don't plan on commuting back and
• 20:13
  forth multiple times a day. It will break your spirit.
• 20:16
  The advice is clear, stay where you want to spend your mornings.
• 20:20
  If you are there to surf Cloud 9 at dawn, stay near Cloud 9.
• 20:24
  If you want to be near the restaurants, the bars, the party
• 20:26
  scene, stay in town. You have to pick a lane.
• 20:29
  Let's talk about money again, but the mechanics of it, the ATM
• 20:32
  situation. Cash is king.
• 20:34
  Do not rely on Apple Pay or credit cards at local spots.
• 20:38
  It's just not going to happen. And here is the critical
• 20:41
  warning. The ATMs run out of money.
• 20:43
  Like completely empty. Bone dry, specifically on the
• 20:46
  15th and the 30th of the month. Why?
• 20:48
  Those dates That's so specific. Those are paydays in the
• 20:51
  Philippines. The locals drain the machines to
• 20:53
  get their wages. Also, long weekends, the trucks
• 20:56
  that are supposed to refill the cash can't get there.
• 20:58
  The rule is simple. Bring a substantial brick of
• 21:01
  cash with you from Manila or Cebu.
• 21:04
  Do not land in Sierra GAO with 0 pesos expecting the machine to
• 21:07
  work. It is a gamble you will
• 21:09
  absolutely lose. And for the digital nomads
• 21:12
  listening, the ones with the $3000 laptops, what about the
• 21:15
  Internet? This is the one area where 2026
• 21:17
  is vastly better than say 2021. Starling has completely saved
• 21:21
  the island. Almost every decent cafe, hotel
• 21:24
  and Co working space has Starlink.
• 21:26
  You can do your zoom calls, you can upload your large files.
• 21:29
  It's reliable. But what about mobile data on
• 21:32
  your phone? Still spotty, Smart and Globe
• 21:35
  are the main carriers in general.
• 21:37
  Luna it's OK, you'll get 5G sometimes but the moment you
• 21:41
  drive north to Pacifico or Alegria you hit massive dead
• 21:45
  zones. So download your maps offline
• 21:48
  before you go exploring. Absolutely do not rely on ways
• 21:51
  to get you back from a day trip in the north.
• 21:53
  You will get stuck. OK, we need to address the
• 21:55
  section of the outline titled Health and Safety, and
• 21:58
  specifically a term that sounds kind of cute but is actually
• 22:01
  quite gruesome. The CR gal kiss.
• 22:03
  There is nothing romantic about the Sierra gal kiss.
• 22:06
  It is the local slang for the road rash burn you get on your
• 22:09
  calf or your thigh when you slide your motorbike across the
• 22:12
  pavement or gravel. Is it really that common?
• 22:15
  If you go to the medical clinic in General Illuna, it looks like
• 22:17
  a battlefield triage unit. It is just row after row of
• 22:21
  tourists with heavily bandaged limbs.
• 22:23
  It's shocking. Why is it so bad there
• 22:25
  specifically? What are the hazards?
• 22:27
  It's a perfect storm of of hazards.
• 22:28
  Hazard one, the roads are often covered in a thin layer of sand,
• 22:32
  which makes them incredibly slippery, like ice.
• 22:35
  Hazard 2, drunk driving is rampant, especially at night.
• 22:38
  And hazard 3, the dogs, we talked about them, but hitting a
• 22:43
  dog at 40 kilometers per hour is a guaranteed crash.
• 22:46
  So what is the advice for someone who wants to get around?
• 22:49
  The advice is blunt. If you do not ride a motorbike
• 22:52
  at home, Sir GAO is not the place to learn.
• 22:55
  Do not let your ego write checks your skin can't cash.
• 22:59
  Take a tricycle, it cost $2.00. It's charming and you keep your
• 23:03
  skin. And if you are an experienced
• 23:05
  writer. Wear a helmet.
• 23:07
  In 2026, the police have finally started cracking down on this
• 23:09
  with checkpoints. But forget the fine, do it for
• 23:12
  your brain. The number of traumatic brain
• 23:14
  injuries on the island from scooter accidents is a statistic
• 23:17
  you do not want to join. Let's go back to the reef cuts.
• 23:19
  We talked about booties, but accidents happen.
• 23:21
  You fall, you hit the bottom. What is the medical reality of a
• 23:24
  reef cut in the tropics? This is where people get into
• 23:26
  serious trouble. In a cold, dry climate, a
• 23:30
  scratch heels in the tropics with the humidity and the
• 23:33
  bacteria in the water, it just it festers.
• 23:36
  The infection rate for reef cuts in Shirago is incredibly high.
• 23:40
  So what is the protocol? What do you do?
• 23:43
  It is aggressive. You get cut, you get out of the
• 23:46
  water immediately. You do not wait.
• 23:48
  You scrub the wound. And the local swear by one thing
• 23:51
  calamazzi. The little limes.
• 23:53
  Yes, you squeeze the lime juice directly into the open wound.
• 23:56
  Ouch. That sounds excruciating.
• 23:59
  It's things like absolute fire, but the acidity kills the
• 24:02
  bacteria. Then you douse it with Betadine
• 24:04
  or another antiseptic. And here's the crucial step.
• 24:08
  You must keep it dry. If you go back in the ocean the
• 24:11
  next day with an open cut, it will not heal.
• 24:13
  It will rot. I'm not being dramatic.
• 24:14
  It will get seriously infected. And finally, under health, sure,
• 24:18
  go stomach. Standard travel rules, but you
• 24:20
  have to be strict about them. The tap water is not potable.
• 24:23
  Do not brush your teeth with it. But the bigger issue is actually
• 24:25
  dehydration. You're surfing, you're sweating
• 24:27
  constantly, and you're likely drinking alcohol at night.
• 24:30
  You lose electrolytes so fast. So just drinking a lot of water
• 24:33
  isn't enough? Water isn't enough, you need the
• 24:35
  salt. Bring electrolyte packets, LMNT,
• 24:38
  Gatorade, powder, whatever you use, bring them from home.
• 24:41
  Buying them on the island is super expensive and the good
• 24:44
  stores often run out. Okay, we have thoroughly
• 24:47
  terrified everyone. We've emptied their bank
• 24:49
  accounts, we've bandaged their legs, but people keep going
• 24:53
  back. There is still magic there.
• 24:54
  We have to talk about the winds, the moments that make the
• 24:58
  $115.00 a day feel worth it. The magic is absolutely still
• 25:02
  there, you just have to work harder for it than you used to.
• 25:05
  One of the absolute undisputed highlights is the Mag Pupunco
• 25:09
  Rock Pools. These are the title pools,
• 25:11
  right? At low tide, the ocean recedes
• 25:14
  and leaves these crystal clear neon blue pools surrounded by
• 25:18
  these incredible rock formations.
• 25:19
  It looks prehistoric. It is stunning.
• 25:21
  There's a catch. There's always a catch.
• 25:23
  There is always a catch. First you have to check the tide
• 25:26
  charts. You must go at low tide, but
• 25:29
  more importantly, you must go early before the Van Mafia
• 25:33
  arrives with the tour groups. If you get there at 7:00 AM, you
• 25:37
  might have it almost to yourself.
• 25:38
  If you get there at 10 zero AM, it is a human soup, just packed.
• 25:42
  And the drive itself can be a highlight.
• 25:44
  The Pacifica Loop. This is the antidote to the
• 25:47
  chaos of General Luna. You rent a scooter if you can
• 25:50
  drive or hire a tricycle for the day, and you just drive north.
• 25:54
  You leave the construction noise and the traffic behind.
• 25:56
  Suddenly it's just you, the road, the ocean on your right
• 25:59
  and thousands and thousands of palm trees.
• 26:01
  That drive is the moment where you go, OK, I get it.
• 26:04
  This is why people come here. I love the specific naked island
• 26:07
  hack from the notes that sounded like a pro tip.
• 26:10
  This is a total pro tip. So Naked Island is just a
• 26:12
  sandbar in the middle of the ocean.
• 26:14
  It's beautiful, but it offers 0 shade.
• 26:16
  The standard island hopping tours drop you there at 1000 or
• 26:19
  1100AM. It is scorching hot and you're
• 26:23
  surrounded by 50 other boats. Boats.
• 26:24
  So what's the hack? Hire a private boatman.
• 26:28
  It will cost you a bit more, maybe 2000 pesos instead of the
• 26:31
  standard group rate. Tell them you want to leave at
• 26:33
  6:00 AM. You get to Naked Island at 6:30.
• 26:36
  The sun is soft, the water is calm, and you are the only boat
• 26:40
  there. It is a completely different
• 26:42
  magical experience. But not everything is a win.
• 26:44
  We need to warn people about the tourist traps, the things that
• 26:47
  look amazing on Instagram but feel kind of hollow in real
• 26:50
  life. Sogba Lagoon is the big offender
• 26:53
  here, according to the sources. Really.
• 26:54
  I mean, it looks incredible in photos.
• 26:56
  Visually, it is. It's this emerald lagoon tucked
• 26:59
  into the mangroves, but the experience is described over and
• 27:02
  over as industrial tourism. You arrive, you're put in a
• 27:07
  queue, you have to wear a mandatory bright orange life
• 27:10
  jacket. You float in a line.
• 27:11
  There's a diving board where people are screaming and jumping
• 27:14
  off every 10 seconds. It feels like a theme park, not
• 27:16
  nature, if you're looking for peace and quiet.
• 27:19
  So the lagoon is not it. And the food hype.
• 27:21
  We touched on this, but be really wary of the viral pasta.
• 27:25
  There are these places with 45 minute wait times just to get in
• 27:28
  because they're famous on TikTok.
• 27:30
  The reports say the food is often cold by the time it gets
• 27:33
  to you and it's ridiculously overpriced.
• 27:36
  It's style over substance. Don't queue for pasta on a
• 27:39
  tropical island. Go eat the fresh grilled fish at
• 27:41
  a local BBQ stand. And there was a note about the
• 27:44
  Sunset Bridge that used to be a thing.
• 27:46
  The Canyon Bridge. Yeah, Five years ago, this was
• 27:49
  the local spot. You'd buy a beer from a little
• 27:52
  shop, sit on the bridge, watch the sunset, very chill.
• 27:55
  Now it is absolute chaos. People park their cars in the
• 27:58
  bridge blocking traffic there with the sources called
• 28:01
  Bluetooth speaker wars, everyone blasting different loud music.
• 28:05
  It's become a party zone rather than a sunset spot.
• 28:08
  If you want a party vibe, go for it.
• 28:10
  If you want a quiet sunset, go somewhere else.
• 28:12
  So we're coming to the end of our dive and I'm looking at this
• 28:14
  pile of information. The cost, the risks, the crowds.
• 28:18
  If someone is listening to this and think, you know what, this
• 28:20
  just sounds too stressful. I just want to surf and chill.
• 28:22
  What are the alternatives? Where else should they look?
• 28:25
  We have three solid contenders that offer different slices of
• 28:29
  the Syriga vibe, but without the 2026 chaos.
• 28:32
  First up, Baylor. Baylor is on Luzon, the main
• 28:35
  island. Yes.
• 28:36
  The biggest advantage, you don't need to fly.
• 28:39
  You can drive there from Manila, takes about 5 to 6 hours.
• 28:42
  It has a great surf community. But here's the key difference.
• 28:45
  It is a sand bottom break. No booties required, no reef
• 28:48
  cuts. Exactly.
• 28:50
  No reef cuts, it's infinitely safer for beginners, it's
• 28:52
  cheaper, and it feels more local Filipino and less international.
• 28:56
  Digital nomad. What's option 2?
• 28:58
  Lombok, Indonesia. Specifically Kuta, Lombok,
• 29:02
  people describe this as the Sirgo of 10 years ago.
• 29:05
  The infrastructure is actually better, good roads but the bays
• 29:08
  are incredible with perfect waves.
• 29:10
  The party scene is much, much tamer because it is a
• 29:12
  predominantly Muslim island, so it's quieter at night.
• 29:15
  If you want a real surf adventure without the spring
• 29:17
  break energy, Lombok is the play.
• 29:19
  And for the person who wants the raw beauty but just hates the
• 29:22
  noise. The combo strategy?
• 29:24
  Do Cerigo for three or four days, get your party fixed, eat
• 29:27
  the expensive food, see what the hype is about, then hop on a
• 29:31
  ferry or a quick flight to Camiguen.
• 29:33
  Camiguen. That's the volcanic island.
• 29:34
  The island borne of fire. It is majestic.
• 29:37
  It is steep, lush, volcanic. But the key is there is almost
• 29:42
  no nightlife. It is sleepy.
• 29:44
  You go there to hide volcanoes, soak in Hot Springs and snorkel
• 29:48
  in the giant clam sanctuary. It is the perfect detox after
• 29:52
  the intensity of General Luna. OK, let's bring it home.
• 29:54
  The final verdict. We like to do a listener matrix
• 29:56
  who should actually book the ticket to Siago in 2026?
• 30:00
  Let's break it down. Persona 1 the Backpacker?
• 30:03
  Yes, go, but only if you're there for the social life.
• 30:06
  It is incredibly easy to meet people and make friends.
• 30:08
  But proceed with extreme caution on the budget.
• 30:10
  The idea that you can live on $30 a day is a total fantasy
• 30:13
  now. You will run out of money.
• 30:15
  What about the mid range couple? This is a definitive yes.
• 30:18
  Yeah, you are the target demographic for 2026 Sierra Gal.
• 30:22
  You have the money to rent a nice villa away from the noise.
• 30:25
  You can afford the private boat trips to Daku.
• 30:28
  You can enjoy the nice dinners. You will have a romantic, fun,
• 30:31
  slightly adventurous vacation. It's built for you.
• 30:34
  The. Family with young kids.
• 30:36
  Hard pass. Just no.
• 30:38
  Unless you were extremely adventurous seasoned travel
• 30:41
  parents. There are no sidewalks.
• 30:43
  Strollers are useless in the sand and mud.
• 30:45
  The medical care is basic. If your kid gets a high fever,
• 30:47
  you are a long, long way from a major hospital.
• 30:50
  It is a logistical headache from start to finish.
• 30:52
  And finally, the luxury traveler.
• 30:55
  This one is mixed. The expensive villas are there.
• 30:57
  You can spend $500 a night. But you have to adjust your
• 31:00
  service expectations. This is island time.
• 31:03
  Service is slow. Things break.
• 31:05
  If you expect Four Seasons level precision, you will be deeply
• 31:08
  frustrated. If you can roll with the punches
• 31:10
  and just embrace the island chaos, you'll be fine.
• 31:13
  So, to summarize the 2026 reality of Cyril.
• 31:16
  Surego is flawed. It's noisy, it is surprisingly
• 31:19
  expensive, and it is a place where you can get hurt if you
• 31:21
  aren't careful. There is always the butt.
• 31:25
  But when you were on that boat heading back from Daku at 5:00
• 31:29
  in the afternoon and the sun is setting over the mountains and
• 31:33
  the water turns that impossible shade of purple, it is still one
• 31:37
  of the most beautiful places in the Philippines.
• 31:39
  The magic is still there, you just have to put on your armor
• 31:41
  and your booties to find it. Precisely.
• 31:44
  Bring your booties, double your budget, and ignore the hype.
• 31:47
  That seems to be the lesson for so many places now.
• 31:50
  And one final thought to leave you with something to Mull over.
• 31:54
  We look at Sierra Gao's evolution from rustic to
• 31:57
  corporate, and we mourn it right If you say, oh, it used to be so
• 32:00
  much better. Of course, the good old days.
• 32:02
  But we have to ask, is this evolution inevitable?
• 32:05
  Is our search for the next year ago just a cycle of finding and
• 32:08
  then destroying places? Or is this corporate cool phase
• 32:11
  actually the only way these islands can survive economically
• 32:15
  and support their local populations?
• 32:17
  Are we the problem for wanting it to stay poor and rustic for
• 32:20
  our own aesthetic pleasure? That is a heavy question to end
• 32:23
  on. Something to think about while
• 32:25
  you're checking those flight prices.
• 32:26
  I guess the best advice is listen to the ocean, not the
• 32:29
  influencers. We'll see you in the next deep
• 32:32
  dive.