Explore Dumaguete and Siquijor

Dumaguete is a university town with one of the country's best food scenes and a quiet, walkable old quarter. Across a short ferry ride, Siquijor is an island that locals associate with healing, folklore, and a kind of magic that most visitors find harder to dismiss after a few days. The trip pairs the two.

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Trip facts

Starting place: Dumaguete Ending place: Siquijor Duration: 6 days, 5 nights Flights: International flights not included. Domestic flight from Manila or Cebu to Dumaguete arranged by us. Best time to go: December through May.

About this trip

This is a six-day trip that pairs two destinations most international travelers haven't heard of. Dumaguete gives you a small, walkable city with serious food and centuries-old colonial architecture. Siquijor, an hour's ferry away, gives you white sand, clear water, hidden waterfalls, and a folk culture built around healing and folklore that long predates Spanish contact. It's a quieter trip than Palawan or Boracay, and it suits travelers who want depth over spectacle.

Starting place

Provincial Capitol

Duration

Days

Ending place

Apo Island

FLIGHT

Included

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Inclusions:

Hotel accommodation matched to your trip
Daily breakfast
All private transfers, with a guide and a driver
Ferry tickets between Dumaguete and Siquijor
Private boat to Apo Island
Visit with a Siquijor healer
All entrance tickets Domestic flights between Manila or Cebu and Dumaguete
Environmental fees and local taxes
A point of contact reachable any hour, any day, throughout your trip

Not Included:

International flights
Additional nights in Manila if needed for connections
Tips for guides, drivers, and boat crew
Food and drinks outside breakfast
Travel insurance

Things Worth Knowing

The ferry between Dumaguete and Siquijor is reliable but weather-dependent. We build a buffer day into the trip when possible.

The healer visit is real, not a tourist set piece. We ask travelers to come with curiosity and not skepticism. The healers do not perform on demand.

Apo Island can be busy in peak season. We try to schedule earlier boat times to avoid the crowds.

Cancellations within ninety days of departure are not permitted. Rates are per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to change.

Where you stay

Dumaguete has a few good boutique hotels in town and one or two beach resorts a short drive away. Siquijor has small, well-run resorts on the west coast where the sunsets are best. We match the right ones to your trip.

Day By Day

day one

Arrival in Dumaguete

Pickup at Dumaguete airport, drive into town. Check-in, then a walking tour of the historic Rizal Boulevard at sunset. Dinner at one of the seafood places along the boulevard. Quiet evening.

day two

Apo Island

An early boat to Apo Island, one of the best places in the country to snorkel with sea turtles. The reef is protected and the population of green and hawksbill turtles is large enough that encounters are reliable, not lucky. Back to Dumaguete for the afternoon. Late lunch at a Silliman University-area restaurant. Free evening.

day three

Ferry to Siquijor

Mid-morning ferry across to Siquijor, about an hour. Check-in at your resort. The afternoon includes a stop at Cambugahay Falls, a series of waterfalls with a rope swing, and the 400-year-old Balete Tree, where small fish nibble at your feet in the spring beneath. Sunset somewhere on the west coast.

day four

Around the island

A drive around Siquijor, with stops at Salagdoong Beach, the Lazi Convent (one of the oldest in the Philippines), and a meeting with a local healer. The healers of Siquijor practice traditional folk medicine that combines pre-colonial belief with Catholic ritual, and the visit is conversational, not performative. Quiet evening.

day five

Beach day

The day is unstructured. Salagdoong, Paliton Beach, or your resort's own stretch. Most travelers spend it doing very little.

day six

Departure

Morning ferry back to Dumaguete and transfer to the airport for your onward flight.

Dumaguete and Siquijor

A university town with one of the country's best food scenes, ferry distance from an island built on its own folklore. Heritage one day, beaches the next.

Rate per Adult

USD 1,299

We don't sell Dumaguete and Siquijor as a fixed itinerary. This is the trip we'd build for travelers who want a quieter, more layered version of the southern Philippines. If you want more time on Siquijor, a food-focused trip in Dumaguete, or this paired with Bohol, that's the conversation we have on the call.

Talk to our team