Photo by Beth Macdonald on Unsplash
Booked your dream Siargao vacation only to find rain in the forecast?
Don’t panic!
After experiencing three rainy seasons on the island, I’ve discovered that a little rain doesn’t mean your tropical getaway is ruined. In fact, some of Siargao’s most memorable experiences happen during the wet season – let me show you how to make the most of it.
We’re now coming to the end of rainy season and all of them have been slightly different but there’s always been a common thread – January has the most rainy days. The first one we experienced was a real shocker and I touch on more of that in my ‘When is the rainy season in Siargao?’ post. Basically it rained non-stop for 3 weeks.
The last 2 were a mixture of continuously rainy days and the short bursts of heavy downpours mixed with incredibly bright sunshine. Sometimes the Apple weather and Windy said to expect a day of full rain only for it to rain heavily for 1 hour and then just be cloudy for the rest. I like those kinds of days because I can do a lot of errands and not be either dripping with water or dripping in sweat!
When the weather forecast looks shit and you’re tempted to abandon your carefully planned itinerary, hold on just a second and check to see if the list below piques your interest:
- Surfing
- Wakepark
- Siargao Pottery
- Siargao Craft Studio
- Yoga
- Gym Classes
- Relaxation and Self Care
- Trivia Night
- Lokal Hub
- Lokal Experiences
1. Surfing
Okay so hear me out, if you were coming here to learn how to surf then you can definitely still do that when it is raining. It won’t be chucking it down all the time and it can be pretty magical when it does start to rain, everything quietens down and you definitely feel connected to mother earth.
Learning to surf at Ocean 9 before sunset can be really beautiful. There’s beginner waves, a restaurant with lockers and showers to store your items.
Surf lessons start at ₱600 for 1 hour including board rental.
If you have never surfed before, 1 hour is usually enough before your arms turn to noodles.
2. Wakepark
Photo by @brenlopez.
Another fun outdoor activity is going to the Wakepark. It’s located about a 15 minute drive from General Luna and 10 minutes from Santa Fe. Again, you’re already getting wet, so just hold on tight to the bar and enjoy zipping around through the water.
It’s a maximum of 4 people per hour and the rate is ₱1200 per person.
However, don’t make the mistake we once did, we booked 7 people – 4 people in the first hour and 3 people for the hour after and thought that the 7 of us could just take it in turns throughout the 2 hours we had there.
Nope it doesn’t work like that so it’s better to just block out the 2 hours and divide the total cost by however many there are of you.
3. Siargao Pottery
Getting creative on a rainy Siargao day is a great way to spend your time. Siargao does have a vibrant creative community and there’s lovely opportunities to come away with some handmade souvenirs through the following workshops.
Located in Wild Restaurant is Siargao Pottery. Siargao Pottery is a collaborative clay studio in Siargao Island that celebrates Philippine clay through workshops and collaborations.
They offer 2 types of clay workshops: Make Your Own Coffee Mugs and Clay Play.
As part of the Make Your Own Coffee Mugs workshop, students will learn how to make their own ceramic and food-safe coffee mugs using hand-building techniques. This workshop costs ₱3,800 which includes firing and can be paid via cash, bank transfer, GCash and Paypal.
Clay Play is a beginner-friendly workshop that introduces you to the traditional art of hand-building with clay ~ no equipment needed. This workshop costs ₱1,550 and can be paid via cash, bank transfer, GCash and Paypal.
4. Siargao Craft Studio
Siargao Craft Studio is part of the Siargao Pottery brand and they offer a Make Your Own Ring Workshop!
This is an introductory workshop in which you learn how to measure your size, polish, solder, and stamp metal to create a meaningful souvenir from your Siargao trip.
This workshop costs ₱1,650 and can be paid via cash, bank transfer, GCash and Paypal.
5. Yoga
If your original plan was to sweat your way through some sunbathing and island hopping activities but woke up to discover that it’s raining, well there’s definitely some alternatives to getting your sweat on.
Siargao is a yoga paradise and we are lucky enough to have an amazing number of studios offering all types of yoga.
Just by searching on Google Maps, it will bring up all the locations but below are a list of the favourites:
Bodhi Yoga Centre
Photo by Mati Olivieri.
Bodhi Yoga Centre is located in a peaceful area off the back Tourism Road overlooking the rice fields. They offer a selection of meditation, vinyasa, yin and hatha yoga classes everyday.
Little Shell Yoga
Photo by Mary Dizon.
Your cosy neighborhood yoga & meditation space located in Malinao near Inara Resort. Full directions are shared upon booking of a class slot. They offer kirtan, yoga nidra, restorative yoga and many other special classes.
Kermit Siargao with Willow Tree
Willow Tree aka the wonderful Tenille offers daily yoga classes within Kermit resort.
Buddha Resort
Located along the Tourism Road, their yoga shala is nestled within the tropical greenery and boasts beautiful sunset classes.
The average price for a drop on class is around ₱500, however most of the above offer some class pass style membership as well.
6. Gym Classes
Since we moved here in 2022, the number of gyms and gym classes have increased from 2 to 8, which is fantastic if you are into your fitness.
You’ll notice something about Siargao and that is, people are generally pretty ripped!
The gyms that are offering classes are:
CrossFit Siargao
Located just off the Tourism Road, they are the first official affiliate in Siargao offering standard crossfit classes as well as olympic weightlifting, booty club and functional bodybuilding classes.
Asgard
Located on the back Tourism Road, Asgard reopened their doors recently and their offerings just got bigger and better! They offer MMA, BJJ & boxing classes as well as access to free weights, a recovery centre with sauna and ice bath and a pool.
Taw Hay Fitness Centre
Located on the back Tourism Road, Taw Hay offers a range of classes from functional fitness, hiit circuits, calisthenics and kettlebell classes.
SOS Gym
Located on the way to Malinao, SOS gym focuses on Muay Thai, boxing, women’s jiu jitsu and strength and conditioning classes.
The average price for a drop on class is around ₱500, however most of the above offer some class pass style membership for those looking to keep up their fitness routine.
CrossFit, Asgard and Taw Hay also offer access to free weights and open gym as well.
7. Relaxation and Self Care
What I love about the Philippines in general is that self care is encouraged and affordable.
There are a number of places offering beauty treatments from massage, manicures, pedicures, facials etc and it’s a great way to spend a rainy day.
Vultun
Photo by Chloé Lynn.
Located at Jacking Horse beach near Cloud 9, you can enjoy having a massage while listening to the waves and distant reggae beats.
A 1 hour Swedish Massage is ₱800 – they accept cash, GCash and Paypal.
Isla Natura
Located down in GL, Isla Natura offers massages in a cosy, nature inspired space.
The Isla Natura Signature Swedish and Shiatsu massage is ₱800 for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Sirena Spa
Located along the Tourism Road next to Happiness, Sirena Spa offers massage, facials, nails, waxing and many more beauty treatments.
Their Recovery Massage is ₱700 for 1 hour.
Tropics Beauty Lounge
Located down in GL, Tropics Beauty Lounge offering massage nails, facials (I recommend the Diamond Peel facial) and lashes.
Island Aesthetics
Located in Pops District opposite Cloud 9, Island Aesthetics specialises in nails and lashes.
Arugao
Located near Bravo in GL, Arguao offers top tier aesthetic and beauty services including specialist massage, facials, body contouring and cold diode hair removal.
OM Home and Wellness
Located on the Tourism Road near Bahandi resort, OM Home and Wellness offer acupuncture and sound healing massages.
8. Trivia Night
If you come to Siargao and you are here on a Tuesday then it’s really worth checking out the Trivia Night at Barrel Sports Bar – it’s truly a spectacle and people get really competitive!
Each team puts in ₱200 and whoever comes 1st wins the prize fund and usually a bottle of alcohol as well. Some weeks there are around 30 teams which means the prize fund looks pretty appetizing!
Teams can be up to 8 people (you can have more but you will be deducted points at the end) and to reserve your spot, usually someone needs to arrive around 5.30 – 6pm to get a table and it starts at 7.30pm. You can also join up with smaller groups as well.
We spent pretty much every Tuesday here throughout our first rainy season and we actually did win once!
When it’s not bursting at the seams on a Tuesday evening, they also have 2 pool tables and darts so you can enjoy these any other time of the day/night as well!
9. Lokal Hub – board games and Thursday Giggles
Lokal Hub is located on the Tourism Road leading out to Malinao and is one of the Lokal Lab NGO initiatives. They took on an old local Filipino house and converted it into a fantastic space for the community to benefit from. It features a relaxed cafe serving food from breakfast to dinner, a shop selling locally designed pieces, a mini amphitheater at the back for events and fresh market selling produce grown at the farm in San Isidro.
Inside on of the rooms is a cabinet full to the brim of board games. If there is a group of you, then it’s a great place to spend a rainy Siargao afternoon – playing games and eating hearty food.
On every other Thursday evening they also have their Thursday Giggles event featuring stand up comedy and open mic. It starts at 7pm and free to attend so get there early to save your spot!
10. Lokal Experiences
Lokal Lab also offers some really great experiences at their Tropical Academy farm up in San Isidro, on the way to Pacifico.
The experiences include:
Farm where you get to become a farmer for the day and learn the art of nature based farming.
₱500 per person | ₱800 per person with lunch included
Weave where some of the local Bitaug weavers will teach you how to make your own basket.
₱800 per person | ₱1100 per person with lunch included
Cook where you learn to cook some amazing vegetarian dishes using ingredients from the farm itself.
₱900 per person with lunch
You can choose just to do one or all 3 to make it a full day experience. I really enjoyed the Farm and Weave experience, learning how to make a basket using traditional techniques was awesome.
On a rainy day, it would be perfect doing the Weave and Cook as these are both under covered areas and would cost ₱1500 for both.
