Planning a trip to Siargao? You might want to know that our rainy season runs from late November through mid-February, with January typically being the wettest month. While many travel guides suggest December-February as the Philippines’ best travel period, Siargao marches to its own meteorological drum – and I’m here to tell you exactly what to expect.
A lot of people still plan trips to Siargao in January and we sometimes wonder why, but then when you Google, ‘When is the best time to travel to the Philippines?’, the AI overview tells you:
Dry season
December to February
The weather is cool and dry, with temperatures ranging from 21°C to 28°C. This is the peak tourist season, so it’s recommended to book in advance.
However this only really applies to the northern and eastern parts of the Philippines! It turns out that the seasons really vary depending on which part of the country you are in.
As you can see below, I’ve created this Google maps overlay based on this one from the Smith College website:
The Philippines has 4 climates:
Climate Type 1: Maximum rain period from June to September and occurs in the West of the Philippines, covering popular destinations like El Nido and Coron.
Climate Type 2: Maximum rain period between December to February and occurs in the East of the Philippines, covering popular surfing destinations like Siargao and Catanduanes.
Climate Type 3: Short dry season from December to February and occurs in the central and western parts of the Philippines, covering Boracay, Dumaguete, Siquior and Cebu.
Climate Type 4: Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year and occurs in the central and eastern parts of the Philippines, covering Bohol, Cagayan De Oro, Camiguin and southern Leyte.
We had not done this research before Christmas in 2022. We had booked ourselves into the freshly reopened Kaimana (which honestly had the comfiest beds and nicest bathrooms) thinking that we would be relaxing by the pool, sipping cocktails and soaking up the winter sun.
How wrong we were!
We woke up on Christmas Day to the most torrential rain, the power was out and the pre-booked lunch at Harana was cancelled because their staff couldn’t get in!
In the end, the rain lasted for approximately 3 weeks and there was some pretty bad flooding on the main highway between General Luna and Dapa. Locals said that it was some of the worst prolonged rain they had had in a while, and that’s coming off the back of Typhoon Odette just 1 year previous.
For my partner and I it became a real challenge to live comfortably in those weeks as you were constantly damp!
When it would turn into a drizzle, that’s when we would dart out and take our laundry to be cleaned and buy groceries.
Nowadays we come across many Europeans who are travelling to the Philippines in January and February, escaping the cold dark winters. They start their journey in Manila and the route takes them across to Coron, El Nido, perhaps over to Siquior and then on to Siargao before travelling back to Manila and back home. For the most part, they have a lovely sunny time over in Palawan as it’s their dry season and then they cross over into the east of the Philippines and are met with heavy rain!
My heart does go out to those who just arrived in those months. We recently returned from a wedding in Cebu in February where our landing in Siargao felt like a rollercoaster ride. I’m so grateful the pilot was able to land and within 5 minutes it was absolutely shitting it down and we couldn’t help but notice the slightly disappointed faces of those who looked like they had arrived just for the first time!
So you’re probably wondering, how else does the rain affect travelling to Siargao and around the island?
Cancelled flights
One thing to be aware of when travelling to Siargao in the rainy season are cancelled flights. The airport in Siargao (IAO) isn’t equipped with radar which means that the pilots are literally landing by visibility.
If there is a lot of cloud cover and rain and the pilot trying to land cannot see the runway, they will usually do around 15 – 30 minutes of a holding pattern over the east coast waiting to see if the weather improves. Unfortunately, if it doesn’t look like the weather will improve then the pilots will usually divert the plane to Cebu (CEB).
The airline that you booked with will automatically rebook you onto the next available flight but we’ve been in a situation before when trying to spend an early Christmas in Cebu in 2022 and our flight out of Siargao was cancelled because the plane couldn’t land. The flight that they then booked us on was to go via Manila and we would have arrived after our planned festivities. In the end my partner was able to book a flight with Cebu Pacific for the next morning and we were able to catch that one.
We were also incredibly lucky that the long term rental we had arranged for our return allowed us to stay that night!
Mini rainy season in July
So we also tend to get a mini rainier period in July which is when the rainy season in the western and northern part of the Philippines begins. It can bring a little welcome relief from the sweltering heat we have just endured in May and June!
As this time of the year is a popular travel time for European travelers going on a summer holiday, it’s worth bearing in mind that you might need to pack a waterproof jacket!
What to pack if you are coming to Siargao in the rainy season?
Jacket/poncho
A good waterproof jacket or poncho. Poncho’s are especially good if you rent a motorbike as they do a good job of covering your legs as well!
Lola’s motorbike rentals include poncho’s as part of the package when renting with them.
You can also buy them at Siargao Shopping Gift Shop that is between Comeg and Tropics Beauty Lounge in General Luna.
Helmet with a visor
Again if you are renting a motorbike, make sure that the rental company gives you a good helmet with a visor. It’s a real life saver in not only protecting your head (we see a lot more motorbike accidents in the rainy season) but also you can drive through the rain and still see where you are going!
Again, Lola’s Rentals as mentioned above provide customers with proper helmets as well.
Mosquito spray
When the rains begin, this is when the mosquitoes are in their element. Last year an unnerving amount of our friends developed Dengue which is incredibly unpleasant. Some of them had to spend days in Dapa medical clinic and others were airlifted to Manila and needed quite serious medical attention.
My Dad bought me one of the Boots branded mosquito repellents called REPEL and it really works! It contains 50% DEET and it kept the little bastards off me! Also it smells quite nice as well.
If you don’t bring any with you, then the Philippines sells a brand called OFF! (pronounced ‘opp!’) which does work well and costs less than ₱200 a bottle.
Also carrying around some essential oils with Lemongrass and Citronella which can be mixed into moisturizer is an alternative as well.
Dry bag
A dry bag is great for Siargao at any time of the year as you can take it on island hopping trips and to the beach and you know it will keep your items dry in the rainy season.
I’d recommend purchasing one from a reputable brand in the Philippines like Decathlon rather than buying the ones on the island.
This is just from personal experience but I put my Samsung phone in my friend’s ‘dry bag’ which she had purchased here and brought it into the sea with us while we were at Doot Beach / Malinao Paradise.
When we got back to the beach, we opened the bag to discover it was actually filled with water!
If your phone gets damaged by water in Siargao then take it to the Phone Hospital next to Shanti Shanty – Darren will fix it up real good!
Quick dry towel
A lightweight microfibre quick dry towel is super useful because you’re going to be damp a lot of the time and relieving yourself of that feeling is really important.
If you’re in Manila or Cebu before arriving then they sell them in Decathlon or they sell some beautiful microfibre quick dry towels in Vinta by the local brand Creo Swim.
Comfortable sandals
Trainers are an absolute no no in these months. You’ll still be warm enough that is for sure but you need something comfortable with a good grip.
I love my Teva’s and I have both the mid form and platform sandals.
I previously invested in them when I spent a month in Thailand and I knew they were high up on the list when we were travelling here!
It can be hard finding shoes on the island that aren’t just flip flops and sliders so I highly recommend making sure you purchased some prior to arriving.
I hope this guide and these recommendations help to fill you with more confidence and excitement about coming to Siargao in the rainy season!
