How to Get to Siargao in 2026: Flights, Ferries and the Manila Problem

There is no direct flight from Manila to Siargao. Not from NAIA, and as of 4 May 2026, not on Philippine Airlines from Clark either.

That single fact breaks more Siargao itineraries than anything else, and most of the guides sitting at the top of Google still have not caught up with it. This page covers what actually flies in August 2026, what it costs, the ferry route for anyone who would rather not fly, and how to get from the airport to General Luna once landed.

The three airports that fly to Siargao

Flights land at Sayak Airport (IAO) in Del Carmen, on the northwest side of the island. Three origin cities serve it.

From	Airlines	Frequency	Flight time	Indicative one-way
Clark (CRK)	Cebgo, Sunlight Air	Cebgo about twice daily, Sunlight around four times weekly	2h20 to 2h30	₱1,900 to ₱3,600
Cebu (CEB)	Cebgo, PAL Express, Sunlight Air	Cebgo about six times daily, PAL about four, Sunlight variable	55 to 60 min	₱2,500 to ₱5,000
Davao (DVO)	Cebgo	About once daily, six days a week	1h10 to 1h15	₱1,900 to ₱2,500

Fares are unusually volatile this year. The route cuts described below were attributed by the airline to fuel costs tied to the Middle East situation, and the same pressure is showing up in pricing. Treat any published fare, including the ranges above, as a starting point rather than a number to budget against.

What happened to the Manila flights

Two separate changes, eighteen months apart, and together they removed Manila from the map.

• 30 March 2025. Cebu Pacific moved its Cebgo-operated Siargao and Masbate flights out of Manila to Clark.
• 2 February 2026. Philippine Airlines announced it was ending Manila turboprop operations and shifting Busuanga and Siargao to Clark.
• 4 May 2026. PAL then suspended Clark to Siargao entirely, one of five routes cut, citing changing conditions in global aviation.

The practical consequence for anyone starting in Metro Manila: get to Clark, or connect through Cebu. Clark is roughly two to three hours north of Manila by bus or car depending on traffic, and that transfer needs to be built into the day rather than assumed away. Connecting through Cebu costs more but removes the ground leg.

Getting there by sea

The sea route runs Surigao City to Dapa, the port town on the southwest corner of Siargao. It is the cheaper option and the only one that works when flights are full or cancelled.

Departures from Surigao run in rough blocks between 04:00 and 15:30, with the early sailing typically a RORO taking three and a half to four hours and the later ones fastcraft taking about an hour and a half. Return sailings from Dapa run on a similar spread.

Fares are genuinely disputed between sources and this guide will not pretend otherwise. One operator schedule puts fastcraft tourist class at ₱350 to ₱400 and RORO economy at ₱180 to ₱200. Another, covering a different operator and updated more recently, lists economy at ₱560, tourist at ₱610 and business at ₱680, with a note that fares may be running above the published figures. Budget somewhere in the ₱350 to ₱680 band, carry cash, and confirm at the pier. Students, seniors and persons with disability get 20 percent off.

Reaching Surigao City by sea from Cebu: OceanJet departs 07:00 and arrives about 12:30. Starlite sails 21:00 overnight and Cokaliong 19:00. Economy runs around ₱1,350.

Sayak Airport to General Luna

Sayak is in Del Carmen, not in General Luna. The transfer is 45 to 60 minutes across the island, and it needs to be planned rather than improvised, because the terminal empties fast after each arrival.

Option	Cost
Shared van, per person	₱300 to ₱400
Private van, whole vehicle	₱2,000 to ₱2,700
Habal-habal, per person	around ₱350
Tricycle, whole vehicle	around ₱600, or about ₱250 per person shared

Most accommodation in General Luna will arrange a pickup if asked in advance, and at these prices it is usually worth it.

The terminal is being rebuilt. Groundbreaking was on 8 August 2025 on an expansion taking the building from 716 to 1,531 square metres, capacity from 200 to 750 passengers, and check-in counters from three to nine, with completion targeted for 2026. Whether the new terminal has actually opened could not be confirmed as of August 2026. The runway remains 1,347 metres and is a separate, unresolved question.

Fees and paperwork

eTravel is required. It applies to all arrivals into the Philippines, not just Siargao. Register within 72 hours before departure at the official portal and carry the QR code for boarding.

There is no confirmed island-wide Siargao environmental or tourist fee. Siargao is not Boracay or Siquijor in this respect, and pages claiming a blanket island fee without naming an amount or an ordinance should be treated with suspicion. What exists instead is per-site collection: Cloud 9 charges roughly ₱50 to ₱100 a day, Sugba Lagoon ₱100 entrance plus ₱50 environmental, Magpupungko ₱50 plus ₱20 parking. One source reports a ₱20 environmental fee collected in cash at the Sayak departure lot, which could not be independently confirmed. Carry small notes either way.

Renting a motorbike, and the licence rule nobody writes about

Scooters run ₱300 to ₱500 a day, with ₱350 the most commonly quoted figure, dropping to ₱200 to ₱300 a day on a monthly rental. Petrol is sold roadside by the bottle at roughly ₱60 a litre. Tricycles inside General Luna cost ₱30 to ₱100 per person depending on distance, and General Luna to Cloud 9, about 5 km, runs around ₱50.

Under Republic Act No. 4136, a foreign visitor may drive on a valid, unexpired foreign licence for up to 90 days from the date of arrival. If the licence is not in English, it needs either a certified embassy translation or an International Driving Permit carried alongside the original. An IDP is not strictly required for a licence already in English, but it removes argument at a checkpoint. Beyond 90 days, conversion through the LTO is required.

Rental shops on Siargao routinely do not check licences. Police checkpoints do. Helmets are mandatory nationally. It is also worth reading the motorbike wording in a travel insurance policy before renting, because a lot of policies exclude it.

Two things to plan around once on the island

Power. A 41-year-old submarine cable failed in December 2024 and left Siargao and Bucas Grande without electricity for 14 days, with roughly ₱1.09 billion in estimated losses and a provincial state of calamity. The cable was patched rather than replaced. By 31 August 2025 outages were down to around ten hours but the system remained unstable, and no confirmation of a permanent replacement could be found as of August 2026. Water supply is coupled to it, because the pumps run on grid power. Ask whether the accommodation has a generator.

Timing. Calm water for island hopping and Magpupungko runs roughly March to May. The best surf runs September to November, which is also typhoon season. Those two things do not overlap, so the trip has to pick one. In 2026 add the World Surf League Championship Tour event at Cloud 9 from 31 October to 10 November, which will make General Luna extremely busy and expensive across that window.

A note on the photographs

The aerial images on this page were shot in January 2018, nearly four years before Typhoon Odette made landfall on 16 December 2021. Del Carmen sustained roughly 95 percent property damage in that storm. The coastline and the reef geometry in these frames are still accurate. Individual structures may not be, and the three-storey Cloud 9 viewing tower that stood at the time no longer exists. A rebuild only broke ground on 10 April 2026. Every frame here is dated for that reason.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a direct flight from Manila to Siargao?

No. Cebu Pacific moved its Siargao flights from Manila to Clark on 30 March 2025, and Philippine Airlines suspended its Clark to Siargao route entirely on 4 May 2026. As of August 2026 the island is served from Clark, Cebu and Davao only.

How much is a flight to Siargao?

Indicatively, ₱1,900 to ₱3,600 one way from Clark, ₱2,500 to ₱5,000 from Cebu, and ₱1,900 to ₱2,500 from Davao as of August 2026. Fares are moving more than usual this year because of fuel costs.

How do you get to Siargao by ferry?

Surigao City to Dapa, with departures in blocks between about 04:00 and 15:30. Fastcraft takes around an hour and a half, RORO three and a half to four hours. Fares run somewhere between ₱350 and ₱680 depending on operator and class, and published figures disagree, so confirm at the pier.

How far is Sayak Airport from General Luna?

45 to 60 minutes by road. A shared van costs ₱300 to ₱400 per person, a private van ₱2,000 to ₱2,700, and a habal-habal about ₱350.

Is there an environmental fee for Siargao?

No confirmed island-wide fee exists. Charges are collected per site instead, typically ₱50 to ₱150 at Cloud 9, Sugba Lagoon and Magpupungko. eTravel registration is required for all arrivals into the Philippines.

Do you need a licence to rent a scooter in Siargao?

Yes. A foreign visitor can drive on a valid foreign licence for up to 90 days from arrival. If it is not in English, carry an International Driving Permit or a certified embassy translation alongside it. Rental shops rarely check. Checkpoints do.

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Flight routes, fares, ferry schedules and fees checked in August 2026. Philippine domestic routes are changing faster than usual this year. Confirm with the airline before booking anything else around a flight.