Life is not a fairytale, but with this place we’ve visited called Sugba Lagoon, it is like a piece of it. Magical. Exquisite. Bizarre. Resembling to a storybook settings, it has a charming vibe that you could think butterflies and fairies could flash sparkly in any moment. The majestic Sugba Lagoon. The place of refuge to your conflict heart. A place to regenerate. A top-secret place you wanted to withhold.
As mountain envelops around the wide area, now it’s you submitting and surrendering to nature what clutters your head. Rowing on a calmness and coolness of the clear water gives you a mystic energy that would make you believe that giant monsters are real and it could instantly pop up from underneath and stirs up the water.
Hello Hive Community! It’s me Marycris! Join us as we are going to share our experience on Siargao's dazzling jewel: SUGBA LAGOON. Let's start!
It was our second day in Siargao that time, we rented a motorbike @ 350 php ($7) per day excluding gasoline expense. We headed to visit Sugba Lagoon via DIY (Do It Yourself) method as planned in our itinerary. We set off from General Luna where our accomodation was located and 45 - minutes later arrived to Del Carmen Pier - the gateway to Sugba Lagoon.
From Del Carmen Pier, we directly went to their office and paid 75 php ($1.5) each for environmental fee and told us that we will be paying another 1,600 php ($32) for the boat that will take us to Sugba Lagoon which is good for 6 persons. Whenever we travel, we think of ways to spend the least possible amount so we waited for another 4 passengers and negotiate with them so that the fare of 1,600 php ($32) will be divided fairly to the six of us instead of only the two of us paying the whole amount.😅
We hopped on the boat and it was a 20-minute ride going zig zag through mangrove sanctuary surrounding us. As we continue to maneuver towards the lagoon, the scenery becomes more and more fascinating and then welcomed by this big poster “WELCOME TO SUGBA LAGOON”. The boat ride was just smooth except for the loud sound that my eardrum almost exploded 😅 - that was part of the experience anyways. As our boat docked, right there and then I can say all too well, that it’s all worth it.
Upon arriving, you'll pull up into a Pontoon Lagoon House - a floating restaurant located in the middle of the lagoon. It offers a rental of table for 50 php ($1) where you can leave your bags and other belongings while you're off exploring the place. You don't need to worry for your things to go missing since a staff will be attending to keep an eye of your belongings. They also offer foods and drinks whenever you'll get hungry and thirsty after doing some activities. In our case, we just bought some foods and snacks to cut down our expenses since the foods/drinks there are a bit pricy which is reasonable considering the location’s isolation.
THE LAGOON
From what I can describe it, the lagoon has a vast expanse of unmissable blue green waters enclosed by limestone hills and wrapped around rich mangroves. For a moment, I just stared and admired the idyllic features it offers. From the open blue skies above me, the lush mountains around me and the still waters under me, that was so evident that I was surrounded by a completeness of nature.
THE FAMOUS DIVING BOARD
This is connected to the pontoon house and the point of interest of people visiting the Lagoon. We took these photos from the second floor of the pontoon house and Niño was the first to try.
You can jump or dive at the board or you can simply take pictures if you are afraid to do the activity. We were lucky that time that the lagoon was not so crowded as it was Weekdays so the queue on the line of people of the diving board is not that long.
When it’s my turn at the diving board, I already told Niño that I am just going to pose there for pictures and not planning to jump or dive since I am afraid. But then people surrounding us are cheering at me “TATALON NA YAN!” in english “GO! JUMP NOW!” That voices took me the courage to take the plunge while I felt blood rushing through my veins and so out of pressure, I jumped right in😅. Well, I’m glad that I took the opportunity since I was not able to miss something that I may not experience again.
Niño took around five more times jumping and diving which he enjoyed so much before we decided to try some other activities.
OTHER ACTIVITIES TO DO IN SUGBA LAGOON
Aside from the diving board, they offer some other activities that you may want to try. The lagoon offer rentals of stand up paddle board, kayaking and bamboo rafts good for 300 php ($6) each person for 1 hour. We rented out the kayaking since the bamboo raft is too big for 2 persons and stand up paddle boat is only good for one person.
As soon as we hoped in the kayak, I could already feel the breeze engulfing my body. That elegance that only nature emits and that was just so rejuvenating. Purifying. It spoke of calmness and peace that my soul loved. We just explore within the vicinity of the lagoon and then spotted some harmless transparent jellyfish and a diving cliff which unfortunately we were not able to capture on our action cam.
After an hour of kayaking, we decided to go swimming and snorkeling around the lagoon while waiting for the other members of the same outrigger boat we rented. The pontoon house has only a limited number of guest it can carry so each of us has given only three hours to explore the place.
For us, three hours wasn't enough to explore the place but our boat already picked us up to head back to Del Carmen Pier.
We passed on some stunning views while heading back to our accommodation and felt like we owned the road and stopped over for picture takings.
It was really no denying that Sugba Lagoon offers that charming vibe. This pre-pandemic trip was just remarkable. Right now, due to the recent typhoon Odette, the place is still healing. Siargao really left a special memory in our hearts. Recover fast and we will come back!
And there you have it folks. What place left a special place in you heart? Please let us know in the comment below.
THANK YOU FOR READING THIS POST!
CrisLandingOnÑo is a couple who created this blog to build a place to store precious moments and memories and share backpacking travel experiences, life adventures, wedding budget tips, food trips, marathon tips, and many more. .
Inspired by the famous Korean drama on Netlfix “Crash Landing On You”, Marycris and Niño are two opposite beings crashing to each other.
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