Author: Matt and Danielle
01 November 2024
The Sohoton Cove National Park is a stunning place to visit on the Southwestern part of Bucas Grande Island in Surigao Del Norte. The landscape here is unlike many other places in the world. You can see an endless number of interconnected small green islands pocking out of the ocean, breathtaking lagoons, limestone cliffs and some very unique marine life. All that beauty does come at a cost, however. It's one of the furthest places that you can try and reach by boat from Siargao, one of the nearest islands that offers tours to and from the Bucas Grande Island. It's at least 2hrs on a small fishing boat, which isn't very comfortable...so that raises the question. Is it really worth visiting Sohoton Cove?
Absolutely! This is a beautiful trip full of stunning natural wonders that you should definitely take in the Philippines. We had the most amazing time, and like I mentioned already...there is something unbelievably unique about this place. It is one of very few places in the world where you can swim with stingless jellyfish. It is one of the most unforgettable experiences of our lives.
Here is everything you need to know about Sohoton Cove National Park.
Sohoton Cove is a nature lovers dream. It is a place where an almost endless number of bright green islands pop up out of blue and green waters. It is one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen, but also there is some seriously impressive outdoor activities to do and see here. Here is everything you will want to add to your trip.
Our tour left from General Luna and it included the boat ride to Bucas Grande Island, where we stopped at a small port and waited in line to get a smaller boat around the beautiful islands. The boat took us to the Jellyfish Sanctuary, one of the caves in the region and then back. We then joined back up with our guides that brought us from Siargao and they took us to Club Tara and Tiktikan Lagoon Cottages for lunch before heading back to Siargao.
That is a rough idea of the day, but what is there to look forward to?
The highlight of any Sohoton Cove tour is to swim with thousands upon thousands of stingless jellyfish. This was our first stop and the highlight of the day. It made the 2hr boat ride completely worthwhile. Once you jump into the milky blue waters you will immediately feel the large orange jellyfish bumping into you, and even though you will expect a sting, you won't feel a thing. The reason these are stingless jellyfish is because they have lost their sting overtime due to a lack of natural predators in the area. It makes for an incredibly unique experience that you can only have in very few places in the world.
This whole area is full of stunning scenery straight from a postcard. The beautiful lagoons, limestone cliffs with unique rock formations, caves to explore and incredibly unique wildlife make it such an unforgettable travel destination. It is crazy to think of such a stunning place as still being a hidden gem, but it is likely due to the long boat ride to get here that it doesn't attract more tourists.
After our trip around the blue lagoon with the jellyfish, the caves and exploring the Sohoton Area we then visited Tiktikan Lagoon Cottages. This incredible little village around the coast of a beautiful lagoon is the perfect place to stop for lunch. Not only was the food delicious, but they have swings and a 5-meter cliff jump where you can jump into the crystal clear water below. Had we known then we would have booked a night or two to stay here because they have accommodation, and one of them opens right up on the highest jumping board.
As part of any tour around Sohoton Cove you will also visit at least one cave. There are a bunch of caves in the area embedded into the limestone cliffs. We visited the Magkuku-ob Cave which is amazing to explore. Our tour guide took us through and we climbed up until we ended back near the beginning standing on a platform above the cave entrance. Everyone took it in turns jumping into the water below and then we were able to get back on the boat and continue exploring the area. It's super fun and definitely the best cave to explore.
There are a bunch of other amazing caves to explore also. There is the Hagukan Cave, also known as the luminescent cave, Crystal Cave which you can venture in for several hundred meters and can actually lead into an entirely different cave system called Bolitas Cave.
Some caves may only be accessible during a low tide and your boat operators will know the best one to visit for the tide height.
That covers the things you can see on this packed out tour, but there are still a few other helpful pieces of information that you may want to know. The entry fees at Sohoton Cove will possibly be covered by the price of your tour, but if not then the entrance fee costs 150 PHP (£2) per person for foreign tourists.
The emerald waters around this region will be very enticing, and even if you can't swim very well you can still enjoy them. Safety gear is provided once you arrive at the port at Sohoton Cove. They should give you life jackets before you get into the small boat that will take you around the area.
We visited Sohoton Cove on the island of Bucas Grande by private boat that left from General Luna. If you are staying on Siargao then you can also catch a boat from Dapa Port, which makes the boat trip a little bit shorter. It is about 2hrs from General Luna and 1hr 30 minutes from Dapa Port. The best way to visit this region is a tour, and if you want to pack as much as you can into one day then there are tours which include the famous 3-island package. This visits Naked Island, Daku Island, Guyam Island and Sohoton Cove.
Another popular option to visit Sohoton Cove is via Hayanggabon Port in Claver. We haven't done it this way as you also need to make your own way to Surigao City (not to be confused with Siargao Island) and then to the port.
Had we known about the accommodation at Tiktikan Lake then we would have loved to have stayed a night or two there. You can also book to stay at Hidden Island Resort which is in the same region. The most popular way is on one of the day tours, which is how we visited the area. There are a few different tour packages which include a single trip to Sohoton Cove, Tiktikan Lagoon Cottages and Club Tara. Or you can opt for the tour which includes the 3-island hopping package also.
The best time of year to visit Siargao Island and the Surigao Del Norte region is April and May. This is similar to other popular parts of The Philippines such as Palawan, so it means you can explore a lot of this beautiful country if you visit during this time. A top tip would be to consider public holidays as we visited around Easter and didn't think about local holidays. When we arrived the whole area was packed with visitors and the locals all wanted pictures with us as we were the only foreigners. It was funny taking pictures with large families and groups though, so if you want to feel like a celebrity then maybe public holidays are actually the best time to visit!
Siargao is a stunning island in the Philippines, and home to many travellers. It is a bit of a digital nomad haven and somewhere we stayed for a little over a month. We could have stayed longer as well!
There are a bunch of tours you can do by boat, and plenty to see around the island. You can see the popular palm tree viewpoint, jump into the tropical Maasin River and swim around the incredibly bright blue Magpupungko Rock Pools. That is just scratching the surface. If you want to find out about all the best things to do in Siargao then check out our blog on the 17 best things to do around Siargao here.
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