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March was pretty special for us because my Mom came home from the States. We all went to Surigao del Norte to have a getaway. My brother who is working in Singapore came home to travel with us and my brother who is living in Mindanao travelled 8 hours by bus to be with us too! It was one fun getaway we will never forget!

Surigao was one of the best islands we’ve ever been so far. It was definitely one memorable trip we will never forget! ♥

Since Bucas Grande Island is 45 minutes boat ride and 2 hours road trip away from the airport, we decided to transfer to Surigao City on our last day. We had a late check out at Club Tara Resort and then off we went to the city. It was raining when we arrived so we just stayed at the Grande Suites Hotel and took a rest for the rest of the day.

Grande Suites Hotel was new so everything was clean and well-maintained.

Our room includes dinner and buffet breakfast so we all met up again at the hotel restaurant for our last dinner in Surigao.

Hubby was in the mood for wine so he ordered one bottle of red wine for everyone! Thanks, Hubby!

The dinner was tasty and good but I couldn’t remember exactly what we ate. Simply because I ate it in just a couple of minutes! Everyone did the same. It only just means one thing, we loved our dinner!

Our buffet breakfast was just ok though. The buffet opened a little late for 8AM. I knew that buffets usually opens at 6AM. Good thing the hotel was just a couple of minutes away from the airport so we still were able to avail.

I would say all in all, Grande Suites Hotel is not bad when it comes to service, food and facilities. Their restaurant is located at the 7th floor and you will be able to see a nice view while dining. The location is also good since it is just a few minutes away from the airport.

By 8:30AM, off we went to the airport which officially ends our short vacation in Surigao.

Grande Suites Hotel
Ramon Kaimo St.,
P6 San Juan, Surigao City
Surigao del Norte

On our way to Sohoton Cove was probably the most memorable because it rained! Yes, we were all sitting in a small boat, in the middle of the ocean and it rained! I was so nervous especially for the kids but when I saw them, they were actually having the time of their lives. Eventually, the rain stopped (thank God!), and it became suddenly so peaceful on our way to Sohoton Cove.

Sohoton Cave is the highlight of our island hopping. This is the most popular island in Surigao Del Norte. We were mesmerized by the beautiful view, rock formations and caves.

Our first encounter, the Sohoton Cove. This is actually the entrance of a beautiful lagoon. Called by the locals as “sohoton” which means “to go under” because of its cave entrance. Gated by sea water, you can only enter the lagoon during low tides.The area boast 7 islets inside where you can do caving and cliff jumping.

Next, we saw the Elephant Nose Rock Formation.

We didn’t stop so the next thing we saw was the Enchanted White Wall.

Locals say that it used to have a huge tree above it that brings an eerie church bell sound which they find it enchanted! Cool, isn’t?

Our next stop was the Hagokan Cave. Locals called this “hagokan” simply because of the snoring sound brought by the tides. “Hagokan” is the visayan term for snore. Inside you will see a spacious cathedral with stalagmites and stalactites. It was amazing!

After swimming inside the Hagokan Cave, we went down again in another called Magkukuob Cave.

Once you enter the cave, it is hard to go back so the only exit is to jump two to three floors down the water. The experience was definitely unforgettable!

If you happen to visit Sohoton Cove, try the “jump” part, you will never regret it! (*wink*)

Sohoton Cove
Socorro, Bucas Grande Island,
Surigao Del Norte
Philippines

Well, I know! It was too much already! After checking out a beautiful lake, we trekked and checked out a cave, then we had an island to ourselves for an hour. Now, off to our seafood lunch but not only that, we are going to another island just for our lunch. ♥

This one is bigger and we love this more since there are cottages, fresh water and a nice place for lunch.

While we waited for our boatmen to get our lunch from another island, the kids grabbed the opportunity to play and make the most out of the beach.

After almost an hour, it was finally time to EAT!

WE had a seafood feast – shrimps, crabs, fresh fish, shellfish. We also had pork adobo as our free lunch from the hotel. Everyone was definitely happy after.

We just rested for a couple of minutes then off to our next stop!

We had our own island for ourselves! Well, for just an hour or so. It was our third stop in our island hopping on our second day in Surigao Del Norte.

WE did everything we wanted here because we were alone! We had a couple of jump shots, we screamed, we laughed and of course we all had FUN! ♥

Our next stop in our island hopping on our second day in Surigao is the cave. Unfortunately, I forgot what’s the cave called so I’ll just name is as cave.

The trick was a bit hard considering that we brought our kids with us. Good thing our boatmen were willing to carry them on our way to the top. Yes the cave was located on top of a hill. I was hesitant at first but decided to enter since this is a once in a lifetime event!

I’d say it was too dark inside the cave, we couldn’t see anything! But still, we managed to have our photos taken (thanks to the Hubby!).

The trek was easier on our way back to the boat.

Definitely a wonderful experience for all of us!

On our second day in Surigao, we decided to explore more islands and had quite an adventure from our island hopping.

Our boatmen fetched us around 9AM and then off we went to our first stop which was Tiktikan Lake.

Tiktikan Lake was one of the highlights of our island hopping. We had to trek for a couple of minutes before seeing this wonderful view. The lake was vast and very calm. It was so relaxing.

We just spent a couple of minutes here before we went to our next stop which I will post next. (*wink*)

Tiktikan Lake
Surigao Del Norte, Philippines

After our 45 minute of boat ride, we were greeted by the most wonderful view we’ve ever seen in Mindanao…

We finally arrived Club Tara Resort located at Bucas Grande Island and we instantly fell in love.

Club Tara Resort
Bucas Grande Island
Surigao Del Norte
Mobile +63 917 5225500
clubtara_rsvn@hotmail.com
www.clubtara.asia

We finally arrived Surigao City after almost 2 hours.

We settled with the Brqy. Captain about our transpo so they fetched us in Surigao airport and they were there as soon as we arrived! Good thing we availed their services before going there, we didn’t have to look for transpo anymore. As soon as we settled in the van, off we went for a road trip for another 2 hours.

We arrived at the pier and was mesmerized (and amazed) by the view.

We realized that it was good to look at, but in reality, the water was dried up already. The mining activities in Surigao made this happen. I hope they do something about this!

We decided to have lunch at the nearest restaurant first before we headed to our boat ride.

After a simple yet tasty lunch, off we went to the pier for our boat ride. It took us 45 minutes to finally arrived to Bucas Grande Island.

Well if I think about it, our 7AM flight to Surigao was not early at all. We even had earlier flights before like 4AM (on our way to CDO) and 6AM (on our way to Cebu), so I guess waking up for a 7AM flight wasn’t a challenge at all. I guess the challenge is that since our flight was a day before our little girl’s 6th birthday, we weren’t able to get enough sleep that night. Everyone was too excited!

But still, we made it on time, even earlier than our usual and took a couple of photos before boarding time!

After just a few minutes of waiting, our flight was called and it was time to board. Hoooray! See you soon Surigao! (*wink*)