AGUINID FALLS IN SAMBOAN, CEBU

Aguinid Falls has become one of the most popular waterfalls on the island of Cebu. While it may never surpass the popularity of Kawasan Falls down the road, the Aguinid Falls trek is a great, adventurous activity for explorers of all levels.

You can do a tour that lets you see Aguinid Falls and swim with the Whale Sharks all in one day! That is a great way to see one the best of south Cebu waterfalls and swim with the Whale Sharks on a tight schedule from Cebu City! You can book this tour online and check the availability for your dates by Clicking Here.

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AGUINID FALLS

150km away from Cebu City is the region of Samboan. Here you will find three beautiful waterfalls and if you look harder you will discover many others. The three most popular waterfalls are Aguinid Falls, Binalayan Falls, and Dao Waterfall. You can easily do all three on one day as we did on our Samboan adventure.

When we arrived at Aguinid we first took lunch. It is a local tip to know that the restaurants/cafes at Aguinid Falls are the last cafes for a long journey down the coast. We enjoyed a great spread of different typical Filipino dishes and relaxed before getting ready to head out on the Aguinid Falls adventure.

Aguinid Falls costs 60 pesos as the entrance fee. However, your guides will be expecting a tip for their expertise along the way, which is their wage. You need to respect this system and understand that the tip is actually the wage of the guide and the entrance fee goes to the municipality/government who are the landowners of this natural asset.

Aguinid Falls is split up into multiple levels. The adventure used to take you to eight levels. However, since there were a few accidents and fatalities on the higher levels, you are now required to take a guide and you will only reach level five. Don’t worry this is more than enough adventure!

The first level will go largely unnoticed as it is just the ground floor or the river. However, from this point on each level offers a beautiful cascade of the milky blue water Cebu has become so famous for.

Aguinid Falls isn’t an adventure to one big waterfall. The adventure to the waterfall is the attraction. You will walk through the water, along with bamboo bridges and at one point scale straight up the waterfall aided by a strong rope.

Don’t worry it isn’t vertical. It is more of a 45-degree angle and not slippery at all. This is one of the reasons you have a guide with you. Keep an eye on your guide, they will probably run up this section without even touching the rope!

The milky blue pools continue all the way up the trail until you reach a pool where you can do a small cliff jump of a couple meters. This is only about 1 minute before the main waterfall at level 5.

After about half an hour we reached the level 5 waterfall, which pours down over the rounded waterfall. Caves inside can be explored and it is a great place for a refreshing dip.

You will definitely get wet on this hike so bring a dry bag or waterproof case for your phone. There are several sections where you walk alongside or even underneath the waterfall.

The staff at the entrance had a sign saying trash deposit 50 pesos. This meant if you took possible trash onto the trail such as plastic water bottles you had to pay 50 pesos and you would get your money back if you proved you had brought your trash out. They seemed quite proud of their trail. Some of my local friends also told me not to bother with an adventure bag here because it was maintained by the government.

As I have found all over the world, locals are often missing what is right before their eyes. They did indeed keep this trail in awesome condition. It was beautiful and the regular adventurer would not recall seeing any trash.

Along with our driver, I collected two bags of trash. Two Adventure Bags. We found more than ten flip-flops and lots of plastic bottles just yards off the trail in the bushes. The staff at the entrance were shocked and I think they will be doing a bit of a sweep shortly!

ENTRANCE FEE FOR AGUINID FALLS

• 30 Pesos for Filipinos
• 60 Pesos for Foreigners
• 50 Pesos garbage bond

HOW TO GET TO AGUINID FALLS IN SAMBOAN, CEBU

Dao Falls is super easy to find. It is marked here on the Google Map below and the pin is accurate. From the main road, there is a sign, which is directing you to the parking lot.

ADVENTURE BAG FROM AGUINID WATERFALL TREK

This is an adventure bag. It is full of trash. Every time I go on an adventure I collect one adventure bag full of trash. It’s my small way of saying thanks to mother nature for allowing me to enjoy her beautiful creations.

If we have time to go on an adventure we have time to collect an adventure bag on the way back out of the trail once we have enjoyed the waterfall, the hike or the beach. Adventure hard!

Tag your @adventurebagcrew on Instagram and mention @adventurebagcrew in your Instagram stories to be featured and inspire your friends, family, and followers to join the movement!

WHERE TO STAY ON CEBU?

I really think that if you are going to be exploring Cebu, the best place to stay is in Moalboal. There are a few reasons why!

Cebu City might be where you land at the airport but if you are looking for adventure, you will need to head south as soon as possible. Most of the best waterfalls, whale sharks, snorkeling with sardines and turtles are all down south.

So where do you stay to do all of these adventures? Moalboal! Trust me I know… I rent an apartment in Moalboal and that is my base for all of the adventures you have just read!

Moalboal is a cool town, which is the free-diving and scuba capital of Cebu and even the Philippines. Here there are tons of hostels, hotels, and homestays.

There are plenty of restaurants and even a small mall. This is really the last spot as you travel down south where you will have good wifi, 4G connection, western restaurants and lots of facilities. Once you head further south to Alegria and Ginatilan those towns just aren’t set up for tourists really.

Moalboal is just a short drive from most attractions and even all the way down to the Whale Sharks is just a 1-hour drive. There are a variety of accommodations in Moalboal but I will tell you my favorite for each style of traveler. I have a recommendation for budget travelers, mid-level and luxury.

MoHo Moalboal Hostel – Budget: I stayed at this cool hostel for a few days. It is brand new and pretty modern with a huge chill-out space. The WIFI works! I was blogging and using WordPress and the connection was fine.

The dorm rooms are clean and modern with each bed having a blind for privacy. The staff were super chill and helpful. There was free water to refill your bottle and free coffee and tea. It is the cheapest option on booking.com at just 8 USD.

Teobas Homestay – Value: You need to click on that link just to see how rad this place is. It has a staircase down to the ocean into crystal clear water. I can tell you, I have snorkeled out the front of this place with turtles many times.

For about $30 USD you get a private room with all of the facilities you need. There is not much better than having ocean access and a bit of a sunset view!

Dolphin House Resort – Luxury: If you are looking for a nice resort, Dolphin House is a 5-star resort with a huge pool for less than $200 USD per night. It has ocean access, great restaurant, chilling areas and a beautiful garden throughout the property.

To view all of the accommodation options in Moalboal head to the Moalboal search page on Booking.com

MORE CEBU TRAVEL GUIDES

Awesome Things to do on Cebu: 16 AWESOME THINGS TO DO ON CEBU

Kawasan Falls Canyoneering: KAWASAN FALLS CEBU CANYONEERING ADVENTURE

Oslob: WHAT TO DO IN OSLOB CEBU

Osmena Peak: OSMEÑA PEAK IN CEBU – A BEAUTIFUL SUNRISE HIKE

Digital Nomad Guide to Moalboal: THE DIGITAL NOMAD GUIDE TO MOALBOAL, CEBU

The Ultimate Philippines 3-4 week Itinerary: ULTIMATE PHILIPPINES TRAVEL ITINERARY FOR 3-4 WEEKS

The Backpacking Guide to the Philippines: PHILIPPINES BACKPACKING GUIDE: 1 MONTH FOR $800