Mam-On Island and La Januza Island are found just off the coast of Siargao. They several beautiful beaches and coves and are covered in palm tree-covered hills. The reef surrounding both islands and in the channel between the two is truly remarkable.
WHERE ARE MAM-ON AND LA JANUZA ISLAND
Mam-on and La Januza island are south of the popular surf island Siargao in the south of the Philippines. There are a number of smaller islands nearby Siargao that are popular for island hopping, the most popular route is the day-trip to Daku, Guyam, and Naked Island. From Siargao, it is about a one-hour boat journey if you leave General Luna on a classic, outrigger boat.
HOW TO GET TO MAM-ON AND LA JANUZA ISLAND
As of 2019, there are no standard tours offered to Mam-On Island compared to the regular, daily trips to other islands nearby to Siargao. However, many of the tour operators use Mam-On as an alternative to the other, busier islands.
The best way to get out to Mam-On and La Januza would be to chat with the tour operator and convince them to switch up the itinerary to include Mam-On and La Januza instead of Daku and Guyam. For less than $25 USD, you can book your island hopping tour. It is possible to book a private boat tour but this will be much more expensive. There are no public transportation options.
BOOKING A TOUR TO MAM-ON ISLAND FROM SIARGAO ISLAND
As I mentioned above, there aren’t too many set tours with Mam-On and La Januza but you should be able to chat in person with the vendor or with the online operator when you book to change the itinerary a bit. The link below is to the four-island hopping experience, that you may be able to change around, especially if you book the whole boat. Usually, the captains are chill and they just need to be back to the docks by 5 pm.
To book your Siargao Island hopping experience online, the best price and most reliable one is this activity on Klook. This activity includes four islands all in one day. You get to visit Corregidor, Naked Island, Daku Island, and Guyam. It costs slightly more than the regular three-island trip but that’s because you get four islands and visit them all in one day!
The price is very similar to what you will find at the street vendors (and likely on the same boat anyway). You get your full day of island hopping and lunch included. It’s hard to go wrong.
Book your tour now: FOUR ISLAND TOUR (Corregidor, Naked, Daku, Guyam)
I’ve done the tour as the three-island, four-island and even Corregidor in combination with Mamon & La Januzaa. It’s fair to say I’ve spent some time island-hopping out of Siargao.
MY EXPERIENCE AT MAM-ON ISLAND AND LA JANUZA ISLAND
I’ve done the tri-island hopping (Daku, Guyam, and Naked) twice before and had also visited Corregidor Island on another trip from Siargao. However, this time I wanted to see something different. We decided to head out to Mam-On and La-Januza to start the day.
It’s a little bit further than the regular island-hopping and can take an hour or so to reach the islands. Corregidor takes about 45-minutes and in comparison, Naked island is just about 15-minutes from Siargao mainland. Sometimes the tour might leave from Dapa or a different port from the south-western coast of Siargao.
As we rolled into Mam-On island the weather was quite gloomy and we were a bit nervous we had made the journey out on a bad day. However, in true tropical fashion, it miraculously cleared up 30-minutes later and the reef looked incredible.
The channel between La Januza Island and Mamon Island is just a few hundred meters and it’s possible to snorkel or stand-up-paddle between the two. There is a surf break on the far side of the channel and it was actually a decent size. We took the paddle-boards out there and caught a couple of fun waves.
The snorkeling wasn’t incredibly colorful but the clarity was pure perfection with lots to look at. There may be some colorful corals but in the areas I was snorkeling, there were lots of rock and dull corals with plenty of fish to entertain you. If you’ve been to some beautiful coral reefs you may not be blown away but if you haven’t done too much snorkeling, there will be a lot to captivate you below the surface.
The best part about Mam-On and La Januza is that there aren’t too many people around. We were there for a few hours and only a couple of boats rolled in the whole time. On Naked, Daku, and Guyam it can get quite busy and takes away from the serenity a little bit, although they are still fun.
We had lunch at a small hut on Mam-On Island, which was really peaceful to dig into some good food while watching the water. I would’ve liked to have had a bit more time on Mam-On Island to go for a bit of a hike exploration up some of the small, palm tree-covered hills but we visited Corregidor Island in the afternoon so we had to leave after lunch. However, I had time to send the drone up into the middle of the island and high into the sky on a scouting mission of the area.
From the sky, I had incredible views of La Januza Island, the channel, the palm-tree hills and the beaches of Mamon Island. With prime conditions and great sunlight, I managed to take some really sweet aerial shots of the region.
MAMON ISLAND VIDEO
MAM-ON ISLAND MAP
WHERE I SUGGEST TO STAY ON SIARGAO
Budget Hostel in General Luna: The White House: The best budget option for dorm-style/hostel accommodation on Siargao Island is called The White House in General Luna. For just $10 a night you can grab yourself a dorm bed.
Value Pick in General Luna: Lampara Siargao Boutique Hostel: Lampara Siargao is an oceanfront boutique hostel conveniently situated on the exotic island of Siargao.
Luxury Pick in General Luna: Nay Palad Hideaway: Nay Palad Hideaway is one of the most luxurious accommodations in the Philippines. With its beautiful outdoor pool, terrace with either garden or ocean views, comfy seating areas, and is the resort you will see featured on Instagram all the time!
WHERE I STAYED ON SIARGAO ISLAND
Siargao is pretty straightforward when it comes to picking a region to stay. 90% of people choose to stay somewhere near General Luna. All of the bars, restaurants, tours, ports, and hotels are near General Luna and Cloud 9 surf break.
There are a couple of other regions you could stay in like Pacifico but unless you are purposely looking for isolation, General Luna is your spot. So what are my suggestions for where to stay in General Luna?
First, I’ll tell you where I stayed. Because I stayed for over a month, I managed to find an Airbnb. It was 4 blocks back from the beach, had wi-fi, A/C, a private bathroom, patio and inside were just two bunk beds. It was super basic and I stayed here with two mates and my sister. It was 900 USD for the entire month, which we split four ways so it was just $225 each.
There’s a photo below of our sweet Airbnb pad on Siargao Island.
Save money in Siargao by staying at an Airbnb! Get a FREE $40 Airbnb Coupon by using my code when you book!
Best time to visit Siargao Island
The best time to visit Siargao depends on what you are looking for. Many consider the best time of year when the weather is best but that also means crowds. I will give you a few options below about when is the best month to visit Siargao Island:
September: Siargao hosts the ‘Cloud 9 Surfing Cup’ each September, an official WSL Pro event
July – November: The best time period for surfing in Siargao is July until November. The easterly Mindanao current provides the islands with waves that came from the deepest regions of the Pacific.
March-May: If you aren’t as interested in the surf but are craving that sun. March until May should bring you guaranteed sunny days. But it’s the Philippines so you can’t guarantee it.
Where is Siargao Island Located
Siargao is located in the region of Mindanao in the Philippines. Mindanao is the southern region of the Philippines.
How to get to Siargao Island
When I visited in 2017 there was only one flight a day from Manila and one from Cebu. Now there are 10-15 flights a day so the question of how to get to Siargao has become much easier. Without going into deep detail on every single option. These are the options for how to get to Siargao:
- Fly from Manila $90-$100
- Fry from Cebu $90-$100
- Ferry from Surigao City to Siargao Island $5
There are ferries that leave from Manila and Cebu but they go to Surigao City first and then Siargao Island.
ARE YOU FOLLOWING MY SIARGAO SERIES OF BLOGS
Sunset: 11 AWESOME SUNSET SPOTS ON SIARGAO ISLAND
Cliff Jumps: 9 CLIFF JUMPING SPOTS IN SIARGAO
Where to Stay: WHERE TO STAY ON SIARGAO ISLAND
Island Hopping: SIARGAO ISLAND HOPPING – GUYAM, DAKU & NAKED ISLAND
Ultimate Guide: 40 AWESOME THINGS TO DO ON SIARGAO
Itinerary & Expenses: SIARGAO ITINERARY & EXPENSES ULTIMATE TRAVEL GUIDE
Sohoton Cove Itinerary: SOHOTON COVE NATIONAL PARK TOUR – CAVES AND LAGOONS
Visit Sugba Lagoon: SUGBA LAGOON FROM SIARGAO ISLAND
Hidden Lake on Poneas Island: DISCOVER THE HIDDEN LAKE OF PONEAS ISLAND, SIARGAO
MORE PHILIPPINES BLOGS
I have also visited many other places in the Philippines that you may want to add to your itinerary and remove one of the locations I visited. There is no right way to travel to the Philippines. The reality is that you will miss some awesome places no matter what Philippines backpacking route you take. You can check out the links below to my other Philippines backpacking guides.
Caramoan: CARAMOAN ISLAND HOPPING
Romblon Island: ROMBLON TRAVEL GUIDE: 17 AWESOME THINGS TO DO
Tablas Island: TABLAS ISLAND TRAVEL GUIDE: 20 AWESOME THINGS TO DO
Sibuyan Island: SIBUYAN ISLAND TRAVEL GUIDE: 9 AWESOME THINGS TO DO
Sohoton Cove: SOHOTON COVE NATIONAL PARK TOUR – CAVES AND LAGOONS
Carabao Island: CARABAO ISLAND TRAVEL GUIDE: 5 THINGS TO DO
Cebu Itinerary: CEBU 5-DAY ITINERARY – DETAILED ADVENTURE TRAVEL GUIDE
Cebu Things To Do: 16 AWESOME THINGS TO DO ON CEBU
Philippines Backpacking Guide: PHILIPPINES BACKPACKING: 2019 BUDGET TRAVEL GUIDE
Ultimate Philippines Itinerary: ULTIMATE PHILIPPINES TRAVEL ITINERARY FOR 3-4 WEEKS
Where is philippines
Friday 29th of November 2019
Sure, you can spend several hours or even days, but with so many things to do