Ferry trip from Lipata, Surigao del Norte to Liloan, Southern Leyte

March 22, 8:01 AM (Day 2)- I am writing this blog on board Super Shuttle Ferry in route to Liloan, Southern Leyte from Lipata, Surigao del Norte. In fact, here's the view through the window:

and in front of me is my beautiful family

This was after Mama Sez and Nadine have settled their wrestling match (it was a draw!) during a diaper change session.

The ferry is quite new and facilities are relatively modern with convenient accommodations.

Here are the scenes prior to boarding. We got up at 4AM to get to Lipata Port at 5AM. We were witnesses to the beautiful sunrise on our vantage point at the northeastern tip of Mindanao.

The ferry was already there when we arrived, boarding was efficient and departure was on time.

Our car got a very good spot...near the entrance and neighbors with the traveling pigs LOL

read more...

Contact Information for Travelers to Surigao Del Norte

I had a pleasant morning today as I was able to obtain really helpful information from the Provincial Tourism Office of Surigao del Norte. This is the second time I called this office and my experience had been very positive.

I've been interested in information related to Sohoton Cove, Siargao, Bucas Grande, Socorro, Claver, boat rides, Lipata Ferry Port and Surigao City accommodations.

As an avid traveler and good citizen, I feel it's my duty to share the information that I obtained from various sources. Often, the contact numbers one gets from websites that are not regularly updated (especially static ones) are not functional, and so it's quite frustrating.

The numbers below can help you get information that are not readily available in the internet:

PROVINCIAL TOURISM OFFICE: (+63) 86-2319271 Romy & Chat were really helpful

SURIGAO CITY TOURISM OFFICE: (+63) 86-8268064

LIPATA PORT (for ferry schedule, etc.): (+63) 921-5905210

SOHOTON COVE PARK: (+63) 939-4235793 c/o Dodo

SOCORRO MUNICIPALITY WEBSITE: www.socorro.gov.ph

SOCORRO TOURIST ASSISTANCE: (+63) 919-9686796 c/o Lyka

These are the numbers that are functional at the time of writing. Please let me know if you encounter any problem, so I can try to update/correct the information.

I will be posting more travel information when I have personally verified the contact numbers. I am also accumulating information about accommodations that are not easily obtainable from existing websites.

As of this writing, only one ferry (of three) is servicing the Lipata, Surigao del Norte - Liloan, Southern Leyte route. The other two are dry-docked for regular maintenance in preparation for the peak travel season during summer.

Note: +63 is the country code for the Philippines
86 is the area code for Surigao del Norte
three digit area codes starting with '9' are mobile phone numbers

read more...

Calls to Surigao del Norte

Made some phone calls today to get information about Surigao and other possible arrangements when we get to that area. I got some of my questions answered but had to wait for tomorrow and a few more days to satisfy my other queries.

The Provincial Tourism Office of Surigao del Norte was able to assist me by referring me to their local counterparts. I confirmed that there is indeed an option to stay in the mainland and kick off from Claver port, which is the nearest point to go to Sohoton Cove.

There's also a better option of staying in Bucas Grande Island instead of Siargao Island if one is more interested in a Sohoton visit than surfing. The owner of Hidden Island Resort was more accommodating than the foreigner (owner?) I spoke to about Club Tara. Hidden Island Resort can make arrangements for our car parking in the mainland and the boat ride to the island.

I have yet to speak to the Tourism Officer of Socorro Municipality, the LGU in-charge of Sohoton Park, where most of our activities will be done...especially the swimming with non-stinging jellyfish. The cell number seemed to be always out of reach. It was the same with the Tourism Officer of Claver who failed to answer my calls, while "all lines are busy" in their office landline.

As for the ferry schedule, only one ferry is doing the route between Lipata, Surigao del Norte and Liloan, Southern Leyte today as two of the vessels are dry-docked for maintenance. This is regularly done in preparation for the peak travel season starting in April. I just hope there will be more trips on March 23/24 when we need to cross the gap between Mindanao and Leyte.

I will be posting the numbers I used to get information as references or travel resources online when I confirm that the lines are indeed functional.

read more...

Sohoton Cove, Siargao, Surigao Del Norte

As planning for our road trip becomes more detailed, we also need more information about specific places, points of interests, accommodations, etc.

Since there is limited number of ferry trips between Lipata, Surigao City in Mindanao and Liloan, Southern Leyte in Visayas, timing is critical. I have yet to verify my most recent information that there are only three trips to Liloan, i.e. leaving Lipata at 3AM, 7AM and 12noon. Initially, the ferry schedule I got had four trips in a day, including one in the afternoon. So I need to verify this until before we leave as I imagine schedules can easily change for many reasons...reasons that actually would not matter anymore if you didn't know and your travel plans got screwed up for depending on it.

Anyway, while trying to getting info about the ferry schedule and Surigao in general, I stumbled upon good write ups about Siargao Island. I found out that Siargao is not only for surfer dudes and dudettes, there are also hidden treasures for nature lovers like me. And that treasure is Sohoton Cove of Bucas Grande, described by this blog as "an emerald maze of inlets and verdant forests" accessible only during low tide.

I got even more excited about non-stinging jellyfish that congregate in Sohoton Cove from January to September.  So I guess we're in luck.  The kids would surely love it as one can actually touch and play with these jellyfish.  Great, isn't it?

Now, if only we can insert another day to the original schedule...hmmm well see...

read more...