Top Things to do in Samar Island
10 Things to Do in Samar Island That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in Samar Island, Philippines including Sohoton Cave, Biri Island, Biri Island Rock Formations, Tarangban Falls, Lobo Cave, Belat Pool, Lulugayan Falls, Calbiga Caves, Malajog (Looc) Beach, St. Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Restaurants in Samar Island
1. Sohoton Cave
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 40 reviews
Reviewed By LegendHarry - Isabela
The first destination in our six-day tour in Eastern Visayas was the Sohoton Natural Bridge Natural Park. And I can say it was a great start.
The travel time was a little more than an hour with the road coming from Basey, Samar to Sohoton mostly concreted.
After registering, we were fitted with lifejackets and helmets. Then, we rode a pumpboat going to Sohoton Cave. There, we were serenaded with some Waray songs. The cave has some interesting rock formations.
After our cave tour, we kayaked our way through to reach the Natural Bridge. It was tiring because it was upstream! But the sight was truly spectacular! Aside from that, river jumping was adrenaline pumping.
The tourism office in Sohoton also offers accommodations, catering, and team building facilities.
2. Biri Island
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 40 reviews
Reviewed By JEmmanuelLasPinas - Las Pinas
It is off the beaten track. It is for the adventurous. It is a thrilling experience. But you will be rewarded by breathtaking scenery and exhilarating activities. You won't be disappointed.
3. Biri Island Rock Formations
Overall Ratings
5 based on 17 reviews
Reviewed By CzarEmmanuel - Manila, Philippines
Biri Island in the municipality of Lavezares in Northern Samar, is located where the San Bernardo Strait meets the Pacific Ocean. This explains the raging waters in the area, perhaps too strong even for professional surfers.
When we visited the place, we had to travel all the way from Tacloban to Calbayog City, and then travel another 148kms to reach the municipality of Lavezares. One can also come from Catarman (which is closer), and then travel to Lavezares. From here, one still needs to go on an hour-long boat ride to the island. Once you reach the place, motorcycles (locally called "habal-habal") come very handy and can take you all over the island.
Biri Island is actually a part of a big group of Islands ... eighteen, all in all ... called the Balicuatro Islands. The place is famous for its amazing rock formations. People usually visit six of them -- namely, Magasang, Magsapad, Macadlaw, Puhunan, Bel-at, and Caranas -- all offering wonderful scenes for pictorial. Occasionally there are natural pools where you can take a dip or snorkel. Be careful though not to get too close to the waves. I had one unforgettable experience there while I was relaxing in one of such natural pools. Suddenly there was this huge wage that practically pulled me out of the pool and dragged me some feet away from it. I had to hold on to whatever I could, which procured me some wounds on my hands, to avoid being totally carried away by the waters. Luckily I was not drawn towards the open ocean, otherwise it would have been fatal!
Once you're done taking pictures and selfies and swimming, you can head back to the port of Levazares and return home. You really don't need to stay on the island itself. A day tour would be enough to enjoy the place.
4. Tarangban Falls
Overall Ratings
5 based on 17 reviews
Reviewed By WJFraser - Fort McMurray, Canada
The 1st thing you should know about this attraction is that it is not actually in Calbayog City, we had to drive about 40 minutes north of the Calbayog Airport to where the multi cab and driver I hired stopped and made arrangements to have motor bikes known as Habal Habals (300 PHP each) take us up a road as far as they could go. It was rainy season in Nov. when we went here and they roads were slippery in some areas but the bike operator was very good at getting us up there safely. Extensive construction was being done on that road to turn in from a regular dirt road to concrete in which one may go up by car three or four kms. We also had to hire a local guide to go with us, (about 200 PHP) he had some sort of official looking badge around his neck and helped us carry some of our things. For security, I also had my cab driver and his assistant go with us. You could walk that road in, it's 3 or 4 kms but it's a hard walk, lots of ups and downs, better to take the bike ride.
After the bike ride, we had to hike about 1 hour, half of that was uphill and it was quite a challenge for us despite the fact that we have hiked many, many times before because the path was very rocky and slippery. Make sure you have good foot wear. One of my friends did not have proper hiking shoes and she decided it was easier to walk barefoot.
Once we arrived to the river, we had to walk along side it for about 150-200 feet to reach the falls. Those rocks tend to be extremely slick, so take your time and be careful. Our guide was really good at showing us the best way to go and also gave us a helping hand when needed to climb up and down the rocks.
We finally got to the falls and it was pouring rain but I did not care, the pay off was well worth the effort! It sure made me feel grateful to be alive, it was beautiful!
If you love hiking, the great outdoors and Waterfalls, then I recommend going. But you do have to to physically fir to a certain degree to do this. Bring plenty of water and some food.
5. Lobo Cave
Overall Ratings
5 based on 13 reviews
Reviewed By nathzniel - Cebu City, Philippines
So proud to tell you that Lobo Cave is one of the beautiful caves of the Philippines. On my first visit to this cave, we spent almost seven (7) hours exploring its undeground rivers, Canyons, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, chandeliers, helectites, mud hills, forest stalagmites, underground falls, etc.
Try to visit this cave by contacting Jose Abesamis Bonifacio of Trexplore Adventure (http://www.trexplore.blogspot.com or http://www.trexplore.webs.com) or you can check his FB account.
6. Belat Pool
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 11 reviews
7. Lulugayan Falls
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 11 reviews
Reviewed By Thepoortraveler M - Philippines
The Waterfalls are nice and beauiful, the cascades are very much welcoming to the tourist and even to the explorer. Visiting this site are good but the roads are not and the environmental fee is very expensive its 500php not including the tourist guide and even you can go there by your own they required you to have a tourist guide for another fee.
8. Calbiga Caves
Overall Ratings
5 based on 8 reviews
Reviewed By fietslogies - Barcelona, Spain
We explored the cave with Joni Bonifacio from Trexplore. The caves were only a short drive from Catbalogan. It took a full hour of walking to the cave and then we were ready to enter. Because of the high water level, we did only the upper part. And that's still quite impressive and requires a lot of climbing and swimming. But the temperature of the water is pleasant. As we spent 4 hours inside, we had our traditional lunch inside, with candle light. Sometimes, it was a bit risky with the sharp rocks under the water surface and the slippery and steep clay areas. And at the end, we had to search yourself a way through the guano or bat excrements. Believe me, after floundering a few hours through the cave, you don't mind at all. But it was still not finished. We had to trek two more hours to reach our motorbikes. That was really tough, as we were getting exhausted, and every step needed a lot of concentration as the path was quite stony. Most of the dirt, we washed away in the river and in the evening we were back in Catbalogan.
Two very positive points:
Local food in the cave, not Jollybee stuff as we had it with more commercial tour guides in the Philippines.
Use of local and public transport. It's cheap and efficient.
Thumbs up for Joni Bonifacio. He's also the one who makes all the pictures while you are in the cave. Bringing your camera with you would be very silly, because you need to swim a lot, and you have to focus on keeping right while hiking the cave.
9. Malajog (Looc) Beach
Overall Ratings
4 based on 21 reviews
Reviewed By tianneXtianne
"Three-way adventure". That was what our guide, Ate Reza, described our way to the zipline: Trecking, sort-of mountain/rock climbing, and of course the Zipline.
True enough, we had to walk 915 meters to get to the zipline which travels down to Daraga island. We had to go up, down, up and straight on the sometimes steep steps of the mountain.
One of the amazing things in this trail was that the developer preserved the rocks and the trees in the mountain. the path would go around the trees and its roots, as well as the limestone rocks.
Another amazing thing/person was our guide Ate Reza. she pointed out stuff like the hidden caves where the Japanese hid during WWII and knew the spots where we could take amazing pictures. :)
The sitting zipline costs 200 and the superman costs 300. the guides don't have a fixed rate though, so please give them their well-deserved tip.
10. St. Peter and Paul Cathedral
Overall Ratings
4 based on 11 reviews
Reviewed By Victorianlad - Melbourne, Australia
There was some work underway around it when I called in at this large Cathedral opposite the Municipal tourism office.
It is an imposing structure externally but inside I found it hard to detect much of what must have been the original Spanish influence as it has been much changed over the years.
The dome however is imposing and inside it was a cool place to pray on a hot day.
