Siargao

It is well known as "the Surfing Capital of the Philippines" with a reputation among surfers within the Philippines and the International scene. Several coral reefs, offsore islands, and sand bars are also found. It contains the largest mangrove forest reserves in Mindanao, at Del Carmen town. - but some of the better know surf spots are for experts only.

spot to be is probably around General Luna and Cloud9

Remarks

• flights from Manila ~70EUR - 100EUR
• looks like a good island to explore: ~1.5h from north to south
• offers diving and surfing and beaches and offshore islands to be explored
• January is rainy season. "internet says it rains a lot" - weather details to be researched
• Internet to be researched. not too much data on opensignal, some people on tripadvisor said they liked the good internet (whatever that means)
• 2 ATMs in some city on the island. better bring money, also some hotels offer some cash withdrawals from card payments
• no visa is required for 30 days (30d extension possible) with a German passport. US passports need a visa afaik.

Weather (it rains)

• rainfall from November to January - surfing is best during that time. (http://siargaosurf.com/surfing/conditions-weather/)
• average high 29°C average mean 25°C average low 22°C (wikipedia from a neighboring island)
• rainfall 565mm (wikipedia from a neighboring island)
• http://www.weather2travel.com/january/philippines/siargao-island.php
• eastern parts of the Philippines are generaly dry during January, western parts are rainy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_the_Philippines#Climate_types
• 24 days with "some rain" according to http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/philippines/siargao-island.php

Accommodation

• AirBnB
• tripadvisor

Links

• http://www.siargaoislands.net/
• http://wikitravel.org/en/Siargao
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siargao
• http://www.surfsiargao.com/siargao-faqs
• OpenSignal: https://opensignal.com/?z=11&minLat=9.677&maxLat=10.083&minLng=125.670&maxLng=126.425&s=all&t=2-3-4
• Lonelyplanet intro: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/philippines/mindanao/siargao/introduction
• some travel blogger dude: http://www.backpackerbanter.com/blog/siargao-surfing-complete-guide - but seems to have some nice links and hints
• more marketing fu: http://vientodelmar.com/siargao-island/