Hinatuan, a sleepy town in Surigao del Sur in Mindanao has risen to fame because of Enchanted River. The area has been developed; picnic tables and cottages have been built and the once pristine river is now akin to a pool. Despite these changes, the deep blue basin remains majestic. Since the Enchanted River in Surigao del Sur is now flocked by tourists, to better appreciate its beauty, it is advisable to go there early in the morning to avoid the crowd especially during weekends and holidays.
TRAVEL BLOG CONTENTS
HOW TO GO TO ENCHNANTED RIVER
HINATUAN, SURIGAO DEL SUR
ROUTE 1
FROM BUTUAN TO ENCHANTED RIVER
Option 1
From Manila, you can fly to Butuan Airport (Bancasi Airport). Upon arriving at Butuan Airport, you can walk to the parking lot and board the passenger van to Mangagoy (Bislig). Take note that buses bound for Bislig have signboards showing Mangagoy and not Bislig. Mangagoy is the the commercial center of Bislig. Tell the driver to drop you off at Hinatuan Terminal. Fare is Php 200 + . Travel time is about 5-6 hours.
Option 2
If you are coming from Butuan Airport and you need to go to Butuan (Agusan del Norte) first, get out of the airport and ride a multi-cab with an R4 signboard to take you to Butuan City center. Then go to Butuan Integrated Bus Terminal and look for a Bachelor Bus en route to Mangagoy (Bislig). Tell the conductor or driver that you are getting off at Hinatuan Terminal (the last bus stop before Bislig). Travel time is roughly 5 hours. Last trip is 5 P.M.
At Hinatuan Town, hire a habal-habal (motorcycle) to take you to Enchanted River. Usual rate is Php 100 per person (roundtrip). The motorcycle can accommodate up to 3 persons (no helmet so please be careful and hold tight). So if you are alone, expect to pay the rate of Php 300-Php400. Some drivers would usually add Php 100 for the waiting time. If you are traveling in a group, you can hire a multi-cab from Hinatuan town to Enchanted River.
From Davao City to Enchanted River Hinatuan:
At Ecoland Terminal ride a Bachelor bus bound for Mangagoy (Bislig) or San Franz. Travel time is roughly 5 hours. Then at Bislig, ride a bus to Hinatuan Terminal. At Hinatuan town, there are habal-habal (motorcycle) for hire. Usual rate is Php 100 per person (roundtrip). The motorcycle can accommodate up to 3 persons. So if you are alone, expect to pay the rate of Php 300 – Php400. Some drivers would usually add Php 100 for the waiting time
ENCHANTED RIVER FEES
Entrance fee : Php 30 per person
Life Jacket rental: Php 15 per hour
Picnic Table with Umbrella rental: Php 100
Boat for Island Hopping
Php 160 per hour ( maximum 4 persons) , the boats are located at the mouth of the river.
Hinatuan Island Hopping Destinations
Tinago River/ Islands – A group of pristine islets.
Pangasinan White Sand – A beach whit golden white shore with traces of Spanish burial caves.
Sibadan Fish Cage – Cultured fishes at the heart of the sea.
Margarett Island – Offers a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean
WHERE TO EAT AT ENCHANTED RIVER HINATUAN
Hinatuan is known for its seafood. A few meters away from the entrance of the Enchanted River, there are locals selling fresh seafood at affordable prices. For an extra fee of Php 60, they will cook it for you and deliver to your picnic tables.
WHERE TO STAY IN ENCHANTED RIVER, HINATUAN
There are no luxury hotels or resorts in Hinatuan but there are a handful of cheap hostels in town.
MARKY’S HOSTEL
Maharlika, Hinatuan
Contact #: 0928 439 7785
This is my recommended Enchanted River inn or hostel in Hinatuan because of its clean and affordable rooms and kind owner. Just ride a pedicab from Hinatuan Terminal to take you there. Fan room and air-conditioned rooms are available (see room rates below). You can buy fresh seafood in the market and the kind owner usually offers to have them cooked for you.
Marky’s Hostel Room Rates:
Double Deck; 2 persons with Electric Fan – Php 300
Single Bed; 2 persons with Electric Fan – Php 350
Air-conditioned Family Room – Php 850
Air-conditioned Double Deck; for 7 persons – Php 1225 /Php75 per person
Air-conditioned Double Deck; 6 persons – Php 900/Php 150 per person
HINATUAN HOMESTAY
Contact #: 0949 1352 783
KOA AND BEA’S HOMETEL
Brgy. Sto. Nino, Hinatuan
Contact#: 0929 979 8248 / 0923 970 9428 / 0906 669 8088
Room rates start at Php 225 per person.
MARYLAND LODGING HOUSE
Espana Street, Hinatuan
Contact#: 0907 868 9808
Room rates start at Php 300 per nigt, with wifi.
JAMES PENSION
Sullano Compound, Brgy. Aquino
Contact#: 0910 619 5112
Room rates tsrat at Php 250 per night.
SIBADAN FISH CAGE
Portlamon, Hinatuan
Contact#: 0927 393 6207 / 0946 563 4927 / 0916 929 1305
Room rates start at Php 300 per night.
ALSO READ: TINUY-AN FALLS, BISLIG TRAVEL GUIDE
ENCHANTED RIVER TRAVEL TIPS
⊗ If you have limited time, you can actually do Tinuy-an Falls in Bislig and Enchanted River in 1 day just start early in the morning.
⊗ Be there early as Enchanted River can get really crowded starting at 9:00 AM.
⊗ Avoid the weekends and holiday.
⊗ Catch the fish feeding at around 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. No one is allowed to swim in the river during this hour.
*Originally published July 2013. Updated 2016.
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I’ll post a blog soon about Butuan.
i’m confused. from Davao City Ecoland Terminal, you instruct to get off the bus at Hinatuan Terminal because, “it’s the last stop before Mangagoy.”
but! looking at the map, i can see that Mangagoy is physically before Hinatuan on the road. does the bus from Davao City actually pass Mangagoy on a different road first then stop at Hinatuan Terminal before reaching the final destination at Mangagoy?
want to see both Enchanted River and Tinuy-an Falls on same day.
Hi Neek, thanks for pointing that out. That’s if you are coming from Butuan not Davao. So if coming from Davao you need to ride another bus to Hinatuan from Bislig. I got confused because we we’re doing it backwards. Will update this blog today. Thanks again and enjoy your trip!
Hello, kailangan mo paba ng tour guide sa enchanted river or hindi na?
no, just hire a habal habal to get there
Ilang oras po ba ang biyahe pag Bislig to Hinatuan?
how many will be consume from Bislig to Hinatuan?
How many hours will consume?
Hello, is it possible to go directly to enchanted river coming from Balingoan Port? Are there buses en route that will pass by Balingoan? Thank you! 🙂
Hi , I am planning to go to hinatuan to visit the river , what is the best area to stay in that area ? is there many hostel around that I can just walk in and rent ?
Kindly read the post
I went there last April 2015 coming from Davao City. This was a one day plan and be back to Davao City for my 9:00 pm flight back to Manila. I thought it takes 6 hours to get there so I went to the bus terminal at 2:00am but the bus bound for Mangagoy left at 4:30am. I reached Mangagoy at 10:30 am. Habal habal driver convinced me to go to Tinuy-an Falls first before Enchanted River for Php 1,500. The falls was spectacular and wide with a small entrance fee but I’m in a hurry. I just took pictures. There was a problem with the habal habal drivers there. As agreed by the local drivers, you can go to Enchanted River only if you hire the habal habal from Tinuy-an Falls. My driver told me to lie so we could continue. Good thing I’m a Cebuano speaker. It took sometime and I’m so late of my schedule. We arrived at the Enchanted River at 12:30 noon and missed the fish feeding. The entrance fee was 50 pesos. Truly the river was majestic but crowded. I have no problem changing coz there were lots of makeshift cubicles for this. I love it. But I swim for 15 minutes only for I’m late already. At 1:00pm I have to leave or else I will miss my flight. My driver advised me to go to San Franz if I want to arrive in time so I did. To my horror the van doesn’t leave until jam pack full around 3:00pm. At the end I missed my flight for 30 minutes. There goes my money non refundable so I have to pay another 5k airline ticket via Manila. Lesson learned: Be at Mangagoy a night before going to Enchanted River. The last trip from Davao to Mangagoy is 4:30 pm by that time. So many unexpected things could go wrong along the way against your plan. The road going to Surigao was under repair by that time so the trip was longer. It was a nice experience despite the missed flight and the little unfortunate circumstances.
Ack, so sorry to hear about the missed flight. No, I think your driver lied to you, I’ve never heard such rule. I’ll let the the guesthouse owner know so they can relay it to the tourism office there. You don’t really need to go to Tinuy-an Falls if you only want to go to Enchanted River.
See you soon! =)