Island guide · remote work
Wifi and remote work in Siargao.
A few years ago, working from Siargao meant babysitting a weak connection and hoping the power held. Starlink changed that: the island is now a genuine remote-work base, and the better colivings and cafés in General Luna carry internet that handles video calls without drama. The honest part nobody puts on a listing is that brownouts still happen, so the real question is not "is the wifi fast" but "what happens when the power cuts out." This guide answers both.
Is the wifi actually good in Siargao?
Yes, in the right places, and that qualifier matters. Starlink satellite internet is now common across General Luna's colivings, workspaces and better cafés, and the strongest places advertise 100 to 200 Mbps. That is genuinely fast, fast enough for calls, uploads and a house full of people working at once. The catch is consistency, not speed: the electricity grid still drops, and a fast line with no backup is only as reliable as the last brownout. The places worth working from pair a primary connection with a second line and a generator or battery, so a power cut is a flicker rather than a lost morning.
How fast is "fast enough"?
Less than the marketing implies for a single call, and more than one modest line can carry for a shared house. These are the measured requirements, so you can judge a listing honestly rather than trusting the word "fast":
| Task | Realistic need (down / up) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one HD video call | ≈1.2 / 1.2 Mbps | Any working line clears this easily |
| 1080p group video call | ≈3 / 4 Mbps | The everyday remote-work bar |
| Solid single-user remote work | ≈25 / 5 Mbps | Calls plus cloud files, comfortably |
| Heavy video-conf + big file transfers | ≈50–100 / 10–25 Mbps | Video editors, uploaders |
| A shared house, several people at once | ≈100 / 20 Mbps | Why a coliving needs a real line, not a router |
The takeaway: a single "wifi included" line can be fine for you alone and buckle when four people take calls after lunch. A place built for remote work is one where the connection is sized for everyone using it, and where someone can tell you the real number.
Where do people actually work?
Not only from the room. Surveys of remote workers put the split at roughly a third working from their accommodation, a fifth from coworking spaces and around one in seven from cafés, with the rest spread across other spots. In practice that means the ideal setup on Siargao is both: a real desk in your room for focused, camera-on mornings, and a coworking space or café within a short ride for the afternoons you want people around. A dorm bunk is neither, which is why it wears thin over a working month.
Coworking in Siargao
General Luna has several coworking spaces, most with Starlink or fibre, air conditioning and quiet call areas. Day passes commonly sit around ₱250, and the weekly and monthly rates work out far cheaper for a long stay: one established space near the boardwalk advertises roughly ₱250 a day, about ₱1,300 a week and ₱2,500 a month. Cafés are the informal alternative, and a few have genuinely good internet, though a café is better for a couple of focused hours than a full camera-on workday. The experiences page covers arranging a coworking pass as part of a stay.
How to check a place's internet before you book
The single most useful habit: do not trust the word "wifi", ask for evidence. The nomads who never lose a workday are the ones who checked first. Before you commit to a working month:
- Ask for a recent speed test screenshot, or the actual provider and plan (Starlink, fibre, or both).
- Ask what happens in a brownout: is there a generator, a battery, a second internet line?
- Confirm there is a real desk and chair in the room, not just a dining table.
- Read the recent reviews for the words "internet", "wifi" and "work"; validated experience beats a claim.
Power cuts, honestly
Brownouts are the real variable on Siargao, not raw speed. They happen, sometimes on a schedule and sometimes not, and they are the thing most likely to interrupt a call. The places that take remote workers seriously plan around it rather than pretending it does not happen: Starlink keeps running on a battery or generator, a second line covers the gap, and a local SIM in your pocket is a cheap hotspot fallback. Set up that way, a power cut is a shrug. Set up on a single grid-fed router, it is a missed meeting.
Questions we get at the bar
Is the wifi good in Siargao?
It is far better than its reputation, because Starlink changed the island. The better colivings, cafés and workspaces in General Luna now run satellite internet that handles video calls and uploads comfortably, and the strongest places advertise 100 to 200 Mbps. The honest caveat is that power cuts still happen, so what matters is not just a fast line but a backup: a second connection and a generator or battery so a brownout does not end your workday.
Can you work remotely from Siargao?
Yes, and a lot of people do. Siargao has become one of the Philippines’ established remote-work and surf bases, with coliving spaces, coworking and cafés built around working guests. You need a place with proven fast internet and a real desk, a scooter to get around, and a tolerance for the occasional brownout. Pick your accommodation for the internet first and the rest follows.
How fast does the wifi need to be for video calls?
Less than most people think for one call, more than one line can safely carry for a household. A one-to-one HD Zoom call needs only about 1.2 Mbps up and down; a 1080p group call needs roughly 3 to 4 Mbps. But a shared house where several people take calls at once wants around 100 Mbps down and 20 up to stay smooth. That is why a single "wifi included" line is not the same as a workspace built for several remote workers.
Is there coworking in Siargao?
Yes, several spaces in General Luna, most with Starlink or fibre and air conditioning. Day passes are commonly around ₱250, with weekly and monthly rates that work out much cheaper for a long stay (one well-known space advertises roughly ₱250 a day and ₱2,500 a month). Many nomads mix it up: a desk in the room for focused mornings, a coworking space or café when they want people around.
Does Siargao have power cuts?
Yes. Brownouts still happen on the island, sometimes scheduled, sometimes not, and they are the real threat to a workday rather than the internet speed itself. The places that take remote workers seriously plan for it: Starlink keeps running on a battery or generator, and a second internet line covers the gap. Ask any place how it handles a brownout before you commit to a working month there.
Should I buy a local SIM as a backup for working?
It is a cheap, sensible safety net. A local Globe or Smart SIM, or an eSIM, gives you mobile data you can hotspot from if the house connection drops, and coverage in General Luna is decent. It will not replace a proper line for heavy video work, but it turns a brownout from a lost morning into a minor inconvenience. Our getting-around guide covers buying a SIM.
Two lines, so one can dip.
Tuloy runs Starlink as the primary line with a PLDT fibre backup behind it, two independent connections so a brownout does not end your day, plus a real desk in every room and the open coworking bar downstairs. Nine private ensuite rooms in General Luna, minutes from Cloud 9. Monthly stays from ₱35,000.