Trip of a Lifetime: Siargao with Blackbough

Queeeeeeens, this hotel was AMAZING.

          Hey guys, it’s Simone here! (ig @simgrasso) Just wanted to share my experience of a lifetime with Blackbough to you guys!

But before I ramble on about the amazing trip, I just want to introduce myself: I’m Simone, a lifestyle influencer, recent-graduate-turned-marketer and part-time model! I was finishing up my exams when Blackbough slid into my DMs and asked me if I wanted to go on a campaign in the Philippines! I’d been following them for some time already since I loved their swimsuits, so when they told me it was going to be in Siargao Island, I said yes in a heartbeat! Blackbough bikinis + this amazing island I had never been to—what was there to even think about?

We quickly exchanged details and they sent over my tickets together with images of the place I’d be staying in. I just thought to myself: pinch me, I couldn’t wait! I was literally counting the days.

Finally, the day of the flight came and before I knew it, I was in the Philippines! The Blackbough team gave us a warm welcome and brought us to the most fabulous hotel, Okada, where I spent the night with the loveliest girls, @julsnewbs, @tamara_markovic, and photographer extraordinaire, @katerosenberg!

The next morning, we had a delicious buffet feast to fill us up for the long day. Soon after, we were headed to the airport for the flight to Siargao, and I couldn’t keep my excitement! In a few minutes, we were going to be in one of the best islands in the world!

Would you believe me if I told you God is an island?

Upon landing, we took a van to the house where we were going to stay in, and it was absolutely beautiful! It had a private room overlooking the sea and the living room extended to the beach! Wi-Fi was pretty buggy (as expected), but I guess it was a chance for us to finally detach from the internet and embrace the #islandlife.

Google didn't tell me Siargao was another word for paradise.

We had a quick tour of the island before we rested from all the travelling. The next day was the big day and we had to bring our A-game! We boarded a boat on the way to the shoot location and it was amazing—Daku Island was a tropical paradise!

I couldn’t believe how nice it was, nor could I have imagined modeling the swimsuits I had been lusting over for weeks! The bright neon swimsuits definitely popped against the clear waters and fine sand. We were extremely exhausted by the time we finished all the looks, so I couldn’t wait to take a dip in Siargao’s famous bright blue waters when the shoot was over!

We had the most amazing meal, boarded our van (where we all sang out hearts out at the top of our lungs - to the driver, if you’re reading this, sorry about that!) and a massage to cap off the long day.

The last day was reserved for the other islands—and we had them all to ourselves! We decided to tour the Sugba Lagoon, Pamomoan Beach and Kawhagan Sand Bar.

We pretty much had Pamomoan Beach all to ourselves, so took some time to relax and sip on coconut juice. The place was just so serene without all the people for a change! The palm trees were just so nice to watch from afar.

Here’s a photo of me feeling cute before I splashed in and got my hair wet.

The mangroves were an amazing sight and it seemed like they went on for forever, but my favorite part was definitely jumping off the board at the Sugba Lagoon.

I was super terrified, but nothing was going to stop me from this experience. It was pretty high (at least for me) and my knees were shaking right before jumping! But of course i was with my crazy girls, so of course we did it over and over again!

We headed back to our place and I was absolutely dreading going home! Siargao had a charm that wouldn’t let me leave and I was already planning my trip back.

Here’s a photo of the everyone who made this trip possible!

The team and I had the most amazing Filipino food back in Manila at Manam Cafe! My favorite was the Ube (purple yam) shake which was HUGE, but still managed to drink all of it ‘cause it was just so good! 

We then headed to the airport and it was so sad to say goodbye to such a sweet group of people, but we promised each other we’d stay in touch.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading about my experience, and don’t forget to follow me @simgrasso on Instagram! And if you’re curious about how it all went down, watch the video—promise we’re super cute!