Tiny houses in the Philippines

Siargao, off the northeastern tip of Mindanao, is the country's best-known surf island, built around the town of General Luna and the reef break at Cloud 9. The nine stays we've verified here are mostly simple bungalow and cabin compounds a short ride from the surf, along with a tiny studio, an A-frame cottage and a dome — most with their own bathroom and kitchenette, sleeping two to six guests.

Tanay sits in the hills east of Manila, close enough for a day trip but high enough to feel like a genuine change of climate from the capital's heat and traffic. It has grown into one of the region's best-known nature draws thanks to the Masungi Georeserve, a rehabilitated limestone landscape of hanging bridges, rope courses and karst spires that has to be booked in advance, and Daranak Falls, a popular swimming spot a short drive from town. The six stays we've verified across Tanay and neighbouring Rizal are mountain cabins and a couple of treehouses — plain, functional bases for a weekend rather than architect tiny houses.

On Cebu's southwest coast, Moalboal is a diving and freediving town built around the sardine run, a dense shoal of sardines that gathers just offshore from Panagsama Beach on most days, and the Kawasan Falls a short drive south. The three stays we've verified here are private one-bedroom garden bungalows and a simple cabin in a small village near the beach, each with its own bathroom.

In the hills of Laguna and Quezon further east of Manila, Lucban and the shores of Caliraya Lake make a quieter weekend base, within reach of the Pagsanjan Falls boat ride and the trails of Mount Banahaw. The three stays we've verified here include two small farm cabins in Lucban and one tiny house with a hot tub in Jala-Jala on Laguna de Bay. Further south, we've also confirmed a single tiny house on the beach at Laiya in Batangas.

December to May is the dry season across most of the country and the most reliable stretch for hiking, diving and outdoor plans; June to November brings the rainy season, with typhoons possible especially from July to October. Our verified selection has grown to 22 confirmed stays across these five areas, with much of the rest of the archipelago still to check.