Fat Lips Surfshop
Fat Lips Surfshop
4.5
About
Our mission is to improve your Siargao surf experience by offering high-quality beach and surf gear at incredibly low prices. Fat Lips is fairly new but already we're establishing a reputation as the place locals come to shop. How can we do this? By searching the globe for store-closings, excess stocks, and buying direct from the factories to offer the lowest possible prices combined with a friendly, island vibe. Thanks for looking!
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
22 reviews
Excellent
16
Very good
4
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Shay Ryan D
3 contributions
Feb 2020
Christine was fabulous, She was extremely helpful whilst I was visiting the Surf Shop. She helped me find the right board, shared all the great surf locations and made my time in Siargao really pleasant. Thanks for your help and all your smiles.
Written 9 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Grattin Cox
8 contributions
Dec 2019 • Solo
READ THIS REVIEW.
Cannot recommend this shop enough. One of a kind thanks to the people who run it. Here’s my experience:
Renting boards can be such a pain. Maybe you don’t see a ding or an old one opens up and you’re left paying . It’s no fun for either party.. you don’t feel responsible yet the shop still has to fix it and pay staff etc and then your left in the awkward situation that nobody wanted to be in.. so ya, renting boards can be a pain.
I rented a firewire (notoriously tough boards) that had previously been broken. And it broke on my first wave out at quicksilver just punching through a close out section (which i have done a million times on my own bords). I traded up boards with Princess (one of the rad employees) and we said we would deal with it later. I had no idea what to expect but basically at the end of the day i broke a board and was responsible. That felt crappy cuz now that one wave where i truly felt i had done nothing irresponsible (that would cause a board break) left me responsible... my thoughts were “hey that board was doomed from the get go, no board should snap that easily, im sucker for having chosen that board, this is no fun”
So i went back on my last night to negotiate a fair deal with Tim (the owner). Apparently the board had broken in a different spot and i was like no way that thing was doomed blah blah. So we went back to his house to have a look at it and guess what.. he was right. It had broken in a different spot to the original break. We kept negotiating and neither of us wanted to keep negotiating cuz its no fun and i think we both understood the other person’s perspective. He has a shop to run with overheads and i was a surfer trying to get by in phillipenes with as minimal extra costs as possible.
Then he did something no other surf shop owner in the whole world would do. He invited me to talk about it over dinner. I met his lovely wife and his two kids. We are both Canadian so we inevitably hit it off like old homies. Then he did the unthinkable. He offered me a beer. This turned into a couple more lil drinky poos and he treated me like such a homie. At the end of the day he gave me a more than fair price for the board, fed me dinner and drinks and left me with enough cash to catch a ride to the airport the next day. He could have gone about this a million other ways but he didnt. And this must be so hard with the number of surfers who come in there claiming “i didn’t do it.” Surely that gets old cuz someone had to have done it. Sure the boards are a bit roughed up.. but they work! And rental board in these kind of destinations are rarely great quality. It’s a shallow, potentially heavy reef break and you got people from all over scooting them around showin no love. Furthermore, boards are not as accessible as they are in other first world surf towns - thats something we all need to understand.
Moral of the story is
a. Get your gear from fat lips while you’re in siargao and say hey to tim. he’s an absolute legend and i’ll never forget how he handled that sticky situation
B. Check the boards you rent. That is your job as they have tons of boards to take care of and can only do so much. Check the stringer check the fins check the leash blah blah.. dont be shy about it cuz as soon as u take it it is your responsibility. Or else bring your own gear which is even more expensive
I hope Lovely and Princess dont get too mad at Tim for having gone easy on me cuz hey you got a wicked review like this. Which i think is worth more than a few extra pisos.
Thanks so much to Tim at Fat Lips, cheers brotha Best of luck
Cannot recommend this shop enough. One of a kind thanks to the people who run it. Here’s my experience:
Renting boards can be such a pain. Maybe you don’t see a ding or an old one opens up and you’re left paying . It’s no fun for either party.. you don’t feel responsible yet the shop still has to fix it and pay staff etc and then your left in the awkward situation that nobody wanted to be in.. so ya, renting boards can be a pain.
I rented a firewire (notoriously tough boards) that had previously been broken. And it broke on my first wave out at quicksilver just punching through a close out section (which i have done a million times on my own bords). I traded up boards with Princess (one of the rad employees) and we said we would deal with it later. I had no idea what to expect but basically at the end of the day i broke a board and was responsible. That felt crappy cuz now that one wave where i truly felt i had done nothing irresponsible (that would cause a board break) left me responsible... my thoughts were “hey that board was doomed from the get go, no board should snap that easily, im sucker for having chosen that board, this is no fun”
So i went back on my last night to negotiate a fair deal with Tim (the owner). Apparently the board had broken in a different spot and i was like no way that thing was doomed blah blah. So we went back to his house to have a look at it and guess what.. he was right. It had broken in a different spot to the original break. We kept negotiating and neither of us wanted to keep negotiating cuz its no fun and i think we both understood the other person’s perspective. He has a shop to run with overheads and i was a surfer trying to get by in phillipenes with as minimal extra costs as possible.
Then he did something no other surf shop owner in the whole world would do. He invited me to talk about it over dinner. I met his lovely wife and his two kids. We are both Canadian so we inevitably hit it off like old homies. Then he did the unthinkable. He offered me a beer. This turned into a couple more lil drinky poos and he treated me like such a homie. At the end of the day he gave me a more than fair price for the board, fed me dinner and drinks and left me with enough cash to catch a ride to the airport the next day. He could have gone about this a million other ways but he didnt. And this must be so hard with the number of surfers who come in there claiming “i didn’t do it.” Surely that gets old cuz someone had to have done it. Sure the boards are a bit roughed up.. but they work! And rental board in these kind of destinations are rarely great quality. It’s a shallow, potentially heavy reef break and you got people from all over scooting them around showin no love. Furthermore, boards are not as accessible as they are in other first world surf towns - thats something we all need to understand.
Moral of the story is
a. Get your gear from fat lips while you’re in siargao and say hey to tim. he’s an absolute legend and i’ll never forget how he handled that sticky situation
B. Check the boards you rent. That is your job as they have tons of boards to take care of and can only do so much. Check the stringer check the fins check the leash blah blah.. dont be shy about it cuz as soon as u take it it is your responsibility. Or else bring your own gear which is even more expensive
I hope Lovely and Princess dont get too mad at Tim for having gone easy on me cuz hey you got a wicked review like this. Which i think is worth more than a few extra pisos.
Thanks so much to Tim at Fat Lips, cheers brotha Best of luck
Written 18 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sebastian B
1 contribution
Nov 2019 • Solo
I went to fat lips to rent a board for 3 weeks and I really enjoyed the service. Christine took care of me, she was professional, kind and always smiling.. Really recommend that place with a great atmosphere..
Written 27 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dan
24 contributions
Sept 2019 • Couples
Amy and I rented boards from Fat Lips for 12 days and we were really happy with the the boards, and the service, and the excellent helpful staff that they have working there. We swap board several times and it was no problems. Highly recommend this place
Written 21 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rotem Ben Itzhak
Israel6 contributions
Sept 2019 • Solo
I rented a board from the shop, got the best service, helped me a lot and were really considerate!
I rented it from an awesome worker named princess, I recommend this shop a lot 😁
(And they have the best boards in town🤙🏼)
I rented it from an awesome worker named princess, I recommend this shop a lot 😁
(And they have the best boards in town🤙🏼)
Written 10 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
D P
Colchester, UK494 contributions
Jun 2019 • Friends
We chose this store as it’s website suggested it had everything we needed. We wanted boards, a scooter and some surf lessons or guiding we were not sure which. Boards and scooter no problem but the staff member informed us they do not provide or source lessons.
Yes there is paperwork to sign for both scooter and boards and you do need to bring drivers license for the scooter and passports for the boards but that is something we have had to do occasionally across the world and we have travelled extensively. It’s always good to follow this and to check your boards and scooter over. Really happy with the service we received and the recommendations for a good breakfast place to
Yes there is paperwork to sign for both scooter and boards and you do need to bring drivers license for the scooter and passports for the boards but that is something we have had to do occasionally across the world and we have travelled extensively. It’s always good to follow this and to check your boards and scooter over. Really happy with the service we received and the recommendations for a good breakfast place to
Written 20 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi there,
Thanks for taking the time to write your review! I’m happy to hear that the boards and bike worked out and that you were understanding about the policies.
About the surf lessons this has been a bit of an issue for us. We can book surf lessons in advance through our website, just as the info on the website describes. But as we work with another surf school to offer the lessons they do need to be booked in advance. This is why the employees are unable to handle this with walk-in customers. However we are working on this and soon we will have a proper solution so walk-ins can book lessons directly in our shop.
Thanks again!
Written 14 August 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
FaMarg
Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland3 contributions
Apr 2019 • Couples
We wanted to rent surfboards for 10 days and brought them back after 1 day. After testing several other shops, we came across the fat lips website which seemed to be top. But their procedure for rentals is really absurd. We arrived as everywhere else with our ID. But that did not suit, it needed a passport. As a couple, we have done a 30min drive to get a passport. We had to negotiate to have two boards because after being back, we were told that a passport was not enough, but that we needed a passport per board. The next day we come back to change boards (because of the surf conditions) and ask if we can take them after our lunch. We were told that we had to pick up two passports again, take a picture of them, and fill out a form again. Everywhere else, an ID is enough. So we decided to continue our vacation with boards rented elsewhere.
Written 2 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi There,
Thanks for your review, it was super helpful though its taken me so long to get back to you.
We’ve taken what you wrote into account as well as some other feedback we’d gotten around the time and unfortunately had to let one of our employees go due to too many complaints of this manner and restructure the rentals dept. to get back to the same great service we’ve always been known for. There were several points in time that we failed you and I personally apologize. Let’s go over them:
1. Yes you do need a passport in order to rent boards and other forms of ID won’t work. This is because I still refuse to ask cash deposits on our rentals. Our customers have always appreciated that they can take the board, use it as many days as they like, and simply pay for the number of days when the board is returned. So in order to protect ourselves as much as we can from run-away guests we need a copy of the passport. However, if you don’t have the passport on you you can show a copy of it from your phone or email or anywhere you may have a copy. The employee probably could have explained this better and tried to help you find a way to get it done without having to go back to get it.
2. Our policy is that each board needs a passport to keep it clear who actually has our boards and is responsible for them. However, our policy is that if the people are clearly a couple (married, bf/gf) who arrived and will leave at the same time then it’s ok just to use one passport. This is the 2nd step in which we failed to inform you or act according to our policies.
3. This part is a little murky. When you change a board in no way do you need to fill in a new form, show ID, etc.. if you’re simply changing the board you just pick a new board and we’ll make the changes on your existing paperwork. So I’m confused about this part. My feeling is that perhaps you brought the boards back, paid for them, the rental is now closed, and then came back later that day to re-rent boards. I’m just 110% sure you wouldn’t have been asked for ID or new paperwork to change boards. However, we can still take responsibility and say that if this was the case, then we already would have your passports on file from the previous rental so no, you shouldn’t have to reproduce the passports again, this being the 3rd time we failed in our duties.
So overall I understand why you weren’t happy with this situation, I wouldn’t be either! But rest assured, we’ve taken every action possible to remedy this situation because our ease of renting boards and our great customer service had always been our greatest strength.
Thanks for taking the time to write this review and we hope you’ll give us a 2nd chance to improve next time! In fact, look for me, the owner, and I’ll give you some discounts or something nice on your next visit!
Written 14 August 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
diegouovo
15 contributions
Jan 2019 • Couples
this is great place. Visit many times. Good selection of everything, from go pro, to swim suite, nice t-shirt, best place to rent boards (Wie selection fair prices). The only negative point swim suite are WAAAY over priced. but the rest is awesome.
Written 14 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi,
Thanks for your review and sorry it took so long to get back you! Yes I agree, swim suits are overpriced!!! Not just us, but everywhere! I dont understand why swimsuits are so expensive... I guess clothing producers just know that girls will be willing to pay more for them.. it’s a shame and I don’t get it either, just a tiny bit of fabric yet costs so much!
Thanks
Written 10 September 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
j p
1 contribution
Nov 2018 • Couples
I'm so relieved to know that when I travel from my home in Maui to Siargao next, I will be able to find a board around my size to rent. Im convinced that Fat Lip surfshop is the best place to choose after reading these reviews, what a great style and policy. Cant wait to check out the selection soon, I was so sad when I realized that it cost to much to travel with my board. Problem solved 🤙
Written 14 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
martina10_10
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK18 contributions
Oct 2018 • Family
Only take cash and the large logo has Hot Lips on everything
Some good stuff though but overpriced for what it is
Some good stuff though but overpriced for what it is
Written 22 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chad W
Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia1 contribution
can we rent a surfboard here?
timinsiargao
General Luna, Philippines2 contributions
Yes you can! We have around 60 surfboards to rent from beginner to advanced. Prices are 350/day, 300/day for a week or more, and 250/day for 2 weeks or more. You can change the boards as often as you like and you won't pay anything until you return the board, at which point we just count the days you were renting and charge you accordingly!
thanks
tim
Thomas A
San Clemente, CA20 contributions
Can I expect surfing waves in July at Cloud-9? If not, are there other waves nearby that I could longboard?
Thanks for the help!
Tom
timinsiargao
General Luna, Philippines2 contributions
Hi Tom,
You can get waves in Cloud 9 and a few other spots during July, but it is gonna be small. Don't expect the double over-head barreling Cloud 9 that you read about on the internet! More likely it'll be in the waist-high range. The summer months from about May to late August is the low season so it's perfect for beginners but usually considered a bit small for the more advanced surfer. So again, yes, we can surf almost any day of the year in Siargao but because July is in the low season you should only expect small, waist to maybe chest-high waves.
Tim Paddon
Owner - Fat Lips Surf Shop
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Frequently Asked Questions about Fat Lips Surfshop
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