Davao City Tour

Just right after my Samal Island and Talicud Island Trip, I got the chance to explore the City of Davao.

If your coming from Manila by plane ,travel time is about an hour and 20 Min's i had flown thru  Cebu Pacific Airlines. About 40 minutes taxi ride from if your coming from Francisco Bangoy Airport. 5 mins from Sta Ana wharf ( from Talicud Island) and about 1 hr from Sasa wharf ( from Samal Island).Travel  time depends on the traffic in these area.

Since i  came from Talicud Island  I hopped in to Dayang Beach Resort Private ferry to Sta Ana Wharf that leaves about 10:30am.Travel time is 45 mins for 150 pesos.



Arriving in Sasa wharf  i hopped on to jeepney going to the city thru Route 5 minimum fare is 8 pesos. The driver dropped me at the corner of San Pedro Cathedral, just right across of the Davao Municipal hall.

the San Pedro Cathedral

its awesome right i dunno what they call it but this tower is cool

I didn't pass the opportunity to drop by to the cathedral to give thanks and praise for the same trip and safe arrival.

I walked through that road with my big backpack  passing the Osmena Park to the other side of the street i was trying to find out where will be my first destination in the city. I opened my google map and it said that the D'bone Collector museum is just around the area. And then my city tour has began.

D'bone Collector Museum

The place is not easy to find as theres no signs or anything i just followed the map thru the San Pedro Street, finally i got it.
About 11.45 am i arrived in this simple 3storey museum owned by a foreigner.The entrance fee is 80/pax. They don't have noon break time so they are able to accommodate me. The museum showcases different types of bones of an animal, oh well including a human skeleton. I never saw such a museum like this it was awesome yet educational type of a trip.I saw diff bones and skeletons of sharks , dog, crocodiles, snakes, fishes, etc. I recommend this place to visit if you are in the city, its just 10 mins walk. Good enough to make u sweat and a little bit of exercise for you 😀.

the entrance of  the D'Bone Museum

Bones and skeletons of different animals 

even skeleton of human 

 ostrich i bet;-)

marine life skeletons

skeletons of different breed of dogs

Osmeña Park , Davao City Hall, Rizal Park and Quezon Park.

It was just  along the way going back and i spent time to see whats interesting in this place. The 3 parks are more of resting and relaxing place for sometime. I find Rizal park as the most exciting park as you can experience feeding lots of doves and taking pictures with them.
The place is very secured ( with military and tanks around due to terrorism attack) so lots of people are there even its about 1pm.

the Osmeña Park

Davao City Hall

Sanguniang Lingkod ng Davao

@ the Rizal Park 

you can even take selfies with them

bird feeding 

you can play with this birds just don't harm them

saw this at Quezon Park 

About 2pm i walked towards to the hotel where i am going to for 2 days. I booked this hotel through agoda/ traveloka.Wondering why i made 2 bookings? I am after the discount offer😀😀.
Guys Traveloka offers great deals and discounts.


Bahay ni Tuding Inn and Resto

I booked 2 days of stay here.
Why? It was just conveniently located near everything, 2 mins walk away to the city hall, 1 min walk to food establishments, the price offered are worth it, the reviews are amazing, and the best as i experienced -- they have the best home made yogurt i ever tasted in my life!

omg the best ever yogurt i ever tasted in my life!

my awesome breakfast

Promo rates i got:
Agoda - 853 per night with breakfast
Traveloka - 580 per night with breakfast
Single room with private bath with wifi.
What else could you ask for? Jackpot!
Got my lunch in the room at 3pm i bought fresh guyabano shake for 35 pesos only that's big cup guys and i have some bread leftover from my island trip so i had saved some pesos for lunch.

my humble room 

 me cozy at the sofa 

selfie at the sofa near my room at the second floor

Around 4pm i went out to  Museo Dabawenyo
The museum is just at the back of Osmeña Park and around 5 mins walk from my room.
Good news! NO ENTRANCE FEE 😆😆 YEHEY!!!
This 2 storey museum showcases the history of Davao from old culture till present, they showed all the past and present leaders of Davao, the life of Davaoeñoes before and after. It was such a pleasure to visit and know some knowledge about where our present President of the Philippines came from.. A must visit when you are in Davao.

they dont allow to take photo inside but they allow to take picture to this point only

entrance of Museo Davaoeño

Peoples Park and Pasalubong Center

About 5 pm i went to the Peoples park 15 mins walk away from my hotel.
Its really interesting to walk around Davao. the locals are very helpful, kind and very nice to travellers like me. Unfortunately it was raining when i went to the peoples park i didn't had the chance to enjoy the place so i just took some pictures and went to their pasalubong center. It was a small place of locals selling Davao native stuff. I got some Tshirts wow it was so cheap for a hundred bucks you can get a good tshirt  as a souvenir. They also got some ref magnets, bags, wallets, even Davao's Delicasies such as Mangoesteen candy, Durian candy, Marang candy, and alot more. I spent about 1000 for souveniers and pasalubong. Then i walked back to my Hotel to rest some and freshen up for my dinner.

the People's park

its cheap in here if you are planning to buy some pasalubong

Roxas Night Market 
8:00pm i went out and walked headed to Roxas night market, its quite far so i decided to take jeepney to the market fare is only 8 pesos. I met my friend from manila who is based on Davao and we had a sumptuous dinner along the way. Believe it or not i was so amazed with the food we got. We had 3 cups of rice each. 6 sticks pork bbq, 1 bbq wings, 1 chorizo, 2 balat, 4 isaw and big bottle of soda for only 220php. Super Busog!  Then we walked towards the market and we got balut (duckegg with undeveloped chick) we had 2 balut each. Omg High blood to the max.  and that's not yet finished after eating Balut. We saw Lemon and calamansi juice while looking around and we got 2 cups for us 220 each cup . he paid for it ;-) yehey!!  While walking we saw a long long of people and we got curious what they are doing so we go to the line and we realized that people are going to get ice cream. Yes ice cream who will say no to ice cream,not me not him. So we got ourselves 1 cone each of the famous durian Ice cream for 20 pesos only .This time my friend treat me  for the balut and the ice cream ;-). Thank you Kenneth!
Around 10:00pm we decided to go  home. He dropped me to the jeepney station going back to my hotel at 8.00 pesos fare for 5 mins ride  and he also headed back to his place.
It was such a fun filled day in the City even though i feel terrible as i cant breath ( too much eating - i got heart burn).I thought am gonna die. But all is good guys . i survived, but i will never do that again.

the roxas night market 

 durian ice cream omg taste so good first time ko!

2 balut after heavy dinner ! graveh!!

my super heavy dinner!

Such an awesome day at Davao City!

Breakdown of expenses
Ferry fare to davao                                    150.00
Jeepney fare to hotel                                     8.00
Entrance to D'Bone                                     80.00
Shake from the street                                  35.00
Room accommodation 2 days                1433.00
Pasalubong and souvenir                        1000.00
Jeep to and from market                             16.00
Dinner                                                       220.00

Total Expenses  ------------------->>>>    2942.00


Hope you enjoyed the Blog!

Thanks for reading guys;-).

See you on my next blog ------>>> Crocodile Park and Eden Nature Park

Dayang Beach Resort

Welcome to Dayang Beach Resort

Dayang Beach Resort is about 30 mins bumpy ride thru habal habal from the well known Isla Reta Resort in Talicud Island. Its found on the western part of the island near the famous snorkelling sanctuary Coral Garden and Babu Santa. Going there is better with a habal habal but better be prepared it will be the ride of your life 😛. I hired the habal to the resort for 100 pesos.

It was around 5pm when i started travelling to the Dayang Beach Resort. It was really a fun ride but its a little bit uncomfortable to me as i was carrying a big backpack and my clothes are wet ( have'nt had a chance to change in Isla Reta)  so i kept sliding in the motor. It was really a bumpy ride as the road going to the resort is not developed yet meaning, u have to bear with some steep , rocky, and bumpy road. But its managable if ur adventurous enough.

Dayang Beach sunset 

I booked a room to Dayang prior to my arrival. The room i booked was a simple single fan room shared bathroom (few steps away from my room) worth 500 pesos a night and it was located in beach front as in few steps away.
Since i arrived little late i wasnt able to see the beauty of the place. I walked a little and i saw that the place is so quite and the guest that time are very few so i was delighted that i will have a good and peaceful stay in this resort.

my humble nipa room

my backyard isn't it so nice?

They have inhouse cook which u can order the food u want and they will cook it for you. I choose the grilled tuna fillet for 280 and 20 for 1 cup of rice. After an hour , the lady from the resort knocked in my door and served the food out side (i hve a little veranda with table)
I was surprised with the food. The serving of grilled tuna is huge enough for 2-3person.
I cant finish all and i saw some dog and cat around i shared it to them😀i made them happy for some reason.

my dinner grilled tuna fillet good for 2-3 pax awesome

It was cold at night i dont even have to open the fan at night.  All i can hear is the sound of the waves and some gecko.I slept so good and i just woke up at 6am coz of my alarm. I really want to wake up early to see the entire place.

wandering me

I was amazed to see the beauty of the place.
I can see the Mt. Apo very visible and not being covered by the clouds. Mt Apo happens to be the tallest mountain in the Philippines.
All i can say that time is WOW. Such a beauty. That place is really blessed with the beauty of nature. Beautiful blue sky, prestine blue green water, white sands, and peace and tranquility.What else i could ask for?

early morning view amazing Mt. Apo 

I walked through the beach and  i met some locals doing fishing and some are selling waterpearls.
I swam a little to experience the beach and i feel great the water is not too cold early in the morning. Also its good for the kids as the water is not that deep few steps from the shore. Theres also a sign where to swim and not to swim because of the strong water current.

few people in the resort 

such a magnificent view 

There a place beside dayang called Babu Santa, its a favorite stop over of island hoppers for lunch and do some swimming.

some island hoppers in the Babu Santa Beach 

About 9.30am i started packing up my things as they have a ferry that will leaving directly from Dayang to the Sta ana wharf. I opted to join this trip than to go back to the port near Isla Reta.
So this is a very good option for me to save time and effort to go Davao. Fare is 150 pesos ,travel time is about 45 mins..

 panorama shot of the beach 

 the cottages in the beach front 

my selfie ;-)

Pros:
If you want peace and serenity and uncrowded beach this is the place for you.
Great beach and nature with a good view of Mt Apo in the morning.
If you want to get unconnected to the real world.

Cons:
The internet is not good the signal is very weak so if you are working with internet this will be a problem for you.
Water for freshin up, and taking bath cost 20 pesos per container yes.. 20 per container strange it should be included with the room charge.
Theres no socket for charging. As in nothing.
You are allowed to charge but u need to go to the owner's house which is few steps away.
Theres no electricity from 2 or 3 am till the morning.

But over all stay for relaxation is great.
I can manage some pesos for water charge.
I can manage poor internet signal
I can manage no electricity in the middle of the night.
Don't forget you came here to relax,to unwind, to have peace of mind  not to post  your stuff every hour in facebook 😀😀😀.

Breakdown of expenses

Habal habal  ride to resort                   100
Overnight accommodation                  500
Dinner ( tuna and rice)                        300
Water for taking bath                            20
Ferry ride to Sta Ana                          150

Total of expenses ------------->>> Php 1070.00


Thank you for reading😀😀😀
Hope to see you on my next blog..---->> Davao City Tour.

Talikud Island - Isla Reta Beach Resort

Talikud Island  is another nearby island in Samal. Also packed with beautiful and peaceful serene beaches is a place to visit on hot summer days.

After My DayTrip in Samal Island I opted to go to Talikud to experience the island. First thing that comes into my mins is the Isla Reta Beach Resort. With all the great reviews, I told my self that am not going back to Manila with out checking out this Island can offer.

How To Get Here:

From Manila take a plane trip to Davao and travel time is about 1hr and 20 mins.There are lots of cabs waiting outside the airport to take you to your destination. Dont forget to choose the regular fare Taxi. 

There are 2 Different point of entry to Talikud Island. One is coming from Sta Ana Wharf  or one coming from Samal Island thru Poblacion Kaputian. From Davao City its more convinient to come from Sta Ana Wharf.

About 2:45pm  i arrived in the Kaputian Beach and i had the chance to see the place , it was just a small beach with powdery white sand but nothing much to see. I decided to hopped in to  The Isla Reta Boat that will be departing at 3:00 pm going to Talikud Island. The fare from Kaputian Poblacion to Talikud port is 35php and if you are going directly to  Isla Reta , they charge 100php.Travel time is just about 5 mins. We are around 5-6 person in the charter boat and everyone go when we arrived the Port. Since am the only one to Isla Reta and they are really Going there the boatman told me to just pay 35php instead of 100php. Yay! i saved 65php. Thanks to Manong Boatman!

At 3.15pm, We arrived at the resort. But i am wondering that no one even welcomed or even asked for the entrance fee.. I  just continued walking towards the cottages. There are some nice cottages for small group and big groups,Rooms are also available just right behind the cottages, still the view is great if you are going to stay in one of the rooms they are offering. In my case i just came here for a daytour trip again. 

It was weekday that time,it is not that crowded, some guest i had talked to told me that on weekend the resort really gets crowded as its very accessible from Davao thru Sta Ana Wharf. So i am lucky to enjoy the peace, the view, the beach, the sun and the nature for quite sometime.

 I stayed in this resort for about 2.5 hrs just sitting, relaxing and enjoying this place can offer.

If ever You wanted to stay in this resort They offer a different room Accomodations :

Concrete Cottage - 900php per night  with 1 matrimonial bed, private Bathroom and electric fan.

Native Room - 800php per night with 3 single beds, no electric fan , no outlet and only common CR.

Dormitory- 6500php per night  with 11 double deck beds,electric fan , dressing room , common CR.

Picnic Hut /Open Cottage - 400php per night , good for 15-20persons (sitting)

Camping Tent - 400php per night, with foam and pillows , good for 2, blanket NOT included.

Tent Corkage - 100php per night , bring your own tent 

Entrance Fees

Adult - 11 yrs old and above - Day tour - 100php / Overnight -200php

Child - 4 yrs old to 10 yo      - Day tour - 50php   / Overnight 100php 

Child - 3yrs old and below are free of charge 

Breakdown of Expenses 

Boat from Kaputian to Isla Reta ----------100php

Entrance Fee (Daytour)---------------------100php

Total of expenses-----------------------------200php 

Credits to:

https://www.facebook.com/IslaReta.Beach/photos/a.1213373848720476.1073741832.423653274359208/1216695761721618/?type=3&theater

Samal Island Daytrip - https://ronniedwanderer.blogspot.com/2017/08/samal-island-daytrip.html?showComment=1502694173836#c4116981033399442049

Thanks for reading ! Hope you enjoy !! 

See yah on my next Blog ------------------>>>>>>> Davao City Tour