Davao

Categories: Davao | Tags: aldevinco, backpacking, bangkerohan, beach, blugre, contact, davao, domicilio lorenzo, expenses, itinerary, pearl farm, TAPS, travel, travel tips, travel tips to davao, vacation | 10 Comments

Davao Day 4: Back to MNL

Posted on October 27, 2013 by agitopassim

We left Domicilio Lorenzo around 8am so we could have enough time to have our breakfast at TAPS then travel to the airport.

TAPS

Taps seem to be quite a common resto in Davao much like Blugre Cafe. Good thing there was a Taps (and Blugre Cafe) near Domicilio Lorenzo. We just walked going there upon checking out. Taps has different combinations of food with tapa as main viand.

Nothing special about their food except that they are quite affordable.

We walked for a few minutes from Taps then took a bus to the airport. That’s cheaper than taking a cab. The bus ride was around an hour. We had plenty of time to spare so it was fine. We waited for our flight then were back to MNL!

TIP: Durian fruit has to be checked-in. So if you plan on bringing home a durian fruit, might as well take a check-in service in your return flight from Davao when you buy your plane tickets. It’s cheaper than having I checked in on the day of your flight. Also, might as well bring more than 1kilo of durian.

Other Davao Posts:

Categories: Davao | Tags: davao, durian, TAPS, travel, vacation | 4 Comments

Davao Day 3: Food Trip

Posted on October 27, 2013 by agitopassim

We dropped all our planned activities for today and went straight to the city after our free breakfast at Samal Island Huts.

How to go to Davao city from Samal island:

1. take a trike to Babak wharf

2. Ride a ferry from Babak wharf to Sasa wharf

3. take a cab from Sasa wharf to anywhere you need to be at Davao city

Lachi’s

In our case, we went straight to Lachi’s for our delicious lunch. We tried their durian cheesecake and durian sansrival (Php75). Prices are affordable and food was delicious!

Then we took a trike from Lachi’s to Blugre Cafe and drank our durian coffee (Php150).

Aldevinco and Bangkerohan

Then we went to Aldevinco and Bangkerohan for our pasalubong shopping. We took a jeep from Blugre Cafe to Aldevinco. We didn’t like to buy shawls or malongs so we decided to go to Bangkerohan instead. We rode a jeep to Bangkerohan from Aldevinco. Bangkerohan is like a market so stuff are cheap. We brought all our pasalubongs (durian – Php40/kilo; durian candies – Php100/6packs) there.

Accommodation: Domicilio Lorenzo

We were all sweaty and tired after buying pasalubong from Bangkerohan. We took a cab from there to Domicilio Lorenzo. It was creepily quiet there. The place looks too homey but was like a museum too. We enjoyed the pool there too. It was raining quite hard so we asked the staff to order our dinner from Jollibee and ate in our room. We prepared our stuff for tomorrow’s check out then went to sleep.

Other Davao Posts:

Categories: Davao | Tags: aldevinco, bangkerohan, blugre cafe, davao, domicilio lorenzo, durian, durian cheesecake, durian coffee, durian sansrival, lachi's, samal island huts, travel, vacation | 4 Comments

Davao Day2: Pearl Farm and Giant Clams

Posted on October 27, 2013 by agitopassim

This was the highlight of our trip. Pearl Farm is really a must-see when you go to Davao.

We were picked up by Kuya Jason, the tricycle driver from yesterday, at 7am. We rented his services for the whole day for Php1000. Plan was to check out from Red Parrot, go to Pearl farm then Giant Clams at Adecor then Hagimit Falls and if we still have time, go to Monfort Bat Cave then check in at Samal Island Huts at Babak. Sounds like a good plan, right? But as the title of this post goes, we got to see only 2 of our planned itinerary for the day.

Activity1: Pearl Farm

We traveled to Pearl Farm from Red Parrot Inn through a tricycle — bad idea. Now I understand why part of the package tour (Php1800/person –discounted probably due to off season) from Pearl Farm is the boat ride to and from Sta. Ana wharf. It was kind of unthinkable to go to Pearl Farm by land – even via habal-habal. The road was rough and a bit dangerous. Probably because the road near Pearl Farm was made for habal-habals not tricycles. But even for a habal-habal, the trip would be terrible especially if you have your things with you. After around 1 hour and a half, we were able to reach Pearl Farm tired from the tricycle ride. But seeing the beauty of Pearl Farm, we (almost) forgot about our tricycle (mis)adventure.

Pictures aren’t enough to describe how wonderful the place was. Upon arrival, we were given our welcome drinks while one of the staff explains to us where the pool is and that there’s a boat that could bring us to the other Pearl Farm which they call Malipano Island. Our bags were put in a locker provided by Pearl Farm then we explored the place! We stayed there til around 2pm. The lunch buffet, included in the package tour, was really sumptuous!

Stilt huts at Pearl Farm

HUts at Pearl Farm, Malipano Is

Malipano Is

Pearl Farm (Malipano Is at the backgound)

the road going to Pearl Farm

Malipano Is

Pearl Farm

lunch buffet

fruits

salads

bedroom from one of the rooms at Pearl Farm

view from 1 of the rooms at Pearl farm

Activity2: Giant Clams

While Kuya Jason was waiting for us at Pearl Farm, we were surprised to find out that Kuya Robert, the boatman we rented (Php1000/boat) for our Giant clam trip, was already there at the gates of Pearl Farm ready with his boat to take us to the Giant Clams. That saved us a trip to Adecor, which was quite near from Pearl Farm. We were taken by suprise when we found out that the Giant Clams were far from the shore! I apologize for our ignorance but the pictures I saw from travelingkit seemed like they were just near the shores. It was due to the lowtide. Since we went there after lunch, the tide was high already so we had to snorkel just to see the clams. I wanted to back out but I thought, my bf wanted to swim with the whale sharks in one of our future trips, and if I can’t snorkel with these clams how will I be able to swim with the whale sharks too? So snorkel with the clams I went. We were provided with life vests (for free) so we were safe to snorkel. Snorkeling gears are also available for Php100 but we brought our own goggles so we didn’t have to rent those.

After the snorkeling and tricycle adventures, we felt tired. And just thinking about the 800+ steps at Hagimit Falls made us want to just check in at Samal Island Huts. We thought of pushing through the Monfort Bat cave but the staff from Samal Island Huts told us that they don’t let people in after 5pm. It was already past four then so we decided not to go. We thought of going there the following day just like we planned together with the Vanishing Island tour but hiring Kuya Jason again (he asks for Php600! but we were able to negotiate for Php400) plus the boat ride for Vanishing Island tour (Php500/boat) plus the thought of us bringing our things for the whole trip made us just say “nah, nevermind; let’s just visit Davao again.”

Accommodation: Samal Island Huts

So we went straight to Samal Island Huts. The place was not quite how we expected it to be. It was kind of private but very cozy and homey. I think they only have 4 rooms and 1 small pool (you couldn’t even do a lap). The staff were all men but they were very accommodating. We had our dinner outside because their food were pricey. The place was also far from the main road so it was difficult to get a ride from there but it’s easy to go there from the main streets. We spent the rest of the night at the warm pool.

The staff at Samal island Huts can arrange tours for you. Just let them know beforehand so they can make arrangements. Here’s their website: http://www.samalislandhuts.ph

Other Davao Posts:

Categories: Davao | Tags: adecor, babak, beach, davao, davao tour, giant clams, package tour, pearl farm, samal island, samal island huts, vacation | 7 Comments

Davao Day 1: Talicud Tour at Samal Island

Posted on October 22, 2013 by agitopassim

Just wanted to share a wonderful discovery during our trip to Davao. Gelo, my sister’s friend, taught us about the bus from MRT/LRT Taft that goes to NAIA. The ride costs Php20 only! That saved us a lot! We usually take a cab from Taft to the airport or from our house to the airport.

Anyway, we decided to spend Sunday night at the airport since our flight to Davao is at 5am, Monday. We didn’t get much sleep. We slept during the plane ride.

Here’s how we reached Red Parrot Inn from Davao airport (Francisco Bangoy International airport):

1. Cab from airport to Sasa wharf

2. Ferry from Sasa wharf to Babak, Samal Island (trips to Samal Island are more frequent here than Sta. Ana wharf which has trips to Kaputian)

3. took a tricycle from Babak to Red Parrot Inn (the tricycle driver agreed to take us to Kaputian for Php250 only. The tourist price is Php600. This caused some kind of commotion when the other trike drivers found out about our arrangement with Kuya Jason)

Alternative 1: From Sasa wharf, you may opt to wait for a bus that goes around Samal Island. In our case, we could have waited for a bus with a sign board that says “Kaputian” or “Penaplata”. The bus gets on the ferry and gets off at Babak then travels to Kaputian/Penaplata. Ride a tricycle or habal-habal in Penaplata going to Kaputian. If you have plenty of time, you may go for this route. But we were on a hurry to reach Red Parrot Inn for our Talicud Island Tour.

Alternative 2: From Babak, hire a habal-habal. They charge more than Php300 per person. As much as we’d like to experience riding on a habal-habal, our heavy stuff and lack of sleep prevented us to do so.

You may find a map of Samal Island here.

Accommodation: Red Parrot Inn

We had to pass by rough roads going to Red Parrot Inn. We were starving when we got there so we had no choice but to order food from them. Our bill was more than Php600 for 3 viands that were for sharing. We knew better come dinner time. We ate at a carinderia nearby. Our dinner cost was Php120 for 3 persons. 🙂

Kuya Aries, the staff there, was very very accommodating. He upgraded our room probably because it was still lean season. We had the best good night sleep here! Well, maybe because we were really tired and lacked sleep.

calamares, boneless bangus, chopseuy

Red Parrot Inn

Private bathroom with hot shower! Yay!

comfy bed

Activity 1: Talicud Island Tour

After having our lunch, we prepared for our Talicud Island Tour. Much to our dismay, this was not an island hopping tour. We were brought to different places where one can dive or snorkel — not our thing. We just took pictures then went back to Red Parrot Inn. The trip was around 2 hours only.

Talicud Island map

Cost: Php1800/boat

Activity2: Kaputian Beach Resort

Good thing Kaputian Beach Resort was just a few steps away from Red Parrot Inn. What’s great was the Entrance Fee’s only Php15! The beach quenched our thirst for sand and quietness. We enjoyed a few good hours here just before we had our dinner and hit the sack.

Other Davao Posts: