Davao City has been considered as one of the safest cities in the world. Making it a no-brainer and decide to visit this place. Aside from that, the accessibility of having flights most of the time makes it easier to be visited. And this is the story of my first time in Davao City.Our (failed) plans, itinerary, places to visit, where to stay and other crazy things that happened made this trip even memorable.
Traveling with Ruth Dela Cruz & Rod Magaru (Shirts from Penshoppe)
(If you are looking for the itinerary, just skip the story and scroll down)
Two Months ago . . .
With my goal to visit most of the cities and destinations here in the Philippines, I decided (and insisted) to book a flight to Davao City last December. It was on sale via Air Asia and I thought It would be the perfect time to use my BIG points. I tag along Ruth on this trip. I was actually insisting and trying to invite more friends to join me but unfortunately most of them are busy. Good thing Rod also decided to join in. As they say it “the more the merrier.”
Waiting at NAIA Terminal 4
Funny that a month pass by before I’ve learned that what I booked before didn’t push through. If I wasn’t able to check it, Ruth will be flying solo! Lol! So I rebooked and pay the amount instead of using points, but unfortunately, Rod and I wasn’t able to book the original flight same as Ruth’s.
Photobomber Alert!
Day Zero – Flight to Davao City
Ruth decided to move her flight same as ours – 8:45 pm. It was around 6pm when I arrived at the airport, same time with Rod while Ruth patiently waits inside. I really have this problem of packing light, remember my flight to Cambodia? This time I was so worried that Rod’s and my baggage are more than 7 kg.. Good thing, we didn’t experience any problems flying out of Manila. Flying back was a different story, will tell you more about it soon.
But before we fly to Davao City let me show you first our planned itinerary. My friends wanted to have a chill kind of vacation so I presented to them the lists of the places that we can possibly visit which I compiled from my research and my friend, Duane Bacon’s, suggestions. It could have been better if I just call-out ideas from some of my Davaoeno friends but that didn’t happen. Anyway here’s our planned itinerary.
4-Day Davao City/Samal Island Itinerary
Day Zero (Friday)
- 8:45 – Manila to Davao
- 10:40 – Arrival at Davao
- 11:30 – Check in via AirBNB host (Davao Hub Bed & Breakfast | General Luna St., 8000 Davao City, Philippines)
- 12MN – Dinner or Sleep
Day 01 (Saturday)
- 8:00am Breakfast
- 9:00am Off to Malagos
- 10:00am Malagos Garden (Location: Calinan) | Recommendation: Chocolate, Fresh Milk, Cocoa – Php 450 for weekends includes entrance, buffet lunch and bird show (Sunday only)
- 12:00 am Philippine Eagle Center
- 1:00 pm Travel Back to City Proper
- 2:00 pm Lunch at Lachi’s (and meet Davao Bloggers)
- 4:00 pm Free Time
- 8:00pm Dinner at Matina Town Square
Day 02 (Sunday)
- 8:00 am – Breakfast
- 9:00 am – Free Time
- 11:00 am – Lunch at Sea Greens
- 12:00 pm – Travel to EDEN Nature Park
- 1:30 pm – EDEN Nature Park
- 5:00 pm – Travel back to City
- 7:00 pm – Dinner – Jack’s Ridge (Overlooking Davao City)
Day 03 (Monday)
- 10:00 am – D’Bone Museum (Php 80)
- 12:00 pm – Lunch at MTS
- 1:00 pm – Off to Samal Island
- 2:30 pm – Check in La Vida Orchard
- 3:30 pm – Tour around Samal
Day 04 (Tuesday)
- 8:00 am – Breakfast
- 9:00 am – Tour the Island
- 11:am – Back to Hotel
- 12:00pm – Check out La Vida Orchard
- 2:oo pm – Late Lunch at Davao City
- 4:00 pm – Free Time
- 7:00 pm – Fly Back to Manila
It was an unfinished itinerary for I was thinking that what we could do was to eventually improvised while we were in Davao City. But other crazy things happened. Will tell you more about it on the other posts. But for now . . .
Here are some suggestions that you can do in Samal Island
- Monfort Bat Cave
- Haguimit Falls
- Vanishing Island
- Mamacao Spring
- Tagbaobo Falls
- Island Hopping (Samal, Talikud, Malipano, Ligid)
Recommended Restaurants to visit in Davao City:
- AnniePie Bakeshop
- MTS / Matina Town Square | Loc: Matina, fronting ATENEO Elementary
- Taste of Home | Loc: MTS – Matina Town Square | Try: Revel Bar and EVERYTHING!!! Super affordable and yummy
- Bulaloan sa Buhangin | Loc: Buhangin
- Huckleberry | Loc: Bolton
- Jickongs (I prefer the MTS)
- Lachi’s | Try: Sansrival
- Sea Green | Try: Everything!!!
- Jack’s Ridge
Welcome Davao City!
Check out the Hastag on IG #RURORO
We arrived in Davao City 10 minutes before 11pm. We heard that Grab Taxi was available already in Davao so we tried booking but we ended up taking a cab at the taxi bay. We head straight to our host accommodation – Davao Hub Dormitel Bed & Breakfast located at General Luna St., Poblacion District, Davao City.
Davao Hub Dormitel Bed & Breakfast
One of the most important things that I’ve learned from my previous travels was to make sure of finding the best place to stay before lining up the itinerary. Whether you’re thinking to just stay for a short time at the hotel or just chill, making the right choice could be very helpful. Why is it special? Well, doing so can lessen the expenses from paying extra from commuting and will give you extra time to enjoy your stay.
We took that into consideration and of course budget wise we finally decided to stay at Davao Hub Dormitel Bed and Breakfast for 3-days. We booked it via AirBnB and the lodging was actually highly rated by independent travelers. Rate per night is around Php 1300 which already includes breakfast.
Just around 29 minutes away from Davao International Airport, Davao Hub Dormitel Bed and Breakfast sits where most of the activities are happening. Our lodging is just 400m away from People’s Park, 1.4km from Matina Town Square and 2.3 km away from Abreeza Mall. That is already 3 destinations near one place.
My expectations wasn’t really that high. For me as long as it got the necessary things I needed; a hot & cold shower, toiletries and of course a comfortable bed, I’m okay with it.
Davao Hub didn’t fail me on that. The decent place is simply furnished, air-conditioned with tiled flooring and wooden furnitures. There is also FREE WiFi access for all the guests, which is available in public areas. I also notice that most of the guests are foreigners and backpackers and some Filipinos who I think are there for a decent overnight stay.
I had Tocilog and Coffee in our first morning in Davao
More of my Travels and Adventures here
On our first night, we had a very late dinner at a Barbecue house nearby our place and went to bed around 2 in the morning.
To be continue . . .
