Not Small at All - Our Samal Getaway Story

Samal was a breathe of fresh air, well literally. We stayed at Bluewaters, a 10 minute boat ride from Davao City. From the airport, we headed straight to the Marina Wharf in the Davao Boat Club - Davao Pearl Farm Jetty and boarded "Danica". For me, it was the perfect laid-back, just-chill vacation. We got a room upgrade which made our stay truly enjoyable. We had a small patio overlooking the beach and Mount Apo. We're also very near their salt water swimming pool which made our mermaid-daughters very happy. There's also a long table just outside our room which made dinner-by- the-beach side plausible. It was truly more than what we've imagined. So, what made our Samal Island getaway unforgettable? I'll give you my top 4 answers.

The View

1. Bluewaters
Crystal clear waters, fine sand, clean shores, fishes, starfishes and they have a paved walkway in the middle of the beach in case the guests would want to explore farther even if the tides are high. And it gets better when the tides are low, because even if you feel like you're really far from the shore, the water is still knee deep. And it was really quiet.  No blaring music.  No rowdy guests.  Just the sound of the waves and the trees while the wind caresses its leaves. And I love their pools.  Kami lang ang lumalangoy.  And I love the fact that you can shift to your "emotera-self" as you take a break from your night swim by looking at the sea, illuminated by crossing ships, with Mount Apo as the backdrop.

NOTES: 
Bluewaters charges 50 pesos per head as corkage for food you'll bring in. Based on our experience, it's still cheaper to buy food outside even with the corkage than to just order from their restaurant. But they serve good food, only we want something different from the usual resto fare.

It would be best to reserve the time of arrival and departure at the resort.  This way, arrangements for pick up and drop off can be made in advance.

COST:
Boatfare – P200 per boat (good for 6)

Corkage – P50/head (S, our 2-year old isn't included)

Balai – P3000/night (This was a discounted rate, rack rate for the Balai is 4500 per night.)

The Pool

The Beach

2. Countryside via habal-habal
Ramir and I like to explore the countryside. We either stroll or ride a motorcycle. This time we rode a habal-habal to buy something from the public market. Taking a trip to a province's palengke falls under "exploring" in our book. We bought rice, chicken barbecue, grilled fish, some bread, peanuts and mangosteen. Talk about tipid mode.  With P150 back and forth, it was worth it.  We were able to buy food and take in the scenery.  When we travel via habal-habal, we feel some lung-filtration happening, which Ramir and I enjoy.  We love the smell of Philippine countryside.

NOTES:
Ask the guys from Bluewaters to refer someone for your habal-habal ride.  One, its safer, and two its cheaper.  You can request the staff to haggle for you.

COST:
Habal-habal (From Bluewaters to palengke and back) - P150

The beaten path

Food finds near the market

3. Hagimit Falls
Natural swimming pools. Chirping birds. Cascading fresh water. With mountains and trees around you. Ultimate nature trip. We had a grand time here. But don't expect luxury. It's stripped to bare essentials. There are cottages that you can rent for a minimal fee. Their comfort rooms are useable but not tiled nor their toilets equipped with flushes. If you're cool with this, then you'd be fine. By the way, it would take around 15-20 minutes hike to reach the falls. If a two-year old can do it, so can you! 

NOTES:
Take a hut near the falls.  It would be easy to man you stuff.  Bring in food so you wouldn't be forced to settle with a rice-sardines combo. Well, our bad, we stayed longer than we thought we would.  Since the kids were complaining of starvation, we didn't have much choice but to feed them pronto. The sari-sari store food selection became our best bet.

COST:
Parking fee - P20.00/vehicle

Environmental user’s fee – P5.00/head

Entrance fee - P40 for 8 years old and above, P20 for 2-7 years old

Cottage – P250 (good for six)

Falling in love with Hagimit Falls

4. Montfort Bat Cave

Have you seen so many bats in your life? Like more than a million? Enough to land them on the Guinness Book of World Records?  The Monfort Bat Cave has the world’s largest colony of Geoffroy’s Rousette Fruit Bats with an estimated 1.8 million bats. We saw this for ourselves. A whole cave with them on the walls and on the ceilings. It was hair raising. How can small creatures ignite horror? I guess those Dracula movies re-wired our brains. And just a word of caution, since all animals need to poop, they did too.  Imagine when millions of them... Well you know what I mean. Its not the most nice smelling place on earth.  But it's probably the only of its kind. If only for that, I think it's worth checking out.

NOTES:
Bring something to counter the not-so-pleasant smell.

COST:
Entrance fee - P40 for adults, P20 for kids

Bats everywhere

If ever you'll visit Samal Island, please drop a note and share your adventure.  I'm sure you'll have fun.  Samal beckons.  Happy trip.