Samal Island

SAMAL ISLAND

Oh Samal! This island’s one of those that I consider a paradise! It has a lot to offer just like Camiguin. There are several things to do as well as places to explore. We went to this island on our 2nd day of Davao adventure. From Davao mainland, we hired a cab to get us to the port that will lead us to this place.  It took some time for the driver to locate the exact place we needed to be at, I’m not sure as to why he doesn't know? He even brought us to 2 different resorts that overlook the island. We don’t know the name of the port as well but eventually after a series of guessing, manong driver found it! Yey! Haha We rode a ferry for 15-20 minutes going to island.

The front side of the ferry

the lifesaver =p

Upon arrival, we were welcomed by a number of men offering habal habal services. We haggled (I forgot how much was the price agreed) and rented 3 of them. First thing we did was to look for a good and cheap place to stay since we only have a limited budget for accommodation, as much as possible we want to trim down our expenses (super kuripot mode on!). Haha! We went to a number of resorts but most of them didn’t suit our taste and budget (arte pa? haha), we ended up with Camp Holiday Resort, funny thing is, this one’s situated at the same port where we alighted the ferry, we didn’t choose it the first time we saw it since the place looks classy and expensive but after checking their rates, we we’re surprised that it was just within the range of our ‘cheap’ budget! Haha oh well, we really never can tell, we’re not judges at all! Haha

Resort Facade

This is where we stayed, the cottage with the curtain =)

The opposite side of the resort

After unpacking our things and a little rest, we started our exploration by going to the “Monfort Bat Sanctuary”, you read it right, it’s a bat sanctuary, nothing more nothing less, this one’s even on the Guinness book of records according to the guide. As expected, the smell of bat poop is all over the place, so it’s highly suggested to wear thick masks if you’re sensitive to these kinds of smell and won’t be able to tolerate it for long. You’ll see a cave entrance full of bats (as seen on the picture); it’s a long one that extends underground. There’s a trail outside of the cave with big openings so that you’ll see what’s below and inside, the guide will escort you as he/she explains things in detail about the cave’s inhabitants, overall, it was an informative walk, and you’ll learn a lot of nice to know things about bats. 

The entrance of the cave

Batman and his crew =p

More bats more fun! =)

Next stop was the hagimit falls; it was a long ride from the Monfort bat sanctuary. This falls was not the typical high rise falls that you see in some other provinces, this one’s a series of mini falls with a lot of water basins that looks like a pool. They also have a ladder like formation. From the entrance, you will need to keep on going down to reach the bottom of the falls. As expected, the water was freezing cold but it’s a nice way to cool down during the heat of the sun. We enjoyed the place since we’re the only one who’s there during our visit, it’s as if we rented the place for ourselves, haha There are cottages around where you can rest but there’s a fee so it would be best to just place you things on some huge rock formations if you’re just going to stay there for a short time.

Falls entrance

Stairway to the falls basin.. so many steps.. lolz!

Front view of the falls

Side view of the falls

my friends trying to endure the cold just for the pic! haha

My selfie with the hagimit falls! yey!

After the falls, our next stop was the maxima aquafun resort (click link for details). It was our last stop for the day. We actually planned to stop by the pearl farm as it was one of the must see attractions of the island and it’s a very good place to take pictures but sadly, we were told that in order to enter, we need to pay for a day tour or stay there for the day. We thought it was just for free. =( We can’t even take a good view of the resort from afar since it’s really far from the road, you can only see a tiny piece of it. We also missed to do spelunking as the natives there don’t know the exact location; some say that the area is still ongoing development though.

Our overall Samal island experience wass definitely good and satisfying, if we’re given the chance to extend our stay there for a day, we might have explored more! Haha anyway, there’s always a chance to return and we definitely will! =)

Things to Remember!

- The best way to travel the island is through habal habal ride.
- There is an entrance fee on the monfort bat sanctuary (will not exceed php 50).
- There is also an environmental fee at the hagimit falls but it’s not that much either.