Travel Guide: Samal Island
Beautiful and exotic, the Island Garden City of Samal or IGaCoS, a part of the Metropolitan Davao area, is a great destination if you are looking for tranquility, great adventures and extreme challenges with nature. It is a coastal paradise located in Davao Gulf, just a stone throw away from Davao City.
The place is blessed with beautiful coast having white sand beaches, abundant marine life, magnificent rock formations, and flourishing flora and fauna. It is home to the famous Pearl Farm Beach Resort, which was once literally a pearl farm.
A guided tour of the island will let you discover its inland treasures – the rivers, waterfalls, antique mansions and ancestral houses, and the world renowned cave that hosts the world’s biggest colony of fruit bats. Local and foreign scientists say that the cave (one of the 70 caves in the island) is home to 1.8 million Geoffrey’s Rousette Fruit Bat.
But the beauty of the island is not just with its white and unspoiled beaches or its diverse natural attractions but to its warm and lovely people as well. All these make this island a potential world-class eco tourism destination in this part of the Philippines.
How to Get There
Davao City is the jump-off point for Samal Island. Davao is accesible via air or land/water travel from major cities in the country and the South East Asia. From Davao City, boats and ferries are available at Sta. Ana Wharf and Km. 11 Wharf in Sasa.
Via Air
Philippine Airlines, Air Philippines and Cebu Pacific fly to Davao regulary. It is an hour and half flight from Manila and fifity minutes flight from Cebu, and can also be accessed by plane from Zamboanga City and Iloilo City. From Singapore, Silk Air and Cebu Pacific service the route. Davao is also linked to Indonesia and Hongkong.
Via Land/Water
(Though Lakwatsero haven’t try these means of transportation yet, one can possibly reach Davao by bus and/or ferry rides from Manila. These alternatives are relatively cheaper than air travel though quite strenous.)
- Philtranco buses offers Manila(Pasay) to Davao for an approximately 48 hours travel time
- SuperFerry, Negros Navigation and Sulpicio Lines have ferries bound to Davao City for around 40 hours travel time
Where to Stay
There are more than 30 commercial resorts scattered along Samal’s more than 116 kilometers of shorelines. The very famous for high-end tourists is the Pearl Farm Beach Resort. Paradise Island Resorts, on the other hand, is also popular for most tourists due to its cheaper rates, good amenities and accessibility to Davao City, they have P1900.00 ($46)/room/night for a Standard Room that is good for two. Paradise Island Resort is where Lakwatsero stayed in his visit to Samal. For Lakwatsero’s compilation of hotels and resorts in Samal – click here.
Activities
The island has it all, you can choose from a lot of activities that this island paradise offers.
- Aquatic Sports: Snorkeling, Scuba Diving, JetSki Ride
- Swimming and Beach Hopping
- See the Pawikan and Dugong Santuaries
- Visit Bat Cave in Babak District that is home to 1.8 million Geoffrey’s Rousette Fruit Bat
- Spelunking in Simbahan Dako Cave, Kimoko Cave, Mangongaong Cave and other caves in Talicud Island, Kaputian District and Babak District
- Discover its waterfalls (Hagimit Falls, Tambang Falls, Tagbaobo Falls)
- Island Hopping (Samal Island, Talikud Island, Malipano Island & Ligid Island)
- Hiking/Camping
Lakwatsero Experience
Lakwatsero has been to Samal in 2005. Watch out for the photos of his travel in “My Photos” and his itinerary in “My Travels”.
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gudpm!can i asked how much po ang fare kung multicab type na sasakyan isakay sa barge,and how many km,po from babak to hagimit…thnx
if i’ll be leaving from davao city gaano po kalau and pde po ba mag bus papunta samal? how much will it cost me..pls suggest also other means to get there sa beautiful beach.
from davao, mga 10 mins. siguro n ferry boat. pwede din bus.. mura lang pamasahe, d abuting ng 50php. davao-samal lng yan ha..pag dating mo sa island, syempre iba n ung rates ng fare nila lalo na pg medyo malayo sa dock ang pupuntahan mo. hope in anyway this will help you.
SAmal has natural ambiance to help you more relax with YOUR loving someone.
I’m planning to go to Samal. And, this post would be very helpful.
hi,,,i want to see samal island as well…dying to see actually..
Samal island is really beautiful…siyempre…taga samal gud ko!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Samal islands is the best for outdoor recreation adventure…
i leave there.dyan ako ipinanganak kya lang dito ako nag-aral sa cebu…maganda talaga dyan sa lugar namin. gusto ko nang umuwi……
wow, thanks for the feedback dinabaw, it seems that a lot of developments are happening in Samal.
gorgeous ang Dream Resort tabi ng Kembali coast but di pa bukas ang resort anyway maraming susulputan na mga bago na resorts i was amazed how beautiful Bluejaz Resort tabi lang ng Paradise anyway Bali-Bali resort is very beatuiful!
i love hagimit falls, canibad island cove, aundanao fish sanctuary & coral reef, they are unexplored, I called them…the virgin beauty of samal island (ehem!!) lami kaayo diri sa isla bai!
I’ve heard of the new resort Samal Dream, and they say it is worth visiting, they have mini zoo, a nipa tower and other interesting amenities but they don’t have a website yet.
For me, Pearlfarm & Malipano Island pa lang ang pinakamagandang resort na napuntahan ko sa Samal Island. Somebody told me that there’s a new resort called Samal Dream, do you know their website? Thanks a lot.
Hi erna, I’m glad you enjoyed the place, the habal-habal ride was indeed a fun ride, next time you go there, ask the habal-habal driver to take you to Tambang Falls at Tagbaobo Falls.
Never been to Bat Cave, i love to but no more time
we just came back from Fernandez Beach in Penaplata & Hamigit Falls in Cawag, bugnaw kaayo ang tubig didto enjoy kami nagpicnic at nagsakay ug bahal-habal, un motor na tatlo ang sakay nakakatakot pero masarap ang experience namo!!! Sayang pabalik na kami ng Cebu next week, were in Tagum now. Meron pa palang Tambang Falls at Tagbaobo Falls in Samal, where’s that? Nobody tells us about this when we were there. So many places to visit, so little time!!!!!
@marlene, thanks for the correction, yeah, i don’t like the smell of guanos in the bat cave, yay, naalala ko na naman yung smell and nag-i-stick sya sa pang amoy for quite long…
its malipano island not malipuno hehe!!… ung tapat ng pearlfarm, also manage by pearlfarm.
lakwatsero, napuntahan mo lahat yan?
believe naman ako sa ‘yo…
you really stand by your name huh!!!
ummpp.. mabaho sa bat cave.. ryt?
mas maganda mag island hopping, rent a boat then go place to place..
@estan tinuod bitaw!
okay kaayo sa bat cave ba.