Wandering in Davao!!!

I've been to Davao twice but all I did there is to attend our event. But this time around we went there for a VACATION!!! Yes you heard it right...last July 24-26 Tonzi and I went there together with my college friends and family of Axel. It was a 3days 2night stay and I really enjoyed our stay there so let me share with you some of the beautiful places we've visited. Are you ready guys??? Let me tour you to DAVAO!!!

Departure 4:55 am NAIA Terminal 3 via Airphil Express by the way, we were able to avail the promo fare of Airphil which is P700 plus for a round trip ticket...isn't that great? I super love it! 

getting ready to board :-)

Around 6am we arrived Davao International Airport...guess what??? the weather in Davao was so nice it was not raining there, just a good timing for our visit.

Welcome to Davao!

My friend Axel managed to get a tour guide at Davao Tours. Kuye Nelson, our tour guide was so great, his stories about Davao were really informative and amazing, even though we were not able to go to all places he recommends he make sure that we were able to visit the best places in Davao.

So let's start the tour begin!!

Day 1 Itinerary: Upon arrival we headed to our temporary home in Davao: 

 Home Crest Residences, a 28-room boutique hotel right across SM Davao Gate No.4, along Tulip Drive, Ecoland Davao City. This hotel is an exclusive home for business and leisure travelers who are looking for excellent services and amenities at par with renowned hotels at a price competitive with standard inns. Their Zen-inspired interiors exude a serene and relaxing mood depicting a homey ambiance. Guests will enjoy rooms with minimalist Zen design or with classic look enhanced by a contemporary touch. 

After putting our luggage at our rooms, we freshen up a little and headed to SM Davao to eat our breakfast. after that, we immediately went to Malagos Garden Resort.

about to watch the Interactive Bird Show

Malagos Garden Resort is a 12 hectare inland Nature Theme Resort located in Bgy. Malagos, Calinan, Davao City. It has the amenities of a Full Service Resort with Overnight Rooms and Accomodations, Function and Seminar Halls, Restaurants and Coffee Shop, Landscaped Gardens, Bird Park, Butterfly Sanctuary, Swimming Pool, Children’s Playground, Adventure Activities, among others. It is home to the Philippine Orchid, Vanda Sanderiana, commonly referred to as the Waling Waling, indigenous birds and other wildlife species, the Malagos Gardens Amazing Bird Show and sculptures of Philippine National Artist for Sculpture Napoleon Abueva. Truly a unique blend of art, commerce and nature amidst the cool mountain breeze of the highlands of Davao City.

after the show, you can take photos with the talented birds

feeding the love birds right on your palms

After the show and picture taking, we ate our buffet lunch at their restaurant. That was a great show and a nice place, it was just a start of the tour.

Next Stop: D' Japanese Tunnel Resort

entrance to the tunnel

D' Japanese Tunnel is one of the historical place in Davao, it was a 300 meters tunnel which was build during World War II. It was the hide out of the Japanese during the war. There's an entrance fee of P50 per head and a guide will tour you down the tunnel.

they have their prayer room in the tunnel

this is the part of the tunnel where they held meetings

the "bartolina" where they put their Filipino slaves

their weaponry, where they keep all their weapons

end of the tunnel, they found some writings on it..he's wearing the actual uniform used by the Japanese soldiers  found inside the tunnel

Another great attraction. The next place we went is the Shrine of the Holy Infant Jesus, a sacred place at the highlands of Davao.

The next attraction that we visited was the Crocodile Park Davao.

Davao Crocodile Park

The Davao Crocodile Park is an establishment that showcases a ‘state of the art’ crocodile farming system in the Philippines. It has the most recent crocodile farm design equipped with modern facilities and equipments.  The presence of other exotic animal species like raptors, monkeys, bearcats, snakes, birds, and other reptiles makes it one of the most desired tourist destinations in Davao

Pangil, the largest crocodile you can see in the park. This is the main attraction of the park. Other fun shows includes Birds show, crocodile dancing, rope walking etc...Aside to that we also watched the fire dance show and a variety show which showcases the different tribes of Mindanao.

It was a fun-filled day, all of us were tired but it was all worth it. That was only the first day of our Davao adventure. Bear with me if this posts take some of your time :-)

Day 2 Itinerary: This day we planned to go to Samal Island.around 9am we headed to the wharf to ride the boat that will bring us to Samal Island, we stayed at Blue Jaz Resort.

at the wharf, getting ready to go to Samal Island

After eating our lunch at the resort, we went to Monfort Bat Colony also in Samal Island. This currently holds the Guinness World record for having the biggest colony of bats.

It was an awesome place, I had goosebumps when we were there. The last stop we had in Samal Island was the Hagimit Falls and Nature Park...the water was so cold and clear. The sound of the water flowing through the rocks were very relaxing.

Day 3 Itinerary: This is our last day in Davao but we still have lots of places to visit and one of those were Eden nature Park.

Eden Nature Park is a mountain resort which is 3,000 feet above sea level, the weather was so cold, it was like Baguio where you can see lots of pine trees and other kinds of trees, vegetables and flowers. This nature park is a 80 hectares 60 of which was developed, 95% of the park was man-made!!! It was a nice model to re-create nature and build a lost environment. This nature park gives your eyes a scenic views and can also be a romantic destinations for couples.

beautiful girls wandering in Davao!!

Time flies really fast, after that we headed back to the hotel to check out. But after checking out we still had our city tour, we were able to visit Aldevinco, 911 Central and a Shaolin Kung Fu Temple.

How we wish we had more time to explore Davao. Surely we will go back there to go to the places we've missed. Sorry for making this post too long, but I hope you enjoyed my simple way to tour you around Davao :-) Till our next wandering!!!