Day 2 Pearl Farm Day Tour (4/5/2008)

One of our must-see's in Davao is the Pearl Farm beach resort. We would have wanted to stay here overnight but I find the rates too expensive. We opted for the day tour instead which costs P1500 per pax. Prior reservation is required here. Although I still saw a lot of people paying at the counter, i already paid our tour in full a month prior to secure our reservation.

Since it's a long weekend (4/7 being a non-working holiday in lieu of Araw ng Kagitingan which falls on 4/9 wed), i expected that today might have a lot of visitors. I was right. We arrived at Davao Marina around 7:30am and there was already a long line at the bag check/registration counter. They made sure that food/drinks are not brought in and they will ask you to surrender them if you have any.

Posing by the pool at the Davao Marina and on the way to the port

The Seatrain, the official boat ride to Pearl Farm Beach resort
(Complimentary bottled water and a wet napkin was provided on board)

Finally we're in Samal Island. Saw these school of fish on the surface being fed with bread near the port. Upon arrival, a welcome drink of iced tea was provided to guests. Also an introduction on the island and the amenities was presented by the staff.

A map of Pearl Farm beach resort showing parts of Samal Island and Malipano Island.

As part of the day tour, one can take a speedboat ride to Malipano Island. Since a lot of tourists were there that day a boat will go back and forth between the 2 islands every 30 mins. On some other days, you need to coordinate with the staff what time you prefer to be picked up. Once we got there, a caretaker served as our tour guide around the island who also showed us the different accommodations and beach areas.

A Malipano house on stilts, one of several surrounding the island and a doorway entrance


Inside one of the houses and a view from the sala

Nature tripping around the island

Lots of coconut trees to play around

How sweet! ;)

Some rock formations and one of the island's beaches

Back in Samal Island we opted to lounge at the beachfront where we also saw some starfish. This place does not look suitable for swimming though. There is also an infinity pool near the restaurant area. But if you want some privacy, better swim at the Mandaya pool instead.

There are two shuttle routes in Samal Island. One goes up to the hilltop houses where you can have a nice view of the beach below and another takes you to the Aqua Sports Center near the Mandaya houses and pool. The beach near the aquasports center did not also look enticing for swimming or snorkelling so we preferred to take a dip in the pool instead. We planned to swim around noon so we can have it to ourselves.

The buffet lunch included in the day tour is available from 11am-3pm. We ate lunch early so we could go back immediately at the Mandaya pool. The food was good and filling. I particularly liked the tuna kilawin which i had dipped in mango vinegarette which also goes well with the salad.

As expected, no one was swimming when we got to the pool. We swam by ourselves for an hour before another couple came to swim. We took a nap since we got tired and sleepy. After which we swam again although a couple more people are already in the pool too. We changed to dry clothes before leaving as the shower rooms are limited. We went back to the docking area around 2:30pm in order to eat merienda as the buffet is still open till 3pm.

We boarded the seatrain going to Davao Marina around 3:30pm. This is the last trip back which leaves at 4pm. At the Davao Marina port, a lot of kids selling Pearls will approach you. We plan to buy pearls before leaving Davao but for now we wanted to go home. It was hard to get a taxi at Davao Marina. So we rode a pedicab to get to the main road which cost P5 each. From there it was easy to get a taxi back to the hotel.

Yellow Fin Seafood Restaurant

After taking a shower and resting for a while, we ate at the nearby Yellow Fin restaurant which is also owned by the Viajeros Inn owners. This is along Quimpo Blvd and is just walking distance from the inn. A shuttle is also provided from the inn to the restaurant but I think there is a schedule which is around 6pm. We went there around 8pm. There are not a lot of customers but they have an aircon and open area. There's also a TV. We ordered spicy spareribs, garlic prawns and deep-fried hito. All in all we spent around P500 which includes drinks and rice. I find the food ok although I was expecting them to be a bit more tasty.

Related entries:

Day 1 Trip to Davao (4/4/2008)
Day 2 Pearl Farm Day Tour (4/5/2008)
Day 3 Philippine Eagle Center (4/6/2008, part 1 of 3)
Day 3 Malagos Garden Resort (4/6/2008, part 2 of 3)
Day 3 Crocodile Park Davao and more (4/6/2008, part 3 of 3)
Day 4 Eden Nature Park (4/7/2008)