Travel NOTES | Davao City Travel Guide

Davao City is the country’s largest city by land area. This highly urbanized city is known by many nicknames, including as the “Crown Jewel of Mindanao” and the “City of Royalties”. The fact that tourists can enjoy a wide array of exciting outdoor activities also made this as the “EcoAdventure Capital of the Philippines”. Not only is it the regional center for Davao Region, it is also the primary hub for trade, commerce, and industry for the entire Mindanao area.

Although the thought of Mindanao often incites fear because of bombings, kidnapping, and war, Davao City is surprisingly among the country’s safest cities. It actually ranks 4^th out of 349 cities in the world, based on very recent data (August 2013) from numbeo.com. It’s the only metropolis to make it to the top 10, offering a safety index of 86.73 and a crime rate of 13.27.

TRIVIA

·    The Philippine Eagle, known as the largest eagle in the world and the national bird of the Philippines, is endemic to Davao.

·    The city is also home to the country’s highest peak, Mount Apo.

·   Davao City is often associated with durian and waling-waling because of the abundance of these plants in the area. In fact, the city is also known as the “Durian Capital of the Philippines”.

·    The Kadayawan Festival of Davao City is one of the country’s largest and most popular festivals.

Region: Davao Region

Country: Philippines

Coordinates: 7°3'19"N 125°36'3"E

Area Code: 082 (+6382)

Zip Code: 8000

Currency: Philippine Peso (PHP 1= US$ 0.02)

Language: English| Tagalog | Cebuano/Visayan

Local Dialect: The Cebuano/Visayan dialect is predominantly used across Davao City but residents also understand, speak, and read English and Tagalog quite well. Cebuano features 5 vowels (a,e,i,o,u). Letters o and u are allophones. “o” is used when it ends the syllable while “u” is used when it starts a syllable; there are some exceptions but these are quite rare. Not all the consonants are represented, with only 16 (b,d,g,m,n,ng,s,h,w,l,r,y,p,t,k,ʔ) used in this dialect. There are also several words with the same spelling but have different usage, depending on the stress accent or, sometimes, on the context with which it is used.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

•  Davao City Tourism Operations Office: (082) 222-1957
• Department of Foreign Affairs: (082) 221-4552 | (082) 225-1099
• City Government of Davao: (082) 227-2500
• Davao City Water District: 143 | (082) 221-2731
• Davao City Fire Station: 110 | 160
• Davao Volunteers Fire Brigade: (082) 227-5433
• Davao City Police Office: 911 (telephone) | 112 (Globe) | *911 (Smart
• City Public Safety Company: (082) 221-0014
•  Mobile Patrol Group: (082) 224-1313
•  Traffic Group: (082) 296-0771
•  Women and Children Protection Desk: (082) 222-4170

WHERE TO STAY

·         Marco Polo Davao. Claro M Recto Street, Davao. Contact: (082) 221 0888, (082) 225 0111 (fax) | email: davao@marcopolohotels.com, resv.dvo@marcopolohotels.com | website: http://www.marcopolohotels.com/hotels/philippines/davao/marco_polo_davao/index.html.

·         Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao. Km 5 Lanang 8000, Davao. Contact: +6382 233-2881, +6382 235-0900 (fax) | email: wihd@waterfronthotels.net | website: http://www.waterfronthotels.com.ph/waterfront/waterfront-insular-hotel-davao/.

·         The Royal Mandaya Hotel. J. Palma Gil St., Davao. Contact: (+63 82) 225 8888, (+63 82) 225 1885 (fax) | email: info@theroyalmandayahotel.com | website: http://www.theroyalmandayahotel.com/.

·         Crown Regency Residence Davao. J.P. Cabaguio Avenue, Agdao, Davao. Contact: +63 (82) 225-8188, +63 (82) 225-8088 (fax) | email: reservations@crownregency.com | website: http://www.crownregencyhotels.com/davao/davao.php.

·         The Ritz Hotel - Davao City. Porras Street, Bo. Obrero, Davao. Contact: (082)228-6885, (082)224-1403 (fax) | email: sales@theritzhoteldavao.com | website: http://www.theritzhoteldavao.com/.

·         Park Inn By Radisson Davao. J.P. Laurel Avenue, Lanang, Davao. Contact: (082) 272 7600 | email: reservations.davao@parkinn.com | website: http://www.parkinn.com/hotel-davao.

·         Apo View Hotel. 150 J. Camus Street, Davao. Contact: +63 (82) 221-6430 to 40, +63 (82) 221-0748 (fax) | email: info@apoview.com | website: http://www.apoview.com/.

·         Ponce Suites Gallery Hotel. Corner Road 3 and 4 Dona Vicenta Village, Davao. Contact: + 63 (082) 227 8161, + 63 (082) 227 9070 | email: inquiry@poncesuites.net, resvn@poncesuites.net | website: http://www.poncesuites.net/.

·         Chateau del Mar. Lizada Drive Lizada Beach, Lanang, Davao, 8000 Philippines. Contact: (082) 234-3472, (082) 235-2516 (fax) | email: chateaudelmar_dvo@yahoo.com.ph, info@chateaudelmardavao.com | website: http://chateaudelmardavao.com/.

WHERE TO EAT

·   Buffet: Oriental Feast Buffet Palace | Cafe Marco | Entree Restaurant at Apo View Hotel | Le Grandeur Café | Zabs Buffet Restaurant | Chippens | Apung Kula Buffet Restaurant | CTRES Buffet Restaurant and Piano Bar | Tita D’s Buffet Restaurant | Nanay Bebeng Restaurant | Saluhan Lounge and Buffet | Kuya Ed Restaurant

·   Fine Dining: Ahfat Seafoods Plaza | Bigby’s Café & Restaurant | Bogser’s by the Sea Restaurant | Chef’s Chan Singapore Food | Claude’s Le Café de Ville | Grand Emerald Seafood Garden | La Toscana Italian Bar & Restaurant | Tsuru Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar

·   Fastfood Chains / Barbeque Places / Grills: Chowking | Bak-bak Native Chicken Abtp. | Barbeque Boss | Barrio Bistro | Barbeque Boss Boss | BC Chicken House | BB Bethany’s BBQ Atbp. | Beary Chicken & Burger Haus | Brothers Burger | CBQ Chicken BBQ Quesarap | Chickies & Patties | Conching Native Lechon Manok | Dencio’s Kamayan | Delongtes Seafoods & Grill | Greenwich | Jollibee | Jickong’s BBQ Haus | KFC | Mang Inasal Restaurant | Mcdonalds | Shakey’s Pizza Restaurant | Toryano’s Chicken Haus | Tong Yang Shabu-Shabu & Grill | Majid's Persian Kabab

·   Pastries: Annipie 431 | Pancake House | Lachi's

WHAT TO DO

·  VISIT. Davao Museum | San Pedro Cathedral | Shrine of the Infant Jesus |Mindanao Taoist Temple | Lon Wa Buddhist Temple | Philippine Eagle Center | Davao Butterfly House | Malagos Garden Interactive Birdshow | Crocodile Park

·   WALK. Davao Bay Walk | People’s Park

·   EXPLORE. Talomo Beach | Furukawa Plantation | Japanese Tunnel | Davao Crocodile Park | Pearl Farm | Eden Nature Park | Island Garden City of Samal

·    OUTDOOR FUN. White water rafting at Davao River | Mountain climbing at Mount Apo and Mount Talomo | Ziplining | Scuba diving | Wakeboarding

·   SHOP. SM City Davao | Centerpoint Plaza | Gaisano Mall of Davao | Gaisano South Grand CitiMall | New City Commercial Corporation Mall of Davao | Victoria Plaza

TRANSPORTATION

· Airport. Francisco Bangoy International Airport | Served by 5 airlines: Philippine Airlines, PALExpress, Cebu Pacific, AirAsia/Zest Airways, Tigerair/flyseair | 30 flights per week fly out of Manila to Davao | There are also direct flights from Cebu and Clark going to Davao.

· Sea port. Port of Davao | Served by 2 major passenger shipping lines: 2GO, Sulpicio Lines | This major port features several piers: Sta. Ana Pier, SASA Wharf, Pacific International Terminal Pier, Mati Wharf Piso Point Port, Legaspi Oil Company Pier, Universal Robina Pier, Piso Point Port, Stevedorage Pier, Davao Union Cement Pier | Water taxis ferry passengers between Davao and Samal Island | Roll-on/roll-off inter-island ferries connect Davao to Manila

· Inland Transportation. Davao City Overland Transport Terminal | Modes of public transport include: e-trikes, car rentals, jeepneys, taxis, buses | Philtranco has daily bus trip from/to Davao City going to/from Manila. See the schedule HERE.

MUST TRY

·  Do try the eco-adventure activities in parks and outdoor venues across the city.

·  A visit is never complete without tasting the succulent durian fruit – just don’t mind its scent.

· You should also find time to visit the Philippine Eagle Center to meet the country’s endangered national bird.

·  If you could really find ample time and energy, a trek to Mount Apo should make a great activity in your itinerary.

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