Travel NOTES | Cagayan de Oro City Travel Guide

Cagayan de Oro City is the capital of the Province of Misamis Oriental and known as the “City of Golden Friendship”. In recent years, developments across the city and upgrades in the facilities for outdoor activities have made the city as The New Adventure Capital of the Philippines. There, you can enjoy the adrenaline rush of exciting activities such as zip lining, whitewater kayaking, whitewater rafting, and rappelling.

The city’s name is quite a mouthful so that it is often shortened to a simple CDO, CdeO, or CDOC. CDO is also nicknamed as the “Melting Pot of Mindanao” by virtue of its rich culture and diverse population. It also acts as the business hub and regional center for the Northern Mindanao region.

TRIVIA

• Cagayan de Oro City is physically separated from its neighbors, Bukidnon and Iligan City, by the Cagayan River.
• CDO got its name from its mighty river. “Kagay” means “river and “Kagayan” simply means “a place with a river”.
• CDO features whitewater rafting and whitewater kayaking along the Cagayan de Oro River. Back when she was still the country’s highest ranking official, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo tried whitewater rafting in a much-publicized event. That actually paved the way into putting this fun activity on national TV and had since drawn scores of tourists to the city.

Province: Misamis Oriental

Region: Northern Mindanao (Region X)

Country: Philippines

Area Code: 088 (+6388)

Zip Code: 9000

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

Language: English| Tagalog | Cebuano | Cagayanons | Kagay-anons | Hiligaynon | Waray | Maranao

Local Dialect: Most of the people living in Cagayan de Oro City speak the Cebuano/Visayan language or its variants. Although the main language is Cebuano, there are plenty of people who are fluent in Maranao, Waray, and Hiligaynon. The city also claims its own version of Cebuano aptly called as Cagayanons or Kagay-anons, a language that is so deeply infused with Cebuano that it is hard to make a direct distinction. The fluency in many languages is the product of the city’s culture and location plus an influx of plenty of Cebuano-speaking people from across the Visayas.

• Cebuano has all 5 vowels (a,e,i,o,u) in the English alphabet but only uses 16 (b,d,g,m,n,ng,s,h,w,l,r,y,p,t,k,ʔ) of its consonants. It is often distinguished from other Visayan languages by its use of “sa” to mean “of” instead of “han” (Waray) or “sang” (Hiligaynon). When it comes to comparing 2 things, the Cebuano language uses “mas”,“labaw nga”, or “labaw’ng”. Superlatives use the affixes “pinaka-” or “kina-(root word)-an”. An example would be “maayo” for “good”, “mas maayo” for “better”, and “pinakamaayo” for best.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

·  CDO Mayor’s Office: (088) 857-4277, (088) 857-2261

·  CDO Fire Station: emergency 117, MISORTEL 112, 727580 PHILCOM 160

·  CDO Water District: (088) 856-4509, (088) 856-4373, 09277645478, (088) 858-4031

·  Department of Foreign Affairs: (088) 857-2175

·  CDO Tourism Office: (088) 857-3907

·  CDO Police Station Hotlines: 166

o   Amphi Theater, DV Soria: (088) 857-3173, (088) 310-5571
o   Cogon Market: (088) 857-3178, (088) 310-5572
o   Carmen Market: (088) 858-3087, (088) 310-5574
o   IBT Terminal, Agora: (088) 856-2471, (088) 310-5573
o   Bulua: (088) 858-3093, (088) 310-5577
o   Lumbia: (088) 310-5578
o   Macasandig: (088) 857-3185, (088) 310-5579
o   Cugman: (088) 855-8861, (088) 310-5580
o   Julio Pacana St., Puntod: (088) 856-2482, (088) 310-5575
o   Puerto: (088) 855-1917, (088) 310-5576   

WHERE TO STAY

•  Koresco Hotel. Pueblo de Oro Golf Estates, Rev. Masterson Avenue, Cagayan de Oro City. Contact: (088) 858-9749, (088) 858-9750, (088) 858-9751, (088) 858-9752, (088) 858-9753, (088) 858-9754, (088) 858-9755 | venipr@yahoo.com | website: http://www.hotelkoresco-cagayandeoro.com/.

•  Pryce Plaza Hotel. Carmen Hill, Cagayan de Oro City. Contact: (088) 858 4537, (088) 858 3111, (088) 858 3131, (088) 858 4536, (08822) 726-687 (fax) | e-mail: reservations@pryceplaza.ph | http://www.pryceplaza.ph/.

• Seda Centrio. C.M. Recto corner Corrales Avenue, Cagayan de Oro City. Contact: (088) 323-8888 | (088) 323-8891 (fax) | email: cdo@sedahotels.com | http://www.sedahotels.com/centrio/.

• GV Hotel. Corrales Ext., Cagayan de Oro City. Contact: (088) 323-1547 | website:http://www.gvhotels.com.ph/misamis/cagayan-de-oro/. 

• Chananthon Bed and Breakfast. C.M. Recto Avenue, Cagayan de Oro City. Contact: (088) 309-3095, (088) 856-8189 (telephone and fax) | email: Chananthonbb@gmail.com, info@Chananthon.com | website: http://chananthon.com/.

• Golden Pension House. Golden Glow North, Pedro Oloy Roa Avenue, Cagayan de Oro City. Contact: (088) 851-6833, (088) 859-1259, (088) 856-4300 (fax) | website:http://goldenpensionhouse.net/.

• Mallberry Suites Business Hotel. Florentino Street, Cagayan de Oro City. Contact: (088) 854-1999, (088) 854-3999, (088) 854-9999, (88) 854-4999 (fax) | email: info@mallberrysuites.com, reservation@mallberrysuites.com | http://www.malberrysuites.com/.

•  Metro Hotel. Capt. Vicente Roa Corner Antonio Luna Sts., Cagayan de Oro City. Contact: (08822) 721-888, (088) 852-1417 (telephone and fax), 0917-888-5388 | email: metro_hotel928@yahoo.com | website: http://www.metrohotel.cdoph.com/.

• Travelers Pod. Ground Floor, Gateway Tower, Limketkai Center, Cagayan de Oro. Contact: (088) 851-8988, +63-917-717-6910 | info@travelerspod.com | http://travelerspod.com/. 

• Tune Hotel. C.M. Recto Avenue, Cagayan De Oro City. website:http://www.tunehotels.com/my/en/our-hotels/cagayan-de-oro/.

WHERE TO EAT 

• Buffet: Mindys | Consuelo’s Steakhouse | Lighthouse | Peking House 
• Fine Dining: Bigby's Café | Café Laguna | Country Side Steakhouse | Candy's | Dadang's Seafoods Restaurant | Kagay-anon Restaurant | La Tegola | Vienna Kaffehaus | Roadhouse | La Vetta Wine Bar and Restaurant | Golden Cowrie 
• Fastfood Chains/ Budget Restaurants / Barbeque Places / Grills: Penong’s Grill House| Tita Fannies Liempo & Chicken House | Inilog Grill | Cucina de Oro, Ati-atihan Manok | Dear Manok | Jo's Manukan | Lugawan Bulaluhan sa La Creole | D' Original La Paz Batchoy | Lokal Grill | Fiesta sa Balsa Sugbahan | Jarbs Seafood | Sunburst Restaurant | KFC | Max’s Fried Chicken Restaurant | Yellow Cab | Greenwich | Pizza Hut | Shakeys | Pancake House | Chowking | McDonalds | Jollibee | Red Ribbon | Goldilocks

WHAT TO DO

• Celebrate City Festivals. Charter Day Anniversary celebrated every June 15 | Kagay-an Festival celebrated for 1 week in August 
• Explore. Mapawa Nature Park | Macahambus Adventure Park | Monigue Cave | High Ridge | Catanico Falls | Macahambus Hill, Cave and Gorge | Gardens of Malasag Eco-Tourism Village | Migtugsok Falls | Palalan Falls 
• Visit. Plaza de Los Heroes | Kagay-an Resort (formerly Lawndale Spring) | Museum of Three Cultures | La Castilla | Museo de Oro | Plaza Divisoria (Golden Friendship Park) | Gaston Park | Vicente de Lara Park | San Agustin Cathedral | MacArthur Memorial Marker 
• Outdoor Fun. Horseback riding, biking, zipline and nature trekking at Mapawa Nature Park | Ziplining and rappelling at Macahambus Adventure Park | Whitewater rafting and kayaking along Cagayan de Oro River 
• Shop. Limketkai Center | Robinsons Cagayan de Oro | SM City Cagayan de Oro | Gaisano City Mall | SaveMore | Ororama Supercenter | Gaisano Suki Club | Divisoria Night Café and Night Market | Centrio- an Ayala Mall

TRANSPORTATION

• Airport. Laguindingan International Airport (Cagayan de Oro Airport) | Served by 3 airlines: Philippine Airlines/PALExpress, Cebu Pacific, AirAsia/Zest Airways | Serves flights to the following destinations: Manila, Bacolod, Cebu City, Iloilo City, Davao City, Zamboanga City

• Sea Port. Macabalan Port (Port of Cagayan de Oro) | Serves trips to following destinations: Metro Manila, Cebu City, Tagbilaran, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Iloilo City, agna (Bohol)

• Inland transportation. Terminals: Westbound- Bulua Integrated Bus and Jeepney Terminal, Eastbound - Gusa Jeepney Terminal, Agora Integrated Bus Terminal | Modes of public transport include: motorela (motorcycle), multi-cab, taxi, bus, jeepney | Buses bound for Davao City, Butuan City (Agusan del Norte), Iligan City (Lanao del Norte), Pagadian City (Zamboanga del Sur), Dipolog City (Zamboanga del Norte) leaves every 30 to 60 minutes.

MUST TRY

• Adventure seekers and travelers should try the white water rafting and kayaking along Cagayan de Oro River. 
• Cagayan de Oro City is famous for its delectable pastels, a type of baked pastry with a delicious, sweet filling. You should also try the more nutritious variation: malunggay pastel bread. Pastels make the perfect pasalubong item. 
• The city also features delicious turrones de mani that also makes a great pasalubong item.

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