This would be the second and last installment of the travel blog "Places to Visit in Davao City, Phillipines," check it out by clicking here. In the previous article, I go through, the places we visit within and in the outskirts of Davao, today, let me take you to the white sand beaches and the amazing salty waters of Talicud and Samal Islands. 

Davao City, with its huge land area, encompasses a bounty of tourist attractions. Thus, with its booming tourism, travel agents are so much accessible in helping you explore the beauty of the city. The day we arrived in Davao we missed booking for the island hopping tour because we got mesmerized by the Upside Down House Museum, however, with the help of some friendly locals, we got a chance to book for a boat for island hopping the following day. 

This was the kind of boat that tour organizers book for island hopping, actually its huge because it can accommodate 20-30 people. Usually joiners on tour packages can join with other groups and have to pay per head to the organizers, but you need to arrange for this option a week or a few days before the tour. You can also pay for the entire boat and exclusively use it for a day, of course with a crew of two or three people helping you out and guiding you to the different islands. Boat rentals can be arranged a day ahead, so if your days to roam around Davao is limited then this would be the only option. The island tour already includes a life vest and you have to bring some packed meals for your lunch. However, you can ask the guide to make a timely stop to Talicud Island for lunch time. On the island there are locals selling fish for grilling, hanging rice and some drinks. This might sound really fun, but if you're a joiner of another group this might not be possible because grilling takes time and some groups might opt to bring a packed meal instead, to save time and explore more sights around.

Taclobo Giant Clams Sanctuary

The giant clams on this area is amazingly huge, its size can be as big as a 46" television and they are alive and conserved for centuries. The water in this area is deep, you need a life jacket on and the guide would recommend for the group to hold onto a tyre bouy so no one would wander around far in the ocean.

It is best that you have swimming goggles so you can see them easily underwater. I wish I had an underwater camera that time, it would be really awesome. I got the photo above from my bestfriend's husband who are our host for this DIY travel to Davao.

Going back to the clams, these are protected so touching them is forbidden, strictly for your eyes only. Prior to exploring the spot of the giant clams, there will be a short 10 minute lecture about the place, some instructions, and do's and dont's on this tiny cottage in the middle of the sea.

Island Garden City of Samal

I hope I could take a day to explore this beautiful island because this is the home of the famous Pearl Farm Resort. Mind you, this resort is really expensive a night would cost around $250-$400, it's a fortune for a lot of us, lol! So instead, the boat passed by the seashore of the resort and I'm off clicking my camera for this really beautiful view.

This is the Pearl Farm Resort beach front, I have posted this in my Instagram and Flickr account, so you might see this photo if you run for plagiarism check, lol! Same with some of the photos on this article.

Samal Island is not that all lucrative, on the other side of this island is a beach for the common island folks, there are small cottages for daytime picnic that are really affordable around $2-$7. The seaside is covered with white sand, people swimming in the shallow waters, kids playing in the sand, and more boats like ours because lots of tourists are dropping by here to take a picture of this another famous landmark.

Talicud Island

This island is smaller compared to the Island Garden City of Samal, the famous beach in the island is Babu Santa and the guide can take you here timely for lunch because some locals here sells fresh seawater fishes at an affordable price. I lost some photos I took from here, so I don't have much to share than a photo of the island from afar, with another boat that sailed nearby.

We also stopped by for some time on this tiny island that is made of a very big rock, you need to climb up to get there and see the vastness of the ocean from the top. I forgot the name of this island, and lost my photos too. I might have one from my Facbook account, but I am lazy to browse it now, so let me skip that part, lol!

Again, I hope you enjoyed this virtual tour with me in the beautiful tropical islands of Davao.

I guess, for now, a throwback of our previous summer vacation is what we can only afford in this time of pandemic, to stay safe and save ourselves the hassles of strict travel protocols.

God willing, everything will slowly go back to normal so we can go and explore places again.

Thanks for reading!

Explore some places with me;

Places to Visit in Davao City, Philippines

The First Family Road Trip to Bukidnon

Labor Day Adventure and Team Building

Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor): Tour to Mt. Samat, Bataan

Photo with corals, used with permission

The rest of the photos and content are MINE.