Samal Island

Tags: Asia, Hiking, Latest, Mountains, Philippines, Travel

Before you go to this island, just make sure you got enough money, especially if you are a holder of an international visa card, otherwise you’ll end up like us.

Bluewaters Resort did not accept credit card, so we had to take the ferry back to Davao City to get some cash. First we had tried out a couple of ATM's on the island itself, but none of them take international visa card. We wasted a total of 3 hours on that stupid mistake.

Finally back in Bluewaters Resort we paid and checked into our room (1500 pesos/night). Then we spent the rest of the afternoon in the nice infinity pool. There is awesome views of Davao City and Mount Apo from this swimming pool.

Next day we went out to hike Puting Bato (540m), the highest hill on Samal Island. We hired a habal-habal (motorcycle-taxi) to bring us to Tayapoc. From the end of the road it was only a short hike to Puting Bato, but we almost failed to reach the summit because of a closed gate. A sign told us that the summit area is open to the public only during holidays and weekends. We could not accept that simple fact and managed to break through somehow. Needless to say, the two trespassers didn't dare to stay for a long time on the summit. Emily has written a more detailed report about Puting Bato. After the hike we went back to Bluewaters Resort, where we spent another afternoon in the pool.

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