Here's a breakdown of my expenses during my 4-day stay in Davao:
P1,500 - 2 nights in Red Parrot Inn
P750 - Overnight in Northzen Hotel
P900 - Island Hopping in Talicud Island
P10 - Entrance fee to Kaputian Beach Resort
P655 - Food & Water
P10 - DVD rental
P200 - Bus to Clark
P155 - Pasalubong
P418 - Transpo
P10 - Ferry to Samal Island
P120 - Bus to Kaputian, Samal Island and return bus to Davao City
P50 - Japanese Tunnel entrance fee
P200 - Maxima Aqua Fun entrance
P150 - Entrance fee to Crocodile Park
P150 - Clark terminal fee
P200 - Davao terminal fee
P5 - Davao City Water District entrance fee
P50 - Philippine Eagle Center entrance fee
P189 - Bus & shuttle back to Manila
P5,722 - Total expenses for entire stay in Davao and other fees.
P750 - Airfare round trip from Airasia
P6,472 - Total expenses including airfare for 4 days and 3 nights, and other fees.
You can spend less depending on how you travel, where you stay, where you eat, and what you do.
Itinerary
Day 1
Arrival in Davao
Check-in at Red Parrot Inn
Day 2
Island hopping in Talicud Island
Maxima Aqua Fun Resort
Day 3
Kaputian Beach Resort
K'Mindanawan Cultural Village
Butterfly House
Crocodile Park
Japanese Tunnel
People's Park
Durian World
Day 4
Philippine Eagle Center
Arrival in Manila
Accommodations
Since Davao was a huge province, I was unable to go around and look for affordable accommodations. There are rooms for less than P500 if you look hard enough I saw signs and adverts that show a lot of rooms for less than P1,000.
Red Parrot Inn
We got a room for P1,500 good for three and had airconditioning, private bathroom, TV, and DVD player.
Contact details: Sir Aries 09071222091
Northzen Hotel
Northzen Hotel is a brand new hotel in downtown Davao. We got a room for 2 for P1,500 including breakfast.
Contact details: 09477662225
Tours
I find it strange that during my stay in Davao I barely found any tour agencies that offered affordable tours. This problem was summed up by a storekeeper on Samal Island "malayo pa po kami sa ganiyan," that was the storekeeper's answer when I asked her about tours for island hopping. Compared to Coron and El Nido, Samal Island is behind in terms of development for tourism. For a province with a lot of potential this is a problem. Unless you are up for an adventure or spending luxuriously, middle-class spenders who want a bit more comfort would end up spending more than they planned on.
Davao is do-it-yourselfable (made that word up) but for those who want to book a tour you can contact Mr. Nelson Bibera (Davao Tours) through 09156513819. They offer tours from P2,500+++ for up to 6 persons. You can visit their Facebook page Davao Tours.
