Samal Island

Samal Island Hopping {0}

Samal Island Hopping

Jan 11, 2014

One of the more popular activities on and around Samal Island has to be what is known as “island hopping.” Once upon a time most people gathered up the clan and spent the day on the beach at Paradise Island Beach Resort or later on at a place like BlueJaz with its many water activities. These days it seems island hopping is what everyone wants to do.

The term itself is a bit misleading, at least to those of use that grew up on a different version of English. You don’t “hop” to very many islands, in fact in the trips I’ve been on we’ve only stopped at Samal Island and once at Wishing Island. For the most part you “hop” around the gulf, around Talikud Island and/or Samal Island.
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By Category: Samal Island, Tourist Attractions, Travel Tags: , ,

The Venue Party Boat {0}

The Venue Party Boat

Jul 8, 2012

I encountered an interesting sight recently while taking the ferry to and from Samal Island. Docked at the Sasa Wharf was a brightly colored boat painted with “Party Boat” on the side. Upon further examination you could see that it was run by The Venue.

The Venue has quite a reputation in and around Davao as a great place to party and meet people. I’ve never been there myself, and I’m not even sure if it is still open. Seems I heard something to that effect. Possibly this is the replacement.
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By Category: Davao, Samal Island, Tourist Attractions, Transportation Tags: , , , ,

Samal Island Among The Philippines’ Best {7}

Samal Island Among The Philippines’ Best

May 6, 2012

According to CNNGo Samal Island’s beaches are among the 10 best in the Philippines. Having not been to many others, it’s difficult for me to say. Having been to Samal Island many times, I would have to say that I am not surprised one bit that they are on the list. It would be hard to believe there is much nicer out there.

So what are the Top Ten beaches in the Philippines (according to CNNGo)?
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Good Housekeeping Award for Samal Island {0}

Good Housekeeping Award for Samal Island

Sep 21, 2011

Congratulations to Samal:

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) XI awarded the Seal of Good Housekeeping for local government for the year 2011 this last September at Davao del Norte Provincial Capitol. Island Garden City of Samal is the only city in the region to win the award in recognition of its highly transparent and accountable governance.

This is an important matter as not only does it show that Samal Island is supporting President Benigno Aquino’s initiative, but it also comes with a P3-million prize which can be used by the City as counterpart funds for programs and projects under the Millennium Development Goals.
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Work on Samal Island {0}

Work on Samal Island

Jul 24, 2011

One of the things I have to determine by the time I retire is whether I will continue to try to earn some extra income, or just live off the pensions that I will receive. This isn’t as cut and dry and it used to be. These days you can easily (relatively of course) earn income online and from anywhere in the world. Samal Island is about as remote as you can get, being the tropical island it is.

I have interest in earning an online income, as well as you may, also. There are a lot of resources, online of course, to get you started in that direction. I don’t plan on going into them in this article. Instead I would like to explore what work is available for an expat in such a limited region and limited job market.
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By Category: Cost of living, Internet, Retirement, Samal Island Tags: , , , , , , ,

Should You Retire on Samal Island {1}

Should You Retire on Samal Island

Jul 17, 2011

Your choices for a retirement location are endless, money not withstanding, but living in a foreign land may not be for everyone. The Philippines, in particular, has a number of advantages over other countries for the American expat, chief among those being a large English speaking population, and comparitvely low cost of living. I feel Samal Island is an excellent choice for your retirement, if the Philippines is in fact on your list.

So what makes Samal Island such a great retirement location? Here are just a few reasons that I see:
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By Category: Retirement, Samal Island Tags: , , , ,

Samal Island Resort Directory Update {4}

Samal Island Resort Directory Update

Apr 3, 2011

I’ve just completed one of the largest updates to the Samal Island Resort Directory that I’ve done since I first posted that article/directory over two years ago.

Keeping the directory up to date is a nearly impossible task. Not only are there new resorts popping up at an alarming rate, many of them have virtually no advertising, meaning there is almost no way to find out about them. Possibly that is due to the fact that they want to stay private, or semi-private. Possibly they are only interested in pulling in locals, and figure that the word will get around. Yet another possibility, they are not interested in making any profit, or dealing with the work involved. There remain other possibilities, but I’ll be nice and leave those to you to figure out.
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Samal Island Circumferential Road Project Proposed {0}

Samal Island Circumferential Road Project Proposed

Mar 26, 2011

If you read any of my articles after my return from visiting Samal Island last year you’ll surely remember my feelings regarding the ability to drive around the island. My biggest complaint was the condition of the Circumferential Road, which is the “main” road on the island. Parts of it are paved, but much (most) of it is not.

It seemed to me that road was in even worse shape than I remembered from the previous trip, two years prior. The areas around the subdivision developments were particularly shocking to me, as I expected those would be developed along with the subdivisions, but in many cases these were even worse from what appeared to be the heavy use due to the construction.
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By Category: Davao, Development, Samal Island, Samal-Davao bridge, Tourist Attractions, Transportation Tags: , , , , ,

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