Talicud Island, IGACOS, Island Hopping | Labor Day

Last Sunday, Ricco's friends and I went to an island hopping tour in Talicud Island at the Island Garden City of Samal. The name Talicud was given to the island because it is literally located at the back of the main island of Samal. Talicud Island is famous for resorts such as Isla Reta, Babu Santa and Dayang Beach Resort. It is situated far from the noise and business of the city, a perfect location to explore nature and sea life.

This tour was planned a month ago. Ricco's friend booked us with Apl Rey Samal Island Hopping Tour. The tour is cheap compared with the other tours. We only paid Php 300.00/head and paid half of it a week before the tour for reservations. You'll only have to bring your own food and water.

The call time for the tour was 7:30 am. The tour started around 8:00 am.

We had five stop overs:

• Angel's Cove
• Babu Santa
• Coral Garden
• Isla Bonita
• Wishing Island

At around 9:00 am, we reached our first destination - Angel's Cove.

The boat has life jackets for its clients who, like me, don't know how to swim. Hehe. The water is pretty deep and the sea floor has plenty of corals but the waves were pretty strong. I found it hard moving around as a non swimmer in a life vest.

He's wearing a life vest but he knows how to swim :)

We stayed around 30-45 minutes in Angel's Cove, then we headed to our next destination - Babu Santa. Babu Santa has been the favorite stop over spot of island hopping tours. 

This is usually the place where guests take their lunch. We were allowed to stay at the place for two hours to have lunch, swim and take pictures. Babu Santa is just beside Dayang's Beach Resort. While waiting for the others to prepare for lunch we took a tour around and some pictures too. 

The resort has dogs which are very harmless and friendly ;)

After lunch, we were called to our next destination - Coral Garden. As the name of the place implies, it has plenty of Corals. It would be a perfect spot for diving. 

Then, we headed to our fourth destination - Isla Bonita. According to our guide, it is named Isla Bonita because the color of the sea turns blue with the reflection of the sun. During our stay, it was shady but the water was still blue. Blue like the sky.

From APL Rey's Facebook Page taken at Isla Bonita

This part of the island didn't have much corals like the others. The water was cold too and it wasn't as salty. Hahaha

Before we headed to the last destination, we had a tour of the Talicud Island. We passed by the luxurious Pearl Farm Resort managed by the Former Miss Universe Miss Margie Moran, the private resort Malipano Island whcih you can rent the whole island for yourself, Isla Reta 1 and Isla Reta 2, and Taklobo.

After that, we headed to our last destination - Wishing Island. It's a very tiny island with plenty of corals and sea urchins, so you better wear your slippers on your way to the island. The place is said to be occupied by a lady, yup, she is in the island ALONE. It has different statues of the Virgin Mary where people can wish and place their coins. The island also provides you with a 360 degree view of the whole Island Garden City of Samal.

This is the last stop of the tour. We headed back to the city of Davao. At around 5:00 pm, we reached Davao City.

If you want to book for a tour at Apl Rey, you can visit their page. Their tour is very affordable and they are very friendly and accommodating.You can also grill food at the boat, just bring your own charcoal.