Dumaguete
Background: Dumaguete is a city in the Philippines province of Negros Oriental.
Itinerary Highlights: We left Manila Saturday morning at 10am and arrived in Dumaguete around 11:15am. From the airport we went directly to our hotel, Kav’s Beach Resort, which had arranged our airport shuttle.
We came to Dumaguete for three main things:
General relaxing beach weekend
Apo Island snorkeling tour
A look at Casaroro Falls
We headed to Casaroro Falls on trike and it took about an hour to get there. On arrival we paid the entrance fee of PHP 10 each and hired a guide for PHP 200. The trek to the waterfall starts with a stairway of over 300 stairs. The last couple set was exactly what my recurring nightmares are made of but I made it down just fine. I followed closely behind our guide as he led us over some fallen trees and slick rocks, some even submerged in the small river we had to cross. All in all this took maybe 30 minutes. If you have water shoes or rubber shoes I highly recommend wearing them. You will need the traction. The waterfall itself is breathtaking and the surrounding lush green scenery is gorgeous.
Sunday we took the snorkeling tour of Apo Island courtesy of Aqua Dive. The tour has three stops and includes lunch. You can snorkel or dive. The boat ride from Dumaguete to Apo Island is about 30 minutes and if you are anything like me then you will need a Dramamine or ginger chew for the ride. One thing I couldn’t get over is how blue the water is. It is cerulean, literally. On the tour you’ll see fish, coral, and most impressively, sea turtles. At the second stop I opted to stay on the boat and I actually got to see a turtle peak up to the surface.
Apo Island. Photo by J. Lynn
Service at Kav’s is very nice; it’s a small hotel with a very good restaurant. You have a great view of the beach from the restaurant area and the first night there we caught a gorgeous sunset just before dinner.
Sunset at Kav’s Resort. Photo by J. Lynn
Overall experience: Dumaguete is a great weekend beach getaway and I highly recommend the Apo Island tour. If you can round up a group of your friends it’d be a fun private tour to take. Casaroro Falls is one of those great beauties of nature that you just have to experience with your own eyes.
Budget: A two night stay at Kav’s resort is about $80 depending on the room you choose. They also have hostel style accommodations for under $20. The flight on Philippine Airlines was $120. The Apo Island tour was just PHP 1450 or about $28.
Tips: Layer on your sunscreen! You’ll be pretty exposed during the day so take precaution. Wear slip resistant shoes to Casaroro Falls, your ankles will thank you.
