Davao City is no stranger to superlatives. It is one of the world’s largest cities, one of the most livable cities in Asia, and one of the cleanest and greenest cities in the Philippines. It even holds the claim to the second best potable water in the world!

The superlatives extend as well to tourism. Davao City has the best access to the country’s highest peak, Mt Apo. It is home too to the second largest eagle in the world, the Philippine Eagle, and the most important Philippine orchid specie, the waling waling or vanda anderiana.

And as its slogan ‘Island to Highland’ claims, Davao City easily covers the entire spectrum of holiday options. Its landscape is such that it can offer coral islands and white-sand beaches along with virgin forests, fruit plantations, and volcano-fed hills and valleys.

The Davao Gulf is peppered with white-sand beaches and coral gardens. Beach resorts, each with their own personal charm, are aplenty in the Island Garden City of Samal. A vast expanse of fine white sand and glistening crystal blue waters awaits the most fervent beach lover at the sprawling Paradise Island Resort. The charming setups of Costa Marina Resort and Chema’s Beach Resort are sure to please sun-and-sand worshippers. Over at Isla Reta, a back-to-basics encounter beckons. For an exclusive and private getaway, tourists can own Buenavista Island for a day. Then, of course, there is the Pearl Farm Beach Resort, which has won raves the world over.

The waters of the Davao Gulf make for excellent snorkeling and diving. The underwater vistas at Mushroom Rock, Ligid Island, Talicud Island are
among the best the country has to offer.

At higher altitudes lie fruit plantations, the majestic peaks of Mt Talomo and Mt Apo, and nature resorts. Nestled in cool climes, Eden Nature Park and Malagos Garden Resort come complete with resort accommodation, outdoor activities, flora and fauna sanctuaries, and organic farms, among others. Also in the highlands is the Philippine Eagle Nature Centre, which breeds and urtures the country’s national bird. It presently houses some 30 Philippine Eagles.

In between the islands and the highlands rest many cultural, historical, nature and adventure attractions. The Dabaw Museum at the Insular Village in the north showcases Davao City’s colourful heritage. On display are various authentic costumes, accessories, and implements of the different tribes of Davao. The nearby T’boli Weaving Centre allows a closer look at the making of the tinalak fabric for which Davao is famous.

The city’s oldest church, San Pedro Cathedral, was built in 1847. The original altar can still be found at the cathedral’s right wing. The Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague has replicas of its namesake and of Our Lady of Fatima. The open-air chapel offers spectacular views of fruit plantations.

Over at J.P. Cabaguio Street is the Lon Wa Buddhist Temple, the biggest Buddhist temple in Mindanao.

Since Davao City also has a thriving orchid and cut-flower industry, orchid farms and flower plantations abound. Floral havens such as the Malagos Garden Resort and the Puentespina Orchid Gardens are well worth a visit.

And aside from the Philippine Eagle, Davao City’s list of famous wildlife residents also includes Pangil, the Philippines’ second largest crocodile at 18 feet. Pangil shares the Davao Crocodile Farm with pythons, rodents, exotic birds, and other locally bred crocodiles. The adventurous would delight in the Davao Wild Water Adventure, a 13-kilometre whitewater rafting passage on 25 rapids on the Davao River.

from http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=331820

^Gusto ko nga pumunta diyan. Kaso wala pa datung. hahaha.

id say cebu or angeles city!!

i'd say laguna, because i'm living there....

@kristleh_II,you are very much welcome in here..its good to relax from a hustle bustle life in you metro with our scenic green environment..

SAN JUAN!

Oops, that's in Metro Manila.

oh yes iv been in cebu too..and your amazing skyline has no rival in vizmin area.

I like Davao. My mom's family is from Mindanao, so I've been around Davao shopping, swimming, and stuff. It's a cool place to live, if you drive your own car because the city is big and the best places are some distance apart. For the College experience, I'd go for Cebu. There are beautiful malls, excellent schools, nice people, historically rich, clean streets(to an extent), affordable things, livable, scenic(mountains and scuba diving), and plenty of fun(beach and bars).

^^^balik ka dito ha..

i'd say cebu and davao....although im not from there....

No offense, but when did Laguna became a city?


The most vibrant cities outside the Philippine Capital District (Metro Manila)

For Big Cities: Davao, Zamboanga, Cebu

For Medium Cities: Bacolod, Baguio, General Santos, Cotabalo, Puerto Princesa

For Small Cities: San Fernando (La Union), Tagbilaran (Bohol), Laoag.

Anyways, I want to visit Davao, Puerto Princesa, Tagbilaran and Cebu when I go to Pinas next year.

but zamboanga,though big is not yet included officially in big cities category..

How does the Philippines define Big, Small and Medium cities? Population, Land Area, Economic growth.

Educate me, please

Davao, Puerto Princesa , Cebu

actually im no expert yet bout categorizing the cities...but based on my readings from other forums,we have 3 metros,metromanila,cebu and davao..their sizes,annual earnings and their independability to their adapting provinces,being chartered cities,contributed to their metrohood..

just to warn you guys... bawal pusher dito sa davao.... lol....

sa akong yutang natawhan, DAVAO CITY

pero gusto ko rin ng quezon city

mabuhay ang davao!!!!!

kala ko ako lang dabawenyo diri..hehehe..sure,bantay lang mga pusher na yan kay digong..

san ang ILOILO!!!

iloilo belongs to mid sized city category..

I believe there is four metropolitan area in the Philippines. Other than Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro
Davao, there's also Metro Naga, which is made of Naga City and 14 other towns. Also, here in the states, they're adverstising Metro Santa Rosa as a newly created metropolitan area, but in my opinion, this so called Metro Santa Rosa is just a suburb of Metro Manila.

Santa Rosa is now one of the fastest growing cities in Laguna. You can see Coke Plants, Enchanted Kingdom

Yeah! Angeles City!!!

Xiempre sa GENSAN

maybe..pero i never heard yet na naga city is among the official metros in R.P..I based it in ASIAWEEK,a survey-giving body in asia's best metros..and naga is not included yet..

Cebu

nice cebu pano shots torete...keep it coming..

Manila is the center of commerce in Luzon while Cebu City in the Visayas area and Davao City in the mindanao area.

I've been to Davao too.



These aren't my personal photos okay

Very nice pics of Cebu and Davao.

I wish I could visit those cities someday.

more cebu,davao and your region's proud cities' pics...www.skyscrapercity.com

wow Davao!!! Durian capital of the Philippines...

Iloilo

edit

Dapitan and Dipolog city.

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY!!!!!

cagayan is a great place to live..

Central Visayas RP’s top tourist destination -- DoT


By Jolene Bulambot
Visayas Bureau
Last updated 04:00am (Mla time) 12/30/2006


CEBU CITY -- Foreign and domestic tourist arrivals in Central Visayas increased by 19 percent to 1.3 million visitors during the first 10 months of the year, according to a Department of Tourism (DoT) official.

DoT Central Visayas Director Patria Aurora Roa said the number showed that Central Visayas has remained the top tourist destination in the country, validating an earlier statement by Tourism Secretary Ace Durano.

"Region 7 is still the top destination of tourists. In Cebu, we get the biggest share of the tourism arrivals both domestic and foreign. Take note, we already have increased by 18.74 percent for the last 10 months and we still have to collate the data for November and December, a peak season for tourists," she said.

Cebu, with over one million foreign and domestic visitors, got the bulk of the arrivals, Roa pointed out.

Bohol province came in second with over 182,000 tourists, followed by the provinces of Negros Oriental (over 129,000 tourists) and Siquijor (over 9,000 tourists), she added.

DoT data showed that Cebu was the region's favored destination, getting about two-thirds of domestic visitors and over 80 percent of foreign tourists. Roa attributed this to Cebu’s white sand beaches and dive spots, and the world-class amenities, including an international airport.

"Tourists love to come here because we almost have everything. When they go to other countries like Japan, Korea or other parts on the United States or Europe, they have to travel very far before they could enjoy their visits. Like in Japan for instance, they have to spare a day to travel to the airport but here they can do a lot of things like eating, swimming and, in just 15 to 30 minutes, hop to our airport," she said.

South Koreans comprised the biggest number of foreign tourists during the period, accounting for 141,693 arrivals. The Japanese were next with 106,680 arrivals, Roa said. The other nationalities among the top five were Americans, Taiwanese, and Germans.

Roa was optimistic that the tourism industry in Central Visayas would grow further next year but was concerned that a shortage of airlines seats and hotel rooms could restrict this growth.

Roa said the airlines have promised to add international flights in 2007.

There are only about 12,000 rooms in Central Visayas, 9,000 of which are in Cebu, Roa added.

"In Mactan Island alone, we only have 2,000 rooms. All in all in Cebu, there are only 9,000 rooms. Imagine the bulk of the tourists that come here every year and with only these rooms available? (It's) good that there are more hotels and resorts opening this year and we hope to have more next year," she said.

Roa also said that heightened political noise in the country, especially since 2007 is an election year, might also affect tourist arrivals.

"Every time there is a demonstration, foreigners not knowing what is going on, would be very apprehensive. We Filipinos really don't mind. We are just politically noisy, but perception is a fact of life. Perception is larger than reality that when there is political noise, foreigners worry. Like the Japanese, they easily issue travel advisories," she said.



Copyright 2006 Visayas Bureau. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

the most kickass cities in 'pinas are puerto princessa, palawan. cebu city. and bacolod city. pp is incredibly clean & serene. its gonna be SEA newest luxury playground. if we rid the terrorist element & the random kidnappings, we got us a goldmine in this huge island. much bigger than bali & culturally diverse. animists, catholics, and muslims live peacefully side by side.



2nd choice is cebu city. better, cleaner, and more panoramic than manila, cebu city is understandbly the capital of the south.



3rd is bacolod city coz hey... i gotta represent.

Pampanga had the most number of historical houses and buildings in the country...

see the link of heritage conservation society:

http://heritageconservation.wordpress.com/

nature is what davao can offer..you dont have to pay bigger in hotels just to unwind..you dont have to go in boracay just to enjoy the white sand beaches,coz PEARL FARM is just A STICK OF MARLBORO AWAY..you dont have to go in manila and cebu malls just to experience the metro feel-like atmosphere coz we have 9 local malls to guarantee the satisfaction of your craves..

^promote na promote ah. hehehe

anyway, I find Tagbilaran romantic. Dumaguete is a bit boring. hehehe

hi kristleh taga dumaguete ka ba?

halo! nope taga-Manila ako. pero taga-Negros oriental yung Mama ko kaya parati kaming pumupunta doon tsaka kaya nakakaintindi ako ng konti hehehe.

daan ka na man minsan dito..promise,on leave terrorists ngaun dito..hehe

Aye aye, ma'am! Tama ka talaga!


How d'ya know?

maganda nga daw ang Davao sabi ng kaibigan ko. dibale, di ako papayag na hindi ko malibot ang buong Pilipinas. hehehe uunti untiin ko kaya tinitipid ko yung allowance ko hahaha para panibagong adventure na naman.

cebu city no doubt. Im currently studying there and There are lots of shopping centers hheheheh.....

lots of universities... USJR!!! usc...uc...etc.....

Tondo.


Vibrant is an understatement!