Travelling in Davao Occidental: Santa Maria, Malita, Don Marcelino, Lamidan

Davao Occidental  
 This is the newest Province in the Philippines, created in October 2013. It used to belong to Davao del sur, but became a separate province to enhance development in the region.
Its capital is the municipality of Malita. To the east lies the Davao Gulf. It also shares a water border with the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi to the south.
 

TOURISM 

There are very few international tourists in this province. The infrastructure is partially very bad in some places. However there are some resorts, especially close to Santa Maria, not far from Digos city.
Also, there are some simple resorts North of Malita, and one simple resort - Captain's Lake - in Don Marcelino.

Rooms

There are a couple of places that offer a certain quality of roof over the head in Malita town as well as in the resorts.

In Don Marcelino there is a new place, a so called Hometel in the very center. This place have around 6 rooms, with nice interior and aircondition.

GETTING THERE

This province can be reached by taxi, bus or van from Davao City or General Santos.

-Vans

These are minibuses going often to destinations far away, and are in direct competition with the typical larger buses. The advantage is that they arrive faster than the ordinary bus, IF they arrive that is. Driving like the devil may take u and others to hell.
Inquire where the vans go from. I have taken van from behind SM Ecoland. The vans will go via Digos, and then if you have the right van, it can take you all the way to Malita.
I know there are even some vans that go all the way down to Jose Abad Santos town, but I have never gone there. The road is to terrible that it is really an adventure to get to that place, called JAS. It involved crossing some river, driving on the beach etc.

-Buses

Get to Ecoland Bus Terminal. There are the standard Super Deluxe  buses with no aircon, loose seats, crazy driver who can take you all the way from Davao city to Don Marcelino. But my recommendation is to get on a nice modern aircon bus to Digos, and from there you can change either to an ordinary bus (there are the bad ones and the better ones) down to Malita

Aircon Bus, good quality

Super Deluxe Bus, shitty quality, carrying even live chicken inside amongst the passengers.

The vans and most buses will have their final destination in Malita. There are a few buses that also go all the way to Don Marcelino, but not so many during a day. You may consider to take a tricycle or motorbike from Malita.

-Tricycles

This is my own tricycle, made in Malita

 That is basically a small size motorcycle (100cc-175cc) with mounted side car and some kind of roof - like a large umbrella. In Malita the typical tricycle has a solution as on the picture
.It is very hard for a big person to ride those tricycles, but often they are the only transport available there and then. They may carry more than 10 persons at one time in rush hours.

-Motorbike

Most of the motorbikes are for personal use, but in the rural areas they work as a useful taxi, called habal-habal, bringing people almost anywhere they need to go, often in areas with very bad road standard.

Motorbike rental is almost non-existing here. I found a company in Cebu city, but they demanded a deposit that is larger than the value of the bike, so, if you are not too loaded with money, that is not an option.

Probably, the situation has improved in typical Tourist hot spots, but I do not know where to find them.

However, in the provinces you can probably negociate with one of the habal-habal drivers to rent the bike for some hours, but it will not be very cheap.

That might be the best solution, but beware of bad roads, a lot of gravel and mud, and goats, dogs etc. running out in front of you. Accidents are very common, and so many people have large scars on their body due to being passengers on motorbikes, or drivers, and having basically  no protective gear.

BUY your own motorcycle is what might be the best solution to get around, if you plan on staying for a longer period in the Philippines.

I have bought 3 brand new motorcycles during my stays here in the Phils:

September 2008: a Honda TMX 155, price 72 000 pesos cash price.

This is my TMX, I modified it with some CB parts

September 2017: a Yamaha YTX125, cash price 47 000 pesos. 

A great motorcycle with long seat, and a nice luggage rack.

January 2020: a Honda XR150, cash price 86 000 pesos.

A solid on/off road motorcycle for tall people. 13 horsepowers, great torque, 5 speed gearbox.

I bought these bikes on credit, so the price will of course be much higher this way, but I consider it like rent to own. 

Of course, you could buy a used motorbike for around 25 000 - 30 000 pesos, but if you are a foreigner, they might inflate the price considerably. If you buy second hand, you should go for a Honda, as the spare parts are readily available, especially the TMX versions. There is a lot of China copies of those Hondas, but I can not recommend them as there is usually not so big difference in pricing, neither new nor in the second hand market.

Be aware that you will only be able to get a basic insurance, a third part liability or whatever it is called. It is basically useless, so drive carefully! Remember that your international Driver's Licence is only valid for 3 months. I have a Filipino Licence since 2008, renewed of course. But if I did not have it already, the guys here in Digos would not let me have one, unless I have a valid visa for more than one year on the day of application. They showed me the Law. However, I know that the practice varies from location to location.

Wanna go GREEN? Welcome to the Philippines!

Riding the bus from Davao to Malita, before we were injured by the steam from the radiator..

The road between Digos and Malita offers some very nice sceneries with several mountain crossings. MALITA town

This is the provincial capital of Davao Occidental. A small coastal town with around 15000 inhabitants within the town. There is one shopping center, called the Central Ware House. There are also 2 or 3 nonstop open convenience stores. There are some half decent beaches in the area, nothing to write home about, but still good for bathing. There are some resorts and rooms for rent in the area, but most of the place is typical provincial and quite basic style. FLIPPER Guest House: This guest house is situated in the town center, just by the beach road. The rooms are quite simple and old, with simple matresses. They do have an old aircon, so you may survive. The position is ideal for tourists of course, as it is located both in the town and just along the beach area

Boy Blue's Hillside resort is situated to the East for Malita town, up the hillsides:

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DON MARCELINO Driving south 35 km from Malita along a beautiful coastal road, you get to Don Marcelino.

Here I am at the Bus Terminal/Market in Lawa, Don Marcelino.

Lawa, Don Marcelino. The end of the good road, so the buses and vans stop here. Captain's Lake Resort in Don Marcelino  Captain's Lake is found just outside the township of Lawa. They have some huts there, and if you bring food you can cook. It is also possible to rent a hut for the night. The place is situated just by the beach, so if you want to take a dip in the waves, you can do that as well. Beyond Don Mar  From Lawa/Don Marcelino, the road continues a very long distance, even beyond Jose Abad Santos. However, I have only driven until what they call the Winston hill, which is seen in the following 3 photos:  UPDATE: We drove down to Lamidan back in 2019 during the summer time. WINSTON AREA: Lamidan

                                                Calian Beach:

Calian White sand beach, not far from Lapuan. Lapuan village and beach

Lapuan village: the barrangay Hall (town hall) 10 kms from Lawa, there is Lapuan Beach. It is not easy to access this beach due to private property issues, but it can be done with some polite behavior and walking.

Spring near Lapuan beach

      Lapuan Beach