Dali! Dayon!

I have been to Dumaguete twice because I just love it and I will surely go back there and bring friends with me.
In Dumaguete, I spent 2 days for each visit.

Here’s how I arranged the schedule:

DAY 1

8am: Plane arrives Dumaguete from an hour flight from Manila
8:30am: Check-in at my favorite backpacker’s inn and settle my things here.
9:30am Head to Casaroro Falls (in Valencia town, 30mins from Dumaguete through jeepney). I love this waterfalls. It’s a slim but tall one. Everytime I go here, there’s no one and it is deep in the forest. From Valencia town, you need to take a single motorcycle (they call it locally as habal-habal which will cost 400 pesos round trip since the driver will wait for you since they have no passenger back to town). The motorcyle carries only one passenger and I think it is reasonable because going to Casaroro is really challenging. It’s uphill and some parts are bumpy. It takes 10-15mins to get here. Once here, pay 5 pesos entrance fee if you are a Filipino while foreigners pay 10 pesos I think (I can’t recall exactly how much is for the foreigners but still it’s very cheap). After paying the entrance fee, you need to do some trekking for like 10 15 or 20mins depending how physically fit you are. You need to go down to get to the waterfalls. Don’t worry because the narrow trail (in stairs form) is paved and with adequate handrail to hold on to. Once you get to the waterfalls, it’s breathtaking! You can swim if you want to. Now, leaving the are is very challenging because you need to go up and climb the stairs.

11:30am Take the same motorcyle that is waiting for you and head back to Valencia town. You can have your lunch here if you want. The town center is small and has a cute plaza. Going back to Dumaguete is so easy since jeepneys are waiting near the plaza.

12:30pm Back at the hotel to do quick shower.
1:30pm Take a jeepney and head to San Jose town (next to Sibulan) for TWIN-LAKE adventure. Jeepney from Dumaguete takes 30 to 45 minutes to get to San Jose. Tell the driver to drop you off at the crossing/intersection that goes to Twin Lake. Once in the intersection, motorcycles (or habal-habal) is the only method of transportation and again costs 400 for roundtrip. I haggled it for 300 pesos and deal! By the way, you will see the southern tip of Cebu from this intersection/coastal highway. The habal-habal trip takes another 30mins because it is too far from the intersection. While on the way, you will see wonderful landscapes and mountain views plus hikers that opted to walk rather than taking motorcyles. Again, it is uphill. The lakes are up in the mountain. There are two lakes here (balinsasayao and danao).
In Balinsasayao lake, you can hire a paddle boat with a boatman and enjoy the tranquility and God’s masterpiece. It such a serene and magnificent place and the water is so clean. I wish Laguna lake is as clean as this.

5pm Time to go home and take the same motorcycle that is waiting for you. At the intersection, take bus or jeep going back to Dumaguete.

8pm Dinner and night out. Dumaguete has many affordable food places and very delicious. The city is also full of activities to enjoy the night.

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DAY 2

In the morning, take a jeepney or bus to go Dauin for snorkeling experience. It takes less than 1 hour to get here. You need to pay for 50 pesos entrance fee and another 50 pesos for gear rental. You can bring your own snorkeling gear if you want. The good thing here is that, the corals which is very abundant are in just by the shoreline. You don’t need to hire a boat. It’s right by the beach where you can swim. You will see here different kinds of corals and fishes.

The go back to Dumaguete for lunch.

Then flight back to Manila is around 4pm.

(Note: The prices that I qouted are as of November 2010)

Another thing i appreciate about the people is that they’re real earth stewards as manifested by how they manage their solid waste at their dumpsite…not just plain dumping..From my standpoint, as a city, it’s just alright for them to continue to grow because they have a sustainable development. God will all the more appreciate that.

Thanks for allowing me to comment, want to see more pics of the place. Haven’t been there for long.

Judy