Last month I went here together with my bf to celebrate our 6th year anniversary. We found this place through online research and the photos of the pool, the room and free trip to vanishing island were the reasons we chose this place. Locating this resort was not a problem at all because it was just 10-15 minutes away from Sasa Barge.

Upon arriving at the resort, we were looking for a parking lot inside their resort but they don't have one. Their parking lot was just outside the gate but they assured us that they have security guard that will be guarding the parking area at night.

They led us to our room, on the first look from the outside the room looked so small but after we entered it was actually spacious and comfy. I loved the interior design and its simplicity.

Unfortunately, 30 minutes after we arrived there was a black out for about 1-2 hours and they don't have generator, good thing the room was not so hot even without AC. When it was almost 6 pm we went to their restaurant to order food. There were only limited choices on their menu so we just chose Lechon Kawali for our dinner. They delivered the food in our room and to my surprise it really taste good. After dinner we had our night swimming in the pool. The pool looked great at night because of the neon lights.

The next day we had our free breakfast at the beach area. First they served us coffee and loaf bread with orange jam and I said to myself, "What? Is this all? This is not enough for a breakfast. I need rice! T.T" thank goodness after we consumed the bread they gave us our real breakfast. 

After we  ate our breakfast we told the staff that we want to go to Vanishing Island.They prepared the boat that will take us to vanishing Island. It was our second time going to Vanishing Island, the first one was when we were in Precious Garden Resort. 

Vanishing Island is small strip of white sand island. The island is visible during low tide and disappear during high tide. When we went there it was high tide but we can still walk on the island with the water reaching only from ankles to waistline. The boat driver told us we can go to the mangroves trees and went there to explore the area. It was really nice to have these trees planted here. The mangroves trees were planted within the island to further support marine life.

Going to vanishing island during high tide was not really bad at all since I enjoyed swimming there. When we were back at the resort we went straight to the pool for an another swim. I loved the style of their pool it was as good as what I saw in the photos online.

Island French Resort is a small resort which is ideal for couple like us or small families to have a private place to spend time together and enjoy.

Island French Resort Location: Baybay Tambo in Babak District. From ferry boat terminal (sasa barge) turn left and straight all the way for 10-15 minutes. 

Island French Resort Rates as of 2015: 

1 Familia Room is Php 4750 with complimentary breakfast and trip to vanishing island.

Couple Room is Php 2900 with complimentary breakfast and trip to vanishing island.

Island French Resort Contacts:

Email: soniaberdos@yahoo.com

Website: http://www.islandfrenchresort.com/

By: Doris Jamoner

It was Saturday when we had our ride going to Mati together with our other friends who have their own motorcycle and since I don't have one and I don't know how to drive I just sat at the back of my bf's motorcycle.

Going to Mati from Davao City will take you about 3 or more hours. We started heading out to Mati at 5:00 am so that we will reach there early since we will not be staying there overnight. 

It was a long ride but it was all worth it and I was not bored on the way to Mati because there were many great views to enjoy and stop for a moment to take a photo. Below were the photos I took while we were on our way to Dahican Beach.

The famous stop over The Sleeping Dinosaur! I am not really sure why it is called like that, for me it looks like a turtle hehe

When we finally reached Dahican Beach I was mesmerized by the beauty of the sea. It was like a piece of paradise which can make my tired body filled with energy and excitement!

The beach is purely fine sand and clean. It feels great walking on the seashore. The waves are kinda big and it is good for skim boarding. You can actually rent for a skim board and don't worry if you don't know how to use it because there will be a trainer who will be guiding you.

Though we only spent in Dahican for about 5 hours it was an amazing experience that I will treasure forever. Dahican beach is really a wonderful place!

By: Doris Jamoner

Last Nov 8, 2015, we had our team building at Banana Beach Resort which is located in Madaum, Tagum City Davao Del Norte. Banana Beach Resort has lots to offer and they have different kind of packages that might suit your need. We took the Team Building Day Tour Package since we went there for our team building. 

The said package includes:

Resort Day Pass                                             2 Bottles of Water Per Guest

Buffet Lunch w/ 1 round of ice tea                Team Building Facilitator

Morning and Afternoon Snacks                      Use of Resort Facilities

Choice of 5 Games

Few minutes after we arrived the facilitator divide us into 2 groups for our games. We really had fun with our games.

Unfortunately my team didn't win but it's okay I enjoyed the activity. After the game they served us our morning snack.

Pork Pan De Sal w/ Ice Tea

We were so excited to  swim in the pool because the pool looks so amazing and clean. See for yourself.

When it was time for lunch we went to their restaurant. We were looking forward to it because it's buffet but to our dismay it was not what we were thinking of. The quantity of the food was I think good for less than 10 people and we were more than 15. The worst was we can only have 1 cup of rice per person. I can't call it buffet! The food taste good though.

After lunch the facilitator told us that we will be having our Forest Tour. I thought it would be boring and we should just spend our time swimming in the pool instead but to my surprise the Forest Tour was a great experience.

Getting ready for the Forest Tour

Part of their forest tour was the canopy walk. On our way to the canopy walk we saw lots of monkeys and wild pigs. The facilitator said they been in the forest for many years now. They are free and they don't feed those animals. They are self reliant.

Finally we arrived at the starting point for the canopy walk. The canopy was long and while walking to it you can enjoy watching different kinds of plants and trees.

We were able to walk on the ground after our canopy walk to see the plants and trees close up.

We had our knife throwing as well so sad I wasn't able to do it right even once.

She is the best on this thing

We rode again in the vehicle and they continued to tour us around. Below were the photos taken on our second part tour.

Fish Pond

Fish Pond

River

Horses

After our forest tour we spent our remaining time enjoying the beach and the pool.

Afternoon Snacks Suman and Mango

We had so much fun and this was our best team building so far. Banana Beach Resort can offer many activities for you to enjoy especially when you are with your friends, family and co-worker.

More photos:

Banana Beach Resort Location:

Hijo Plantation Brgy Madaum, Tagum City, Davao del Norte

Phone:

+63 917 633 7019

Email:

bananabeachdavao@hijoresources.net

Website:

http://bananabeachdavao.com/

Packages:

http://bananabeachdavao.com/packages

By: Doris Jamoner