Samal Island: Best Vacation Island

Samal Island: the best vacation island paradise in the South; less than one hour from Davao International Airport. Samal Island is half the area of Singapore Island (but with only a fraction of the population of Singapore); located at the heart of Davao Gulf, with 118 kilometers of island tropical coastline. The Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) comprises nine islands and islets, each one offering holiday island packages to local and international holiday makers.

Samal Island is famous for holiday island packages that include: scuba diving, snorkeling, wakeboarding, windsurfing, kiteboarding, hiking, bird watching plus fresh seafood and exquisite spa environments at scores of luxury beach resort destinations - the exclusive Pearl Farm Beach Resort on Samal Island is just a few minutes across the bay from the Punta Del Sol Beach Resort.

Samal Island has resident and semi-resident groups of whale sharks and dugong, plus sea turtles and sea turtles' sanctuaries. Snorkeling with whale sharks, dugong and sea turtles are some of the vacation island experiences that have made Samal Island internationally famous.

Samal Island is home to the largest colony of fruit bats in the World. An estimated 1.8 million Geoffrey's Rousette fruit bats (Rousettus Amplexicaudatus) can be found at the bat caves within the Monfort Bat Sanctuary on Samal Island. Some say the fruit bats are directly responsible for the high density of durian fruit trees that proliferate in the surrounding rain forested mountains.

The Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) is a component city of Davao del Norte created by virtue of R.A 8471. Considered the first amalgamatio in the Philippines, the City's creation was ratified by its residents on March 7, 1998.

Samal Island Fast Facts