Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) is a group of island in the heart of Davao Gulf. Mostly known as the Samal Island is one of the newest cities in the country, physically unattached to mainland Mindanao.

A great place to those who are seeking solace in an unspoiled but natural ambiance with great adventures and extreme challenges that is close to nature. Blessed with beautiful coastlines having white sand beaches, abundant marine life, magnificent rock formations, and flourishing flora and fauna. It is home to the famous Pearl Farm Beach Resort, which was once literally a pearl farm. The beauty of the island is not just with its white and unspoiled beaches or its diverse natural attractions but to its warm and lovely people as well. All these make this island a potential world-class eco tourism destination in this part of the Philippines.

The name speaks for itself and for what a place is destined to become – an island cluster emerging to become the international center and financial district for the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines – East ASEAN Growth Area) as laid out in the Davao Integrated Development Program (DIDP). It would take around 10-15 minutes to get to Samal with motorboat, ferry boat or an island bus transport from Davao City. A guided tour will let you discover its inland treasures - the majestic rivers, the cool water falls, antique mansions and ancestral houses, or the world renowned cave that hosts the world’s biggest colony of fruit bats. Local and foreign scientists say that the cave (one of the 70 caves in the island) is home to 1.8 million Geoffrey’s Rousette Fruit Bat.

There are lots of beach resorts where you can stay over night. The most popular ones are Pearl Farm Beach Resort, Paradise Island Park and Beach Resort, Kaputian Beach, Talikud Beach, Isla Reta, Blue Waters, Palm Hill, and Costa Marina.

You can never get enough stay in Samal because because of all the things that you can do there such as swimming, beach and island hopping, camping, hiking, exploring caves and falls, snorkeling, scuba diving, and relax as you observe it’s natural beauty. Festivals in the island are as colorful as always like the Pangapog Festival, IGACOS Festival, Hugyaw Samal, Kabasan Festival and the Bat Festival in Babak District.

This article is an entry at the Paraiso Philippines Forum by member Jona_JZ and edited by our team of editors. Also please view the official website of the Island Garden City of Samal for more information.

Welcome To the Island Garden City of Samal.