A Day in Paradise Island Park & Beach Resort

Last March 21, 2014, We had a day tour in Paradise Island Park & Beach Resort. We woke up early and had breakfast at Camp Holiday's Restaurant. We bought a loaf of Banana bread that costs P60 from a nearby bakery then, the kids ordered Corned Beef at P67/serving which is good for 2. Rice costs P20. After eating, we went off to the habal habal terminal just outside the hotel and hired two habal habals to take us to Paradise Island. One way fare is P25/person and one motorbike can ride 2 passengers so we paid P100 for two motorbikes. They also gave us their number so they could fetch us once we decided to go back to our hotel. While on  our way to Paradise, Kuya Roger, our habal habal driver, asked if we want to go around Samal. He said he can take us to Monfort Batcave for P100/motorbike one-way or we could hire the motorbike for a whole day tour around the island for just P700. I think it's a fair deal but unfortunately, we don't have time to go around Samal anymore.

Road to Paradise Island

By 7:30AM, We're already in front of the gates of Paradise Island. A guard escorted us to the cashier where we paid an entrance fee of P200/head that includes P50 consumable for food and water sports. On our way to the cashier, we passed by their mini zoo, their different cottages, and their playground.

Mini Zoo

I was so suprised to see how organized and well-maintained the beach is. I was expecting to see a chaotic beach resort based from the reviews I read online. You can get a decent shower without the eww feeling you get when you use a public shower room. They have a souvenir shop where you can buy keychains and other pasalubongs. No need to worry if you forgot to bring some of your stuffs because they also sell board shorts, swimsuits, beach dresses, goggles, beach inflatables, sunscreen lotions, and everything you need before heading off the beach. The souvenir shop also offers whole day locker rental for day tourists for P100 (plus P200 refundable deposit which is forfeited if you lost the key).

The Restaurant

We were supposed to get a locker for our valuables but since we didn't bring any food, the attendant advised us to just get a table in the restaurant and leave our stuffs there so that the waiters can look after them. And so, that's what we did. We ordered and asked for our food to be served by 9:30AM. Then we went back to the souvenir shop where we rented a kayak for 30 minutes for only P120. 

At exactly 9:30AM we're back to our table and the food was served immediately. The food was still hot and freshly prepared. I tried their Durian shake at P90 and it became my instant favorite. After our breakfast (yes, we had breakfast again.. LOL), we ordered food for lunch and requested to be served by 1PM.

Just before lunch, the kids noticed that fishes are swimming near the shoreline so we bought googles from the souvenir shop and swam underwater to take a closer look at them. Afterlunch, the water became shallow and the kids are able to swim farther. They saw some blue fishes and shrimps swimming.  But one thing noticeable are the big rocks in the deeper part of the beach.

There are so many things to do in Paradise Island. They are renting jetskis at P2500/30 minutes, banana boats at P1500/15 minutes for 5 persons, segways at P1200/hour, snorkeling gears at P250 from 8AM-4PM. Apart from watersports, they also offer billiards rental and they even have spas and massage area.

At 3PM, we're all tired of swimming and playing on the sand so we took a shower and rested for a bit while listening to their live acoustic bands playing. Then we all decided to go back to Camp Holiday and just continue swimming in their infinity pool. We texted Kuya Roger to fetch us.

In our hotel room, I noticed some bumps all over my body and unfortunately, I don't have any antihistamine with me. The convenience store outside the hotel don't sell meds but we're told that the island has a drugstore in Caliclic so we asked the habal habal driver to take us to nearest drugstore. The roundtrip fare only costed us P60. We saw Sunset Beach Park along the way but we weren't able to visit it since we don't have time anymore. Carinderias and takeout counters selling Roasted Chicken are also everywhere.

The whole day was very tiring but fun. We even forgot to have dinner and just rested early.


How to Get to Paradise Island:

Ride the ferry boat that goes directly to the resort. Fare is P15/person one way

-or-

Ride the Barge going to Babak Wharf for P10/person one way then hire a habal habal to take you to the resort at P25/person one way

Camp Holiday

It's my family's first time in Davao so I have to make sure that everyone would enjoy the place. I checked Agoda for a hotel we can stay that would suit our budget but won't compromise cleanliness and convenience and I ended up booking in Camp Holiday.

The hotel is well-maintained and the staffs are friendly. It is also conveniently located beside the port. Right outside the hotel is a 24/7 convenience store that has everything you need, toiletries, snacks, liquors, even paper plates and styrocups. There are also sari sari stores, fruit stands and some carinderias outside the hotel.

Camp Holiday - view from the outside

24/7 convenience store right outside Camp Holiday

The room has a homey feeling and my daughters said they were able to get a good sleep. The comfort room is well kept and I was happy that what I saw on the pictures are the same as what's on the actual room.

They have two pools, a kiddie pool and an infinity pool, which are exclusive for hotel guests. Both pools are well-maintained and since we arrived on Thursday, we're able to have the infinity pool to ourselves.

Camp Holiday's Infinity Pool exclusive for checked-in guests

In the evening, we ordered our Dinner from their restobar. They have a limited set of menu and it took 20 minutes before our orders were served and although it's not a big deal for us, I think they can still improve it. 

Restobar at night

View from the deck

The thing I least like about the place is their beach because it's rocky and shallow. The kids just enjoyed playing in the sand but apart from that, you can't really do much.

View of infinity pool and the beach

Overall, we enjoyed our stay in Camp Holiday because of the cleanliness and exclusivity.


Their Day Tour Fee as of March 2014 is P80/Adult and P50/Child and they have an ongoing promo of P2150/overnight stay with breakfast for 2