This is my first holy week that I was out of town and away from family. From the typical Visita Iglesia during holy week, this time around I decided to hid-off to explore some parts of Mindanao that I never been. Destinations: Dapitan city to enjoy the white sand in Dakak Park and Beach Resort,will try the rides of the newly open Gloria Fantasy Land and to gain more knowledge about Rizals exile in Dapitan. And then, we decided to have a side trip to Sincaban, Misamis Occidental where Dolphin Island is located.
Travelling to Dapitan City from Cagayan de Oro City is very tiring. So in order to make our trip more enjoyable, we tried hopping in one bus to another. It was an 8hour travel by land via public transportation.
From CDO-ILIGAN
We rode the RTMI(rural) aircon bus from Bulua westbound terminal going to Iligan City at P80/person. Apparently this price is already a discounted rate.
From Iligan-Mukas
We transferred to a non-aircon bus(RTMI) from Iligan City going to Mukas at P60/person. This was the first bus that arrived in Iligan terminal when we are ready to continue our trip that’s why without any doubt we hopped-in.
Upon arrival in Mukas, you are required to go down in the bus then walk to the barge terminal wherein you will pay P25/adult and P20/child, and then you can get in to the barge and find your comfortable place. We chose to stay outside to see the wonderful view of the mountains and the sea.
Upon arrival in Ozamis Port, we rode a motorcycle going to Gaisano at P7 each. Yes, to those people who haven’t been to this place there are few malls in this small city. My friend, got surprised when she saw that Ozamis has also some malls..hehe..
From Ozamis-Dipolog
From Gaisano, we rode a motorcycle again going to Ozamis bus terminal at P10 each. With no other choice,it was already 2’o clock in the afternoon, we rode the RTMI non-aircon bus going to Dipolog City at P155/adult and P150/child.
Since it was our first time, we got lost! Haha..We weren’t informed that Dapitan is the first city before Dipolog. We thought that Dapitan is more distant than Dipolog which actually, you can just drop-off to Pulu, Dapitan City then ride a motorcycle wherever your destination within Dapitan City be. But, not bad enough at least now we knew, so from Dipolog we rode again an Evergreen mini bus going to Dapitan City at P20/adult and P10/child and started looking for a place to stay. Due to unavailability of reservations online to some of the inns and pension houses in this City, that’s why we had a hard time looking for a place to stay in this peak season. We end up renting a newly renovated place in Madzvie Bar & Function Hall at P800/room/day with queen size bed, with aircon, bathroom inside and cable TV, not bad enough huh…
We spent our first day at Dakak Park and Beach Resort, at 6pm we went to Gloria’s Fantasy Land. On our 2nd day, we had a good time augmenting our knowledge about Rizal exile in Dapitan, we went to Rizal Park, Rizal Shrine and St. James Church. Just read more the detailed blog about these places that I also write.
Going back was the same route we took but this time around we stop by in Sinacaban, Misamis Oriental to spend 1 night in Dolphin Island. It was a direct travel by land from Dipolog City to Sinacaban, Misamis Oriental via RTMI at P180 each.
No entrance fee in MOAP (Misamis Oriental Aquamarine Park), we got the dorm type room at P250each, with aircon, cable TV and 2bathroom inside. Thank you to the late arrival of a big group which made us stayed in the superior room instead- with the same price. In the morning, we went to Dolphin Island via speedboat at P250 each. It was our last leg in this holy week trip. I had a wonderful holy week get-away!
Rural Transit Mindanao, Inc., (RTMI)
Agora Bus Terminal Office
Tel. No. (088)856-5642
Main Office
Tel. No. (088)857-3032; 858-5886; (08822)73-5445
Madzvie Bar & Function Hall
Sunset Blvd., Dawo, Dapitan City
VILMA C. TALIB
Cel. No. 09177229023 / 09165442232
Misamis Occidental Aquamarine Park
Libertad Bajo, Sinacaban, Mis. Occ. Phils.,
Tel. No. 0927-262-2756/ 586-02-92
*always keep your things intact. As much as possible put all your things in just 1 bag to avoid in losing them. I got home with 2 shorts and 1 dress left because I lost my bag in a van from Sinacaban to Ozamis, passport in it.for more pictures just click this link : http://glori29.multiply.com/photos/album/12/Cagayan_de_oro_to_Dapitan_City