Despite what you read in newspapers and see in your television sets, Compostela Valley is a haven. As a tourist destination, it blessed with nature’s magnificent work of art. It brims with natural attractions like beaches, waterfalls, forests, mountain ranges, caves, lakes, rivers, hot and cold springs.
If you have never been to any places in this province, then you have been missing something in your life. To be in Compostela Valley is to experience a blend of sight and sound that defines a place and a people pulsing with life yet reserved in spirit. The choices of areas to visit are almost infinite.
This summer, if you are already having too much of the beaches in Davao or nearby Samal, why don’t you pack your swimming outfits and take a journey to Compostela Valley. That was what we – my friend Jose Rey L. Subaldo and his brother, Mark and I – did recently. “The trip was worth it,” commented Mark on our way home to Davao.
But before you take that expedition, let me warn you though. Traveling in this province situated in Southern Mindanao requires patience and tolerance if your definition of gratification is five-star hotels and luxurious resorts.
In fact, coming to the province is almost an adventure. Once you are in, you will understand why its tourism tagline is “Conquering Compostela Valley.” At one time, a travel writer described the province as “rough, rugged, and mostly undeveloped” — but these are qualities that attract the pioneering, adventurous, and bold who travel off the beaten path.
If swimming is your thing, I suggest that you go to the towns of Mabini and Pantukan, which stretch along the Davao Gulf. Both are closer to Tagum City and just about 15 minutes away from each other.
Many resorts dot the coast, making the two towns the beach and resorts centers of the province. In Mabini, our tour guide, Criselda Calampayan billeted us at the Bern Berioso Beach Resort. Situated at Manaklay, Pindasan, the resort provides nature lovers their day to enjoy the sun and bask in its warmth amidst a feast of colors under lush green foliage spread just a few meters from the shoreline.
“We opened this resort in the late 2007,” said Bern Berioso, the owner of the resort. “Although there are other resorts in the area, most people come here because of the fun and activities we offer.”
Aside from the beach area (which is 10 centimeters during low tide and 200 centimeters during high tide), it also has a swimming pool where children can swim to their heart’s content.
For the adventurers, they can do the zip line that goes through the bottom of the sea. For children, they can have fun doing the water basketball. There are public videoke machines in which you can sing and shout.
The resort is ideal for seminars, meetings, and conventions. It has a function hall that looks like a ship. Even the air-conditioned cottages at the sea, you will feel you are inside a ship once you get in.
But one good thing about Bern Berioso Beach Resort is that it provides tour to the famous Kopiat Island, which is about 300 meters away from the resort. Kopiat Island appears like a precious gem of exquisite beauty. It boasts of clear and calm waters ideal for a range of water sports activities. It has wide sections of shorelines blanketed with fine white sand. It has unspoiled reef areas with rare beds that serve as a sanctuary for exotic tropical fish and other aquatic resources.
If you like a quiet and spacious beach, then go to Welborn’s Beach Resort, located in Baybay, Magnaga in Pantukan. “Because not too many people who are not from here know the place,” explained Marina Welborn, the owner who manages the resort. The secluded resort is about 250 meters away from the highway.
The beach resort is clean and has big colorful huts that could accommodate lots of guests. It has a spacious parking area not mentioning the wide stretch of land for strolling, playing, and running, among others. In addition, there is a wide stretch of sand in the beach for kids and adults to walk and play. The sea bed is flat and there are no stones or coral that makes bare walking dangerous.
In an interview, Marina said that her husband Rosendo and her didn’t think of managing a resort. During weekends, the family used to visit Rosendo’s mother. Since they lived in Davao (they still are), Marina thought of building a small cottage in the Welborn lot located near the beach.
From one cottage in 2004, it has now 50 cottages, 11 air-conditioned and 3 non-aircon rooms. Price of various cottages range from P200 (good for 12 people) to P1,700 (which can accommodate about 50 people). Air-conditioned rooms (good for 8-10 people) are from P1,500 to P2,000. Non-aircon rooms have lower rate: P1,000 per room.
“People come and go here,” said Marina, who is also a member of a town cooperative that promotes the many uses of coconut, including virgin coconut oil.
Visitors who have come to the beach resort always come back. As one manager of a well-known company in Mindanao puts it: “I always choose Welborn’s Beach Resort for my meetings, seminars, and even family gatherings, reunions, and birthdays, among others because the place is beautiful, very affordable, clean, and safe.”
Another contented customer wrote: “I have been to a lot of beaches in Mindanao. And based on my beach adventures on all beaches around Pantukan, Welborn’s Beach Resort has the best sunset, best panoramic/scenic view, and most child-friendly resort in the province.”
For further inquiry or reservation, you can call the proprietor at these numbers: 0926-9814197, 0917-7247169, and 0908-1080646. For Bern Berioso Beach Resort reservation, you can contact: 0927-441-4988 and 0909-3976825.
If you have never been to any places in this province, then you have been missing something in your life. To be in Compostela Valley is to experience a blend of sight and sound that defines a place and a people pulsing with life yet reserved in spirit. The choices of areas to visit are almost infinite.
This summer, if you are already having too much of the beaches in Davao or nearby Samal, why don’t you pack your swimming outfits and take a journey to Compostela Valley. That was what we – my friend Jose Rey L. Subaldo and his brother, Mark and I – did recently. “The trip was worth it,” commented Mark on our way home to Davao.
But before you take that expedition, let me warn you though. Traveling in this province situated in Southern Mindanao requires patience and tolerance if your definition of gratification is five-star hotels and luxurious resorts.
In fact, coming to the province is almost an adventure. Once you are in, you will understand why its tourism tagline is “Conquering Compostela Valley.” At one time, a travel writer described the province as “rough, rugged, and mostly undeveloped” — but these are qualities that attract the pioneering, adventurous, and bold who travel off the beaten path.
If swimming is your thing, I suggest that you go to the towns of Mabini and Pantukan, which stretch along the Davao Gulf. Both are closer to Tagum City and just about 15 minutes away from each other.
Many resorts dot the coast, making the two towns the beach and resorts centers of the province. In Mabini, our tour guide, Criselda Calampayan billeted us at the Bern Berioso Beach Resort. Situated at Manaklay, Pindasan, the resort provides nature lovers their day to enjoy the sun and bask in its warmth amidst a feast of colors under lush green foliage spread just a few meters from the shoreline.
“We opened this resort in the late 2007,” said Bern Berioso, the owner of the resort. “Although there are other resorts in the area, most people come here because of the fun and activities we offer.”
Aside from the beach area (which is 10 centimeters during low tide and 200 centimeters during high tide), it also has a swimming pool where children can swim to their heart’s content.
For the adventurers, they can do the zip line that goes through the bottom of the sea. For children, they can have fun doing the water basketball. There are public videoke machines in which you can sing and shout.
The resort is ideal for seminars, meetings, and conventions. It has a function hall that looks like a ship. Even the air-conditioned cottages at the sea, you will feel you are inside a ship once you get in.
But one good thing about Bern Berioso Beach Resort is that it provides tour to the famous Kopiat Island, which is about 300 meters away from the resort. Kopiat Island appears like a precious gem of exquisite beauty. It boasts of clear and calm waters ideal for a range of water sports activities. It has wide sections of shorelines blanketed with fine white sand. It has unspoiled reef areas with rare beds that serve as a sanctuary for exotic tropical fish and other aquatic resources.
If you like a quiet and spacious beach, then go to Welborn’s Beach Resort, located in Baybay, Magnaga in Pantukan. “Because not too many people who are not from here know the place,” explained Marina Welborn, the owner who manages the resort. The secluded resort is about 250 meters away from the highway.
The beach resort is clean and has big colorful huts that could accommodate lots of guests. It has a spacious parking area not mentioning the wide stretch of land for strolling, playing, and running, among others. In addition, there is a wide stretch of sand in the beach for kids and adults to walk and play. The sea bed is flat and there are no stones or coral that makes bare walking dangerous.
In an interview, Marina said that her husband Rosendo and her didn’t think of managing a resort. During weekends, the family used to visit Rosendo’s mother. Since they lived in Davao (they still are), Marina thought of building a small cottage in the Welborn lot located near the beach.
From one cottage in 2004, it has now 50 cottages, 11 air-conditioned and 3 non-aircon rooms. Price of various cottages range from P200 (good for 12 people) to P1,700 (which can accommodate about 50 people). Air-conditioned rooms (good for 8-10 people) are from P1,500 to P2,000. Non-aircon rooms have lower rate: P1,000 per room.
“People come and go here,” said Marina, who is also a member of a town cooperative that promotes the many uses of coconut, including virgin coconut oil.
Visitors who have come to the beach resort always come back. As one manager of a well-known company in Mindanao puts it: “I always choose Welborn’s Beach Resort for my meetings, seminars, and even family gatherings, reunions, and birthdays, among others because the place is beautiful, very affordable, clean, and safe.”
Another contented customer wrote: “I have been to a lot of beaches in Mindanao. And based on my beach adventures on all beaches around Pantukan, Welborn’s Beach Resort has the best sunset, best panoramic/scenic view, and most child-friendly resort in the province.”
For further inquiry or reservation, you can call the proprietor at these numbers: 0926-9814197, 0917-7247169, and 0908-1080646. For Bern Berioso Beach Resort reservation, you can contact: 0927-441-4988 and 0909-3976825.
