Davao Things to Do

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shop till you drop since davao city is the Premier City of Mindanao Island and has lots of shopping areas for every type of budget and also whether shopping for local finds and souvenirs or imported items. You can go to a local market and you will find beautiful traditional handicrafts like in the Aldevinco Center (see my shopping tips) or buy assorted local fruits like in the Magsaysay Fruit Stalls or some souvenirs . Afterwards, you can visit a local mall and you will find branded imported items, electronics and clothes. The malls offer huge selections of various products and among the Malls are Gaisano Mall, NCCC Supermarket, City Triangle, Victoria Plaza, SM City Davao, Chinatown, DAMOSA Market Basket and other areas which I failed to mention.

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they also have white water rafting equipments for rent here at the Riverfront Complex and I had to take pictures of the various equipments needed for the wild river or the white water rafting adventure at the Davao River and the Crocodile Park is part of the Group that owns the White Water or Wild River Rafting (as they say).

Rates & Itinerary

pHp 2,000 per person
Minimum of 5 persons per rafting trip

Inclusive of:

•Transportation (From Crocodile Park to Rafting Area and back)
•Packed Lunch & Bottled Water
•Use of Gears & Equipment
•Raft guide
•Souvenir Shirt
•Documentation (2 Disc per group of 6)
•Ticket to ZIP CITY
ITINERARY
•800 am Assembly at Crocodile Park
•930 am Departure
•1030 am Arrival at Put In area, Tamugan
•1100 am Start of Rafting
•1200 nn Lunch
•300 pm Arrival at Take Out area, Purok 8, Lacson
•330 pm Departure for Crocodile Park
•430 pm Arrival at Crocodile Park

Whitewater Rafting Checklist
•Rash guard or light weight longsleeves shirt (wear the most comfortable for you)
•Sun block
•Sunglasses or prescription glasses with string or strap (optional)
•Old Sneakers, neoprene booties, or river shoes(or any footwear that is not easy to come off)
•Waterproof Camera (optional)
•Energy Bar for the river
•Water or Energy drink
•Towel or towels
•Plastic Bag(s) (for wet things such as sneakers)
•Change of Clothes
•Snack and drink

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there are a variety of local animals endemic to the area here at the mini park of the davao crocodile farm in the Riverfront Complex besides the Crocodiles and there are Philippine Deer, a Cloud Rat, a Bear Cat, some philippine pythons, some philippine snakes, the famed civet cats that produce the world's expensive coffee beans, philippine monkeys, the local philippine monitor lizards and more so for a price of 150 pesos for the entrance fee per person, this would be very cheap to enjoy a mini zoo located in the heart of the City.

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the davao crocodile farm houses local crocodiles and is also a mini-zoo with other animals. It is the star attraction in the 5 hectare Tourism Area of the Riverfront Comeplex. The Crocodile park not only houses crocodiles endemic to the philippines but also other endemic animals found in the philippines (see my separate tips for it) and the entrance fee is 150 pesos per person (adult) and 75 pesos per child and the park opens from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and inside you will see lots of young and old philippine crocodiles and an Incubation room which is totally restricted to the public. There’s a Nursery Room too, filled with lizard-like creatures. When they get big enough, they are transferred to two yearling pens that must have contained about 50-60 smaller crocodiles between the ages one to three years old. There is an afternoon animal show mostly by the birds near the entrance with no additional cost and you can buy souvenirs at the souvenir shop at the exit (see my shopping tips).

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Like what i've said, the crocodile farm is the Star Attraction of the Riverfront Complex plus the crocodile farm also houses quite a number of bird species endemic to the Davao Area and around the 1 hectare park are various birds like the mynah, a big palawan pea cock, ostrichs, Philippine Hawks, Lov Birds and more. There is also other birds of which I cannot recall the names at the other side of the Crocodile Farm and they do some afternoon shows together with the crocodiles that starts at 3:00 pm so be sure to be there at that time to see the shows.

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the riverfront complex has quite a number of attractions and has a beautiful clubhouse with lots of amenities, The 60 hectare complex is a mixed used area composed of Housing Sudvisions, Business Parks and the Tourism Center. Within the 60-hectare area of Riverfront, major tourist attractions like the Crocodile Park, Davao Butterfly House, and Tribu K' Mindanawan Cultural Village can be found. The area is also home to St. Paul's College--one of Davao’s premiere schools, and Rancho Palos Verdes Sports and Country Club. The Complex is one of the popular Things to do here in Davao City.

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The GAP farm is not far away from the Crocodile park near Davao so you can visit it if you plan to check the Philippine freshwater crocodile conservation area, although I wouldn't recommend such a visit of this so called farm. The GAP farm is About 30 to 40 minutes from the city proper via the Buhangin-Panacan Diversion Road and through the Ma-a Diversion Road, then finally past the Ma-a Bridge.
I really don't know how to rate this very strange place - I have visited it and I still don't know how to classify this attraction and what is its purpose as a tourist destination... It's a weird place (even the staff was weird if you ask me!)- a mixture of different things (you can see that even at the photos that i am adding here) - nice nature, giant stone tables, religious sign-boards everywhere, strange collections of statues including such of Filipino demons(I did like the collection representing the different regions and tribes of the Philippines though), animal statues, busts of Filipino presidents, cyclops etc... There is a word that skulls of cyclops have been found in this area:)!
Anyway, may be you should visit it and decide for yourself - there are romantic mountainous sights, picnic groves, swimming pool, playgrounds, and lots of educational spots, but unlike all the other Davao attractions this one really left me with mixed feelings!

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This park is a really nice place and I did enjoy my visit to the Crocodile Park near Davao. I have visited it in December 2005 when actually they have been moving the old park to a new location. Anyway, it was fun to see these big fresh and saltwater crocodiles from so close distance. I expected the park to be bigger though, they have put some other animals as well there (raptors, monkeys, bearcats, snakes, birds, and various reptiles can be found in the park.), so it looks like a small zoo. The only thing I didn't like is when I saw some small chicken waiting in the cages of the huge snakes to be eaten by the big reptiles.
There is an entrance fee of Php100 for adults and Php50 for kids, but anyway tourists need a vehicle to reach it. I would recommend you guys to visit it - it's one of the main attractions in Davao!