Talicud Island By Bike.

This is one of my favourite bike rides and is a very nice day out. This trip takes you all the way down Samal Island to Kaputain, then over the short crossing to Talicud Island where you can catch the ferry back to Davao City where you started from. This can be a tiring trip but you get to relax on the ferry on the way back home.

But there is scope for things to go wrong, the ferry for Davao City leaves Talicud Island at 4:00 PM { Or at least it did on the days I have made the trip in the past }. But you would be best to check the times out before going on this trip and also check it is running that day. I for one would not like to cycle there and back on the same day if the ferry is not running, so be warned!

If you are interested in exploring Talicud you can make a three day trip of it. Cycle down to Kaputain on the first day and book in at the Red Parrot hotel for the night. Day two take the banka the short distance across to cycle round and explore Talicud and return to the Red Parrot in the evening. Day three cycle back to Davao.

Alternatively there are some nice resorts of Talicud where you can also stay, Talicud has some excellent sandy beaches and crystal clear waters and really is one of the hidden gems of Mindanao. If you are
interested in the destination rather than the journey then this this web site is a good place to start. LINK

Directions :

{ Aim to arrive at on Samal at 10:00 AM to give yourself enough time. }

1. Turn left at the ferry terminal and then proceed until you come to the rotunda Roundabout, take the first exit marked Pene Plata and go straight for your first hill climb.

2. It is then a nice easy ride with long downhill stretches, pass through Pene Plata and keep straight until your next hill climb up past Hagamit falls entrance on your left.

3. There is then a flat area but more arduous hill climbs follow until you reach the highest point and start to descend down towards Kapuitain. As you start the descent down to Kapuitain look out for a flat area on your right marked resort. This is a good place to stop to catch your breath and some basic snacks are on sale. The main attraction though is the vantage point and view down over the islands of the Pearl Farm which is really spectacular. { See photo at the top of the page }

4. From this point a further 20 minutes gentle downhill ride will take you into Kapuitain with time to spare, moving towards the beach area you will see a park with a stuffed sea cow as an attraction, but just on the left of this is a nice little local place to take lunch. After lunch and having explored Kapuitain a bit you can catch a ride over the short distance of water across to Talicud. There is a fair sized boat which goes on the hour which is located just behind the eating place, they are glad to take the bikes on board but you may get your feet wet. Alternatively if the seas is calm any number of locals with small bancas will be pleased to take you across.

5. Where you land on Talicud is very close to where the ferry departs back for Davao City { Sta. Ana wharf } each day, and again they are OK with taking your bikes as well.