Situated an hour away from the city, Isla Reta is a nice go-to place for beach lovers. Not only does it have the most wonderful beach it is also quite private. The sand is reminiscent of Boracay. Well it is like the famous beach minus the crowd and nice facilities. What makes people really go here is the beach and the talisay trees that serve as shed for beach goers.
To reach Talicud Island you have to ride a boat from Sta. Ana Wharf. If you don't know where that is, it's just smacked right beside Magsaysay Park. All davaoenos know where that is, so you could just ask anyone. The boat doesn't really have regular timings for trips. It docks out only when the boat is full. Boarding time starts from 6am and the last trip is 4pm. Boat fee here is P85 per person, I'm not sure how much is the charge for kids. The boat trip will take just about 45mins- 1hour. It wouldn't be really boring because the scenery itself is entertaining. Last time we went to the island, we saw some dolphins swimming and jumping off the sea. So that was really a bonus treat for us.
By the time we reach the island we hurried off to find our spot. You could either pay as soon as you arrived or before you leave. Paying fees are done in the canteen. There is a girl named Joanne who is in charge of collecting fees. She's also the one managing the canteen.
So the beach, I don't know where to start. There's really a lot of nice things to say about the beach. The sand is really fine and white, reminds me of polvoron. The ocean is clean. Although there are some wood and roots floating here and there, it's usually cleaned up by staff there. The debris are usually found near the docking area, but further away from it, it's clean and clear. So we got our farthest away from the docking area where sand is finer, water is cleaner. Too bad there are lots of guests who also choose that spot but it's not really that bad to share. Besides the place isn't really congested with people so at most times you would hardly see any people taking a dip in the water, which is for me, a bit weird considering how wonderful the beach is. That's a good example how vanity destroys the fun.
Cottages
Anyways, lucky for me we headed on to a more secluded place in the island. The moment I saw that nook, I knew that it was my spot. So the moment we landed we hurried off to conquer it. Going there was really fun, the adrenalin of just running to go to that place was exhilirating, added there are giggles and teases. I was with my gay friend so that made it all the more fun. To reach our place we have to go down some really huge boulders that are not only sharp but a bit slippery. So we really had to be extra careful. The moment we stepped on our nook, we were so glad we were alived. It was well worth it. The place was ours alone, it even felt like we were contestants in Survivors. Needless to say, we had good fun. We lied on the sand under the shed of ipil-ipil trees. So that's like swimming without getting ourselves sunburnt. Lunch time came, we ate the food that we brought. Even though the canteen has some chips and drinks, and we can order there, we figured we would save more if we just bring our own.
Boats there are available if you wish to go snorkelling in snorkelling spots. You just need to ask the guard there. It would range from 1200-1500, that is good for 1hour boat ride. Ours only cost P500 since I negotiated with the guard. Everything could be negotiated and we managed to do it. However we only had it for 30mins. which was totally fine for us since we didn't bring any snorkelling gears, and even if we did, we wouldn't have the guts to do that in deep waters.
If you figured you wanted to stay over for the night. You could for P850 for concrete cottages and P750 for wooden ones. They also have tents that you could rent for P400 for a night. There is one guard who is roaming around the beach with the flashlight so you would feel safe. Oh yeah, the gate closes at around 9pm, so if you wish to buy food or what not from outside of the many stores, you could do that before the closing time. We were able to go outside past 9pm since I had to have my charger charged. I did bring the charger with me but I forgot the round socket that had to go with the charger or else I couldn't get to charge it. So smarty me, I had to ask some people in the beach for that. But I figured that there is more chances for me to borrow that from people from outside the resort. And I was right. The second store we visited had the exact thing that I was looking for. I asked the manang to have my charger plugged in using their electricity. I would just have to pay per hour. And they agreed for P30/hr. I went back to get it after 2 hours. By then the gate was closed but I had the guard to accompany me outside. We just knocked on their closed store and they gave me back my charger. The sweetest part is that they only charged me P30 for 2 hours.
Isla Reta Beach Resort
Ships in Sta. Ana Wharf
Scenery from the boat
View from our Nook
View from our Nook: Samal Island
Anyways, lucky for me we headed on to a more secluded place in the island. The moment I saw that nook, I knew that it was my spot. So the moment we landed we hurried off to conquer it. Going there was really fun, the adrenalin of just running to go to that place was exhilirating, added there are giggles and teases. I was with my gay friend so that made it all the more fun. To reach our place we have to go down some really huge boulders that are not only sharp but a bit slippery. So we really had to be extra careful. The moment we stepped on our nook, we were so glad we were alived. It was well worth it. The place was ours alone, it even felt like we were contestants in Survivors. Needless to say, we had good fun. We lied on the sand under the shed of ipil-ipil trees. So that's like swimming without getting ourselves sunburnt. Lunch time came, we ate the food that we brought. Even though the canteen has some chips and drinks, and we can order there, we figured we would save more if we just bring our own.
Boats there are available if you wish to go snorkelling in snorkelling spots. You just need to ask the guard there. It would range from 1200-1500, that is good for 1hour boat ride. Ours only cost P500 since I negotiated with the guard. Everything could be negotiated and we managed to do it. However we only had it for 30mins. which was totally fine for us since we didn't bring any snorkelling gears, and even if we did, we wouldn't have the guts to do that in deep waters.
If you figured you wanted to stay over for the night. You could for P850 for concrete cottages and P750 for wooden ones. They also have tents that you could rent for P400 for a night. There is one guard who is roaming around the beach with the flashlight so you would feel safe. Oh yeah, the gate closes at around 9pm, so if you wish to buy food or what not from outside of the many stores, you could do that before the closing time. We were able to go outside past 9pm since I had to have my charger charged. I did bring the charger with me but I forgot the round socket that had to go with the charger or else I couldn't get to charge it. So smarty me, I had to ask some people in the beach for that. But I figured that there is more chances for me to borrow that from people from outside the resort. And I was right. The second store we visited had the exact thing that I was looking for. I asked the manang to have my charger plugged in using their electricity. I would just have to pay per hour. And they agreed for P30/hr. I went back to get it after 2 hours. By then the gate was closed but I had the guard to accompany me outside. We just knocked on their closed store and they gave me back my charger. The sweetest part is that they only charged me P30 for 2 hours.
If you wish to have reservations, you could contact Joanne at 09282141487.
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