Is It Safe To Travel Around Mindanao – My Experience.

 

My very first trip to the Philippines was in September of 2015 to the city of Davao. When I arrived I was pretty impressed with the nature and the malls in Davao. We traveled to Samal island all the way down to Aliwagwag Falls and Mati for a beautiful beach. I only learned that Mindanao was an area that you shouldn’t go to after I arrived and was there a few weeks. In fact there was an incident while I was on holiday in Davao. A Canadian, Norwegian and Filipino were kidnapped on their way to Samal Island. After that happened I stayed within Davao and decided this was not a place I would go back to. Flash forward to my move to the Philippines in 2016.

My Second Trip To Davao

I moved to the Philippines in December of 2016 to Cebu City. I never thought of going to Mindanao again after the kidnapping incident and my trip in 2015. But in 2017 a friend of mine and I heard of white water rafting in Davao and CDO (Cagayan De Oro) and decided to do the white water rafting trip. We went and had an amazing time, we also went to Samal Island, Zip Lining, waterfalls and Malls. After that trip I said to myself that the kidnapping was just an isolated incident and if I stay within Davao I would be perfectly safe. Well, after a few more years and a six month stint living in Vietnam I came back to The Philippines and decided on moving to Davao. I ended up living there six months. Within that six months I went to General Santos and also spent one month in CDO and even visited Iligan City. I never felt any danger in my six months in Davao.

I ended up getting antsy and moved on to Dumaguete where I was stuck at during the pandemic. I then moved to Lapu Lapu, Cebu and during that time we were hit with Typhoon Odette which made Mactan Newtown basically unlivable. I wanted to choose a place to escape to that wasn’t attracting all the other evacuees. So I went to the ferry office and the only place they had tickets for was Nasapit, Mindanao which I never even heard of. I ended up leaving on Christmas Eve 2021 and I arrived on Christmas Day and drove all the way to Davao which took around six or seven hours. I ended up stopping in Butuan for a bite to eat on the way and then grabbed a hotel in Davao.

Living in Davao For a second time

This time I was now living in Davao with my motorbike and that made living here all that much better because I was free to explore. Everything I owned I was able to pack onto my motorbike and travel with and that was exactly how I liked it. I ended up exploring coffee shops in the mountains, and traveling to waterfalls in the middle of nowhere. I explored so many areas and places that I never had access to or even knew about before. I explored Japanese tunnels and bunkers left over from World War 2 and drove from Davao to Digos, General Santos, Bukidnon, Butuan, CDO, Iligan City, Dapitan, Dipolog and everywhere in between. In that entire time I never felt unsafe or hand any issues, only welcoming Filipinos who were happy to see me wherever I went. I had one instance where I was pulled to the side on a military checkpoint and I was thinking “what is going on”? But All they wanted to know was about my custom seat on my motorbike, how much I spent, where I got it from etc.… After six months I began to feel like I wanted to continue on and explore more of the Philippines and at that point I moved to Dumaguete and ended up settling down and getting married. Well, it has now been over two years since I have been but Mindanao still holds a place in my heart and is still my favorite island in the Philippines. I hope to explore more of it with my wife in the future.

Pros of Mindanao

Mindanao is kind of the last location in the Philippines unexplored by foreigners. Even in cities like Davao you still rarely see other foreigners around unless you are in one of the big malls. Mindanao still has the stigma of being dangerous even though technically it probably has less crime and lower rates than much of the Philippines. Mindanao is known for some amazing nature from enchanted rivers, waterfalls, islands, beaches and the fruit and vegetables grown here are the best in the country. Dating is probably some of the best in The Philippines due to less influence by foreigners also. The bottom line is Mindanao can be as safe if not safer than anywhere in the Philippines. Just do your homework check with your countries guidelines on what areas to stay away from and just be aware of your surroundings and Mindanao could be the best part of the Philippines to visit or even live for you.