THE BEST ALTERNATIVE RESORT WHILE IN LIMASAWA ISLAND

Location: Brgy. Lugsongan, Island Municipality of Limasawa, Southern Leyte, Philippines

The enticing beach front of Dak Dak Beach Resort

Note: This is a part of my May 2 - 8, 2015 Samar-Leyte-Biliran-Mactan-Cebu Trip which includes: Capul Island, San Antonio Island, Dalutan Island, Sambawan Island, The Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Shrine, Ciriaco Hotel, Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Other Calbayog tours, San Juanico Bridge, MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park, Limasawa Island

My grand vacation in Limasawa Island last May 6 - 8, 2015 was such great because Dak Dak Beach Resort made a difference. The beach itself is so clean. The whole place is nestled at the foot of a densely forested area which describes best what a tropical paradise is. This resort is owned by a US-based Norman Lambot but is managed by her very enterprising mother, Nucresia Olojan Lambot.

The resort's main building

Nanay Nucresia has really a heart for her guests as she personally attends to them. She would ask what food they prefer to eat for a meal which are normally seafoods accompanied with meat and vegetables. Viands are served into three kinds, unlimited rice with dessert where all these package only costs P150 per meal per person. Not bad. In dining, they are given the liberty to have it either in the main building dining hall or right beside the cottages along the beach front.

The Diving Board with a pull-on raft: My favorite hangout

With my 3-day stay in this beach resort, I really had completely recharged. But mind you, I was not just there to rest and relax. In fact, I did swim from time to time and I love to stay on its diving board with a pull-on raft. My companions as we were all nine in the group vary in age from 16 to 54 years old and we all enjoyed hanging out in this diving board and raft.

How to reach the diving board through the pull-on raft

Heading to the diving board is highly physical through the pull-on raft as you have to pull yourself through a rope. But it did not matter as the prize of being there and to enjoy diving is quite rewarding. We did this from early in the morning, before lunch, late afternoon and even early in the evening.

The 16-year old Daniel Manalad heading to the diving board

Using the pull-on raft heading to the diving board was our routine for the 3-day stay we had in the resort. There was one time that we had our breakfast in the diving board because it was on its maximum high tide level. Our feet were refreshingly soaked to the sea water while we were eating.

Cynthia Manalad, Daniel's mom in her turn for the raft ride

Since the resort is located in an isolated place, it is not crowded with the locals. This is the reason why the guests can enjoy a sort of exclusivity while enjoying their stay. When there are groups of guests who visit the place for a day swim, Nay Nucresia would notify us so that we will be aware that there are other guests around.

The refreshing porch of the resort's main building

The porch in the main building is such inviting for the guests as it is overlooking the beach front where they can view the dramatic sunset. On the other hand, it is also a place where guests stay to do the texting or call through their mobile phone. By the way, the whole island provides a good signal for all networks like Globe and Smart Communications.

The P1,300 airconditioned room

The resort's main building has two big rooms where one is an air-conditioned one at P1,300 overnight with a maximum capacity of 3 persons. The other one is just the same in size but just with a fan at P1,000 with the same capacity. An excess of one is allowed for a family of four but with a minimal charge.

The dining hall of the resort's main building

Dinner can also be served in this Filipinized ambiance dining area. Guests feel at home dining here as Nanay Nucresia and her staff enthusiastically serve them with delightful meals.

The spacious living room of the resort's main building

The living room is the place where guests spend their time to watch TV as they have a cable connection and charge their gadgets. The whole island has a supply of electricity from 1:00 P.M. to 1:00 A.M. With good network connection and presence of electricity, staying in the isolated island of Limasawa will not literally mean guests are isolated as they can still be connected to the internet.

Where cleanliness is the resort's doctrine

Noticeably, cleanliness is maintained in the resort whether in the rooms, cottages or the beach front, too. I just noticed that the staff has continuously been cleaning the beach front to be free from floating leaves and other seaweeds. Thus, it is not at all itchy when you stay long for a swim. The well-maintained grass for instance which is a part of the greening landscaping are always freed from dry falling leaves of the trees. The whole place is such just an absolutely clean haven of relaxation.

The adjacent living room and the porch

The cool and tropical interior design of the resort is just as inviting for a great relaxation and to unwind from a such a hustle-bustle life from the city. The guests' stay become more worthwhile with the hospitality that Nanay Nucresia and her husband Elias extend to them. One thing more that I like in this resort is the unlimited supply of water. You don't have to pay P20 per pail for your water consumption. I for one, was enticed to wash my clothes there. What the guest will pay is only P20 for one day which includes the entrance fee, use of facilities, charge gadgets and use limited supply of water. Of course, the accommodation and the food have their corresponding charge, too.

Truly an enticing white sand beach front stretch

Who can tell that prior to its operation on September 18, 2010, this part of the island was just a dirty stretch of coast line grown with unfriendly cogon and talahib grasses. It was only when Norman Lambot, Nanay Nucresia's son, purchased this piece of real estate property that they turned this into a haven of vacationers as they cleaned up the whole area and constructed cottages and other resort facilities.

The closed-type cottage for overnight guests

There are two kinds of cottages, namely: the closed-door type cottage for overnight stay at P500 and the open type at P250 for those who wanted to stay for a day in bigger groups like 10 to 15.

The resort's convenience store

Since the resort has an isolated location, it opened a convenience store where basic necessities can be bought like rice, canned goods, spices, seasonings, shampoo, bath and laundry soap, downy, assorted candies, junk foods, wine/liquors, canned juices and even bottled water. But mineral water can be bought from Padre Burgos on its 6-gallon container at P35 for the water refill but the container has to be bought at P150. This is cheaper than buying a 500ML bottled water.

Another visual proof how clean the place is

ideal for a morning and afternoon walk or jog

During high tide, the water level is just inches away

With me in the photo is the Lambot Family(from left to right): Gay, Me, Nanay Nucresia, Tatay Elias and Jona

In a Filipino parlance, the term "Nanay" means mother while "Tatay" is father. Gay, is one of the daughters of Nanay Nucresia and Tatay Elias while Jona is their youngest offspring, a barangay councilor in Barangay Lugsongan.

The following are farewell shots while our boat was leaving the resort:

At approximately 15 meters away . . .

At approximately 50 meters away . . .

At approximately more than 2 kilometers away . . .

For booking, you may contact Nanay Nucresia Olojan Lambot, being the Operations Manager at +639155203660.

HOW TO GET THERE:

There are four options going to this place, namely:

FROM MANILA TO PADRE BURGOS MUNICIPALITY OF SOUTHERN LEYTE

By Air from Manila to Tacloban City Airport. Then by land from Tacloban to Padre Burgos for 158 kilometers or 2 hours and 30 minutes travel. However, the above is just an approximation. Road conditions, diversions, weather conditions, traffic, etc. will affect driving distance and also the total travel time.

By Air from Manila to Ormoc City Airport. Then by land from Ormoc to Padre Burgos via Maasin, Leyte for 136 kilometers and 20 minutes. However, the above is just an approximation. Road conditions, diversions, weather conditions, traffic, etc. will affect driving distance and also the total travel time.

By Air from Manila to Cebu-Mactan Airport. Then take a ferry ship from Pier 4 of Cebu City to Hilongos Port of Southern Leyte for 6.5 hours. From Hilongos, take a service bus provided by the ferry ship for an hour to Maasin City. From Maasin City, take a jeepney to Padre Burgos Port for more than an hour. However, the above is just an approximation. Road conditions, diversions, weather conditions, traffic, etc. will affect driving distance and also the total travel time.

By Land, take a bus from Manila to Maasin, Southern Leyte for 928 kilometers which includes a ferry boat crossing from Matnog, Sorsogon of the Bicol Peninsula to Allen, Northern Samar through the sometimes rough and turbulent seas of San Bernardino Strait. The availability of the ferry may depend on the number of vehicles boarding the ferry boat. During the peak season, buses and vehicles can fall into a line as long as 1 kilometer or more delaying the buses to cross to Samar island. Then, with the same bus, it will cross the majestic San Juanico Bridge connecting the islands of Samar and Leyte. Then, from Tacloban, the travel continues to Padre Burgos municipality. With this, the road travel may reach until more than 1 and a half days.

FROM PADRE BURGOS PORT TO LIMASAWA ISLAND

Take a chartered boat from Padre Burgos Port to Dak Dak Beach Resort for almost an hour. Non-chartered boats will not take you directly to Dak Dak Beach Resort as it will take you to the different barangay ports of the island of Limasawa.