Samar is a popular and attractive province in southern Philippines since it is known for its rich culture and heritage. Throughout the year, many people visit the beautiful tourist spots in the province. However, to have an enjoyable, remarkable, and exciting vacation in the place, there are different Samar travel guides that people can look at to have ideas about the famous hospitality service providers in the province that offer reasonable rates. Additionally, the guides also offer information on restaurants that serve sumptuous and affordable meals to everyone.
Accommodations in Samar Travel Guide
For the convenience and comfort of travelers and tourists, most Samar travel guides feature a section on accommodations in the province. The section offers knowledge on the amenities as well as accommodation rates in several hospitality service providers in Samar, Philippines. To tourists who are in search for hotels that have attractive facilities, they can always make advance reservations at Dumpao Beach Resort, Jasmin Beach Resort, and Bobon Beach Resort. Meanwhile, for those who like to stay in lodges and inns that have affordable accommodations, they should visit Sogod Bay Lodge, Huraw Lodge, and Travelers Home Lodge Inn.
Dining in Samar Travel Guide
Another section in Samar travel guides that get the attention of travelers to the province is dining. By looking at this section, people can always look at the specialties of several restaurants and dining places in Samar, Philippines. For those who prefer to dine in places that serve both local and foreign cuisines, they can visit these dining places; Arnelli’s Pizza, Caluwayan Palm Island Resort and Restaurant, as well as C’Italian Dining.
Festivals
Most Samar travel guides also feature festivals and special events in Samar, Philippines. Hence, for tourists who want to observe some of the famous festivals in the province, they can refer to Samar travel guides for the details of the events. Most of these guides feature information like history and what to see in the attractive Samar festivals Kadayaw Festival, Parayan Harvest Festival, and Pasidungog Festival.
Tourist Destinations
Above all, Samar travel guides provide knowledge on tourist destinations or spots in Samar, Philippines. For people who like to see natural attractions in the province, they can always visit Panhulugan Cave, Shoton Cave, and Bugasan Cave. On the other hand, for individuals who plan to visit the province’s manmade attractions, they can visit Calbayog Cathedral, Basey 17th Century Church, and Shoton National Park. With the use of Samar travel guides, people can surely have a relaxing and worry-free visit to one of the famous provinces in southern Philippines, Samar.
Getting to know some information some information on a certain vacation spot should always be considered before going into the place. It does not really matter (unless the trip is all about serious investigation) whether the information is noteworthy or not the point is; information gives a sort of an idea of the place in a way or two.
The island of Samar is located within the central Philippines. It is specifically, an island of the Visayas Region. It is actually the easternmost island of the Visayas Region. Before the Spanish regime, the island had couple names attached to it. Names like Tanday, Samal and Ibabao were attributed to this island until the late 1500’s. The rough physical features of the place were the main reasons it was named 'Samar' (from the word 'samad' meaning a wound or cut). The province of Samar involved the island of Samar as a whole until it was divided into three main provinces namely Western Samar (officially known as Samar), Eastern Samar (capital-Borongan) and Northern Samar (capital-Catarman).
The island of Samar has been showered by nature's beauty like other noted places in the Philippines. Tourists could enjoy unexplored terrain and caves defined by exotic flora and fauna or wildlife. Sohoton Cave, which is located inside the Sohoton National Park is a cathedral-like ground with a parabolic arch-type entrance for approximately fifty (50) meters high. The Panhulugan Cave 1 and 2 are also considered places to check in Samar. The Panhulugan Cave 1 is recognized with a cliff-forming letter 'H' and snow-white gleaming stalactites of various proportions characterized Panhulugan Cave 2. Both wonderful caves are located at Sohoton National Park in Basey. Another special spot at Sohoton National Park is the Sohoton Natural Bridge that extends through the Sohoton River. This huge arch-shaped rock has a vertical clearance of about 23 feet. It is natural bridge is 40 meters long and 8 meters wide.
The wonders of the island of Samar and of some proximate islands or spots are the main reasons why there is a steady influx of tourists in the Visayas Region. As we all know, tourism means a lot to have a more stable economy. One of the travel agencies that answered the heed to maintain and tourism as a vital industry is the Leyte Gulf Travel and Tours or LGTT. They are specialized in setting up educational and family tours around the Visayas Region. To further enhance tourism, Leyte Gulf Travel and Tours is trying their best to unravel undeveloped and untapped tourist destinations in the said region. The name 'Samar' may bear a tinge of imperfection in its name; nonetheless, Samar Island is the one of the perfect places to enjoy the wonders of nature.
The Samar Group of Islands has gained so much popularity after its natural beauty and astonishing landmarks were made known. Whether it is the east, west or north of this province that one is going to visit, there are surely Samar destinations that if not visited would be a great opportunity loss. Although it is said that Samar is less developed as compared to other provinces, it is precisely the virgin and unspoiled state of many of its Samar destinations that draws visitors here.
The Calbiga Whitewater River is for the adventure hungry visitor who wants to experience rapids and go rafting or kayaking. The Calbiga Whitewater River passes right through rugged hills and a thick forest and is 18 kilometers long. Watch out for rapids when at this Samar destination and the thrilling drops that range from 3 to 6 meters. In fact there are 70 rapids all in all at the Calbiga Whitewater River and over 120 drops. For those who have never tried rafting, this is definitely one of the things that one should do at the Calbiga Whitewater River and in fact without doing this, the trip is incomplete. Activities such as kayaking and rafting are provided by the Leyte Park Hotel regardless of whether one is a guest or not. These activities are supervised by experts who know how to maneuver the raft and live vests are available. In fact, the Calbiga Whitewater River activities can be enjoyed by children as long as they are 10 years old and above.
There is just something very mesmerizing about caves and one should be prepared to be mesmerized by the Sohotan Cave. This Samar destination was formed over centuries by rock build up and the Sohotan Cave served as the hiding place of our ancestors from tribal battles to the wars. This Samar destination is accessible via public transportation and one just has to get to the town of Borong and take the jeepney or tricycle headed straight for the Sohotan Cave. Once at this Samar destination, there are tourist guides that will walk visitors through the Sohotan Cave and be more than happy to give a little history of the civilizations that used this place as a sanctuary as well as the archeological finds made here. The Sohotan Cave is exceptionally fun for big groups or families who want to spend some quality time bonding.
Samar is a region in the southern part of the Philippines. The region has the eastern and the western side. There are several beaches in the entire Samar region. Some of them are the following:
1.Bacayawan Beach – This was also called the little Dakak. The beach has some resorts with some cottages and a lodging place for guests who want to stay for the night. The sand in the beach is white. The beach is at the southern end of the town of Lorente. The coastal area provides a scenic view because of the formations of the rocks.
2.Cabong Beach – This is on the eastern side of Samar. It has gray sand but it is a beach which has not been so commercialized yet. It has calm waters and the waves are milder and the sands are fine. It is a good beach to swim with the children.
3.Rawis Beach – This is a beach with many resorts. One is even owned by a famous Philippine talk show host. The beach faces the port. The Pebbles and Sand, Pirate’s Cove are just some of the resorts. There are several resorts with pools and other amenities.
4.Calicoan Beach – This is a small beach that has white sands. The whole beach is shaped like a half moon. There are plenty of shells in the beach. Around the beach there are formations of granites with some algae which make it look like a small planet.
5.Samulan Beach – This beach in Samar is a fifteen minute walk from the town of Sulangan. Sulangan is close to Calicoan. The beach has white sand that can be compared to the sand in Boracay because it is so fine. Other tourists have called the island a paradise. There are many coconut trees along the shore. The color of the waters from a far is turquoise. Many tourists find peace when being in this beach because it is not yet as commercial as some of the resorts in the Philippines.
6.Homonhon Beach – This is a popular historical site. You can reach this place one hundred twenty minutes via a motorized boat. You can stay in the Villa Pacific Resort. The particular area where Magellan landed was flat and peaceful. There are hundreds of fishes everywhere. There are many people who like to snorkel in this area. Tourists go here to see the first few steps and journey of Magellan.
7.Malajog Beach – This beach is two hundred meters in length. The sand has a grayish color. There are resorts with cottages along the shore. Many actors come here for a vacation. This is considered as one of the prettiest beaches in Samar. This beach is situated in the town of Malajog in Calbayog.
Samar is fast becoming one of the best tourist spots to visit in the Philippines. This province has many beaches and islets where you can enjoy different activities in the water with your friends and family. Samar is also becoming a modern city with many establishments including hotels, malls and restaurants.
1. Fortune Hotel and Restaurant – This is a good hotel to stay in. They have their own restaurant. This place is just a walking distance from the terminal of the buses or from the pier. Local tourists can ride a tricycle if they do not prefer waking. Their restaurant offer American or international dishes. This restaurant is also popular for their Filipino dishes.
2. Charito’s Delights – This restaurant is in Catbalogan. This is a good restaurant to visit if you want to have a good lunch. The prices of the food are also cheaper than most restaurants. You may find this restaurant very small because of the space. This restaurant is just near the fast food chain called Jollibee. They also offer buffet meals. The menu of their delicious meals changes everyday to give variation to their loyal patrons.
3. Tony’s Kitchen – This is a restaurant you can find in the middle of the capitol. This is a good restaurant to have dinner with your family or friends since they serve food in huge portions. They specialize in different kinds of meat steaks. The place is very cozy since it is well lighted during the evening.
4. Sea Side Drive Inn & Restaurant - This is a restaurant and an inn in the southern town of Samar. You can reach this place by going to the national highway and taking a tricycle ride. They specialize in good seafood dishes. Their best seller includes grilled tuna and other fish.
5. Jollibee Fast food – This is a leading fast food chain in the Philippines. You can find this fast food restaurant in Catbalogan, Tacloban and Catarman. This fast food chain offers guests American dishes like burgers. They also offer spaghetti and French fries. The rate of the food here is cheaper than most restaurants. You can have a complete meal for less than a hundred pesos. They also offer value meals in sets which you can already have your meal and a drink.
6. Calle Zaragoza Café - This is restaurant in Rizal Street of the city. The price of the food in this restaurant is not expensive. You can enjoy ribs and the hot beef soup for less than one hundred pesos. They also have grilled meats like grilled chicken.
Samar is the province of the Philippines in the eastern part of Visayas. Samar has other smaller islands which most tourists like to visit. Samar is famous for the longest bride of the country. It is known as San Juanico Bridge. The people are also known for their hospitality and warmth nature.Samar also has a lot of hotels and resorts where you and your family can stay safe and relaxed.
1. Caluwayan Palm Island Resort - This is a good place to enjoy ecological tourism. This place is good as an alternative to those modern hotels. This is situated in Marabut.Marabut is in the western side of Samar. This hotel is surrounded by a islands and smaller island with different coves. The best beach is just nearby this hotel. Guests can scuba dive, snorkel, sail and swim. The guests can also enjoy the nice view of the bay.
2. Domsowir Hotel - This is a hotel you can find in the town of Boronan. They offer different types of room for the guests. They can offer a room with single beds complete with amenities and air-conditioning. They also have rooms for two persons. This hotel offers discounted rates during non-peak seasons.
3. Maqueda Bay Hotel- This is one of Samar's main hotels.This hotel has a good view of the Maqueda Bay. The bay offers a good view of the sunset when the day is clear. The hotel has its own restaurant where you can enjoy international dishes. This hotel is not a five star hotel but the amenities are great and the rate of accommodation can be pricey. This is situated in Guinsurungan and you can reach this hotel from the city by riding on a tricycle.
4. Rose Scent Inn - This inn is in the center of the city so almost everyone knows this place. This is a good place to stay in for those with a tight budget. The residents call this place the pension. It offers cozy rooms where two to four people can stay. The rooms have all the amenities like bathroom and air-con. The place is also known for its accessibility where some of your relatives can easily go to since it is a popular inn. The television is in a big room with chairs and should be shared by all the guests.
5. Jasmin Beach Resort - This is resort with a Mediterranean theme. This is a good place for people who likes being close to nature. Their beach is covered in white sand and the water is clear. Guests also like snorkeling and diving in this beach because the beach has plenty of marine animals. A popular feature is the floating cottages where guests can stay. This resort also has several large rooms for different occasions like weddings.
Celebration of life and all the blessings received are the central themes of Samar festivals and for those who like watching Filipino merrymaking, nothing compares to how the inhabitants of this region celebrate. It is said that the best of all the Samar festivals are held mid year, in between the start of the summer in March until the rainy season August.
Some Samar festivals are confined to certain towns but the Embajada Festival is something that is celebrated by the entire province albeit at different dates. The very first towns that celebrate Embajada Festival right after New Year, in January, are Catubig and Laoang. Similar to a domino effect, the nearby towns follow and come mid June, this Samar festival would have reached Catarman. The Moro-Moros, an indigenous group in Samar is said to be the first Filipinos ever to celebrate the Embajada Festival and being a tradition, they have been celebrating it for centuries.
This Samar festival depicts a time in history when conflict prevailed between the Moro-Moros and the Spaniards although nowadays it is presented in a comical fashion. During the Embajada Festival, street dancing is common and there’s always the delicious array of food served in the town center as night sets in. The Moro-Moros themselves take part in the Embajada Festival and this Samar festival is also a good opportunity to learn so much about one of the oldest tribes in Samar.
The main source of livelihood of the inhabitants of Samar is farming and harvesting is something that is celebrated, being considered by the locals as a time of abundance and blessing. The Parayang Harvest Festival is just one of the few festivities that center on harvest but this Samar festival is primarily held in the town of San Roque. The Parayang Harvest Festival is a day filled with celebration with several contests being held throughout the day such as cooking competitions and beauty pageants.
There’s also street dancing during the Parayang Harvest Festival where both young and old practice both modern and traditional dances prior to the event. There are of course prizes given out to winners of these competitions and at the end of the Parayang Harvest Festival, families and friends gather to enjoy a sumptuous feast together. The Parayang Harvest Festival is so much a part of Filipino tradition having been celebrated for a little over a century now.
Samar is one of the provinces in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines that feature several public and private medical institutions. To enhance the medical programs implemented in the province, Samar hospitals and health care facilities address the common problems of patients by offering quality services as well as reasonable medical costs to them. There are tertiary hospitals in the area that use modern equipment in diagnosing patients. Local people who cannot afford to seek assistance from private health care facilities can go to rural health units as well as governmental hospitals in the province. Below are the most visited medical establishments in Samar.
Catarman Hospital is one of the tertiary health care facilities in the province that have modern devices and equipment that can be used in treating serious health conditions, which is the reason why many patients who need immediate medical help are brought to this place. Aside from emergency services, this institution has an outpatient section where people can see physicians for regular medical check-ups. In addition to this, the institute specializes in pulmonology, immunology and surgery. Moreover, it has a pediatric ward where children and infants who need medical treatments can be admitted. To ask for immediate medical response, patients can always call (038) 387-7002.
Another public health care establishment that patients can visit if they need assistance from medical professionals is the Samar Provincial Hospital. Consultations are free so patients who have limited budget allotted for hospitalization bills can always seek help at this place. Laboratory testing services are cheaper than in other Samar hospitals and health care establishments. To lessen the costs, the hospital has a pharmacy that offers discounted medicines and medical supplies. Situated in Calbayog City, this establishment can admit 100 patients and it specializes in different aspects of medicine like pathology, immunology and cardiology.
A tertiary medical facility in the City of Calbayog, Our Lady of Porziuncola Hospital takes pride on the efficient dental and pediatric services that it provides to residents and tourists. It also employs medical professionals who have expertise on various fields like internal medicine, surgery and family medicine. To provide financial assistance to patients, this establishment gives discounts to health card holders. To help students improve their understanding and knowledge on different medical treatments, this facility provides internship programs to those who have completed a degree in medicine. Additionally, it offers interesting courses like Midwifery as well as Nursing Aide.
Sorsogon is one of the provinces in the south of the Philippines. It is not surprising that this region has many great beaches. Sorsogon also has the best beach where you can see great whales swimming together.
1. Donsol Beach - This beach is in Donsol town. It is just an hour away from Legazpi city. This beach is famous for being the best beach in the Philippines where you can see the great Dugong.You can stay in the Woodland beach. You can inquire their accommodation rates by calling +(63)(0921) 9699544 and +(63)(0918) 2315420.Another best resort in Donsol is Amor Farm Beach and if you are interested to stay here you can call them at +(63)(056) 4113180 or +(63)(056) 4111109.
2. Rizal Beach- This beach is situated in the town of Gubat.This is considered by many locals as one of the prettiest beaches in the Philippines. It faces the vast Pacific Ocean. This beach is not as commercialized as the other beaches. There are several resorts however surrounding the beach like Vera Maris where many tourists can sleep. There is still some sense of purity and paradise feel in this beach giving a peaceful getaway feeling. There is still no required fee for anyone to enter. The beach is still free for all.
The cottages however are for rent and they do not accept any reservations. Some people like going after three in the afternoon and stay until late six in the evening just to have a picnic and swimming for a few hours.
3. Tiklin Island has a very clean beach. The sand in this beach is also pure white. The current of the water though can get strong sometimes. You can rent a boat and go fishing or sailing.Some tourists like snorkeling and trekking some forests that are near and some caves where you can see bats.
4. Olango beach - This is a beach in the town of San Rafael. There is a point in the beach where there is a good amount of sand and where swimming is safer. Many tourists like snorkeling in this area as well. The water in this beach has an aquamarine color and the area has high coconut trees.
5. Tolongapo Beach- This is another popular beach in Sorsogon. Many divers from Luzon come here for the good diving spots. Many simple hotels and resorts surround this beach. You can also explore some caves with limestones for some spelunking adventure.
Samar is a very interesting place to visit with several tourist attractions that are considered as natural wonders. Samar hotels are not that easy to find though because although there are several good ones, they are not as well advertised as the other hotels in the Philippines.
Rolet Hotel was built at a time that there was an urgent need to increase the number of hotels in Samar and that was in 2001. The good thing about this Samar hotel is that despite the high demand for tourist lodging in Samar it didn’t follow the economic principle that the higher the demand, the less the supply, the higher the cost. Rolet Hotel has rooms for as low as US $22 but despite its incredibly low rates, this Samar hotel delivers when it comes to a good night’s sleep and good facilities. The rooms at Rolet Hotel are very spacious, comfortably accommodating up to 4 people and all have air conditioning and its own private bathroom.
There is no hot shower at this Samar hotel though but one will hardly miss this because of how refreshed one will feel after a shower. The Rolet Hotel is very clean, it has queen sized beds in all the rooms and it has very friendly personnel. This Samar hotel is very small and although it has no restaurant of its own, there are many outside which are a walking distance and reception will gladly point out the best ones to dine at. The Rolet Hotel only has 11 rooms but it does have a swimming pool where one can do a couple of laps.
If one is Amambucale, a good Samar hotel that comes highly recommended is the Jasmin Beach Resort. True to its name, this Samar hotel looks out to the sea and one can take a romantic stroll at night under the moon and the stars on the beach. The rooms are moderately prices at Jasmin Beach Resort with rates starting at US $48 and it has good amenities. Among the amenities included at this Samar hotel are a pool, restaurant and a business center.
The food served at the restaurant of Jasmin Beach Resort is just heavenly and one is served authentic Filipino dishes that will have one craving for more. Sunsets and sunrises are also beautiful at the Jasmin Beach Resort and this is not only an ideal Samar hotel for families, but also for couples and honeymooners. Jasmin Beach Resort also has tour packages and can accommodate large groups.