Dakak Beach Resort - Dapitan - Family vacation

Dakak Beach Resort - Dapitan - Family vacation

4D 3N DAKAK BEACH RESORT Family Holy Week Getaway

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Our Dakak Beach Resort Family Trip

Dakak white sand beach
Our family’s Easter photo by the beach at Dakak.

We went to the Dakak Resort in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte last Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday 2016 for our family reunion. Members of the Lo Kong Ka Clan from Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao converged.

4D 3N DAKAK BEACH RESORT

There were six SUVs from Bacolod that went via Dumaguete City, then took the barge to Dipolog City port. Another four SUVs carried relatives from the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro. Members from Manila and Cebu took the plane to Dipolog. Since my husband, two kids, and I were already in Manila, we went straight to Dipolog as well on a Cebu Pacific flight.

Dakak tour bus
The official bus of Dakak Beach Resort.

At the airport, we were greeted by a welcome party from Dakak Beach Resort who gave us all leis. Then we were ushered to the company bus that awaited us at the parking lot. It took about a 45-minute drive from Dipolog City to where Dakak is in Dapitan. When we reached the resort, they offered us welcome drinks, a respite from the heat, as we were really parched from the road trip.

Dakak white sand beach
The clean white sand beach of Dakak Beach Resort.

Beautiful Dakak

Dakak Beach Resort is breathtaking. The white sand beach is long, it has plenty of lodging for the budget as well as the premium traveler, water activities, sports activities, and lots of restaurants. They have kept the area pristine and the forests intact. The only problem is, it is a big property.

I am not sure how big the land area of the entire island is, but yes, it is an island, so there are long distances between the lodges, the restaurants, the beach, the pools, and the recreational areas. Be prepared for long walks while you are there because walking is a requirement.

Dakak Beach Resort white sand beach
A view from one of the pools where you can lounge around. You can see the beach nearby.

The term, “Dakak”, was coined from the phrase “Dagkong Kakahoyan“, which literally means “big trees”. And the place did not disappoint. It was full of big trees and many plants. And they keep on planting, too. Some had dried up though because of the heat of the summer sun, especially the Bermuda grass, but I believe that during the rainy months, the place is verdant and beautiful.

Dakak Beach Resort
These are just a couple of the hundreds of perennials around Dakak Beach Resort. People enjoy lounging under their shade.

Most of our party stayed at Dakak for four days and three nights. We occupied 12 individual rooms and one family pavilion (with 16 occupants). On the first day, we spent it swimming or just sight seeing then in the evening, we went to the Gloria’s Fantasyland, an entertainment theme park at the Gloria de Dapitan Complex. It came free with our accommodations.

About Gloria’s Fantasyland

  • Shows start at 09:30 PM
  • Joie De Vivre (Joy of Life)
  • Fire and Thunder Show
  • Festival of Colors/Parade of Cultures
  • Fireworks Display
  • Ticket Information: Php1000/person
  • Gates Open: 4:00 P.M. to 12:00 M.N. – Tuesday to Sunday (Closed on Mondays)

*Includes unlimited access to all Rides and Attractions and Various Shows.

Note: Rate is subject to change without prior notice. If your entrance is free because your hotel accommodation, don’t ever lose the ticket stub that they issue upon check in otherwise, they would not honor your free admission.

Dakak Park and Beach Resort
Dakak Park and Beach Resort. Photo from the website.

Dakak Attractions and Activities

You will never run out of something to do when in Dakak. They have so many amenities to check out and so many activities to try. They have something for everyone, so no one gets bored. But in some of the activities, separate fees apply. The only thing that’s free with the accommodations is swimming in the beach and in the three different pools.

Building sand castles Dakak Beach Resort
Our kids enjoyed playing with the powdery white sand on the shores of Dakak Beach Resort while under the shade of this very big tree. We brought our own beach toys here. Check out the bougainvillea blooms they stuck on the potted plants. So pretty.

Of course, you are free to sun bathe on the many sun beds scattered all over the place or just relax under the shade of the big trees and just enjoy the scenery. Their many beds, tables, and chairs are free of charge.

Dakak Beach Resort freshwater pool
The shallow fresh water pool at Dakak Beach Resort is best for young children. Depth is only 2-4 feet.

Dakak Amenities

  • Three (3) tennis courts
  • Billiards and bowling alley
  • Golf course
  • Horseback riding
  • All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)
  • Zipline
  • Rock climbing
  • Wakeboarding
  • War Game (Airsoft)
  • Rappelling
  • Cove hopping
  • Scuba diving
  • Snorkeling
  • Kayaking
  • Banana Boat
  • Hobie Cat
  • Jetski
  • River cruise
  • Sunset cruise
Dakak swimming pool
This is the second pool near the beach at Dakak. It has brackish water.

Side trips When in Dapitan

When you are already in Dapitan, don’t miss a stop at the Rizal Landing Place and the Rizal Shrine (where Rizal used to live during his exile). You can also visit the Pasalubong depot in Dapitan or Dipolog and get a sampling of their famous Spanish sardines and bagoong (shrimp paste).

Dapitan River Cruise
The boats for the Dapitan River Cruise. They serve lunch. But don’t go after the food but rather the experience, because at P500 per head, the food is definitely not worth it.

Another experience that you should not miss is the Dapitan River Cruise where you are treated to an hour and a half of a scenic lunch along Dapitan River. But don’t go there for the lunch, go there for the cruise.

Dapitan River Cruise
At P500 per head, this was our lunch: soup, rice, Bicol express, fried chicken, macaroni salad, watermelon, and iced tea. So just enjoy the experience.

Sigrid Says

Hands down, Dakak Beach Resort is beautiful to say the least. They have been in operation for the last 20 years (or so I was told) and they maintained the resort well. But since it is a big place, I’ve got to warn you again that you need to walk long distance and go and up down a steep hill when going back between stops. Make sure that you have brought everything you need when you go to the beach, the pool, or the restaurant, because you will surely curse under your breath when you have to go back to your room and climb the steep way.

Their service also needs a lot of improvement. We went there as a big group and keeping everything and everyone together is a mean task already. Our secretariat had a hard time coordinating our requirements with the front office staff, as they kept missing instructions. For example, we went to the Dapitan River Cruise with instructions that the bus will only take us to the starting point, as we have cars that can take us around the city. They also told us that the end of the cruise is a different area than where we started. But we ended up in the same place and the bus was still there.

Dakak swimming pool
This is the biggest pool at Dakak and it contains salt water. It has a giant slide, too.

For our reunion dinner, they would not accommodate our dinner and party at the function room. They said that we can only rent their function room at the Tai for P1,000 per hour for our party but they could not serve food. So that means the rent is not consumable and we had to take our dinner at their beach buffet that costs P600 per pax and paid an additional P4,000 for our function room use. But we still agreed as we need a place to gather, but when we got there at 7:50pm (our reservation was for 8pm to 12mn), the aircon was not yet on and there was nobody to assist us. The aircon was turned on around 8:25pm so we had to endure the heat in the area while waiting for their staff to arrice. That is a real shortchange considering that we paid for the venue specifically. There was no apology whatsoever, we were just told, “Mao jud na sya” or “That’s just how things are.

Our secretariat, who are very detailed people, found it difficult to deal with the Dakak Staff. We were expecting much better service considering that they have been in business for so long. One cousin said that the staff and management don’t seem to care about their clients, after all, they are already established and probably don’t need the money anymore. He added that it “would be our first and last in Dakak.” So I guess that just about sums it up. 

Actually, while I was at the lobby, a couple also had some valid complaints but they found it hard to convey it to the front office staff. In the end, they also had to accept the explanation, “That’s just how it is.” Yeah, they are not very flexible in catering to their clients. 

Food at Dakak was not very good either, except at their Italian Restaurant. We ate at their different restaurants and we were not happy with the taste of their food. This is especially true at their seafood restaurant where the food choices were soooo limited. On our first night, we had tinolang isda, grilled fish, fish kinilaw, and grilled squid because they didn’t serve anything else. At first, we thought that maybe that’s just how food tastes in Zamboanga del Norte because of regional differences, but when we had dinner at a restaurant at the Gloria de Dapitan and it was sooo good! The food at the resort really needs much improvement.

And lastly, there is no hot water. Among all our rooms (12 individual and 1 barkada), only one room had hot water. There was nothing they could do about it either. Water supply is also intermittent, so there are times of the day that you cannot take baths nor flush the toilet.

Dakak seafood restaurant
The beautiful seafood/view deck restaurant. I just wish that they serve better tasting dishes here.

The food at the Beachside Buffet was not that good, but at least we got to enjoy their presentation about Zamboanga del Norte.


Dakak Park Beach Resort

Barangay Taguilon, Dapitan City
Zamboanga del Norte, 7101 Philippines
Phone Number: +63-65-2136813
Email: dakakdapitan@dakakresort.com
Website: http://www.dakakresort.com/

How to Get to Dakak

From Manila, we took the only Cebu Pacific flight to Dipolog City at 1:35pm where the Dakak Resort bus picked us up. Our fare for four pax was around P13k with 20 kg of baggage allowance. Since the flight was delayed (and it always is), there was not really much left of our day except to rest a bit and have dinner. If you want an earlier arrival, get on the Philippine Airlines flight, but I believe it is usually more expensive.

Dakak Roro
This is the barge by Aleson Lines that we took from Dipolog City to Dumaguete City.

From the Visayas, you can take a plane from Cebu. But from where we are in Negros Occidental, we took the Roro. We drove to Dumaguete City and got on the barge managed by Aleson Shipping. Fare was P450 for a full paying adult, P360 for a senior citizen, and P230 (half fare) for kids. Car’s passage fee was P3,200 per vehicle. There are other lines plying the same route, but I am not aware of the difference.

Find Dakak Beach Resort on the map.

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15 thoughts on “4D 3N DAKAK BEACH RESORT Family Holy Week Getaway

  1. My friends and I went to Dakak in 2008 and it was still lush with greens (the trees in the photo of the beach is now brown). I also see behind your family photo that there are villas at the other side of the cove, which wasn’t there before. We enjoyed our trip there. We only spent a day touring Dapitan and Dipolog but stayed at the resort for most of the time to enjoy its amenities. We climbed the overlooking and we visited this tiny chapel near the tennis court. For the rest of the day, we would just lounge in our villa or swim by the beach. 🙂

    1. Oh wow! No extra climbing for us because the climb from the pool to the lobby was enough for us with our little girls in tow. haha Yeah, too bad we went there when summer was already rife so some of the trees and plants are brown. huhu

  2. Dakak has been in my bucket list since highschool but still haven’t got the chance to book and plan for the trip.. Seems like evrything is amazing! Will bookmark this for future reference.. Thank you for sharing! 🙂

  3. One big advantage of exchanging comments is you get to visit others’ blog and read their entries. And while reading your post, it’s as if I have been to Dakak myself. Your photos are so alive. It’s just sad to know that the customer service and food at Dakak need improvement. But the important thing though is you were able to reunite and bond with your family.

  4. My dad is from Zamboanga but I haven’t visited the place yet. Dakak looks beautiful! However, I was disappointed when I read about your experience with their service. For me, customer service has a huge impact in business and will affect the entire duration of your stay. Hope they’ll improve that. We might visit that place once we have time to visit Zamboanga. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

  5. I’m a bit surprised to hear about this Dakak Beach Resort. This will be added to my options during summer or whenever I feel like going to the beach. Recently, I’d like to turn away from overly known places because of too much crowd.

  6. Very nice, as always, Dakak beach. Glad you had a good time while there. Dakak seems to be more developed now, isn’t it? Were you also able to explore Dapitan where Jose Rizal was once exiled?

  7. The white sand looks very inviting, but I’m sad that their food needs improvement. I’m very particular with the food when it comes to choosing destinations. I hope they improve theirs 🙂

  8. We used to go here when I was younger and I would love to visit this place now to see the improvements. I’ve seen some of the commercial and it looks like it can compete with some of the high end resorts nowadays.

  9. Dakak sure is a beautiful island to be in. I have read a lot of good stuff about it, including the assortment of new activities you can now do while vacationing in the island. I sure hope to visit this lovely place with my boys one day! 🙂

  10. Loved and enjoyed your blog about Dakak Island Resort but also disheartened by your feedback about food and customer service.
    I would have appreciated more that you included how many hours travel it was via RoRo vessel from Dumaguete to Dipolog port 😉
    But overall, thanx for the beautiful and detailed description of this – one of my place-to-go in my bucket list 😉

    1. Oh I am so sorry about the Roro trip. I was really dizzy most of the time. But I think the travel time from Dipolog to Dumaguete was around 4 hours, if I remember correctly. I will ask my husband again and update this post. 😀 Thanks for bringing it up.

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