Isla Reta is another one of the resorts lined in Talicud, Samal. Our stay was short and "bitin" (for lack of a better word)... It was mainly because the boat (Pacific) left Davao City at around 10:30am and arrived in Isla Reta at almost 12 noon. Travel time through ferry from Davao to Talicud is approximately 1 hour and 20 mins. The earliest ferry leaves Davao at 9am (but poor unfortunate souls as we are, the Isla Reta Ferry did not have trips that day for reasons I do not know). The Pacific Ferry is the next boat for Talicud Island which is scheduled to leave Davao at 10am. The last trip from Talicud to Davao, by the way, is at 3pm! So, from the preliminaries I've laid, you can sense how furious I must have been to arrive at the resort at almost 12 noon and leave the same in as early as 3pm! It's my fault anyway, because I refused to stay at the resort overnight (I have work the following morning!).
Well anyway, 12 noon is NOT the perfect time to arrive at any resort: the sun is at its peak and it's the hottest time of the day, and its' usually LOW TIDE (the sea is knee-deep). Fortunately, Isla Reta has a little restaurant that offers Native Chicken (cooked any way you like it: adobo, barbeque, etc). So, we had barbequed chicken, and OMG, it did satisfy our palate! Truly, finger-lickin' good! (It has beaten KFC with that!) Good thing the food is good, though native chicken is the only food on their menu! Hahaha! You can bring food though, but the resort charges corkage fees for softdrinks.
I really don't have anything more to say because I only stayed there for 3 hours. Yes, I did enjoy my stay but its still "kulang." I hope someday, there would be more trips going to and from Talicud, like as early as 6am and as late as 5pm so that we can truly enjoy our day tour.
Rates:
Ferry: P60.00 to P70.00 / person/one way
Cottage: P150.00 Day Tour; P700.00 to P800.00 Overnight Cottages
Entrace Fee: P75.00 per person (adult); Kids at P35.00
Food: Approximately P150.00 per meal
