Dumaguete Just Might be the Place

[davewe]

http://www.marriedafilipina.com/2015/09 ... the-place/

[Yohan]

Dumaguete is a good place to get away from much larger Cebu City for a few days. I am however unsure, what is the best and most convenient way to travel this rather short route (maybe less than 200 km or so) between these two cities. Both routes I used were very time consuming. Many hours wasted for waiting for connections, terrible roads, few ferries etc.

You have to use bus and ferry of course - but from where and which route? Long time I have not been in Dumaguete and last time I just continued from Moalboal to South, another time I used a bus from Cebu to the ferry to Toledo over to Negros and continued from Negros Island to the South.

I heard there are also small airplanes between Cebu and Dumaguete, but I never used them and have no information about them.

What is your opinion? What is your experience so far about getting there and getting away? You are very familiar with that area.

[Rock]

http://www.marriedafilipina.com/2015/09 ... the-place/

I've been to quite a few cities, towns, and villages now in Mindinao, Visayas, and Luzon. But still on my bucket list are:

- Dumaguette
- Palawan
- Boracay
- Vigan
- Tagatay

Of these, Dumaguette very well might be the most interesting one to live in if you don't wanna be in NCR or Cebu City. Hope I can see it soon.

[MarcosZeitola]

An absolutely beautiful place, Dave. Beautiful architecture, a lovely small-town vibe but blessed with more convenience then the smaller and more remote villages, lovely temperature, spectacular nature and all quite affordable too! I say, if Dumaguete ends up being your 'final destination', you couldn't have picked a finer place for you and Janet to settle down.

Hell, maybe if my wife and I will go on vacation we could drop by some day. Neither my wife or me have ever ventured outside of Luzon, and we really have to explore more of the 7100 islands, having seen only one simply isn't enough. We would be a different type of expat visitor then the usual retiree.

[Balmung]

I've been considering moving abroad for a few years, and seriously considering the Philippines, especially since I've started a relationship with a Filipina. One consideration that us Kanos might not think of is language. What language a particular Filipina speaks will impact where she's most comfortable. Dave, can I assume that since Janet is from Cebu, she speaks Cebuano? My girl speaks Hiligaynon rather than Cebuano, so the two of us have been talking more about places further west... Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Guimaras, Capiz. If Janet is willing to consider Hiligaynon speaking areas, you should visit Bacolod. I found it to be pleasant, clean (by third world standards), and friendly, with parks, lots of commercial development, and not too much traffic. It's bigger I think than Dumaguete but a lot smaller than Cebu City. Seems like it might be a good compromise.

[Zambales]

Dumaguete is my favourite city in the Phils and I noticed that it was quite popular with expats. It's about 60 miles from Cebu and can be reached via the fast ferry in about four hours which goes to Bohol first I think, by bus (via the slow ferry) which is much cheaper, and I believe there now are flights from Cebu.

It's only an hour away from Siquijor, which is a great island to go to if you just want to chill out on the beach. Just outside of Dumaguete is a place called Valencia which has hot springs, and waterfalls, and there's Apo Island, a haven for divers.

The city itself has a park and a boulevard, both very pleasant. It's also a non smoking zone so you're only allowed to smoke on private property.

[davewe]

Dumaguete is my favourite city in the Phils and I noticed that it was quite popular with expats. It's about 60 miles from Cebu and can be reached via the fast ferry in about four hours which goes to Bohol first I think, by bus (via the slow ferry) which is much cheaper, and I believe there now are flights from Cebu.

It's only an hour away from Siquijor, which is a great island to go to if you just want to chill out on the beach. Just outside of Dumaguete is a place called Valencia which has hot springs, and waterfalls, and there's Apo Island, a haven for divers.

The city itself has a park and a boulevard, both very pleasant. It's also a non smoking zone so you're only allowed to smoke on private property.

Yes I mentioned Valencia in my piece. We visited last year and liked it. That might be the ultimate place for a permanent home.

I definitely want to snorkel Apo Island on the next trip.

As far as Siquijor, that's a no no in my family. Janet is perfectly happy for me to go - but not her. It's witch central in the Philippines and even many educated Filipinas believe.

[davewe]

Dumaguete is a good place to get away from much larger Cebu City for a few days. I am however unsure, what is the best and most convenient way to travel this rather short route (maybe less than 200 km or so) between these two cities. Both routes I used were very time consuming. Many hours wasted for waiting for connections, terrible roads, few ferries etc.

You have to use bus and ferry of course - but from where and which route? Long time I have not been in Dumaguete and last time I just continued from Moalboal to South, another time I used a bus from Cebu to the ferry to Toledo over to Negros and continued from Negros Island to the South.

I heard there are also small airplanes between Cebu and Dumaguete, but I never used them and have no information about them.

What is your opinion? What is your experience so far about getting there and getting away? You are very familiar with that area.

There is a convenient flight via Cebu Pacific, Cebu City to Dumaguete. As I recall it runs most (but not all) days.

Someone else suggested the fast ferry to Bohol and then to Duma, which is doable I suppose but perhaps not super convenient.

The road south from Cebu City to the tip of Cebu is very beautiful with lots of nice towns along the way. But that doesn't make it fast. I've done it many times via bus to go from Cebu City to Alcoy, where Janet is from. If there is construction or an accident you're slowed down for sure. Depending on your timing there will of course be a bit of a delay to get the ferry between the islands. Last time we did it we waited nearly an hour for the ferry to leave - gave us plenty of time for lunch.

It's the Philippines - not a good place to be in a hurry

[davewe]

I've been considering moving abroad for a few years, and seriously considering the Philippines, especially since I've started a relationship with a Filipina. One consideration that us Kanos might not think of is language. What language a particular Filipina speaks will impact where she's most comfortable. Dave, can I assume that since Janet is from Cebu, she speaks Cebuano? My girl speaks Hiligaynon rather than Cebuano, so the two of us have been talking more about places further west... Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Guimaras, Capiz. If Janet is willing to consider Hiligaynon speaking areas, you should visit Bacolod. I found it to be pleasant, clean (by third world standards), and friendly, with parks, lots of commercial development, and not too much traffic. It's bigger I think than Dumaguete but a lot smaller than Cebu City. Seems like it might be a good compromise.

We haven't been to Bacolod yet but I do hear it's very nice. Yes, you're right - bigger than Dumaguete but smaller than Cebu. I look forward to exploring Negros more on upcoming trips. Yes the Cebuano thing might be a deal breaker but doesn't mean we wouldn't happily travel and visit, though perhaps not live in these areas.

I have friends in Iloilo and Guimaras and they like them both a lot.

So many options!

[HappyX10]

Dumaguete has such potential but most of the foreigners there make it a little scuzzy. Beautiful architecture lovely promenade bohemian feel minus the overweight old guys in tow with a teenager You were a loser where you came from, that's not changing anytime soon

[ladislav]

Dumaguete has such potential but most of the foreigners there make it a little scuzzy. Beautiful architecture lovely promenade bohemian feel minus the overweight old guys in tow with a teenager You were a loser where you came from, that's not changing anytime soon

As long as the teenager is 18+, it is a legal adult. And the guys who have money and who can travel overseas and make a living there are not losers.

They were, however,socially oppressed for being ( white) men and for being over 25 and not looking like GQ models.

Just like Filipinos who go in search of opportunities in the US were possibly " losers" back in the PH. Small salary, small house. Now, with the change of environment, they are making good money, buying a bigger house and a (bigger) car.

False analogy? I don't think so. Both parties go to other places in search of opportunities. Some look for better social opportunities, some look for economic opportunities.

[Johnny1975]

It's also a non smoking zone so you're only allowed to smoke on private property.

Oh great. A police state.

[davewe]

Dumaguete has such potential but most of the foreigners there make it a little scuzzy. Beautiful architecture lovely promenade bohemian feel minus the overweight old guys in tow with a teenager You were a loser where you came from, that's not changing anytime soon

The old-young comments are pretty old here on HA If someone is offended by it, it's certainly not unique to Dumaguete - you will find that dynamic everywhere in the Philippines - unless you go to a place with no foreigners.

As for me, my teenager is 27, so maybe I can pass muster

For me, the definition of scuzzy foreigner is a guy who travels 8000 miles only to tell other foreigners (or Filipinos for that matter) what to do and how to live. As I said in my piece, those are the types of expats I wish to avoid.

[Yohan]

For me, the definition of scuzzy foreigner is a guy who travels 8000 miles only to tell other foreigners (or Filipinos for that matter) what to do and how to live. As I said in my piece, those are the types of expats I wish to avoid.

The worst of the worst is not a foreign guy, but a foreign woman from USA or Australia, who arrives in Philippines or elsewhere in Asia telling everybody after arrival that she came to rescue 'poor women and little girls' blaming men (foreigners as well as locals) for all and everything which is different from her own country.

[Winston]

I looked up Dumaguete in Google Images and it looks very nice. The pics showed coastlines, boardwalks and beaches. Does it have beaches I wonder, or are they out of town?

Rock and I know an Italian expat friend in Angeles City who just arrived from Dumaguete and says it sucks and is for losers. It's hard to believe that. So we wanna go there and see for ourselves. If many expats live there, there must be a good reason. Larry Elterman lives there too. He is the author of "A Man's Guide to Life and Love in the Philippines" that we advertise on this site. If a no-nonsense guy like Elterman lives there, there must be a good reason.

But Dumaguete looks convenient on the map though. From there, you can take a ferry to Cebu and visit the beaches there.

Btw, check out the tricycles in Dumaguete. They are a lot bigger and cheaper than in Angeles, where the stupid trike mafia inflates the prices and makes the trikes small and uncomfortable to try to get two people to take separate trikes. Greedy bastards.