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Dolphin Island @ Misamis Occidental Aquamarine Park (MOAP)

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A Holy Week get-away.

I was very much excited last Holy Week because of the very long holiday…... (I took the opportunity to file a leave for 2 days so I could be free for the entire week). My destination was the much talked about Dolphin Island | Misamis Occ. Aquamarine Park (MOAP).

I have prepared so much for this trip, because the place is very much far from where I reside – Davao City. Okay relax, let me first give you a li’l good reason why I exhausted my very self to travel this far just to see the place…


MOAP, as it is popularly called, lies in a 60-hectare coastal area abundant in mangrove trees. They also have several clusters of hatchery for different aquamarine life. It has a string of cottages, a floating restaurant and function halls uniquely built to compliment its serene environment – all these are connected by wooden bridges!

Image and video hosting by TinyPicHow to get there?
If you’re from outside the Philippines:
Take a plane going to Manila. From Manila, take another plane to Dipolog City, which is about 3 hours away from Sinacaban going south by bus. An alternate route is by barge from Manila to Ozamiz City. Ozamiz City is the capital of Misamis Occidental and is about 30 minutes away from Sinacaban by bus. Get off the bus when you get to Misamis Occidental Aquamarine Park (MOAP). You can always ask the driver to get you to MOAP as it’s a famous place around the area and plus most bus drivers are nice and accommodating so don’t hesitate to ask for directions!

If you’re from Davao (like me!), you can either take a plane or exhaust yourself a li’l bit by taking the bus to Cagayan de Oro (CDO) City. Bus ride would take about 6 hours, which you will surely enjoy because of the awesome views. Then ride a bus to Ozamis City, which would take about 4 hours.

The Trip.

We arrived at MOAP around 11am, just in time for lunch! Upon entrance I already knew it was going to be a very interesting day. MOAP boastfully welcomes you with her vast area of fishing hatcheries, mangroves and mini zoo. Overwhelmed as we are, we kept our cool and decided to explore the place later before going home. So we rushed to the floating restaurant, which to my surprise is still about 300 meters far from mainland and can only be accessed thru the wooden/bamboo bridge...(cool huh!? Yeah, I admit my knees were shaking…hehe!)


So we had our lunch! The delicious Chicken Adobo, Fish Sinigang & Grilled Pork. Food was delicious and very affordable!


Shortly after, we were at the jetty waiting for the pump boat that would take us to The Dolphin Island. We paid 1,500.00 (boat fare & entrance fee) for an exclusive trip. It only cost 220/head (back & forth). It took us about 15mins. to reach Dolphin Island.


You can do a lot of activities here: dine (they have a resto!) snorkeling, kayaking, or just simply bask in the blue waters and white sand bar. As the name suggests, the island, nestles a number of dolphins enclosed in a network of pens totally surrounding the entire area. The dolphins here were said to have been rescued by fishermen, and the entire belt itself, according to caretakers, has become a dolphin/fish sanctuary. If you don’t believe the story, well you can try asking the dolphins themselves! You are free to go swimming with them or have the pleasure of feeding them.

We left the island around 5pm and headed back to MOAP where we explored their 60-hectare coastal mangrove. Within the mangrove is a mini zoo with lots of monkeys…. crocodiles, sawa (snake), several species of birds and 1 tarsier (which was deeply asleep that time..)




22 comments:

Anonymous said...

very expensive for the poor who wants to enjoy in that place

WebAutomator said...

:-D yes maybe a little costly, on my case, i make it a point to set aside a portion of my salary for travel..you can do that too...
thanks for droppin' a note ;)

Anonymous said...

way far better rates than other commercial resorts. thx for this

WebAutomator said...

i agree... a lot of resorts costs much more than this.. and considering the beauty & adventure this place offers.... it is way far better... sulit na sulit po ;)
tnx for the comments ;)

Anonymous said...

sana bawas-bawasan namn nila ang expenses para marami pupunta jan...kurakot namn kasi nila....

WebAutomator said...

(hehehe) with so many aqua-resorts opening now,,, i bet bababa din rates nila... bdw, pictures shown above were taken year ago pah, recently ni-renovate na nila ang resort.. the bamboo bridges are now concrete, maganda narin yung cr and canteen... ;)

Anonymous said...

mahal naman..pagdating sa island, pwede bang mag sight seeing nalng? i mean no need to rent a cottage...is it possible? what if dalawa lang kami pumunta? we need to pay the entire 5 individual kasi dapat 5 minimum eh

jaemie said...

hi..how much will it cost for 4 travellers to stay there?

julie s gabay said...

i'm very glad to be apart of this project... i saw the progress to this place.... it helps a lot to the people not only the town nearby but the whole province.... keep up the good work... more progress...... God bless MOAP!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

how much is the entrance per head?

WebAutomator said...

hi everyone!!! :-D so so sorry at ngayon lang ako nakapag-check ulit...(was sOoooo busy working..) heheheh..
it's been a while since my last visit to MOAP.. kaya din narin ako masyadong updated sa rates nila as well as sa rules ng resort (most probably, baka nag-increase nah..).. but i'll try to answer your questions...

1) No need to pay for Cottage in Dolphin Island.. The entrance fee is all you need to pay.. and yes,kaylangan nyo bayaran yung minimum sa boat transfer, kahit dalawa lang kayo. (kaya wag nlng kayo mag-exclussive, you can wait for other tourists, para tipid..)

@jaemie: it depends on your preferences. sa transpo lang, it will cost you 1K for the transfer. cottage rates ranges from 2K to 4K..

@julie: complete na ba renovation nila? i'm planning to go back there..last time kasi celfon lng dala ko kaya kokonti lng talaga pics kong nakuha.. also will go to Hoyohoy Mt....wanna try their grass skiing :-D ganda ng Misamis Occ..loveeeettt!

Thanks to all!!!! God Bless...

Anonymous said...

hi mitzi,
i would like to know who owns the island?

WebAutomator said...

:-D i am not sure, but i think it is managed by the local gov't of Misamis Occidental.

Anonymous said...

ain't it managed by the son of Mr. Foad Akhavan?

WebAutomator said...

:D really do not know.. hehehhe

WebAutomator said...

here.. courtesy of http://globalnation.inquirer.net/

"Dolphin Island was developed as a joint venture between the provincial government and Iranian investor Foad Akhavan.

Under an ordinance, the net income of the aquamarine park forms part of funds intended for cheap medicines in the pharmacies of five provincial government-run hospitals."

Anonymous said...

can you suggest any resort where we can stay for the night for we will be coming from Manila

Anonymous said...

malapit lng ba yung grass skiing dun sa moap?

WebAutomator said...

> MOAP has their own accommodation within the resort. if u'r planning to go to Dolphin Island then better stay in MOAP.. okay naman yung cottages nila. closed and airconditioned yung mga cottages nila.

> grass skiing is in Tangub city. yung moap is the same path going to Dipolog. magkaiba sila ng way, but if ur jump off is ozamis city, pareho lng sila 30 mins (more or less) ride from ozamis..

Anonymous said...

hello there! i would like to ask if you have their contact details. because i can't find one sa net. kanina pako search ng search. thank you soo much. this would really help us :D more power!

Anonymous said...

What air company did you take to get Thérèse at 11am ?

WebAutomator said...

hi! i was already in Ozamiz a day before my trip to Dolphin Island, that's why I got there in in time for lunch.. i would advice you to do the same so you'll have plenty of time & energy to enjoy the place. :)

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