Monday, March 15, 2010

Davao's River Wild - Part II

Unbeknownst to most, there are two separate teams operating a rafting business in Davao. There is the Davao Wildwater Adventure, Inc (DWAI) and River One Adventure (R1A). The former has been in operation for almost 8 years, the latter launched at the start of the current year.

Googling “Davao” and “rafting” would almost always lead to DWAI. That is no surprise since they have been in the business longer. Their website is up and running. Previous Davao tourists have posted pictures and blogs on their experience with DWAI.

I initially made an inquiry with DWAI when a friend, who went to Davao a couple of weeks before my trip, prodded me to try out R1A. He gave out two reasons – it’s cheaper at P1500 (inclusive of lunch, customized shirt, digital copy of pictures/videos) and traverses 5 more rapids than the competitor (a total of 12.8 km) – even though they both run on the same river.

The best months to go rafting for thrill-enthusiasts are from December-January and July-December. It doesn’t mean rafting is not recommended during the summer months. You can. It’s less scary. You can do the drifting without getting scared of getting dragged away by the river. It is also the best time to bring your kids out for a wild water adventure. There were 7 to 11-year-old kids on the other raft when we went rafting and they were having the grandest time.

So if you want to enjoy the summer in Davao, try out the rafting adventure offered by R1A. You are relatively in safe hands. Their guides knows the rapids inside and out, having traversed the river for years. It is relatively cheaper too.

You can read about my experience here. Lawstude uploaded a video and you can enjoy it here. Lawstude’sand Dong Ho’s take on the wild ride will probably be published soon.

River One Adventure
Contact Numbers:
0915 328 6857 (Globe)
0920 505 5477 (Smart)
0922 829 3370 (Sun)

Address:
16 Paseo de Roxas Commercial Complex
Manuel Roxas Avenue, Davao City
(walking distance from Ateneo de Davao University)

Other Activities Offered:
- Outdoor Adventure Events Organizing (adventure racing: trail running, off-road triathlon, swimming & paddling)
- island hopping tours (backyard activities: snorkeling, diving)
- inland tours (city tours)
- outland tours (Mt. Apo tour guide)
- corporate team building activities (specifically: sports team building)

9 comments:

gillboard said...

thanks for the info. will need this when i decide to go to davao hopefully this year.

Random Student said...

informative. it's also nice to know that kids can have fun in the activity.

Visual Velocity said...

Mukang exciting! May discount ba pag friendship? :p

R1A said...

daghang salamat sa pagsalig! ayo ayo og amping pirmi. R1A

escape said...

this info will definitely help. salamat river one! highly recommended tong white water rafting sa davao.

Oman said...

awesome trip. kailan ang susunod?

Raft3r said...

whoa!
astig!

len said...

I saw in Unang Hirit that there's this particular place (name escapes my mind) where rafting was put on hold since January because the river has dried up due to El Nino. :(

But i want to try rafting sometime. :p

rafting cagayan de oro said...

rafting is really one of the main attraction in davao. if you're in davao, you better try this adrenalin pumping adventure. ^_^.