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Marina Tuna Seafood Restaurant

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Love tuna? Well, you’re in luck as Davao is popular for their tuna dishes. It’s only fitting, then, that Marina Tuna Seafood Restaurant boasts a menu where they offer tuna cooked 10 different ways. To say they are the experts of tuna is an understatement. Step outside of your comfort zone and try some parts of the fish that you normally wouldn’t find in a western restaurant such as the crispy tail, eye soup, grilled jaw, and more. If you aren’t super adventurous when it comes to eating, no worries. Marina Tuna makes some impressive grilled tuna belly and to die for tuna sashimi. Oh, and they have beer!

Eat Davao Dishes

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Filipino food isn’t all just sisig and lechon. Each island offers their own spin. While you’re on Davao, go to some local restaurants to try dishes like Sinuagbang Bihod (grilled tuna fish roe), Inato (grilled chicken with Davao spices), Pasayan (deep-fried shrimp), or Imbaw (clam soup). Go to restaurants such as Bistro Selera, Ahfat Sea Foods Plaza, Filipino Comfort Food (FCF), or stop by a local street stall for cheap eats to find the most authentic foodie experience possible.

Davao Zorb Park

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Let loose and be silly at Davao Zorb Park. If you’ve never heard of a Zorb before, it’s basically one humongous plastic ball that you climb inside to be tossed around. Experience a day of weightlessness with two Zorbing activities at this park. The first activity is where you climb inside the Zorb and it is then pushed down a giant hill, which sends you flying and rolling inside. The second activity is where you take the floating Zorb on water as you try to walk around and bump into your friends. You’ll be laughing all day.

Blue Post’s Boiling Crab and Seafood

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Don’t be afraid to get messy at this eat-with-your-hands seafood spot in Davao. Put on some plastic gloves, a bib, and get ready to dig in like a seaside caveman. You can order a seafood boil with tuna belly, muscles, clams, shrimp, crab and more, tossed in a big plastic bag with incredible sauces and hunks of corn on the cob. The feast is then dumped on a big pan in front of your table to share. With such close proximity to the waters, it would be a shame to pass up a seafood feast in the Philippines. It’s a fun and delicious experience!

Philippine-Japanese Historical Museum

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World War II has left its imprint on different islands in different ways- including Davao. Come to the Philippine-Japanese Historical Museum where you’ll learn how Davao served as an island of retreat for the Japanese during the war and how some 20,000 Japanese remained on the island after the war to work on abaca plantations. In this museum, you’ll witness how the Japanese lived via replicas of their living quarters from the time spent living on the plantation. You’ll see bunk beds, camera, trinkets, and more. You’ll also see relics from the war such as weapons and clothing. This museum offers unique Japanese perspective of war times that you don’t often see.

Balut Island

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There is a relatively underrated volcanic island at the southern tip of Davao Oriental that should be explored if you’ve got the chance. Balut Island is home to a super interesting mixture of cultures including Muslims, Bilaans, and Sangils, who are native to Indonesia. Most of the locals here are farmers who export coconuts to surrounding areas. The mix of cultures means that you can find an international display of restaurants here. While you’re on the island, you can take a dip in the Sabung Hot Spring overlooking the sea, stroll the undisturbed white sand beach, watch for Pygmy Sperm Whales in the water, and check out the ruins of Fort Villa from WWI.

Visit Magsaysay Park

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This outdoor park is more than just a place to sit on a park bench and watch the day go by. Famous for it’s long row of fruit stands featuring mostly Durian, Magsaysay Park is a wonderful place to work on your haggling skills. Stop in the Fishcado, an open-air seafood restaurant who serves dishes with fresh seafood collected from the local market. Davao is famous for tuna and swordfish dishes so be on the lookout! As the sun sets, more and more food stalls and snack carts will start rolling in, creating an unofficial night market where you can sample plenty of small treats!