travel warnings

[MikelanNida 28]

hello everyone, i hope all is well, i have another question i would like advice on, i wish to go to mindanao next trip but i see the travel warnings for the island, i had no trouble in cebu or manila, but i would like to get advice before going to mindanao. thanks in advance for any input.

[Filipinawife0210 15]

As with anywhere in the Philippines, there is a risk. I know a few folks who have ventured to Mindanao, and Davao, and they had no problems. My best advice if you go, would to be vigilant, and aware of your surroundings. The military side of me kicks in when I go to the Philippines. A little situational awareness goes a long long way. If you stick to the more populated areas, and keep a low profile, you should be fine. I always register with the Department of State when I travel to the Philippines. That way, they know where you are, and have a good contact number, should they get any intel that would require you to evacuate or something....Just my two centavos. In the end it's entirely up to you, but I do know quite a few people that visit Mindanao on a regular basis, and have had no problems at all.

[MikelanNida 28]

As with anywhere in the Philippines, there is a risk. I know a few folks who have ventured to Mindanao, and Davao, and they had no problems. My best advice if you go, would to be vigilant, and aware of your surroundings. The military side of me kicks in when I go to the Philippines. A little situational awareness goes a long long way. If you stick to the more populated areas, and keep a low profile, you should be fine. I always register with the Department of State when I travel to the Philippines. That way, they know where you are, and have a good contact number, should they get any intel that would require you to evacuate or something....Just my two centavos. In the end it's entirely up to you, but I do know quite a few people that visit Mindanao on a regular basis, and have had no problems at all.

thanks for the advice, can i also mention her parents live in a village there and i will have to take a 5 hour bus ride, (one way) to get there, it passes through sparsely populated areas, bad roads, etc., which makes me think maybe an excellant oppurtunity for anything that may happen to happen... so part of me says go for it and part of me says ambush, hahaha, what do you think?

[Maxx121 14]

Before i made my first trip, i asked every phillipino i know, work with, and even at my doctors office where i should go. they all said mostly the same thing.

Stay in the cities and stay out of mindanoa (sp) hehe so i just stayed in cebu and called it a day.

My advice is if you know where to go and what you are doing then by all means go. But if you dont know the area and the background of the people there, personally i wouldnt.

They put up warnings for a reason and if you arent the type of guy who knows how to read and avoid danger then stick to the safe spots.

I grew up in NY city and hung out in some of the WORST neighborhoods here becuase they have some really nice spots that any tourist would love to visit. But most tourists stand out like sore thumbs and i wouldnt suggest to any of them to go to certain spots even if they would love it.

So stick to the tried and true

once you have some experience under your belt and can speak the language, by all means travel. its nice to know what someone is saying when they think you are just a dumb american. - you might hear: lets rob this fool when he turns the corner then you can just walk straight hehehe

[Dogwood_Poet 16]

My wife is from Northern Mindanao (close to Cagayan de Oro City) and I have always felt safe there. It is several hours away from the southern section where most of the problems from the MILF and other groups occur. Again, be safe and keep aware of your surroundings at all times. Honestly I feel safer there then in some areas of many US cities!

Plus the fact I have several of her five brothers with me most everywhere we go as a 'posse' LOL!

[Joan >3 Bob 20]

Do some research and you will find out the areas the MILF are in and stay away from those areas.

I have traveled to Ozamiz City several times and always have felt safe but I did not go out walking the city streets alone at night either.

It would help to know where you are planning to get this bus from and where it is taking you in Mindanao. Bandits rob busses in remote places in the Philippines at times and being on a bus for 5 hours through remote areas does not sound like a risk I would want to take myself, especially traveling alone. What airport will you enter Mindanao at? What is the name of the barangay of your destination?

If you provide more information I am sure others familiar with that area of Mindanao could give you some sound advice. Good Luck.

[Jared and May 16]

Davao City is beautiful & safe. Enjoy! :thumbs:

[Tahoma 2,292]

This topic comes up from time to time here on the Philippines forum. The last time it came up was on this thread, starting on page four or five.

You might want to have a look at that thread, especially some of VJ member rlogan's posts.

[Atencio 43]

I visited my wife in Butuan twice and felt safe there but even she was against traveling in the provinces. Personally the only places in Mindanao I would visit would be Butuan and Davao and then only in the city proper. Also be reminded that Malaria and Dengue is very rampant. Even in the city, my wife got infected with Dengue. It will be worse out in the wild. MILF is not the only problem. You have the NPA, anti-logging bandits, and other opportunists running around the countryside.

Yes rlogans last post on the subject was very interesting.

Good luck on whatever you decide to do.

Edited November 2, 2010 by Atencio

[John+Lourdelie 28]

Ha ha... MILF... I always chuckle when I see that.... Sorry.

My fiancée is from Panabo City, north of Davao City. I had no problems with travel going there or in the city. Only things that bothered me were the heat, humidity and pollution from the tricycle taxi's.

John

[teonshine 0]

My Fiancees family lives in Gen San. We spent few days there visiting them last year. There was always many police and milatary around. In fact the hotel we stayed at had armed milary guard every night. You should seen how nervous i made him when i went out for a cigaret at night:)). But as long as you keep her family around you and not venture out on your own you should be fine.

[Kevin- 13]

Some parts of Mindanao are fine, some aren't. Mindanao is pretty big, when considering the travel times between the different localities (i.e. 47 miles in a straight line from Valencia City, Bukidnon to Cagayan de Oro's airport, but it takes over 3 hours (5+ in bad traffic). This means with a few miles of distance on a map, you may be in a whole different region culturally and/or experientially.

So, what city is it?

Also, you might consider taking a taxi from whichever airport you arrive at all the way to your destination. It seems the CDO taxi drivers usually have a rate card for going to the different cities around that end of the island, so it's not uncommon. Sometimes Bel and I do this, and we have a specific taxi driver we call on when we want a more comfortable and private ride to or from the airport. Since we're regular customers, he gives us a bit of a discount. Even though it's a long drive, it's only about $50. Plus, we can stop for food or CR breaks whenever we want.

[AKteacher 104]

I was in Mindanao twice this past summer. Davao, Cagayan De Oro, Malaybalay, Valencia City, Maramag, Kadingilan, and some other towns and villages around the Kadingilan area. I took the public buses, and then rented a motorcycle and took various side trips around. Areas I was told to watch out for: anywhere west of General Santos City (I didn't go to any of those areas). There are some areas that I definitely wouldn't go, such as Cotabato City.

Overall, the experience was really great! It's probably safer there (st least where I was), than in many areas of Manila. Mindanao is much less westernized than Manila, Boracay, or Cebu. It was a very different experience, no beggars (outside of Davao City anyway), and not a McDonalds or KFC in sight! The people were very friendly, and curious about foreigners. Just be careful and watch your back like anywhere else. Of course it helps to know people who live there, but even if I didn't know anybody I would still feel reasonably safe.

[MikelanNida 28]

Do some research and you will find out the areas the MILF are in and stay away from those areas.

I have traveled to Ozamiz City several times and always have felt safe but I did not go out walking the city streets alone at night either.

It would help to know where you are planning to get this bus from and where it is taking you in Mindanao. Bandits rob busses in remote places in the Philippines at times and being on a bus for 5 hours through remote areas does not sound like a risk I would want to take myself, especially traveling alone. What airport will you enter Mindanao at? What is the name of the barangay of your destination?

If you provide more information I am sure others familiar with that area of Mindanao could give you some sound advice. Good Luck.

i will land in butuan head to bus station and head towards mangagoy, bislig area, its the bus ride that bothers me, i can handle myself on foot and read peoples body language etc. but the bus will go where it will go... maybe i just worry too much.

[BJZags 17]

I'm thinking you should be relatively "safe" as your staying on the eastern side of the Province. I've flow into Butuan several times and rode buses North to Surigao. The Muslim "hotspot" I think is primarily on the far-west of the island.