Dumaguete City
Dumaguete City is known as the “university town”, with no less than four university’s, and a total student population of more than 30,000, including neighboring schools. Dumaguete is the capital city of Negros Oriental, and is a popular hub for many of the tourist attractions in the Central Visayas region.
Apo Island, which is a very popular location for scuba diving/snorkeling with the sea turtles, and Oslob in Cebu, where diving with the Whale Sharks is also a popular tourist attraction, are easily accessible from Dumaguete. There are also ferries serving nearby Siquijor and Bohol, places that are also popular with tourists.
Dumaguete has a number of hotels, restaurants, resorts, shopping malls, bars with live bands and karaoke. Coco Amigos Mexican restaurant is a personal favourite for those that like Mexican and cocktails, whilst a bit further out of town, Hayahay Treehouse Bar & Viewdeck and Azul Restaurant & Lounge (several minutes’ drive from the main boulevard) are great places to sit back and relax with good food, and nice views of the ocean.
Only being about a one hour flight from Manila, it is a popular getaway place for locals and gets very busy during the summer months (Jan to March). Well worth a visit with no shortage of action.
The main boulevard in Dumaguete City. Not spectacular but still worth a visit. Being close by the sea, it does bring a welcome cool breeze to keep the heat at bay.
The Forest Camp in Valencia is about 10kms (30 mins drive) from the city. This is a peaceful and relaxing inland resort with several small rapids, a river and cabanas. It’s a great place to chill out and have a couple of beers and a picnic.
The Dumaguete Cathedral Church is located nearby Quezon Park. This is the main Roman Catholic Church in the region and it is the seat of the Diocese of Dumaguete.
The Dumaguete Bell Tower is the oldest known Belfry in the province. With a large historical significance to the area, the structure was built in the year 1811.
