Why Spend Your New Year in Davao

The New Year is a huge annual festivity celebrated around the world. The midnight of January 1 is that time of the year when fireworks, festive music, treats, and all sorts of parties are everywhere. While many choose to greet the first day of the year inside their luxury homes, others see new year’s day as an opportunity to take a vacation. The New year is about new beginnings, after all. So, why not spend it in a new place and enjoy a once-a-year celebration in the most beautiful places in the country? A great place to celebrate the new year is Davao.

What it is Like to Celebrate the New Year in Davao

Why spend your new year in Davao? Known as the “Crown Jewel of Mindanao,” Davao City is one of the largest and most beautiful tourist destinations in the Philippines. Holiday travelers can make their end-of-the-year trip extra special in the city in different ways. Davao City is a hotspot for many things, from world-class escapades to local holiday delicacies. Sounds like your cup of tea? Here are some reasons why you should visit the city for your new year celebration.

Experience the Annual Torotot Festival

Greeting the first day of the New Year with loud firecrackers is an old tradition to drive away evil spirits. The drawbacks: it pollutes the environment and is a potential health risk for people and pets. Davao City promotes a safe and sustainable New Year’s Eve celebration by banning the use, sale, and distribution of firecrackers in the city. But that does not spoil the fun. Every New Year’s Day, locals and tourists come together to the city square (Rizal Park, Davao) to celebrate the Torotot Festival.

The annual festivity involves partygoers simultaneously using party horns or torotot to spread the holiday cheer. To elevate the party, Davao City also holds events like the Giant Torotot-Making contest, torotot-inspired costume competition, and even dance tournaments. Because of these proactive efforts, Davao City holds a zero-incidence of firecracker-related injuries and damages to commercial and residential areas, including luxury real estate properties like luxury condo units or house and lot properties for sale.

Indulge in an Authentic Local Dining Experience

Traveling to a new place is incomplete without trying out its local delicacies. When you are in Davao, you do not want to miss fresh seafood cuisines. A quick trip to Roxas Night market will give you plenty of options. Make grilled tuna belly or fried fish with special Davao mango sauce the star of your New Year’s Eve dinner along with other meat delicacies like chicken binakol or kalderobo, which is Davao’s take to the famous adobo dish.

For dessert, delight your sweet tooth with Davao’s award-winning cacao treats. Malagos Garden Resort in Davao is the first chocolate museum in the country and it offers delectable bean-to-cacao sweets. If you want to be more adventurous with your dessert menu, why not challenge your tastebuds with durian? Davao is called the Durian Capital of the Philippines because it offers different variations of the unique-tasting fruit. Just a word of caution for the uninitiated: durian has a strong pungent smell that may or may not appeal to your tastes. Introduce the fruit to your tastebus with durian and jackfruit turon. This delicious dessert is deep-fried in a thin lumpia wrapper, and comes with a serving of sweet, Davao chocolate sauce. Definitely a must-try Davao delicacy!

Enjoy Natural Landscapes

Whether you like spending the holidays trekking or swimming (or both), Davao has an adventure to offer. It is the home to Mt. Apo, the highest mountain in the country, and the pristine waters of Samal Island. Davao is known for its wildlife preservation efforts, which explaoins the abundance of natural parks, gardens, and other green spaces in the region. Enjoy spectacular views by visiting popular mountain resorts like Eden Nature Park and Resort. If lounging in the beach is your cup of tea, visiting the Island Garden City of Samal is a good idea. Accessibility is not an issue as it is only a hour away from Davao’s city proper. Another natural wonder to explore is the Aliwagwag Falls. This natural wonder is known as the longest cascading waterfalls in the country.

Experience the Davao City Nightlife

Despite being hundreds of miles away from Metro Manila, Davao City is a highly-urbanized city. This is evident to its gorwing business districts, rising luxury condo properties, and fluorishing night life. Bars on the city range from eccentric clubs to more laidback jazz and piano bars. Torres Street is a popular nightlife strip in Davao that offers a variety of bars, restaurants, and spas that you can visit to celebrate the New Year.

Here are a few notable names for your holiday bar-hopping escapade:

• Club Echelon – The perfect spot for partygoers who wants to get the best of upscale nightclub experience. Expect a diverse crowd jamming to upbeat tunes.
• Blue Room – A cozy bar for live jazz and cocktail enthusiasts who prefers buffet-style entree options.
• Pirates Pub – A popular choice for the sports and beer fans who enjoy pool, darts, and football on the side of fish and chips.

That said, if you want to greet the New Year’s Day with some pop electro beats on the side or soft chill tunes in the background, you have plenty of options to explore.

Travel Early for a Hassle-Free New Year Trip

The holiday rush can make travelling for the New Year stressful. Road traffic, crowd rush, and sold-out transportation tickets are some of the major challenges you can expect. So, as much as possible, you should avoid booking your trip during popular days like the Christmas week. If you are traveling for the New Year, consider scheduling your trip on or a day or two after Christmas. Chances are, Christmas travelers are already on their destinations, so the roads and airports are likely less congested.

Another important tip: depart early. It is good to have an extra tarvel time to spare in case of delays or unexpected happenings like bad weather or sudden road repairs. Traveling for the holidays can be unpredictable, so make sure to check the weather forecasts in your area and destination before you go.

If you schedule your New Year trip in advance, you might be able to visit the Christmas-themed spots in Davao. These include the dancing 3D lights and sounds in Davao City Hall and the Christmas Village in Prayer Mountain.

New Year and Fresh Starts: Celebrate a New Chapter with Brittany Corporation

Because of the attractive balance of green spaces, entertainemnet hubs, business districts, and tourists spots, Davao City is not only a popular holiday destination, but also a premier location for buying your new luxury real estate property. So, if you want to start the new year by expanding your investment portfolio (or buy relocating on a new place), buying a luxury condo in Davao or house and lot properties for sale in the area gives you the best value for your money.

Brittany Corporation can help you navigate the particularities of buying your next luxury condo unit in Davao. As one of the biggest luxury real estate property developers in the Philippines, Brittany Corporation takes pride on its solid portfolio of world-class luxury condo units and luxury house and lot properties for sale in the best locations in the country.

Explore more of what Brittany has to offer. Whether your dream home is a luxury condo unit in Davao or a luxury house in Luzon, there is a Brittany property for you. Ready to come home to luxury? Connect to a Brittany Salesforce professional today!

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