Times Beach

Times Beach

Times Beach is one of my personal favorite places in Davao City, and I am featuring this beach under this special post. 

It is the very first beach that I have visited when I set foot to Davao City in January 15, 1999 on a business assignment. Here, countless fond, unforgettable memories transpired along its shorelines which remain vividly in my mind today. My family and I have spent so many weekends here and on every possible opportunity during the week, we would always find ourselves enjoying a short dip into its waters and pig-out in one of the restaurants that line-up the grayish shores of Times. The beach may be wanting of white sands, here and there, but it still remains today a favorite hang-out of locals, and will always have a very special place in my heart. Needless to say, Times Beach will always remain part of my family's itinerary whenever we find ourselves back in Davao City, my family and I call home.

Times Beach is a public beach widely popular among the locals, and a must-see attraction in Davao City. It is where Dabawenyos from all walks of life gather for picnics or leisure walks on weekends and holidays. During low tide, countless different migratory birds can be seen hovering around the area; Chinese egrets, Eurasian Curlews, Whimbrels, Common Greenshanks, Terek Sandpipers, and White-Collared Kingfishers, to name a few. Its shore is lined-up with a number of nipa huts, kiosks, and restaurants where delectable dishes of seafood are usually served. 

How Times Beach got its name

There is a popular story on how the popular Times Beach got its name: Shortly after Davao City recovered from the ruins of World War II, a group of young reporters and editors of Mindanao Times, the first post-war newspaper in Mindanao, would often meet and drink during payday at a certain area in the beach where the Queensland Motel and the Davao Baywalk and Park are now situated, and would consume their provision of "sinugba" - grilled fish or meat, usually pork, or a combination thereof, and knock a few rounds of "cervesa" - Spanish for beer, as it was commonly called then.

These young men, then all bachelors, were Editor-in-Chief Atty. Cesar R. Nuñez, who was appointed City Hall Secretary by then Mayor Elias B. Lopez; City Editor Pedro R. Laviña, who became Regional Coordinator of the Department of Tourism; Associate Editor Artemio Loyola, who was elected congressman of Davao del Sur; and reporters Vic Generoso and Ernesto Corsino, who was the liaison officer of the United States Information Service in Davao City. Their group was led by Mindanao Times founder, Atty. Guillermo Torres, Sr., who, at one of their escapades to the group's usual afternoon rendezvous at the beach, raised his bottle of beer as a gesture of toast and announced to his cronies that he was christening the place as "Times Beach" so that they would all know the exact place where they were to meet every payday. Thus, the popular beach got its name.

How to get to Times Beach

The beach is located at Ecoland in Davao City and is a well-known destination in the city. It is about two kilometers drive from the downtown area and is easily accessible by all types of public and private transportation.