It's a place where you can relax. Even if its so far, its truly worth the wait and worth the travel. The road going there is rough. Sedan are not advisable going to the place. Its either you ride an SUV or a Van. Bring your own water to drink and food to eat. I mean a lot of water and a lot of food especially if you are in big groups. Also, if you have still time, go and stay in Britania and Tinuy-an falls.
Really lovely place. Was great for a swim. I had a snorkel and did see some fish. You have to pay for a table or cottage type area by the entrance which is ok, not too expensive. There are some shops a couple minutes away by bike for souvenirs or food and drink. But overall I fiy found it a place to visit for only a few hours. You can stay in a resort on another island if you want. I maybe should of done that. I came there from Butuan city.
Enchanted River is 2 hours away from Butuan Airport. The water is crystal clear blue with lots of big and small fishes. It is surrounded by trees and picnic tables where you can have lunch. Best time to see the crystal clear water is at the afternoon.
I guess my expectations of the place was quite high, that's why I was a bit disappointed when we got there. The water looked very clear and pristine just like in the pictures, but I expected the river to be much bigger. Maybe because it was a weekend and around noon (fish feeding time) that the place was quite crowded. All cottages were occupied. Entrance fee is quite reasonable. There are also food stalls right before the entrance to the river, where you can buy your food and choose how you want it to be cooked.
I,my wife and her family of 20+ hired a Jeepney to take us to the enchanted river. We loaded up the Jeepney with drinks , food, things to bbq. When you get to the entrance you buy your tickets which were very cheap per person. At the time I think it was 50 pesos per person. They have stalls for picnic and also they have places to bbq the food you brought. Enchanted River is a place to come to with family , relax and enjoy the very beautiful blue lagoon. It was amazing. You can swim around and make sure to bring goggles so that you can see all the beautiful varieties of fish swimming in the deep. Every couple of hours they also have a show where they turn on music and feed the fish in the lagoon . You can also take boat rides out of the area but we did not participate in that on the trip we had taken. By far this is the best sight to see in the area of Surigao Del Sur.
A bit far from Davao, but worth the trip IF you combine it with a boat tour down the River to the Ocean. We visited the place during a weekend, and it was too crowded, but still enjoyed it.
this was our second visit to the Enchanted River, and we were still captivated by the blue green and clear river. There is a small fee of 30 pesos for swimming with the fish, You can also rent cottages with tables for a reasonable fee.The bell rings for feeding time and all the fish appear like magic. There are vests to rent for small children fifteen pesos , and you can buy fresh seaafood, although we took =our own food . There are changing areas and toilets( do not expect the Ritz) they are clean and tidy though. We are visiting again when our son comes over for a visit this Christmas and I know they willl be as "enchanted" as us.
Such a beautiful place in the middle of the jungle. we were lucky there were not many people and we enjoyed the blue water and scenery
The place is really jaw dropping! My friends and I went here to celebrate our Friendship Anniversary. We tried jumping into the water with our vests on since most of us really can't swim. We payed for a cottage, bought fresh seafoods at the market nearby, and let it be cooked for us. It was really delicious and not that expensive. We were also amazed by the big fishes that slowly surfaced into the water when a certain song was played. We were asked to go out of the water for a while since it is feeding time for the fishes. It is really amusing to see the fishes patiently waiting for their food to be dropped into the water. After a few hours of swimming, we rent a habal-habal which drove us into the main highway where we asked our driver to wait for us. This is a must visit place in Hinatuan.
Just make sure to breathe when you get there. Mother Nature will simply take your breath away.It is just unbelievable to still have a place to have pristine, sparkling water. The play of colors and the different shades of blue depending on the depth of the water is just undescribable.And yes, you get to swim with the fishes!Try to get there in the morning to avoid the crowds. The number of people swell up by noontime because of the fishfeeding (and probably because it would take that long to travel to Hinatuan if you took the morning flights via Butuan).