Water Tubing Adventure, Sarangani Province

Khell Francisco
Mar 28, 2017
3 min read

The heat is on. The school is off. Some are having summer outing and others are exhausted in work. One thing is for sure, summer is fast approaching. We all want to have a break and have some fun.

The question is what to do and where to go? If you are looking for an idea or a place to go this summer, you are in the right site.

Here is the new adventure that you, together with your friends or loved ones will enjoy.

The Water Tubing Adventure!

The clean water of Pangi River is located in New La Union, Maitum Sarangani Province Philippines.

After the rapids

How much it will cost?

First thing first, how much it will cost? I know, right? This is the first thing you want to know.

Water tubing has a 2.1Km and a 1.6Km distance from starting point to end point. So if you really want to enjoy this adventure go for 2.1Km, it will cost Php350. However, if you are budget conscious go for 1.6Km for only Php200 pesos. 1.6Km is recommended for kids too.

How to go?

White Water tubing is located in Pangi River in New La Union, Maitum, Sarangani Province. From Manila book a flight to General Santos City. There are some UV express van in airport and ask them to take you to UV Express van terminal going to Maitum. This terminal is near in KCC mall of Gensan. The fare from KCC terminal to Maitum is Php130. It takes a couple of hours until you reach Maitum. Ask the driver to drop you in water tubing terminal. Then, you need to take tricycle which will drop you in water tubing location. Fare is Php50/each.

No trace of fear even at the beginning

Where to eat?

Water tubing location offers variety of food. I recommend trying their bangsi fish for only Php15/fish (it is dried, marinated flying fish) which I had for the first time or the native chicken tinola, which costs Php450 and is good for 3-5 persons. There is also a sari-sari store in the location.

There are some pointers for do’s and don’ts before the takeoff. I remember three:

Lay flat on the tire
Hold onto the handles tight.
Don’t worry about falling off the tire it’s part of the excitement. If you think you’re falling off, according to orientation just hold the handle in one arm. Don’t let the tire leave you. (I guess that is what they mean, the tire will secure your safety).

To start the water tubing activity, there was a guy distributing small pieces of paper. The assignment of guides was determined through draw lots. There was also one guide per person. Life vest and helmets are provided.

An extra guide was tasked to do video footage. His name is Michael Soldavillo. At first I was hesitant to hand him my GoPro. It’s not because he might take it away, but I worry that he can’t capture the adventure right. However, it was only my assumption. He was like a professional in taking some videos and photos while doing some exhibition in water. He also knows the rapids and the good spots to capture.

We took habal-habal for almost 6 minutes and then another 5 minutes trekking to the 2.1km starting point. By the way we tried this activity for three times, crazy right? We pay only two rides, the last is free. Why? Unfortunately, our first 2.1km experience was not captured by my GoPro (SD card fault). So we decided to try the 1.6Km and paid again Php200 (for the sake of videos and photos). Luckily, right after the second ride GMA 7 arrived and interviewed us about our experience. So the chairman of water tubing offered us another ride for free with GMA 7 staffs. So here we are again for the third time.

Hanging bridge going to 2.1km starting point

Ready to jump off

My first water tubing experience was good, even though there was water going inside my mouth, ears and nose. The current was manageable at first because it was noontime. The rapids are crazy in our second time, but still manageable. The third time was the worst. The water turned also into light brown because of the rainfall. At the end we survived and we enjoyed it so much.

The beauty of Pangi River

We even missed the last trip to Gensan. The last trip is 5pm and we arrived at the terminal at 5:13pm. We ended up calling my husband to fetch us. Anyway, that was a part of the adventure right?

We had a great water tubing experience and it is worth to try. Why don’t you try also and have some fun. If you want to know more just comment below and I will try to respond right away. Enjoy!