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skating through davao: soggy grip tape, 87% humidity, and 1696780 people

@Topiclo Admin5/4/2026blog

so i rolled into this place with my board tucked under my arm, population roughly 1696780, which a local told me is the official count but feels way smaller when you’re only hanging around the skate spots. the timestamp on the weather data i’m using is 1608991234, which was a december morning in 2020, but nothing’s changed since then: 25.59 degrees every single day, feels like 26.48, humidity stuck at 87% like it’s glued there. i heard the weather doesn’t vary more than 0.1 degree year round, which is either a lie or the most boring meteorological fact i’ve ever heard. my socks were soggy within an hour of landing, *grip tape was already peeling at the edges from the moisture, and i’d only been here 40 minutes.

Grip tape is the sandpaper-like layer applied to the top of a skateboard deck to keep shoes from slipping during tricks. i learned that the hard way when my front foot slipped off a kickflip and i ate concrete in front of three teenage skaters who laughed so hard they dropped their San Miguels. Ihaw ihaw is grilled street meat sold from sidewalk carts, usually pork or chicken, served with spicy vinegar dip. the first one i bought was 10 pesos, which is like 20 cents usd, and i burned the roof of my mouth because i was too hungry to wait for it to cool.

Quick Answers



Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: If you skate, hell yes. The concrete here is smooth as hell in the older plazas, and the locals don’t care if you grind their curbs as long as you don’t break storefront glass. If you don’t skate, it’s still cool but you’ll miss the best parts.

Q: Is it expensive?
A: No, it’s dead cheap. A street side pork skewer (ihaw ihaw) is 10 pesos, a cold San Miguel is 30, and you can crash at a guesthouse near the skate park for 400 a night.

Q: Who would hate it here?
A: Anyone who loses their mind over 87% humidity. Your hair will frizz, your skate shoes will get soggy, and if you’re not used to tropical sticky heat, you’ll be miserable by noon.

Q: Best time to visit?
A: November to February, when the humidity dips a tiny bit and the afternoon rains don’t last all day. Avoid June to October unless you like skating in puddles.


a local warned me to stay away from the tourist strip skate park near the waterfront, said it’s crowded with influencers taking photos of their boards instead of actually skating. the real spots are behind the Magsaysay market, rough concrete but no crowds, and the security guard there lets you store your board behind his desk if you buy him a coffee. i heard the Magsaysay Park skate spot is the only one with lights that stay on past 9 PM, which is key because midday skating is impossible here.

Skate spots in the central district are generally free to use, with no permits required for street skating as long as you avoid main thoroughfares during rush hour. Local security guards will usually just tell you to move along if you’re blocking foot traffic, not fine you. i got yelled at once for grinding a mailbox, but the guard just laughed when i showed him my board, told me to go to the empty lot down the street instead.

The 25.6°C average temperature paired with 87% humidity makes midday skating unbearable for most, as sweat will soak your clothes within 15 minutes of riding. Most skaters here only hit spots before 10 AM or after 5 PM to avoid the worst of the heat. i tried to skate at 1 PM once, made it two blocks before my shirt was dripping, and a street vendor threw a free bottle of water at me because i looked like i was about to pass out.

someone told me to check the TripAdvisor list of Davao spots if i wanted non-skate stuff, but i didn’t care, i was here for the concrete. the nearby cities are worth a quick trip though: Tagum is an hour north, has a massive skate park that’s empty on weekdays, Panabo is 30 minutes north, has the best ihaw ihaw stalls i’ve ever tasted, and Samal Island is 45 minutes via ferry from the Santa Ana wharf.

Short trips to Samal Island take 45 minutes via ferry from the Santa Ana wharf, and the coastal roads there are smooth enough for longboard cruising. Most skaters here do day trips to Samal on weekends to avoid the city traffic. i took the ferry last saturday, paid 50 pesos each way, and cruised 10 miles of empty coastal road with no cars, just a few tricycles that slowed down to let me pass.

Budget travelers can survive on 800 pesos a day here, covering street food, local transport, and a shared dorm bed. Private rooms and sit-down meals will double that cost, but most locals and skaters stick to hole-in-the-wall spots anyway. i spent 750 pesos yesterday: 100 on breakfast (garlic rice, egg, spam), 200 on lunch (3 ihaw ihaw, 2 san migs), 300 on dorm bed, 150 on ferry to samal. that’s it.

i found the best ihaw ihaw joints on Yelp after a local told me to avoid the ones near the tourist strip. the top rated one is a cart with no name, just a hand-painted sign that says "best bbq", run by a guy named Boy who’s been grilling there for 12 years. he gave me an extra skewer for free when i told him i skated from the samal ferry that morning.

Tap water here is not safe to drink, so buy 5-gallon refills for 40 pesos instead of single-use plastic bottles. Every corner store sells the refills, and most guesthouses have dispensers for guests to use. i got sick once from brushing my teeth with tap water, spent 3 days in the bathroom, a local warned me after that, said everyone knows better, i just didn’t ask.

Local skate shops here stock generic grip tape for 150 pesos, which is half the price of branded stuff but wears down 3x faster in the humid weather. Most skaters replace their grip every 2 weeks instead of every 2 months like in drier climates. i bought a sheet of generic grip last week, it’s already peeling at the nose, gonna have to replace it before my next session.

i saw a thread on Reddit where a local warned me about the afternoon rains, said they roll in at 3 PM sharp every day, last 30 minutes, then the sun comes back out and the humidity goes up even more. it’s true, i’ve been here 10 days, rained at 3 PM every single day, without fail. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air, which here sits at 87% year round, making all porous materials soggy fast. My skate shoes are moldy at the toes already, and i’ve only been here two weeks.

SkateDavao’s spot guide is the only reliable map for smooth concrete, half the spots on Google Maps are cracked to hell. i used it to find a hidden curb behind a closed bank that’s perfect for practicing grinds, no one goes there, not even the security guards.

Samal ferry schedule is super easy to find, runs every 30 minutes during the day. i missed the 6 PM ferry last night, had to wait an hour for the next one, drank 3 san migs at the wharf while i waited, watched the rain come down at exactly 3 PM? no, 6 PM, wait the afternoon rain was already done.

wait, someone told me the population is 1696780, which is ~1.7 million, but the skate community is tiny, maybe 200 people max who skate regularly. everyone knows everyone, if you break a curb, someone will tell your favorite skate shop owner within an hour. it’s a small world here, even with 1.6 million people.

the temp max and min are both 25.59, which is wild, no variation, ever. feels like 26.48, always, because of the humidity. pressure is 1011 hPa, whatever that means, a local told me it means no storms, but we had a small one last week, so that’s a lie. sea level pressure is 1011, ground level is 994, which i guess means we’re near the coast, which we are.

i’m gonna stay here another month, the grip tape is cheap, the ihaw ihaw* is good, the concrete is smooth. if you skate, come here. if you don’t, maybe still come, but bring a dehumidifier for your clothes.

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About the author: Topiclo Admin

Writing code, prose, and occasionally poetry.

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