Things to do in Cebu
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Cebu
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season. Calmest seas, best canyoneering and diving visibility, most reliable ferries.
Shoulder gamble. Cheaper and greener, workable with flexible plans and a buffer day.
Wettest months. Heavy rain, falls can close or run brown, ferries cancel and dengue peaks.
What's on
- Sinulog Festival third Sunday of January
Nine days of novenas and processions before the grand parade, centred on the Basilica.
- Holy Week (Semana Santa) March/April
Filipinos travel en masse, resorts and ferries peak and many city businesses close Maundy Thursday to Good Friday.
- Kadaugan sa Mactan late April
Re-enactment of the 1521 Battle of Mactan at the Mactan Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City.
- Gabii sa Kabilin (Night of Heritage) usually late May
One night when Cebu City museums and heritage houses open late with performances and heritage bus routes.
- Pasko / Christmas-New Year December
Fuente Osmena giant Christmas tree, dawn masses at the Basilica and full Mactan resorts.
Best things to do in Cebu
Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu
The Philippines oldest Catholic church and home of the Santo Niño relic, still a working pilgrimage site.
Magellan's Cross
Small pavilion marking the cross planted in 1521, best seen as part of the downtown heritage walk.
Fort San Pedro
The smallest Spanish fort in the Philippines, now a garden and small museum by the waterfront.
TOPS Cebu
Stone lookout above the city with the best panorama over Cebu City, Mactan and the strait at sunset.
Sugbo Mercado
Weekend food market with dozens of local stalls, communal tables and live music for grazing in rounds.
Carbon Market
Cebu oldest and largest public market for produce, dried fish and the street food locals actually eat.
Carbon Night Market
Organised night market near Puso Village that makes an evening Carbon visit more approachable.
Nalusuan Island
Protected sanctuary island with a sandbar lunch stop and clear shallow snorkelling off Mactan.
Where to stay in Cebu
Cebu Business Park / Ayala + Cebu IT Park / Lahug
first trip, all-round base
Modern guarded districts dense with restaurants, cafes and Sugbo Mercado, with no beach but everything working.
Punta Engaño, Mactan Island
resort holiday, honeymoon, family resort time
True luxury resorts on private coves near the airport, isolated from city restaurants and heritage.
Panagsama Beach, Moalboal
adventure base for sardines, Kawasan and southern falls
Strip of dive shops, small hotels and bars that turns southern excursions into a human pace trip.
Fuente Osmeña / Capitol / Escario, Cebu City
livelier local base, Sinulog
Uptown corridor with older mid range hotels and locals restaurants, livelier and scruffier than IT Park.
Near Pier 1 / SM City, Cebu City
one night before an early ferry or after a late flight
Tactical base for Bohol and north connections, not a place to base a whole trip for atmosphere.
Think twice about
- Downtown Cebu City: Colon Street, Carbon, Pasil and the old port area
Heaviest congestion, pickpocketing and phone snatching, visible homelessness and flooding. Visit the heritage cluster in daylight, do not sleep here.
- Mango Avenue / General Maxilom nightlife strip
Girlie bar and club strip, noisy until very late with seedy solicitation and petty scams around drunk visitors.
- Mactan public beach strips: Marigondon, Maribago and Cordova public shore
Outside private resort coves the shoreline is rocky or built up with murky inshore water. Do not expect a beach holiday here.
- South Road highway towns: Talisay, Minglanilla and Carcar as a base
Sleeping here puts you in Cebu worst daily traffic without reaching the south. If you want the south, go to Moalboal.
Best restaurants in Cebu
CnT Lechon
Locals lechon with thin crisp skin and deeply seasoned meat, best before 11am while skin is freshest.
Zubuchon
Herb forward lechon made famous by Anthony Bourdain, with the most consistent branches for visitors.
House of Lechon
Carcar style sit down lechon feast with baked scallops, kinilaw and the full Cebuano supporting cast.
Rico's Lechon
Pioneer of spicy lechon with the widest branch network, including Mactan and the airport.
The Pig & Palm
Jason Atherton modern European tapas built around pork, the special occasion dinner in Cebu City.
Enye by Chele Gonzalez
Refined Spanish tasting menus inside Crimson, the resort dinner that justifies staying in.
Anzani
Long running new Mediterranean fine dining on a terrace above Lahug, strong on soufflés and desserts.
Larsian sa Fuente
Open air barbecue institution where you choose raw meat and hanging rice and eat it grilled with your hands.
Outdoor things to do in Cebu
Kawasan Falls
Canyoneering down turquoise pools, slides and jumps for three to four hours, finishing under the main fall.
Panagsama Beach
Millions of sardines move as one cloud metres off Panagsama Beach, snorkellable from shore all year.
Pescador Island
Coral walls and a cathedral cave off Moalboal, usually combined with sardines and turtle snorkelling.
Oslob Whale Shark Watching
Guaranteed close whale shark snorkelling at a fed encounter, best entered knowing the ethics debate.
Osmeña Peak
A 20 minute walk to Cebu highest point, a cluster of grassy conical hills rolling to both coasts.
Casino Peak
Similar hill views to Osmeña Peak with far fewer people and a slightly rougher trail.
Malapascua Island
Island base for near daily thresher shark dives at Monad Shoal, requiring Advanced Open Water.
Chocolate Hills
More than 1,268 uniform hills viewed from a deck, the headline stop on a Bohol countryside day.
Best hotels in Cebu
Shangri-La Mactan, Cebu
Flagship resort on a private cove with a marine sanctuary, large pools and CHI spa village.
Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan
Design led couples luxury with plunge pool villas, a tiered infinity pool and Azure Beach Club.
Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort
Newest of the big Mactan resorts, with a cave like pool grotto and Enye restaurant in house.
Plantation Bay Resort and Spa
Famous for vast man made saltwater lagoons that some rooms step straight into.
Marco Polo Plaza Cebu
City grand hotel on the Lahug hill with mountain views, Café Marco buffet and Blu Bar on top.
Radisson Blu Cebu
Large efficient business hotel by SM City and the pier, best positioned for early ferries.
Seda Ayala Center Cebu
Modern hotel directly on Ayala Center mall, the safest mid range first timer city base.
Bai Hotel Cebu
Large independent hotel between city and Mactan, known for its rooftop infinity pool and buffet.
Is Cebu expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₱2,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₱5,500 a person |
| Splurge | ₱16,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Nalusuan Island: a few days ahead
- Hilutungan Island: a few days ahead
- Caohagan Island: a few days ahead
- Kawasan Falls: a few days ahead
- Pescador Island: a few days ahead
- Malapascua Island: weeks ahead
- Chocolate Hills: a few days ahead
- Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary: a few days ahead
- Kawasan canyoneering 2 to 5 days ahead in dry season. Early private starts go first.
- Sinulog hotels sell out months ahead. Book by October if Sinulog is the plan.
- Pig & Palm and Enye need dinner reservations 3 to 7 days ahead.
- Bohol fast ferry and Malapascua thresher diving should be booked ahead in peak season.
Is Cebu safe?
- Pickpocketing and phone snatching are the main risks in Colon, Carbon, jeepneys and Sinulog crowds. Use Grab after dark.
- Do not drink tap water. Use repellent at dawn and dusk as dengue is present year round.
- Check travel insurance covers canyoneering and diving, including cliff jumps and 30 metre dives.
- Agree every habal-habal and banca price, including waiting and the return leg, before you move.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Cebu travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Temple of Leah and Sirao are photo stops only. Do TOPS at sunset yourself instead of a packaged Highlands Tour.
- Oslob as a standalone day from Cebu City is 3 hours each way for a 30 minute swim.
- 10000 Roses by day is white plastic in a car park. Go at dusk or skip it.
- Magellan Cross alone is a free 10 minute pavilion. Do not pay a tour price for it.
Getting around Cebu: public transport and more
- Use Grab for city hops and groups. White metered taxis are fine only if the meter is on.
- City to Mactan takes 45 minutes at best and 90 plus at rush hour. CCLEX is often the fastest crossing.
- For the south take Ceres buses from Cebu South Bus Terminal or hire a private car with driver for Kawasan.
- Habal-habal reach trailheads. Negotiate the return wait in advance and wear the helmet offered.
Who Cebu suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Cebu your trip
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