Things to do in Tacloban
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Tacloban
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
The wettest months, with northeast monsoon rain, flooding on low streets and the most excursion cancellations.
The relatively drier, calmer window, best for Kalanggaman boats and for Sohoton and Ulot river conditions.
Holy Week, movable in March or April, fills churches, hotels and flights across the city.
Fiesta month, with Pintados, Kasadyaan and Sangyaw around the 30 June fiesta, as rain is already increasing.
Typhoon season in practice, with cancelled boats, coloured rivers, flooded roads and delayed flights.
What's on
- Pintados Festival Late June, parade around 29 June
Street dancing honouring the early tattooed settlers of the region, part of the Tacloban fiesta season.
- Sangyaw Parade of Lights 29 June
Illuminated floats and lit costumes parade at night, with performances judged at Balyuan Amphitheatre.
- Tacloban Fiesta 30 June
The city fiesta for the Santo Nino de Tacloban, with fluvial and land processions and a pontifical Mass.
- Leyte Landing Commemoration 20 October
Annual commemoration at MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park in Palo for the 1944 landing.
- Yolanda Commemoration 8 November
City commemorations for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda, Haiyan, which struck on 8 November 2013.
Best things to do in Tacloban
Santo Nino Shrine and Heritage Museum
A former presidential residence turned shrine museum, with period rooms and Filipino art in the centre.
San Juanico Bridge
The long bridge linking Leyte to Samar over the strait, best as a viewpoint stop in clear light.
MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park
Bronze figures wading ashore at Red Beach mark the 20 October 1944 return, with a small museum beside.
M/V Eva Jocelyn Shrine
The bow of a ship thrown ashore by the 2013 surge, kept as a quiet memorial in a rebuilt neighbourhood.
Santo Nino Church
The city's main parish church and devotional centre of the June fiesta for the Santo Nino de Tacloban.
Balyuan Amphitheatre
The city's open air stage facing Cancabato Bay, home to concerts and Sangyaw festival performances.
Madonna of Japan
A small peace memorial on Kanhuraw Hill for reconciliation between the Philippines and Japan after the war.
Where to stay in Tacloban
Downtown
first trip without a car
Walk to the shrine museum, church and older restaurants, with joiner tour pickups at the door.
Marasbaras
families, groups and airport access
The mall side hotel strip by Robinsons Place, with a large pool hotel and a budget chain beside it.
Think twice about
- Anibong and San Jose waterfront strips
Low coastal ground with flood and storm surge exposure, poor drainage and a long dark walk to food and transport. Visit in daylight, sleep elsewhere.
- Isolated rural edge rentals
Far from jeepney routes and reliable taxis, on rural edges with a heightened security concern in remote areas. Base urban, lit and connected.
Best restaurants in Tacloban
Ocho Seafood and Grill
The city's best known seafood house, where you choose fresh seafood from the counter and agree the cooking.
Giuseppe's
A long running Italian Filipino room for pizza, pasta, risotto and steaks, used by local families.
Calle Z Cafe
A downtown institution for bulalo, crispy tenga and lechon kawali, with a loyal local evening crowd.
Q Kitchen
Hotel XYZ's main restaurant, the reliable downtown kitchen for early starts and late returns.
Sunzibar Cafe
A small downtown cafe for Mexican leaning plates, nachos and ribs, at cheap prices with big portions.
Jo's Chicken Inato Milagrina
A budget grilled chicken house for chicken inato with rice, the city's working lunch at local prices.
Samsam Bistro
A modern Filipino bistro for crispy pata and sisig shared at the table, good for family groups.
Outdoor things to do in Tacloban
Kalanggaman Island
A long white sandbar in clear turquoise water off Palompon, a full day trip from Tacloban by van and boat.
Sohoton Caves and Natural Bridge Park
A guided cave, river boat, kayak and swim day in Samar Island Natural Park, about 90 minutes from Tacloban.
Ulot River Torpedo Boat Extreme Ride
A community run motorised boat ride through Ulot River rapids to a swimming point at Deni's Point.
Cancabato Bay
The sheltered bay downtown faces, walked along Magsaysay Boulevard at sunrise or sunset for the light.
Best hotels in Tacloban
Ironwood Hotel
A small, well kept boutique hotel downtown, the closest thing Tacloban has to a top end room.
Summit Hotel Tacloban
A large mall side hotel with a pool in Marasbaras, the dependable base for families and groups.
Hotel XYZ
A styled downtown hotel with several food outlets, a small pool and a rooftop Japanese lounge.
Go Hotels Tacloban
A clean, compact chain hotel near Robinsons Place, a predictable budget base for excursion days.
Z Pad Residences
Simple rooms and apartment style units for longer stays, at a budget rate in a residential area.
Is Tacloban expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₱1,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₱3,500 a person |
| Splurge | ₱8,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Kalanggaman Island: a few days ahead
- Sohoton Caves and Natural Bridge Park: a few days ahead
- Ulot River Torpedo Boat Extreme Ride: a few days ahead
- Ironwood Hotel: a few days ahead
- Summit Hotel Tacloban: a few days ahead
- Hotel XYZ: a few days ahead
- Ocho Seafood and Grill: a few days ahead
- Giuseppe's: a few days ahead
- Book rooms and flights weeks ahead for the June fiesta, Holy Week, Christmas and 20 October.
- Book Kalanggaman and Sohoton joiner tours days ahead in drier months and reconfirm boats the night before.
- Reserve Ocho and Giuseppe's for weekend dinners and fiesta week.
Is Tacloban safe?
- Rural and remote areas of Leyte and Samar carry a heightened security concern from ongoing insurgent activity.
- Stay on main roads and registered tours for rural excursions, travel those legs in daylight, and dial 911 in an emergency.
- Follow PAGASA and city instructions during storm signals, and never enter sea, river or caves against a closure.
Tacloban travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- No current Tacloban hotel is a luxury resort, and The Oriental Leyte has been closed since April 2024.
- Do not plan to walk the San Juanico Bridge end to end, because pedestrian access is restricted.
- Any itinerary with Kalanggaman, Sohoton and the city loop in two days ignores Eastern Visayas rain.
Getting around Tacloban: public transport and more
- Fly to Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport from Manila or Cebu, and allow for wet season flight delays.
- Walk downtown in blocks, use jeepneys and tricycles for short hops, and book tours with hotel pickup for excursions.
- Kalanggaman needs about 3 hours by road to Palompon and 1 hour by boat each way, so start days are pre dawn.
Who Tacloban suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Tacloban your trip
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