More than the frenzied
vibe of the Sinulog Festival,
Cebu is also a gateway to a number of adventure destinations. A major hub in the
Philippines when it comes to tourism, shipping, commerce and also the site of
many beautiful beaches, picturesque countryside and home to some of the famed
local cuisines; Cebu ranks among the top travel destinations of both domestic
and foreign travelers.
The province’ capital
city; Cebu City might appear almost similar to Metro Manila, one would quickly
wonder “What to do here” after
surveying the busy roads leading out of the capital. After the initial shock of
the street’s bustling activities, one could thoroughly enjoy exploring not only
Cebu city but the rest of the province’ tourism offerings.
To make your Cebu trip a
memorable one, here is a sample 3-whole-day itinerary you could use to plan
your holiday in Cebu.
Day
1: Cebu City Loop
There is a couple of ways
to go around and visit the sights in Cebu City. One is to avail of the usual Cebu tour packages
for a no-hassle exploration and second is to DIY by taking various jeepney routes
in the city. Doing the 2nd option though, will take additional time
compared to having your own rented tour van.
Sirao
Peak and Flower Farm
Temple of Leah
Tops Lookout Garden
Magellan's Cross
Sto. Niño Church and Museum
Tops Lookout Garden
Magellan's Cross
Sto. Niño Church and Museum
Cebu
Metropolitan Cathedral
Yap-San
Diego Ancestral House
Casa
Gorordo Museum
Colon
Old Street
Fort San Pedro
Fort San Pedro
Taoist Temple
From the heritage street
of Colon to the downtown attractions of Sto Niño Church, Magellan’s Cross to
Sirao Flower Farm and Temple of Leah, the other places are situated in between
and can be fully visited in one whole day.
Day
2: Southern Cebu with Canyoneering and Osmena Peak Chill Hike
Second day should be a
full packed day of adventure and countryside exploration. The Southern Cebu
part is filled with gorgeous beaches, stunning waterfalls and picturesque
settings.
Start off by stopping by Saint
Catherine’s Church in Carcar and have a heavy juicy
lechon breakfast at Carcar Market then pass by another beautiful church; the Patrocinio
de Maria Church in Boljoon before proceeding for the half-day Canyoneeringat the waterfalls of Alegria to Kawasan falls in Badian. Cap
your wonderful day by hiring a habal-habal
to take you to the foot of Osmena
Peak
for a chill hike to witness the sunset at its Avatar-like mountain top.
There are other places
worthy of visiting after you do all of these activities, depending on the
duration of your stay, you can also visit the diving paradise of Moalboal
Beach – and witness a sardine run even when you’re only
snorkeling.
Day
3: Choose between Malapascua / Bantayan / Camotes Island
Among the three islands;
Camotes is the nearest with both Malapascua and Bantayan situated in the north
and requiring more travel time. It will be much better if you stay at one of
these islands overnight therefore stretching your itinerary to a fourth day.
Head out to the North Bus
Terminal in Cebu by either taking a jeepney or cab from the city. Take the bus
bound for Hagnaya Port with the earliest trip leaving at 4am and the last one
at 5pm. Travel time is approximately 3 hours.
At the port, take a 75
minute ferry ride to Santa Fe port in Bantayan Island. First trip leaves at 7am
and the last boat sails at 5pm daily.
Take a Ceres bus at the
North bus terminal going to Maya port and board a 30 minute boat to Malapascua.
The island is small that you can easily explore it by foot or habal-habal. Resorts are already lined
up at the beach front fronting the island's small port.
How to get to CamotesIsland
One can reach Camotes
Island via Danao port where a number of ferry boats departs numerous times
daily and into different ports of Camotes - thereby giving you more options on
which part of the island you prefer. The first ferry leaves at 5am while the
last one departs at 5:30pm. It takes a couple of hours to reach Danao port from
Cebu City.
Another way of reaching
Camotes Island is via Cebu City Port, Pier 1. The Ocean Jet Ferry only sails to
Poro port in Camotes. Travel time from the city to Pier 1 is around 45 minutes
while the ferry ride takes 2 hours.
There you go, this is just
a rough itinerary that I have experienced in the past and you are free to
tinker it depending on your manner of traveling. That said, there are still a
lot of great outdoor destinations in the province of Cebu – it really is a
great place to get lost and just explore.
