A guide to Cebu, the Philippines
Visiting the island of Cebu is a must in my opinion. There are so many different parts of the island well worth visiting. I’m sure you’ve seen the picture of the huge turquoise blue waterfall? Yep, that’s Kawasan falls in Cebu. More on that later. Cebu holds a lot of history, it’s the oldest city in the Philippines and I always nickname it mini Manila. In this guide, you will find things to do, places to stay and tips along the way.
Tip for booking flights!
Always search your flights in incognito/private mode. That way safari cannot use cookies and increase flight costs.
Cebu City
Once you land at Mactan Cebu airport in Cebu City, it’s like landing in a mini Manila. So, I don’t recommend spending too much time in Cebu City. I would head to other parts of the island, especially if you’ve just come from Manila. You can get the bus from the airport to Cebu City centre for around 50 pesos = £0.75p. Look out for the bus called ‘my bus’ at terminal two T2. The buses are quite frequent roughly every half an hour.
Where to stay in Cebu City:
The Philippines have some of the most beautiful and affordable places to stay, as the Philippines was my very first country I landed in, I was blown away by how amazing and well equipped the hostels were. As someone who had never stayed in hostels before I’d only really heard horror stories. And I’m here to tell you that, for the most part, they are just stories. A lot of hostels have their own swimming pool, bar, Café, and work area. And most of the time you’re paying £5 a night. Hello and welcome to heaven!
So here are some of my top recommended hostels while staying in Cebu.
Bunks Hostel, Cebu City
Bunks hostel is centrally located and extremely good on price for budget backpackers. The decor is modern and simple, giving it a fresh feel! They also offer mixed dorms, and dorms just for female travellers. They have common areas to chill out and meet people, as well as a nice sun terrace for those views of Cebu City!
Tropical Hostel, Cebu City
Tropical hostel is a nice and simple hostel perfect for a quick pit stop if you don’t plan on staying too long in Cebu City. It’s location is spot on. As it has all your local amenities within walking distance. If you want to head out for a bite to eat, or need to pick up a few bits in the shops you can find everything fairly quickly. It’s also good on the budget too, and very affordable.
Murals Hostel & Cafe
Very chic and sheek, Murals hostel is perfect for those wanting to get a bit of work done, or generally those needing some good internet. Think Boho decor and beautiful coffees in it’s very own coffee shop. You will find digital nomads and bloggers hanging out here. A relaxed vibe and a very good hostel to stay in!
Mad Monkey Hostel
If you love a sociable, party hostel, you’ll love Mad Monkey. Especially as a solo backpacker it’s very good if you have just arrived and looking to meet people. Also the swimming pool is very appealing with the hot weather! Mad Monkey is a very popular chain hostel throughout Asia – so you can always count on it delivering the same type of high vibe!
Nacho Hostel
Nacho Hostel has it all – swimming pool, Tv room, bar area, restaurant, bike rental and more! It’s such a cool place to just ‘be’. If you don’t have any plans for the day there is so much to do without even leaving your accommodation. It’s very good to socialise and meet people too. Highly recommend
Things to do in Cebu City
Heritage Monument
Visit the cebu heritage monument. All are free to visit, and it gives you a chance to experience some of the Philippines history and culture.
Colon Street
Colon street is the oldest straight in the Philippines, and holds a lot of history. It’s bustling with people working, sightseeing, having lunch and I’m sure you’ll see a lot more. I got a haircut on Colon street for £0.25p ( I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS, SEE PICTURE PROVIDED) although I do recommend visiting Colon street if you are staying in Cebu City.
Get a filipino massage
Try out the spa’s – they are magical!. You won’t need to search for a spa for too long as they seem to be dotted around everywhere. They are super cheap and you can get a hour massage for roughly 350 pesos. Don’t forget to leave a tip if you can, the wages are very low!
Moalboal, Cebu, the Philippines
How to get to Moalboal, the Philippines
From Cebu City you can get a local bus to MoalBoal which takes around 2-3 hours and costs around £2. The bus leaves from South bus terminal, there will be a sign hanging in the windscreen of the bus that says ‘Moalboal’. If your unsure, ask one of the conductors and they will point you to the correct bus.
Moalboal is absolutely stunning, and well known for snorkelling! Head down to white beach for a high chance of swimming with turtles and sardine runs in the most turquoise coloured oceans. Moalboal is also a good base point for this part of Cebu. You can take day trips to other parts of the island such as Kawasan falls and Oslob.
Things to do in Moalboal
Kawasan Falls
If you’re in Cebu there is no doubt you’ll visit Kawasan falls. Kawasan Falls is located in Badian, Cebu but is easily accessed from MoalBoal. You can either just go and visit the waterfall, Swim and have lunch. There is also a little cafe located right there on the water. But if you’re feeling adventurous, and you love an adrenaline rush there are many tours for the Canyonering. Which is basically putting on a helmet and jumping off waterfalls, Sliding down waterfalls, being at one with the waterfalls. I 10/10 recommend doing this tour. I done my tour with a company called Lucero and the tour cost around 1500 pesos = £22. You can just walk down the street in MoalBoal and find many companies offering the tour. Your hostel will probably be able to book the tour for you as well. Because no one was at my hostel, I was walking down the street and a young boy asked me if I wanted to do the canyoneering tour. He gave me a lift down there on the back of his motorbike and took me to Lucero. I know you might be thinking this is unsafe, but it does happen a lot in Asia. The locals will recommend and take tourists to companies and tours and will either take a small commission or a hot meal as payment for the recommendation.
Swim in a sardine run at White beach
Witness the famous sardine runs that can be spotted swimming at Panagsama beach in Moalboal. The sardine run is thought to be the second largest in the world, next to South Africa been the first. Head down to Panagsama beach, and swim out around 25/30 metres to see the sardine run. You won’t miss it as there will be some other people in the ocean getting a look too. I would recommend taking some sort of float where a life jacket if you’re not confident swimmer. It’s really not that far out from the beach, But it’s nice to have something with you just in case. I recommend taking a go pro, or if you only have a phone, I would get a waterproof case. Because you will not want to miss out on the photos and videos.
How much does it cost?
Swimming in the sardine run in MoalBoal is FREE. You do not have to pay to swim in the ocean and see the sardine run. If someone is trying to charge you, and I’m afraid they might just be trying to make a little bit of money. You can of course book a tour, if you prefer to have someone else organise the trip for you. And if you prefer having a tour guide, then perhaps a tour is the right choice for you!
Is it safe to swim in the sardine run?
Yes, absolutely. The sardines won’t harm you at all, if you swim near them, or swim through them, they will just separate and then come back together. So please don’t worry about being harmed.
One thing I did learn whilst being out there was to try and not touch the marine life as products from our skin can be very toxic to them. Things like deodorants, sunscreen, perfume etc
When is the best time to visit Moalboal to see the sardine runs?
Good news! You are able to see the sardine run 365 days a year, anytime!
There are different seasons (wet and dry), so depending on your preference in weather you can see the sardine run whenever you like! But I would recommended visiting in the dry season, as the visibility is much better, and so you will be able to see a lot more wildlife during this time. You can see below when the dry and wet seasons are.
Dry season: December – May
Wet season: June – November
Oslob, the Philippines
Oslob is the place in Cebu that is known for swimming with whale sharks, it’s also a good place to go to next if you’re heading south west of the island. I personally skipped Oslob, but don’t worry I’m not going to leave you hanging. I still know some good recommendations to make sure you have the best time in Oslob.
Getting to Oslob, Cebu, the Philippines
The easiest way to travel to Oslob is by bus. There are no direct buses from Moalboal to Oslob so you will need to get a bus to Bato and then swap at Bato for a bus to Oslob. The bus that operates this route is the Ceres Liner (Big yellow air conditioned bus) Just head to the bus stop and they usually leave every hour. This is the Philippines though so it really is ‘roughly’ every hour. There’s no need to pre book your ticket, you just get on and tell the driver your heading to Bato, and the bus assistant will give you a ticket and take payment at some point during the journey. The price is around 100 php.
Swimming with whale sharks in Oslob, Cebu
The company I done my Canyoneering tour with (Lucero tours and travel) also has tours for swimming with what sharks in Oslob. The cost of the whale shark tour is 1500 php ( £22 ). I would recommend taking either a go pro, or a waterproof phone case so you can get amazing underwater pictures, just like my friend Hayley featured below. I mean, you can’t go a swim with a 40ft whale shark and not get evidence.
From my experience upon arrival in Cebu, swimming with whale sharks was a topic of discussion on the ethics in certain areas. So I advise making up your own mind, as this is a controversial topic, and not one for me to tell you what do to.
Note:
It’s also good to note that you can do a day trip to Oslob from the surrounding areas. You can usually book directly with your hostel.
And there you have it, a quick guide on backpacking the island of Cebu. Usually people follow the route of heading towards Santander in the South West, where you can catch the ferry over to the island of Siquijor. A small magical island and one not to miss.
Don't miss my guide to the island of Siquijor!
A guide to Siquijor, the Philippines So before I had ever been to the Philippines, I never knew about an island called