hsmeilop Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 The 5-minute briefing on Cebu — the Visayas hub. This parent thread covers the trip-planning view: how to combine Cebu City, Mactan, the northern islands, the southern coast, the eastern islands, plus the food, casino, and shopping scene. Each destination has its own dedicated thread linked below. Cebu is the second-most-visited destination in the Philippines after Manila — Mactan-Cebu International Airport is the country's second-busiest, the island's economy is the largest outside Metro Manila, and Cebu's geography is rich enough to support a 7–10 day itinerary without repetition. This thread is the pinned parent — the trip-planning view that helps you choose which Cebu thread to read next based on what kind of trip you're planning. For specific destinations (Cebu City heritage, Mactan beach resorts, southern whale sharks, northern dive sites, etc.), use the linked threads below. New discussion happens in those threads, not here. The Cebu map at a glance Cebu splits cleanly into geographic clusters. Each destination thread has its own dedicated landing page: Central Cebu — the airport hub Cebu City: Sinulog Festival & Magellan's Cross — the urban capital. Heritage, business, Sinulog Festival, lechon. Where most Cebu trips spend at least one night. Mactan Island (Cebu): Beach Resorts & Lapu-Lapu Beach — the airport-adjacent resort island. Shangri-La, Crimson, Plantation Bay, Dusit Thani, Sheraton. The 5-star beach resort cluster. Northern Cebu — beach and dive islands Bantayan Island (Cebu): Santa Fe Beach & Sugar Beach — the wide white-sand beach island, the affluent Cebuano weekend retreat. Santa Fe village, Sugar Beach, danggit. Malapascua Island (Cebu): Thresher Sharks & Bounty Beach — the world-class dive island. Daily thresher shark sightings at Monad Shoal, one of the only reliable thresher dive sites globally. Southern Cebu — the marine corridor Moalboal (Cebu): Sardine Run & Pescador Island — the southwestern dive village. Year-round sardine run snorkel-accessible from shore, Pescador Island diving, Kawasan Falls canyoneering 30 min south. Oslob (Cebu): Whale Sharks & Sumilon Island — the southeastern whale shark interaction site (ethically debated — read the thread). Sumilon Island for the ultra-luxury option. Eastern Cebu — the quietest pick Camotes Islands (Cebu): Caves & Quiet White Beach — the smaller, slower archipelago between Cebu and Leyte. For travelers who think Bantayan got too busy. Casino, resort, and shopping (mainland Cebu) NUSTAR Resort & Casino (Cebu): Ultra-Luxury Hotel & First Visayas Integrated Resort — the new ultra-luxury IR at the South Reclamation Project (SRP). NUSTAR Hotel, Fili Hotel, casino, dining. NUSTAR The Mall (Cebu): Gucci, Louis Vuitton & Cebu's First Luxury Maisons — the country's only luxury maison cluster outside Manila. Ayala Center Cebu: Rustan's & The Terraces Dining — the legacy premium mall in Cebu Business Park. SM Seaside City Cebu: Sky Park & SRP Premium Brands — the largest mall in the Visayas. Cebu Safari & Adventure Park (Carmen, Cebu): Bengal Tigers & 170-Hectare Safari — the largest safari park in the country, day trip ~1.5 hours north of Cebu City. Common itinerary patterns The 3-night "Cebu sampler" — for first-timers and short-trip travelers: Night 1: Mactan Island resort (rest, beach, jet lag recovery) Day 2: Cebu City heritage walk + lechon + return to Mactan Day 3: Mactan island-hopping or Cebu Safari day trip Night 3: Mactan, fly out next morning The 5-night "Cebu deep dive" — for affluent leisure travelers: Nights 1–2: Mactan or NUSTAR Day 3: Cebu City urban day, Sinulog area or IT Park dinner Nights 4–5: Moalboal or Bantayan Add: Kawasan canyoneering or thresher shark dive The 7-night "all of Cebu" — for serious island travelers: Cebu City (1 night) + Mactan (2 nights) + Moalboal or Oslob (2 nights) + Bantayan or Malapascua (2 nights) The diver's trip — for divers focused on the underwater: Mactan base + Moalboal sardine run + Malapascua thresher shark + Pescador wall + Oslob whale shark (with the ethical caveat) The Sinulog week (third Sunday of January) — book 4–6 months ahead; Cebu City fills up. The beach-only weekend — Bantayan or Camotes via a long weekend; both work as 2–3 night dedicated trips. Cebu food — the regional identity The two non-negotiable food experiences: Lechon Cebu — the country's gold standard. Try at least two of: Zubuchon, House of Lechon, CnT Lechon, Rico's Lechon, Ayer's Lechon, Sugbusog. (See the Cebu City thread for the lechon debate.) Dried mangoes and danggit — Cebu's pasalubong scene. 7D and Profood for dried mangoes; Bantayan supplies the country's danggit. Other notable: Cebu otap (pastry), Cebu chorizo, Cebu rosquillos, and the Carbon Market early-morning food walk. When to go (Cebu in general) March–May — Peak dry season, best diving and beach weather, highest rates. November–February — The affluent's preferred window: pleasant cool-dry weather, manageable rates, no typhoons. June–October — Wet season but Cebu sits in a typhoon shadow; affordable rates, occasional rain. January (third week) — Sinulog Festival. Once-in-a-lifetime, but the city is at capacity. Book ahead. Getting around Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) — the regional hub. Direct flights from Manila, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, plus most Visayas/Mindanao secondaries. Cebu City to Mactan — 30 minutes via the two Marcelo Fernan Bridges; peak hours (7–9am, 5–7pm) are brutal. Cebu City to Bantayan / Malapascua (northern ports) — ~4 hours by car to Daanbantayan, then ferry (Hagnaya port for Bantayan, Maya port for Malapascua). Cebu City to Moalboal — ~2.5 hours by car. Cebu City to Oslob — ~3 hours by car. Cebu City to Camotes ferry port (Danao) — ~1 hour by car, then 2-hour ferry to Poro/Pacijan. For multi-stop trips, private van rentals with driver run ~₱5,000–8,000 per day. Ceres bus is the budget option from Cebu South Bus Terminal (south destinations) and Cebu North Bus Terminal (north destinations). This thread's role This is the pinned parent. Use it to plan a multi-stop Cebu trip — the trip-shaping conversation lives here. Specific destination intel (which resort, which dive shop, current floor prices, restaurant menus, current festival schedules) belongs in the destination threads linked above. Members posting destination-specific questions here will be redirected to the correct child thread. For trip-planning, itinerary-sharing, multi-stop logistics, and the broader Cebu vs. other-province comparison — this thread is the right place. Your turn. Itinerary ideas for first-time and repeat visitors, multi-stop logistics, Cebu vs. other Visayas comparisons, transportation tips between regions, Sinulog timing strategies, lechon ranking debates. Cebuanos and frequent visitors — fill in. — MTC Mods 3 Quote Link to comment
hsmeilop Posted September 25, 2004 Author Share Posted September 25, 2004 (edited) End of Runway EB V2.0 aka The Great Shangri-la EB Well there I was, stuck in traffic in my fan-only cooled volkswagen. On my way to the End Of Runway EB. My left calf was aching already from the stop and go traffic when I get a call from Cebucitylocal. There has been a slight change of plans. I was to proceed to Shangri-la Mactan Island Resort. The EB will be held there! WOW!!! Another of CCl's surprise I suppose. Anyway, I Left pretty early knowing that the traffic will be bad. I got to the lobby around 7pm. Called up CCL in his room and waited in lobby. Idly looking at all those foreign women wearing those... Ahhh my mind wandered for a bit there. Haaayyy.... Anyway... CCL met me in the lobby after 5 minutes. He was trying to contact DarkAngel and Loving Soul. The two went snorkeling in Shangrila's manicured white sand beach. So when I met them, there will still kinda wet. I was introduced to them and to two other women (non mtc members. so don't ask.). DA and LS went up to their rooms to change. I was texting Pardonme to attend the EB. As usual, he was still at work. Making reports, he said. But he said that he will be joining us later. After twenty minutes, DA and LS finally came down to meet us. We proceeded to Paparazzi, one of Shangrila's restaurant. WOW!!!! FOOD!!! As we were pretty hungry by that time, we attacked the buffet table. I started from the left side of the room, working my way the the right. The food selection was GOOD!!!!! Dark Sister arrived around 930pm. DA picked them up from the lobby. Then they joined us for dinner. DS was with another girl. DA called up a local friend in Cebu. Which turns out to be Kit the Motormouth friend of mine! Small world. The started on the buffet table. Few minutes after 10PM, Pardonme arrived. Around 11pm, we adjourned from Paparazzi and decided to go to the End of Runway for drinks. But I still had to bring DS and friend to another hotel. CCL went with me, LS and Pardonme in his car. (Which, btw got banged up pretty much last week. ). DA and Kit in his jeep. Then we were off!! When we dropped off DS and her friend in the other hotel, they gave CCL a bottle of wine. We passed by a Shell Select station to get some supplies. Then proceeded to the End of Runway. CCL decided to drink the wine with BBQ and "puso". But there was no corkscrew to open the bottle. So I drove CCL and Kit to Anton's near the Yacht Club to have it opened up. When we got there, we were invited by the manager to drink in their newly renovated restaurant. Me and Kit went back to get the others. We drank the wine. CCL was low batt already so Pardonme took him back to Shangrila. DA and Kit went to look at his yacht. So it was just me and LS talking for about twenty minutes. By that time I have finished most of the wine. Pardonme returned. Kit and DA returned. And we called it a day. End of EB 1:30AM, there abouts. p.s. Anton's is having a promo starting 25th-30th of September. All their beer for P1. That's right one peso beer. One peso ice tea. If you can drink it, it's one peso. Edited September 25, 2004 by hsmeilop 1 Quote Link to comment
hsmeilop Posted September 28, 2004 Author Share Posted September 28, 2004 THANK YOU FOR THE WARM RECEPTION OF YOUR SISTERS... DA and LovingSoul... Bakit di kayo nag live oath? hehehe Assignment to hsmeilop: 1. A Cebuano Version of the PP oath... 2. Kit should be made a member ehehehe... 3. Live oath in Cebuano should be done soon! Peace Bro.. PM me the PP oath. I'll try translating it. Ask DA to convince Kit to join MTC and PP. But that guy either is working or out in his yacht fishing. and if you could get him to shut up for a minute! :evil: Quote Link to comment
DarkAngel Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 Sorry I only got the chance to go online now. I got sick after coming home from Cebu. Call it a "withdrawal syndrome." I fell in love with the place and I miss it to pieces. Yung mga pictures po i-a-upload ko tomorrow at the latest. Meron kasing isa diyan gustong ipa-blur ang BUONG KATAWAN. Parang madaling gawin ano? Upload ko siya after I edit the pics. I'll also make a brief travel note on Cebu. Baka dun sa Travelogue thread ko ilalagay kung papayag na si Chito. hsmeilop - it was such an honor and pleasure to have finally met the man behind the handle. Thank you very much for being so accommodating, so fun, so friendly, so supportive. Thank you for not running out of the hotel when you saw me in a bathing suit. Di ba ako mukhang dugong na naka-balot sa blue na tela? Thank you for bringing Dark Sister and her friend to the Days Hotel. It's such a small world no? Barkada mo pala yung kumpareng Kit ko. Kit's the ninong of my youngest son. pardonme - It's really great that I've finally met you. Hataw din ang humor mo! Kahit late ka, ok lang yun... sayang nga lang hindi mo naabutan yung buffet... inubos na ni hsmeilop eh peace, hs! LovingSouL - mare, kakaloka ang Cebu stay natin. Hindi ko alam kung saan ilulugar katawan ko. There was simply just too many things we wanted to do, and too little time. Patingin ng pics mo ha! and of course, to cebucitylocal - who made it all happen. Thank you for showing me around Cebu and guiding me. Thank you for my welcome food (lechon & puso). You are right. Cebu is just simply beautiful. I miss the sights and sounds of Cebu. I miss the peace and simplicity. I also miss Anton's grilled white marlin Sali ako sa PANGETZZZ AMAZING RACE: CEBU EDITION ha! Maski i-challenge ninyo akong patahimikin si Kit payag ako! :boo: Quote Link to comment
Guest LovingSouL Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 natawa ako all along sa mga sinabi mo mare! hmmm..mahirap i blur yung buong katawan ng isang ursula? bwahahahaha! naku, artistahin siguro yung nag pa pablur na yun kung patatahimikin is Kit ang challenge.... naku! walang mananalo miss you na mare.....kulang...bitin! di nakapag shopping ng husto..pero salamat sa tip..... tback na mura! bwahahaha! Quote Link to comment
hsmeilop Posted September 29, 2004 Author Share Posted September 29, 2004 Hahahaha gandang challenge yan DA. Sige I will tell Raintribe to make that a challenge for you. Bwahahaha... Kulang pa ba shopping spree nyo? Bakit? Quote Link to comment
hsmeilop Posted September 29, 2004 Author Share Posted September 29, 2004 May withdrawal symptoms ka pa ba DA? Quote Link to comment
Guest ONEknightSTAND Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 PM me the PP oath. I'll try translating it. Ask DA to convince Kit to join MTC and PP. But that guy either is working or out in his yacht fishing. and if you could get him to shut up for a minute! :evil: Brother hsmeilop... You took the oath... You should know the oath... hehehe So kit talks a lot huh? hehehe If he can translate that into posting... He will enjoy MTC Quote Link to comment
pardonme Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 DA hehehe hataw ba? di pa nga ako nagsisimula Quote Link to comment
hsmeilop Posted September 29, 2004 Author Share Posted September 29, 2004 good morning cebu!!! Quote Link to comment
a_ngel Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 musta Cebu, Rain, will you be in Cebu by December? Pakuyog ko anang shopping sa ukay bi. Quote Link to comment
Chito Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 lyssa! di naman ako taga-cebu, nagbabasa lang ako dito Hello sa iyo Quote Link to comment
hsmeilop Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 hehehe si CCL yung nagboost ng tourism sa cebu. hehehe Quote Link to comment
hsmeilop Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 i'm just tagging along for the ride. Quote Link to comment
hsmeilop Posted October 1, 2004 Author Share Posted October 1, 2004 DarkAngel: Wala pa ba yung pictures? Quote Link to comment
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