20 things to do in Cebu City and surroundings
Cebu island is one of the most visited islands of the Philippines and I was wondering why, as many people said they did not like it. So I spent 2 days over there and visited as many things as possible to give you some ideas.
20 things to do in Cebu City and surroundings:
1. shopping mall SM Cebu – the second biggest shopping mall in the Philippines after the Mall of Asia in Manila. You have to eat in the food court here. It is the experience by itself. You can get fresh buko juice (the way to call coconut juice in the Philippines) in a bottle here, cut fruits and fresh bread.
*Disclaimer: I am not into shopping at all but all my Filipino friends recommended me to visit the shopping mall to see what locals do there. I put it on the first place on this list as to me it’s the least important thing to do in Cebu.
2. Chinese cemetery Queen City Gardens – situated on the road going to SM.
3. graffiti wall around Queen City – check out some very nice graffiti out there.
4. Minglanilla public market – a couple of kilometres from Cebu City, it is a traditional local market where all goods are being sold, from fresh seafood, fish, to meat, vegetables and fruit. The locals buy their food as it is much cheaper than department stores or shopping malls. I bet you will be the only white person over there. But everyone will smile at you, say hi and be extremely nice to you. That’s how the Filipinos are to foreigners.
5. Fort San Pedro – its construction began on 8th May 1565. First made of wood, then of stone. Was built to defend the locals against the Spanish expedition who wanted to colonize the area. 11 days after the fort began to be built, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived here and founded the first Spanish settlement in Cebu. The fort is triangular in shape so consists of three bastions – La Concepcion, San Ignacio de Loyola and San Miguel.
The fort used to be the place of military garrison Warwick Barracks, then a park, Cebu Garden Club, Cebu Zoo, government offices and now it has been converted to a National shrine. There is a little shrine to pray and a well Pozo de la Virgen.
6. Plaza Independencia – a square next to the Fort San Pedro. It is a famous dating site, couples and lovers meet up there usually. It is actually one of the most historically significant places in Cebu. In the center of the plaza there is the obelisk dedicated to Legazpi, the first Spanish Governor – General of the Philipines.
The square was renamed a couple of times, from military Plaza de Armas, to Plaza Mayor, Plaza Maria Cristina during the Spanish reign, then Plaza Libertad during the American colonization and finally Plaza Independencia. It was in 2006 when the SRP tunnel was constructed here and prehispanic human bones were found in here .
7. Malacañang of the South – the white big building. Built due to the request of the ex-president Gloria Arroyo. One of the reasons why in Cebu is because she won the landslide vote in Cebu, so she wanted to thank the Cebu people somehow. But there is supposed to be just one of these buildings in the capital Manila – the main office of the president.
8. Magellan’s cross – a shrine at the place where Ferdinand Magellan put the cross and brought the Christianity to Cebu.
9. Santo Niño church – supposed to be the oldest church in the Philippines. People lit the candles there and say the prayers.
10. Cathedral and its museum with religious artifacts – one of the oldest churches in Cebu and obviously one of the most important ones, too. Big events and wedding of politicians and businessmen and just wealthy people take place there. It is a place for the rich, while the Santo Niño church is for the masses, the poorer ones and is overcrowded.
11. Heritage of Cebu – locally called Parian.
12. University of San Carlos and its museum – entrance fee 30 Php, old the collections of the University, e.g. artificial teeth mutilation, preserved animals, religious artifacts, etc.
13. Colon street – the oldest and the shortest street in the Philippines named after Christopher Columbus. There have been a lot of changes at Colon street throughout its history.
14. Lapulapu shrine – this was the place where Lapulapu killed Magellan during the battle between the Spaniards and Muslims. The statue of Lapulapu commemorates the battle in here. He was the chief of his tribe and Magellan was the Captain of the first Spanish expedition to reach the Philippines in 1521. There are plenty of souvenir shops next to the shrine where you can get for example guitars. Cebuanos (Cebu people) are famous guitar makers.
15. Mactan bridge – the Lapulapu city and Mandaue city are connected by it
16. IT park – place with a lot of call centers and restaurants. E.g. Mexican restaurant Moon cafe, then Casa Verde or cafe East west for famous Mango crepe. To get great ice cream, head off to La Marea and ask for ”brownie a la mode”.
17. Larsian BBQ station food – a popular place for bloggers to hang out, together with the locals.
18. Kawasan waterfalls – the famous waterfalls in Cebu, for family and friends outings, they hang out there. It is a famous tourist spot, too. And actually we did meet some tourists there. Oh, yeah. Kawasan falls have three levels – three different waterfalls.
The first one of them is where the most of the people stay, swim and eat. If you feel like going further, you can walk a bit up to the second level of the waterfalls where you will find less tourists and two restaurants.
You actually have to pay to sit in one of the cottages there, it is 300 Php. Even if you want to order some food, you still have to pay which I did not find very pleasant and fair. Pay just to sit somewhere? Not nice! But being travel bloggers and wanting to promote this place, we did not have to pay as we had our lunch in there.
The third level is where the water comes from and distributes to the second and first level. It is another couple of minutes trekking up along the river. The water is bubbling here so let’s have a bubble bath here 🙂 They sell buko juice (young coconut juice) in here to enjoy the place better.
19. Badian beach at the bus stop for the waterfalls. It is not one of the nicest beaches ever, but you will be there alone for sure. So relax and enjoy your own company!
20. Moalboal town where you take a tricycle to the beach Basdaku White beach (in Cebuano – bas means sand, daku means big)
TIP 1: If you are visiting the Philippines, don’t forget to visit Bohol and plan for your trip reading 11 things to do in Bohol.
TIP 2: And if you are into paradise beaches, Boracay is touristy but still stunning! It’s not that budget friendly but you would definitely enjoy Boracay by all means.
PS: After Mexico and Costa Rica, Philippines became my 3rd favorite country in the world which says it all, right? 😉
van
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here is an interactive map that will definitely help you around the province of cebu!!
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Mae
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If you will go to Cebu just stay at Premiere Citi Suites it is located near Cebu Doctors Hospital.
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Jay
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It’s been almost ten years since I’ve been back to Cebu, my birth place. I’m going back this April and I can’t wait to go on adventures like you did. Thanks again for posting and promoting my hometown. Stay safe and enjoy your travels.
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Wow, 10 years, that’s so much! I cannot imagine being far from my home town for such a lng time! Hope you have fun there again 🙂
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Diana Keys
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same here………….been out of my birthplace for quite some time now………i miss the life there…..simple and quiet…………….wish i can visit CEBU next year………….
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hanim
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may i know what kind of transportation u take to move around in cebu?
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Public transportation – buses with the locals.
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TK LOOI
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Comment@ Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler:
Thanks for the useful info. we be in Cebu this Christmas. We wish you great adventure and a wonderful time ahead. Cheers….
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Thanks Looi, hope you enjoy Cebu. It’s worth a visit 😉
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Samantha
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Awesome list! We are planning on going to Cebu in December and I don’t have too much knowledge of the place so it’s great to see there are some fun things to do. Thanks!
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Glad you find my Cebu list useful 😉 Hope you enjoy it there, Samantha!
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Andy
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@ Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler:
Love the site! I’m getting ready to retire to Cebu so a site like this is very beneficial! Thank you!
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Love to hear that, Andy. Cebu is a pretty cool place, I am sure you will enjoy it 🙂
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Sofia
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And if you want to visit other place in the Philippines, you should check this out:
https://www.choosephilippines.com/go/islands-and-beaches/701/Hinatuan/
Enchanted River is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Surigao del Sur and the rest of Mindanao. This beautiful river is said to be wrapped in mystery and supernatural events so that it gained renown as being enchanted.
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Thanks Sofia for your recommendations 🙂 Very useful 😉
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Sofia
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Try Oslob and Bantayan.
Here are some pictures:
Bantayan: https://tinyurl.com/k6455j7
Oslob: https://tinyurl.com/m2sfsdm
You can swim with whale sharks in Oslob! 🙂
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Leandro Padilla (@leandrogwt)
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Another cool thing to do in Cebu is try wakeboarding in Papakits. 🙂
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Thanks for your tip, never heard of it there 🙂
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sam
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I need to get more info about Cebu 🙂
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Feel free to do so, Cebu is cool 😉
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Chiboy
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Hey Guys Cebu has plenty to offer and the latest tourist attraction is Bojo River in Aloguinsan.
Check my site for more places you visit in Cebu.
I am a frustrated blogger
My top 5 Reasons to Visit Cebu
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Thanks for your recommendation 😉
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Clint
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I think you have not been to the beautiful mountains of cebu. Ahehehehehe As I can see you love hiking. You just might love it on top of the mountains
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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No, haven’t visited any mountains on Cebu unfortunately. Next time for sure 😉
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Terry of Texas
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Wow! I’m thankful for people like you who take the time to share their travels through blogs. I’m wanting to break away from my 2 week stay in Manila (Feb. 2014) and I’m thinking of Cebu. I know this isn’t a new review, so if you might have any new tips I’d be grateful to hear (read) them. Thanks again Crazy/Sexy Traveler.
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Thanks so much for your nice words, Terry. Some things have changed in Cebu but I still think they will even more (hopefully change to better) by the time you go there and I really hope you will be able to find at least some information about it online later on.
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Comment@ CAJ:
I never have time to upload new photos to photo gallery, you are right! And haven’t been to China and Australia yet so I don’t write about those countries.
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CAJ
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Pretty cool blog, but where are the photos of your trips in SE Asia? I did not see them in your photo gallery. The only ones there seem to be pictures from your European and South American trips.
If you get a chance, travel and blog about China and Australia.
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Comment@ Juan Manila:
Wow, Juan! Good to see my tips will help you with your trip 🙂 Enjoy!
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Juan Manila
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Nice! Thanks for this blog. I was scouting for suggestions for my Cebu trip next week and I came across your site. It will be my first visit there. Your blog will be a big help on my Cebu adventure.
More power and keep up the good work!
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crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Ienyhs:
Thanks Ienyhs for reading 🙂
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Ienyhs
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Great article this is very useful tips and I hope to read more update from this article.
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