Q u e e n C i t y o f t h e S o u t h

Its more fun in the

Philippines

Module 5

C e b u

In this module…

You will learn about the city of Cebu and also about its neighbouring cities

You will learn about the city of Cebu and also about its neighbouring cities

You will also learn about what to see and do in the city - from shopping to sightseeing to nightlife, and also getting around within the city

In this module…

You will learn about the city of Cebu and also about its neighbouring cities

You will also learn about what to see and do in the city - from shopping to sightseeing to nightlife, and also getting around within the city

So lets get started…

In this module…

Cebu is an island province consisting of the island itself and 167 surrounding islandsCebu City

Its capital is Cebu City, the oldest city in the Philippines, which forms part of the Cebu Metropolitan Area together with four neighboring cities of Danao, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Talisay

Cebu City

The people of Cebu are Cebuanos and they form the second largest group in the Philippines

The people of Cebu are Cebuanos and they form the second largest group in the Philippines

A Cebuano chieftain called Lapu-Lapu, killed the explorer Ferdinand Magellan and became a local hero

The 20 metre bronze statue of Lapu-Lapu stands in Lapu-Lapu City of Cebu. It was erected to honor him for defeating the Spanish soldiers led by the explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521

The people of Cebu are Cebuanos and they form the second largest group in the Philippines

A Cebuano chieftain called Lapu-Lapu, killed the explorer Ferdinand Magellan and became a local hero

Mactan-Cebu International Airport is the second busiest airport in the Philippines

It takes about 20-30 min to get to the city of Cebu from the airport

From the airport you will need to hire a taxi

This is a view of the proposed airport

2Go Travel operates passenger ferries with a capacity of 2,000 to 4,000 passengers from and to Manila

The trip takes about 22 hours

Exploring Cebu

As we discussed in Module 1, Philippines is a delight for tourists. We will now focus our attention on the same elements. So let’s look at the main attractions that would appeal to the Indian tourists.

Shopping Night Life

Beaches & Natural Beauty

Casinos

Historical Heritage

Amazing Hotels

SHOPPING

Cebu City has many shopping malls - SM City Cebu is the biggest

Cebu City has many shopping malls - SM City Cebu is the biggest

‣ It has four-levels with a huge department store, supermarket, movie theater and over 200 shops and restaurants

‣ SM City Cebu is located at the North Reclamation Area, Cebu City

‣ It is the fourth largest shopping mall in the Philippines

‣ The SM City Mall is also home to a Duty Free Shopping Outlet

‣ On an average day, more than one lakh people visit the mall, and on weekends it can go up to a lakh and a half

A more upscale shopping mall is the Ayala Mall, it offers more restaurants and stores that appeal to tourists

Its unique feature is the Terraces, a redevelopment that transformed a simple lagoon area to a food plaza with the landscaping and orchestrated water features

AMAZING HOTELS

BlueWater Resort, Maribago

Located on the Mactan Island of Cebu, the resort is spread across 7 hectares

It is modelled like a tropical forest and offers a variety of facilities

It has 158 rooms, including five royal bungalows

It has three lagoon shaped swimming pools and offers scuba diving, snorkeling and boating too

Marriott, Cebu CityThis hotel offers a convenient location for business and leisure travel as it is located in the financial district

Shopping, recreation and leisure activities are all available within a little distance

The hotel sits next to the Ayala Mall and just 10 minutes from downtown and the Cebu International Convention Center

The grand ballroom, four meeting rooms and two boardrooms are perfect for social events and corporate functions accommodating up to 400 guests

The Terraces of the Ayala Mall A view of the Grand Ballroom

About one hour from Cebu City, Plantation Bay is spread across 11 hectares and offers one of the largest privately-owned waterways in the world

Plantation Bay

Water Edged Rooms are one of the attractions of the resort

Guests can jump directly into the water from these rooms

The sprawling resort offers scuba diving, including night diving, para-sailing, water activities, rock climbing and many other activities

Waterferont Hotel & Casino

Located 30 minutes from Mactan international Airport is the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino

The hotel has over 550 rooms

The hotel has a gaming area, where Casino Filipino is located

It also has Cebu’s second duty free shopping

Mactan Island is a densely populated island located a few kilometers from Cebu Island, it’s just a 15 minute drive

Mactan Island

The island is separated from Cebu by the Mactan Channel which is crossed by two bridges: the Marcelo Fernan Bridge and the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge

Marcelo Fernan Bridge Mactan-Mandaue Bridge

Being one of the major tourist Islands of Cebu, Mactan Island boasts of a diverse collection of tourist spots and attractions and offers some of the best diving, snorkeling, island hopping, jet ski, and sailing activities

HISTORICAL HERITAGE

Magellan's Cross is a cross planted by explorer Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu in 1521

Magellan's Cross

The Magellan’s Cross is housed in a chapel next to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño on Magallanes Street just in front of the city center of Cebu City

A marker at the foot of the cross A plaque at the entrance of the building

The Lapu-Lapu Memorial is a 20 metres (66 ft) bronze statue in Lapu-Lapu City

It was erected to honor Lapu-Lapu, a native leader who defeated Spanish soldiers of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521

Lapu Lapu Memorial

The Basílica Menor del Santo Niño is the Spanish name for the Minor Basilica of the Holy Child

It was built in the 16th century and is the oldest Roman Catholic church in the country

Basílica Menor del Santo Niño

The Cebu Taoist Temple was built in 1972 and is located in

Beverly Hills subdivision

It is at a height of 300 metres (980 ft) and is a multi-tiered, multi-colored attraction accessible by three separate winding routes to the top

The temple was built by Cebu's substantial Chinese community

NIGHTLIFE

IT Park, Mango Avenue, and Crossroads are the best areas to experience nightlife in Cebu. Since, this area is where most people from call centers work nearly all people here speak good English

You can see people partying here everyday and not just the weekends

In the heart of Mango Avenue is El Gecko Restrobar, it’s a great local bar to start the night out with, it has a good sound system and pool tables too

Cable Car is a hip and happening pub cum restaurant with amazing Tex Mex, Italian, Filipino food at very reasonable prices

Tequila shots at 5 pesos or just 7 per shot… it can’t get better than this!

‣ The H2O Dance Club is one of the best places to go if you're looking for a disco

‣ It is located at Waterfront Lahug

‣ The crowd here is mature and popular music is featured. They play music from the 60’s genre to the latest

A few minutes drive from IT Park, and about ten minutes away from Mango Avenue is , Crossroads 

At Crossroads you can go dancing at Club VUDU and take some shots at Maya to enjoy your night out

Crossroads Cebu is where you’ll find high-class and international restobars and dressy party clubs like VUDU.

Party starts from 9:00pm onwards, every Thursday to Saturday.

Club VUDU is the best club in Cebu

The best part of clubs in the Mango Avenue is there are many taxis waiting outside the clubs to pick you up. They are available throughout the night

Scrapyard Lounge is a sleek and comfortable lounge as you go easy on intimate conversation with great food, terrific mixed drinks and warm company.

The club attracts the sophisticated crowd from the nearby corporate district because of its main attraction of a wide selection of drinks available at its bar

It is also one of the few places in the city that does bottle-keep, a practice that originated in Japan, which simply means that if a customer’s purchased liquor can’t be finished in one sitting, the establishment will keep the remaining for later use

Slabadu is an icon when it comes to live music in Cebu

Friends and families will enjoy the evenings in one of the oldest and most established live music and bistro places in Mandaue City

From Monday to Saturday 9:00 pm until late into the night, different life bands are performing on stage

• The Outpost allows you to immerse in the intense acoustic session of Cebu’s bands

• For those who loves good food, great music and good vibes!

• Outpost is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 6:00pm to 2:00am.

La Vie Parisienne is a bakery cum eating place located on way to the Taoist Temple in Beverly Hills Subdivision.

It looks, feels, and smells like a modern deli somewhere in downtown Paris.

At least a dozen different flavors of macarons are usually on display here

At night the seating area gets lit up like a scene out of a Hollywood movie

La Vie Parisienne

Larsian BBQ Larsian BBQ is an alfresco or open air eating joint

It is right in the middle of Cebu City, in the Fuente Osmena area.

The stalls are busy at night, when the weather is cooler.

You have a wide range of choices here because there are several barbecue stalls in this area. 

Source http://www.tripadvisor.in

Mr India

If you are looking for an authentic Indian eating place, this is a highly recommended one.

Veggie Samosa and their Chicken Curry combo is sold at a reasonable price

Their Chicken Biryani is fairly authentic and gives you an Indian feel

The service here is good too

CASINOS

The Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino is the city’s best hotel known for its Casino which is open 24 hours a day.

The hotel has a gaming area called Club Waterfront. The Casino Filipino is also in the hotel.

Over four hundred slot machines, over sixty table games and seven restaurants make Casino Filipino a popular gaming destination.

The Cebu International Convention Center is 3-storey structure with a gross floor area of 28,000 square metres and is situated in the Mandaue City Reclamation Area in Metro Cebu

The site was originally intended for a sports complex called the Cebu Mega Dome

BEACHES & NATURAL BEAUTY

Cebu island is truly blessed with magnificent beaches and beautiful coastlines. Its laid back beach attitude atmosphere is echoed throughout the province 

Beautiful White Sand Beach in Cebu: This is just one of many white sand beaches on the Iisland

Tingko is one of the nearest beaches from the city

Bantayan Island is an enchanting beach with its crystal

clear water and its long stretch of white sugary sand

where apart from swimming, you can do a lot of stuff like

snorkeling, scuba diving and island hopping.

Tumalog Falls  the falls are like a movie set, which you can get into or walk behind

You can use a raft to explore the water and give yourselves a massage from the falling water.

There are also tables available for you to keep your valuables (but make sure there's at least one of you who will attend to your valuables)

Mountain View Nature’s Park, Sitio Garahe Busay, Cebu City. This hilltop view is a 30 minute drive from the city

It has a breathtaking view especially during the night time wherein you can view the Whole of Cebu city.

Kawasan Falls is the place to begin jungle treks in Cebu.

You might want to try a one-hour adventure that will take you from the falls and along the beautiful Matutinao River to its source.

In addition to the natural beauty here, you'll come across waterfalls that are more than 70ft high, pass through diverse jungle vegetation and see varied wildlife that includes butterflies, lizards and monkeys

You will get to see the major falls first, at the foot of the Kawasan Falls.

Here, you can rent a bamboo raft and the rafters will navigate the raft through the falling water, behind the falling water, under the cave and back to the open pool of water.

Nature enthusiasts can enjoy a visit to the Olango Wildlife Sanctuary

You can see a variety of exotic creatures taking shade amid the stands of mangroves in this marshy area. 

Guitars from Cebu are famous for their affordable price, world-class quality and durability

Cebu has a long history of guitar making due to its traditional industry

Most of the guitar manufacturers are family-owned, passed on from one generation to another. The famous guitar makers in Lapu-Lapu City are the Alegre and Malingin families

Cebu-made guitars are popular with tourists, who buy them as gifts and souvenirs

The center of the guitar-making industry in Cebu is in Lapu-Lapu City in Mactan Island

In addition, other string musical instruments made in Lapu-Lapu City include ukuleles, banjos, and mandolins

Cebu is called the Furniture Capital of Philippines

Cebu is famous for the furniture made from the Rattan family of palm trees

Cebu manufacturers are known for their superior design capabilities and craftsmanship,

Cebu contributes more than 60% to the furniture exports from the Philippines

Dried Mangoes is a convenient-to-carry snack. It is also very nutritious.

Cebu is the main source of dried mangoes in the Philippines

Besides the usual dried mangoes, other mango products are strips, dried chips, cubes in syrup,

nectar, cakes and confectionery

It’s availability throughout the year adds another attraction for tourists in Cebu

Danao City, in Cebu Province, is famous for its gun industry

Paltik is the name given to the homemade (and illegal) guns

The industry started around the early 1900s and was finally legalized in the early 1990s by the government

Two organizations in Danao have proper permits to run gun manufacturing facilities

The Edge Coaster is a unique ride where a coaster goes around the edge of the 38th floor of the Crown Regency building while riders are locked onto a rail seat.

The riders get a breathtaking panorama of the entire Cebu landscape perched over 130 meters above ground

Let’s Recap

‣ Cebu is an island province consisting of the island itself and 167 surrounding islands

‣ Mactan-Cebu International Airport is the second busiest airport in the Philippines

‣ SM City Cebu is the biggest mall in Cebu City

‣ The Ayala Mall plays hosts to the Terraces, a food plaza with the landscaping and orchestrated water features

‣ About one hour from Cebu City, is the Plantation Bay, a resort spread across 11 hectares and one of the largest privately-owned waterways in the world

Let’s Recap

‣ Bantayan Island is a enchanting beach with its crystal clear water and its long stretch of white sugary sand where apart from swimming, you can do a lot of stuff like snorkelling, scuba diving and island hopping

‣ Kawasan Falls is the place to begin jungle treks in Cebu

‣ Cebu is also called the Furniture Capital of Philippines and is famous for the furniture made from the Rattan family of palm trees