If there is one thing I loved about my recent Cebu trip, it is the fact that there was just so much to do and eat. First and foremost, it was easy to go to visit the Queen City of the South due to less travel requirements. Today though, fully vaccinated individuals may no longer needs a negative RT-PCR result, their vaccination cards will do. Last June 24, the only requirement we needed was just a negative RT-PCR test result since my hotel was located at Cebu City itself. With all the easing of restrictions, now is the time to travel to Cebu and experience the ultimate trip.
Travel requirements to Cebu
Generally, the island of Cebu is mostly unrestricted to domestic travelers, however, Cebu City itself still somehow has some requirements. Based on my recent travel, I needed to to have a negative RT-PCR test result since my hotel, Quest Hotel, was located inside the city itself. However, if my hotel was located in Mandaue City, I would not need any.
Today however, fully vaccinated individuals including senior citizens no longer needs RT-PCR tests. They just need to show their vaccination cards.
You will need to create an account at S-Pass.ph which is basically a site that contains all the necessary domestic travel requirements needed. For Cebu, I just had to upload my ID and my negative RT-PCR result. I also included my vaccination card. Approval was quick.
Traveling to Cebu
If you plan to take a trip to Cebu, I highly recommend to take an AirAsia flight from Manila to Cebu and back. In terms of tickets, they have the most affordable fares and with the best bang for the buck. For not more than 2,500 pesos (depending also on the season and booking date), you can get an AirAsia round trip ticket which include 20kg check-in baggage. You also have the option to book using SNAP which includes an AirAsia round trip flight and hotel options. AirAsia flies from Manila to Cebu daily.
I boarded my AirAsia flight which was definitely an unforgettable one. Aside from the “fun and friendly” atmosphere, the cabin crew are followers of Flyhigh MNL. I was definitely happy to see them. Of course, an AirAsia flight is not a happy one without their onboard meal, particularly the beef tapa!
If there is one thing I love about AirAsia, its the friendliness and warmth of their people, from the ground staff to even the executives.
If you want to see how my travel from Manila to Cebu went, you may check out my video below.
Seeing the beautiful places of Cebu
I had been to Cebu more than 10 times already however, this is the first time I did really go on tour except for those places in the far provinces of the island. A Cebu trip is usually food trip for me. Of course Rico’s lechon, AA’s Barbeque, and Balamban are a given. No doubt that these are places for a complete Cebuano gastronomic experience. Honestly, I felt I gained so much weight in just five days!
It was only on this trip that I was able to somehow tour around and I did it in three modes of transportation, air, land, and sea! I was not able to go all the way to Kawasan Falls and Bantayan Island. However, I went as far as Naga City then above the waters to Bohol just to get a glimpse of the Chocolate Hills, then back.
I am talking about an aerial sightseeing tour.
Cebu island from the air at 1,500 feet above.
My good friends in aviation and partners in FH Media took me on an aerial tour above Cebu aboard a Cessna 172 propeller plane. We flew from the Mactan Cebu International Airport and turned towards Naga City. I was able to see the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, Osmena Bridge, the soon to be the country’s longest bridge, the Cebu – Cordova bridge, all from the air. This bridge seems to be the next tourist attraction in Cebu. It links the southern part of Mactan Island to Cebu City, near SM Seaside.
We then flew above some notable dive spots in Cebu and you can clearly see the coral reefs. It was just simply beautiful from above. You would not notice this much if you were looking down from a commercial aircraft landing at MCIA, but on a small slow plane, you will.
Life in Cebu is indeed well balanced. They have that “Metro Manila” style of living but not far away are the beautiful beaches and places to visit. On our way back, I was able to catch of glimpse of the different hotels and resorts along Mactan Island such as Movenpick Hotel, Crimson, and Shangri-La. If you want water and sand, you should go check the hotels at Mactan Island. You may visit the AirAsia website and click on “SNAP” if you want a hotel like Crimson.
Water and land tours
Unlike in Metro Manila, going on nature trips like the beach and island hoping are just minutes away from Cebu City, depending on the traffic. We took a boat from Plantation Bay in Mactan City for our island hopping tour. Plantation Bay at Mactan Island is a hotel resort with both a natural beach and a man-made white-sand beach! It is one of the most popular hotel resorts in Mactan Island.
For the island tour, we took this huge Bangka perfect for tourists. It had a table in the middle, and not just seats. You can even lie down and sun bath on its outriggers. We were able to visit three islands on this tour. The first was Caohagan Island which is like a 30 to 45 minute boat ride. However, the boat ride itself was already an experience with lechon and so much food plus beer! It was a feast for us!
Caohagan Island boasts a very beautiful sand bar, however, it was high tide that time. If there was one thing I noticed, was the number of local tourists and bangkas! Is this bad? Absolutely not! I was very happy that the tourism industry of Cebu is slowly prospering and recovering!
Other islands we visited were Olanggo Island and Hilutungan Island were you can go snorkeling to enjoy the rich marine life below the waters. I will feature these islands in my upcoming vlog on our YouTube channel, Flyhigh Media.
Cebu City land tour
I also experienced a land tour in Cebu City where we visited three places namely Terrazas de Flores which is a Botanical Garden high up in the mountains, the Temple of Leah, Fort San Pedro which is the oldest fort in the Philippines, and the famous Taboan Market.
Terrazas de Flores was originally created by a father to express his love for his three children. Truly a labor of love, it took 8 years to create what is now Cebu’s newest destination for nature lovers. 127 species of beautiful tropical flora as well as music, poetry and paintings surround the garden. This was our first stop. You may have coffee, a few shakes, and short but delicious snacks when you reach the middle portion of the climb.
The second stop was the Temple of Leah. Okay, if you are familiar with the celebrity Ellen Adarna, this structure was built by her grandfather. This is also known as the ‘Taj Mahal of Cebu’.
Businessman Teodorico Adarna dedicated the temple to his wife, Leah, of 54 years. She died of lung cancer in 2012 at 69. They started their family at a young age. Leah was 16 and Teodorico was 19 when they got married. They had four children—Allan, Arlene, Arthur (deceased) and Alex; and 16 grandchildren, including Ellen Adarna. If you will see the portrait of the late Leah Albino Adarna, her grandchild Ellen looks just like her.
Construction began in 2012 but was put on hold due to the pandemic. This majestic temple is located on top of a hill in Busay. A portion of the mountain was chopped and flattened to make way for this temple.
Our last stop was Fort San Pedro, the oldest fort in the Philippines which was built by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. This triangular shaped fort is mostly in its original structure as this was never ravaged during the war. This served as a military defense of the Spaniards in the 17th century. Again, this will all be in my upcoming vlog, Flyhigh Media.
The warmth of my Cebuano friends
In 2018, I experienced a horrible trip to Cebu. It was somehow traumatic for me but this recent trip changed it all. This also proved the Cebuanos have this warm and welcoming personality. My Cebuano friends really took time-out to hang around with me. My last night in Cebu was filled with laughs and of course, a few beers to go with.
Controlling the covid-19 situation
Cebu used to be the hot-bed of Covid-19 in the country however, the local government unit was able to control things in order not to sacrifice the economic side. Unlike in other places in the country in which lockdowns left and right is a solution, Cebu took a different approach. They used a more scientific and well studied approach in order to control the spread of covid-19. Of course, safety rules and protocols are strictly implemented, however, movement is not as restricted and the economic side was not sacrificed. Tourism in Cebu is slowly returning with safety always as a top priority.
This is why I do highly recommend that now is the best time to travel to Cebu and to experience the ultimate trip. There is just so much to do and see. It would be better if you have friends and families residing their already. However if you just want to take a vacation and have someone take-care of your plane fare and hotel, have AirAsia do it.
Go and visit Cebu and experience the ultimate trip. One of the best places to go to for all our Air Travellers!
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