Exploring South Cebu: 4-Day Itinerary, Cost-Breakdown and Highlights

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Cebu is one of the most popular destinations among Filipinos and has also captured the heart of millions of foreigners around the world. As a matter of fact, out of the 307,596 tourists who entered the country last August 2016, 103,778 visited Cebu. These impressive numbers show just how much travelers love to explore Cebu, mainly because of its many islands, beaches, diving locations, hotels, resorts and heritage sites.

Last week, I had the opportunity to explore Southern Cebu together with my 9 brothers from CCF-Alabang. It was an unforgettable experience and I can say Cebu is by far the best place I’ve visited among the many places I’ve explored both in and out of the country. I enjoyed every aspect from the planning up to the trip itself. Everything was perfect and this blog post is for my readers who want to explore Southern Cebu.

The Planning:

Six months before our trip to Cebu, we booked our roundtrip ticket of Manila-Mactan-Manila via AirAsia and Cebu Pacific. We chose the cheaper flights, that’s why we didn’t pick one airline only and the roundtrip ticket was cost PHP 4,100 per person. 

Tip: If you want to get the cheaper flight, you need to wait for the seat sale of Cebu Pacific or AirAsia. Most of the time they have piso fare promos, but the travel dates are after six months to one year from your booking date. You can get a roundtrip ticket for as low as PHP500.00.

The Itinerary:

Part of the planning was the making of the itinerary. We wanted to make sure we covered everything, but still on a budget. One of my Cebuano friends helped me with the itinerary. We thoroughly researched the best places and things to do in Cebu and put them on the list. Fortunately, my friend gave me the itinerary used by another group who went to Cebu. We made some changes based on the length of our stay and other places and things we wanted to do in Cebu.

Here’s the itinerary that you can use as well. If you want the editable excel file, DOWNLOAD HERE

cebu itinerary

Day 0:

7 PM Flight from Manila to Mactan, Cebu
10 PM Dinner at Larsian BBQ Restaurant
Checked-in at YMCA Hostel, Cebu City
Slept at 1 AM

Day 1:

Woke up at 6 AM
Started the City Tour at 7 AM
Stayed for 1 hour in Tops Lookout
Taken photos in Greece look-alike: Temple of Leah
Toured around Cebu Taoist Temple
Passed by the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saint,
Sandiego-Yap Ancestral House and The Cathedral Museum,
Museo Sugbo Casa Gorordo Museum The Cathedral Museum Fort San Pedro Took Photos at the historical Magellan’s Cross and Sto. Niño Chapel

Traveled 40 KM to Carcar, Cebu for Lunch
Tasted the famous Lechon Cebu in Carcar

Traveled 2 hours from Carcar to Badian, Cebu
Checked-in at Grandeur Beach Resort in Badian at 7 AM
Swam in Lambug Beach
Beach-front Dinner at Grandeur Beach Resort
10 PM Fellowship and Devotion

Day 2:

Breakfast at 8 AM
20-minute trek going to the starting point of Canyoneering
5 Hours of Canyoneering Adventure
Late Lunch at Kawasan Falls
Went Back to our Accommodation
Checked-out at Grandeur Beach Resort

Travelled going to Oslob for 2 hours
Checked-in at Luzmin Lodging House, Oslob
Dinner at Luzmin Lodging House

Day 3:

Woke up at 6 AM. Prepared for an early Oslob Whale Shark Adventure
Travelled for 20 minutes going to Beach of Tan-Awan, Oslob
Swam with the Whale Sharks for 30 minutes
Side Tripping to Oslob Heritage Park
Went Back to our Accommodation
Checked-out at Luzmin Lodging House
Travelled back to Cebu City for 4 hours
Brought dried seafood at Taboan Public Market, Cebu City
Dinner at Gaisano Capital
Travelled going to our Accommodation at Lapu-Lapu City
Checked-in at Park Hill Hotel
Movie Night Fellowship with the Group

Day 4:

Woke up at 9 AM
Breakfast at Marina Mall
Went Back to the Hotel
Checked-out at 12 noon
Travelled Back to the City
Bought Cebu’s Lechon
Watched a Movie at SM Cebu
Dinner at Burrow
Travelled to Mactan Airport Cebu
11 PM Flight Back to Manila

Highlights:

Cheap accommodations in Cebu
Accommodating tour guide in Canyoneering Adventure
My best adventure by far —Canyoneering at Badian
Cebu is a nature-friendly place
Loved Kawasan falls
Unlimited chicken at Burrow Restaurant for only PHP 199.00
Carcar, Cebu has the best lechon I ever tasted
Swimming with the whalesharks

Expenses:

cebu expenses

Was it worth our money?

Definitely! Everything that happened was priceless. I enjoyed every aspect of it, from the planning up to the entire tour. It may be time consuming to organize a trip like this, but everything paid off after seeing the joy and excitement in the eyes of every participant. We maximized our time in every places we’ve visited and the entire tour was a balance between rest and adventure. Two days were allotted for challenging and fun adventures and the remaining days were for all-relax and fun places.

Accommodations and Other Helpful Contact Information:

1. YMCA Hostel, Cebu City
Address: 51 Osmeña Blvd, Cebu City, Cebu
Contact Number: (032) 253 4057
Contact Person: Malene
Email Address: info@cebuymca.com
Website: www.cebuymca.com

2. Grandeur Beach Resort, Badian Cebu
Address: Lambug Beach, Badian
Contact Number: (+63) 917-638-6640
Contact Person: Marita/Naty/Janper
Email Address: grandge78@yahoo.com
Website: www.grandgeresort.com

3. Luzmin Lodging House, Oslob Cebu
Address: Barangay Lagunde, Oslob Cebu
Contact Number: (+63) 923-893-0256
Contact Person: LykaLimbaga

4. Park Hill Hotel, Lapu-lapu City, Cebu
Address: Park Hill Hotel Cebu, Matumbo Road, Pusok, Lapu-Lapu City
Contact Number: (+63) 906-519-7009 / (032) 494-0749
Contact Person: Mitch

5. Licensed Tour Guide – Canyoneering, Kawasan Falls and Osmena Peak
Address: Badian, Cebu
Contact Number: (+63) 935-291-9493
Contact Person: Joven

6. Van Rental 1
Contact Number: (+63) 915-455-4337 or (+63) 932-568-3430
Contact Person: Richard Dungog

7. Van Rental 2
Contact Number: (+63) 917-929-0136
Contact Person: Jojo

Gallery:

These are the highlights from our trip and I made a complete and more personal blog of what happened from our 4-day experience in South Cebu.

exploring south cebu

exploring south cebu

exploring south cebu

exploring south cebu

exploring south cebu

exploring south cebu

exploring south cebu

exploring south cebu

exploring south cebu

Author: Vinz

Vinz is a part-time travel blogger, part-time digital marketing specialist, and full-time dreamer. He loves the photographic medium for expressing what he loves about life. He always finds himself lost during travel. But he loves unfamiliar territories and finding his way around. Aside from his taste for adventure, he loves two things while traveling - meeting new friends and food.

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