Cebu
travel guides

March to May is the driest period and the best for diving and island-hopping. December to February is also good and slightly cooler. The wettest months run from June to November, though Cebu sits outside the main typhoon corridor and rarely takes a direct hit.

Take a Grab or an airport taxi across the bridge to Cebu City, which takes 30-45 minutes depending on traffic. If you are staying in a Mactan resort, the transfer is only 10-15 minutes. Traffic in and out of the city can be very slow at peak hours.

Use Grab within Cebu City and hire a van or join a tour for trips down the island. Jeepneys are the cheap local option but hard to navigate as a visitor. Buses from the South Bus Terminal reach Moalboal and Oslob in three to four hours.

Five to seven days lets you see Cebu properly. The city itself needs only a day; the rest goes to the south coast for canyoneering and diving, and possibly north to Malapascua or across to Bohol. Distances on the island are longer than the map suggests.

It is worth knowing that the Oslob operation is controversial among marine biologists. The sharks there are hand-fed daily, which changes their natural migration and feeding behaviour. Donsol in Sorsogon and Southern Leyte offer encounters with wild, unfed whale sharks if that matters to you.

Cebu is safe for visitors, with petty theft in crowded parts of the city the main concern. The resort areas and dive towns see very little crime. Take water safety seriously on boat transfers and check that operators provide life jackets.

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