In Transit to Cebu

There are a lot of things written about Cebu City, it is after all one of the places to be when traveling the Visayas region. Due to the city’s progressiveness and resemblance to Manila, it became a place being flocked by both tourists and businessmen alike.

I came to Cebu City back when digital cameras were unheard of and at a time when my passion and willingness to discover places were non-existent. I remember staying at Marco Polo Cebu City for several days and going around the city but somehow, the visit in Tops and one lunch in the hotel were the only things that stayed in wherever long term memories are stored in my brain.

And so when I planned a Bohol-Cebu trip, I decided to stay in Mactan. I was actually looking forward to visiting Bantayan Island but I have known about the three hour commute from the city only after I booked our plane tickets, thus, lack of time allotted for the Cebu Trip.

If you are coming from Manila, Cebu is just an hour away through plane. Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Airphil Express all have flights to and from Cebu. The province also has an international hub thus if you are coming from abroad (mostly from Los Angeles, San Francisco or Korea, if I’m not mistaken), planes can land directly in Cebu.

What we did though was took a ferry from Tagbilaran since we were visiting Bohol anyway. It was a good two-hour trip, which mostly was spent sleeping by me. There are several lines such as Supercat, Oceanjet and Weesam, the most popular being the foremost. It cost us Php 500 for a single trip. Make sure to check all lines from time to time as these fast crafts offer promos.

 

Upon docking in Cebu City’s port, we were greeted by a lot of cab drivers and locals who offered their transportation services. Now, I read in forums that the transfer from the Cebu port to Mactan, should cost no more than Php 200 per cab. Since we were six, we decided to get a van instead and paid around Php 400. They will attempt to charge you far more than that amount and if they do, I insist you take a cab instead.

And so our stay at Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa and Shangri-la Mactan Resorts & Spa began. I shall be talking about both hotels in a few days to come. Toodles!