Great Vacation Spots in Cebu Philippines

My first ever hub was about the tourist and historical attractions of my hometown Cebu Philippines. In that blog I promised to write about the great places where you can truly have a great and relaxing vacation, so here I am keeping it.

Here are the places I'm proud to share with the whole world.

1. Kawasan Falls in Badian - This gorgeous cascade of nature, which is in the middle of the forest, is situated Southwest of the city. It is approximately a 2.5-3 hour drive depending on the transportation. Buses usually take 3 hours and with a private vehicle it takes a lot faster. You will be in for a little adventurebecause you have to walk for about 20 minutes from the road/parking lot to the falls itself. You might find yourself complaining from the walk, heat, and the rocky road plus carrying whatever you have with you but once you get there you couldn't help yourself but say "It's all worth it!". The place has 3 elevations that one can explore. You will get to see the major falls first, at the foot of the Kawasan Falls. Here, you can rent a bamboo raft for 250 pesos for an hour and the raft drivers will navigate the raft through the falling water, behind the falling water, under the cave and back to the open pool of water. You will surely enjoy swimming in the real nice cool water. You can also check out the “source” of the falls which is at the third elevation of the Falls. You have to be ready for more walking and an adventure of climbing. Also on your way there, you will encounter more falls along with the rivers. Finally, at the source of the falls, you can get there a great massage from forceful gush of the flowing water.

The bus fare is about 110 pesos, theaccommodation ranges from 1000php-2000php. The fresh and sumptuous food they have is very affordable too. For those people who are not spending a night there you can rent a cottage and you can even bring your own food.

2. Bantayan Island - You will fall in love with this beautiful and enchanting beach with its crystal clear water and its long stretch of white sugary sand. Aside from swimming, you can do a lot of stuff like island hopping, snorkeling, and scuba diving. You will definitely be swept off by the stunning sunset; it is such a romantic scenery!

The island lies on the North side of Cebu city. Via bus, just go to the North Bus terminal for a 5-hour trip, then you can ride a ferry to Sta Fe Bantayan Island thereafter. You can opt to fly too.

3. Camotes Island - is another place to unwind and to relax and to be with nature. The main livelihood of the people are fishing, farming, and raising livestock, hence the place is not polluted and congested like any city. You will be awed by the unspoiled natural beauty of the place. The tourist attractions are not far from each other so there a lot of things you can do during your stay there. Some of the resorts havesnorkeling, kayaking, boating, windsurfing, and more.

Tours you can do/go:

3.1 Lake Danao, San Francisco- this is the only natural lake in Cebu and it's really big. I think this is the only lake I've ever been to. You can rent a canoe to have a very refreshing cruise in the big lake. For fishinglovers, yes you can do fishing here too.

3.2 Bukilat Cave, Tudela - is about an hour drive from the resorts. I've never been here yet but my friends who had explored the area told me that the place is just amazing! It is one of the most explored caves so it is safe. The cave is lighted by the natural rays of the sun coming in through the holes of the cave.Tourists can dip in the cool pool of water in the cave.

Other places I can suggest are ( don't have much info about them though, sorry guys): Buho Rock in Poro, Busay Waterfall in Tudela,Mountain Bike Challenge,Guadalupe Cave, Timobo Cave. (source: tourcamotes.com)

Getting there from Cebu: (source: DTI website)

By motorized banca-Danao City to Consuelo, San francisco
6:00 am and 11:00 am daily
Mandaue City to Poro
1:00 pm daily
By Ferry boat
Cebu City to Poro
12:00 noon and 9:00 pm daily (Pier 2)

4. Malapascua Island - is another treasure of the Cebu province, which is known as the best tourist destination not just in the Philippines but in the whole world as well. It's interesting to note that the word malapascua means "unfortunate christmas" when the place is nothing but a beach of splendid beauty, what's with the crystal clear water and the wondrous stretch of white sand. It's a great place to snorkel,scuba dive, swim, and to simply experience the beauty of nature.

How to get there (source: philipinecountry.com): Air trip fromCebu Airport to Maya

By bus at North Bus Terminal to Maya

then finally you will ride a ferry/boat at Maya pier to get to Malapascua

5. Moalboal - is a very populardiving spot just 2 hours South of Cebu. Just like the rest of the beaches mentioned, this is also blessed with white sands and crystal clear water. This is a great place to learn scuba diving. From here, the Kawasan Falls is just 30 minutes away. The accommodations and food are pretty affordable.

One can get there by bus or by a taxi cab, or better yet, you can rent car and drive your way there.

There are more things that Cebu can offer to tourists and visitors. But isn’t it more challenging and exciting if you discover those on your own? That is if you’ve made the right decision of spending your vacation in Cebu in the first place!

Source: ranjen0703

Interested to visit Philippines – Check our Affordable Tour Packages here. And you can also check our list of Top Places to visit in the Philippines.

Magellan's Cross, Cebu City

You should not miss the Magellan’s Cross being the famous landmark in Cebu and having its contribution in the history of the Philippines. This cross was planted as a symbol of the arrival of the Portuguese and Spanish explorers headed by Ferdinand Magellan upon arrival in the city.
The cross is enclosed on a small hall that stands at the center infront of the City Hall.
The hall's ceiling has a canvas that portrays the historical event of the cross.

We recently found out that there's a cheaper souvenir store across the street of the Magellan cross. It's 50%-75% cheaper than the Souvenir island store, but the shirts' quality aren't the same.

We were residing in Mandaue City, our friend from Cebu advised us to take a cab instead so we can get back on time before the baptismal ceremony of our goddaughter (yeah, she's already my 4th goddaughter).

by: theguardianangel

Interested to visit Philippines – Check our Affordable Tour Packages here. And you can also check our list of Top Places to visit in the Philippines.

Cebu City Sinulog Festival 2012 Opening

Uploaded by Sun.Star Philippine news 

Cebu City Sinulog Festival 2012 Opening - January 6, 2012

Its really MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES!.. :)

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Place to Visit in the Philippine

Singaporean investor looking at eco-tourism appeal of Cebu City hillylands

Waterfalls, caves, pocket forests, mountain trails – Cebu City has them all in the mountain barangays.

At least five barangays are being studied for their eco-tourism potential by a potential Singaporean investor aided by a resident of barangay Tabunan, Giovanni Stephen Romarate, manager of the Cebu City Zoo.

“We can come up with different activities like trekking and spelunking to promote eco-tourism. We don’t have to go far to experience all these,” Romarate told Cebu Daily News.

Romarate said he’s been working on an eco-tourism master plan with the investor which will be presented to Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama once it is completed.

Some caution is needed, however, to balance the commercial development with protection of the nature sites, he said because some of them are located in protected watersheds.

He identified the five as Sudlon I and II, Taptap, Tabunan and Tagbao, which he said are ideal for ziplines with their high elevation. These areas can all be reached within an hour from City Hall, he said.

Cebu Daily News checked with records of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and confirmed that the five barangays have large areas falling with watersheds or protected zones under the jurisdiction of the State through the DENR as part of the Central Cebu Protected landscape.

Sudlon 1 and 2 form part of the Sudlon National Park and the Mananga Watershed and Forest Reserve.

Tabunan has land within the Mananga Watershed and the Kotkot-Lusaran Watershed. Taptap is found in the Mananga Watershed, and barangay Tabao is in the Kotkot-Lusaran Watershed.

Romarate, a Tabunan resident and caretaker of the Cebu City Zoo for at least five years, said he’s been discussing the plan to scout for potential areas for development in the mountains with the mayor and the Cebu City Hillyland Commission.

He said a five-hectare property in barangay Babag was identified as a potential base camp for eco-tourism activities. He said the land owned by former Cebu City Councilor Franklin Seno was ideal for cottages and a bird sanctuary.

Ziplines from the five other barangays may be directed to this base camp in Babag located at the boundary of Cebu City’s north and south districts, he said.

He said Seno agreed with the plan and that they only had to work out the details of implementation.

Mayor Rama yesterday said the establishment of eco-tourism sites in the mountains was one of his goals but that an ordinance is needed by the Cebu City Council.

“We need an ordinance especially to establish eminent domain and the police powers of the city government,” he said , partly to guard against potential abuse.

The ordinance would also need to create a body to manage the city’s eco-tourism sites, the mayor said.

Romarate said his study would inventory the natural wonders in the five adjoining mountain barangays, identify structures needed and how to bring together these attractions together for an eco-tourism activity.

He said private parties are already looking into setting up a zipline in an elevated part of barangay Taptap, where guests would ride horses or carabaos to climb back up to the zipline base camp.

“We want to discourage machine-operated carriers so that tourists have a feel of the forest adventure during their visit,” he said.

He said they are also exploring offering guided tours to several caves in barangays Sudlon I and II and sitio Cantipla in Tabunan.

Romarate said Cantipla has at least eight caves with two underground rivers.

Tabunan is the site of Cebu’s remaining pocket forest, a long known habitat of the elusive Cebu Flowerpecker, a bird that has never been photographed and was once thought to be extinct.

Barangay Tagbao has waterfalls.

“I tried diving in the Manggasang Falls. I ran out of air because it was so deep,” he recalled.

Romarate said he would spend summers and weekends visiting caves, forest lands and waterways in the five mountain barangays with his wife and four daughters.

He said he posted photos on his Facebook page, which caught the attention of the Singaporean investors he’s now dealing with.

He said the plan was a work in progress, and couldn’t give more details.

While they want to bring tourists upland, he said there was a need to protect and preserve the natural environment, especially since some sites were located in protected watersheds.

“We want to involve the residents in our eco-tourism program so they could also earn and learn the responsibility of protecting nature since this would be the source of income,” he said.

At present, many mountain residents cut down trees for firewood and burn them to make charcoal, which are illegal activities.

Some offer tour guide services for P500 per group of three visitors.

“We are imposing this policy to control the movement of visiting tourists. When people see something new to them, it’s natural that they would want to touch them,” he said.

Since early this year, Romarate said Tabunan guides attended to tourists from Denmark and Australia. Romarate said guests are always asked beforehand if they want accommodations and meals so residents can give them a cost estimate. Since there’s no hotel in the mountains, guests end up bringing their own tents.  Doris C. Bongcac, Chief Of Reporters

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net

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