Best in December

Gilutongan, Cordova, Cebu

Nalusuan Island

A tiny resort island and marine sanctuary off Cordova, about 20-40 minutes by boat from Mactan. Calm, shallow snorkelling and a wooden jetty, with fees and rules explained.

Hilutungan, Cordova, Cebu

Hilutungan Island

A tiny island with one of Cebu's oldest marine sanctuaries, about 30 minutes by boat from Mactan. Snorkel a protected reef full of fish, with fees and rules explained.

Olango Island, Lapu-Lapu City

Olango Island

A quiet island a short boat ride from Mactan, home to a protected wetland where thousands of migratory birds rest each year. Come for birdwatching, mangroves and a slow island day.

Mactan Island, Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova

Mactan Island Hopping

Spend a day on an outrigger boat off Mactan: snorkel in the marine sanctuaries of Hilutungan and Nalusuan, walk the sandbar of Pandanon and eat fresh seafood on a tiny island.

Busay and Lahug, Cebu City

Busay Highlands

Cool air, big views and a few surprises in the hills above Cebu City: the Taoist Temple, the Roman-style Temple of Leah, Sirao's flower gardens and city lights from Tops.

Downtown Cebu City

Cebu City Heritage Walk

Walk through more than 450 years of history in downtown Cebu City: Magellan's Cross, the Santo Niño Basilica, Fort San Pedro, old Parian houses and busy Colon Street.

Cebu City, Cebu

Museo Sugbo

Cebu's provincial museum, set in the coral-stone Carcel de Cebu jail of the 1870s. See the galleries on Cebu's past, reopened in August 2025, in a quiet corner near Fort San Pedro.

Cebu City, Cebu

Magellan's Cross

The small coral-stone pavilion in downtown Cebu City that shelters Magellan's Cross. Its story, the painted ceiling, candle custom, the 2025 closure and how to visit next to the Basilica.

Cebu City, Cebu

Casa Gorordo Museum

A 19th-century ancestral house in Cebu City's Parian district. Walk its timber halls, carved arches and family chapel, and learn how four generations of the Gorordo family lived.

Cebu City, Cebu

Fort San Pedro

The triangular Spanish fort beside Pier 1, where Cebu's story as a city began in 1565. Thick coral-stone walls, three bastions, a quiet garden courtyard and a small museum, for a low entrance fee.

Downtown and Fuente Osmeña, Cebu City

Carbon Market and Larsian

Cebu City's oldest and biggest market by day, smoky barbecue skewers and puso at Larsian by night. A cheap, tasty and very local food trip in the heart of the city.

Beside the Mactan Shrine, Lapu-Lapu City

Sutukil in Lapu-Lapu

Pick your fish, have it grilled, simmered in soup or served as kilaw. How sutukil works at the seafood restaurants beside the Mactan Shrine, and how to order well.