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8 Things to do and Attractions in Cebu Philippines!

You may think that Cebu is only a base for side trips in the Philippines but there are actually many things to do in Cebu! In this post, we’ll show you the top 6 things to do and attractions in Cebu Philippines!

What to do in Cebu?

1. Cebu City Tour

We hired a local driver by the name of Long (yes that’s his name!) who took us on a private Cebu City Tour!

2. Shopping at Ayala Mall

Ayala Mall is one of the main shopping malls in Cebu City and we got to shop, watch movies and play some arcade. Things that the locals do in Cebu! 🙂

What to eat in Cebu?

3. Golden Cowrie Restaurant

For authentic Philippines food, look no further than the Golden Cowrie Restaurant. The setting and ambience is warm and welcoming. The waitress who attended to us was also very patient, introducing us to the delicacies and translating the various dishes to us. Price was reasonable and the taste was great. Definitely a must-go-to place for great local tastes…

4. Ipar’s Authentic Spanish Restaurant

Across the street from our hotel was a banner that read “Authentic Spanish Restaurant”. We decided to head over to Ipar’s Spanish Restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed the authentic Spanish flavours!

Deco in Ipar's Authentic Spanish Restaurant — Deco in Ipar’s Authentic Spanish Restaurant

Ipar's churizo 200 peso garlic bread 120 peso — Ipar’s churizo 200 peso garlic bread 120 peso

Ipar's sangria big carafe 450 peso — Ipar’s sangria big carafe 450 peso

5. CnT Lechon – The Best Lechon in Cebu

If you’re in Cebu, you must try the lechon (roasted pork) there. If you ask the locals, more often than not, they’ll point you to CnT lechon – possibly the best lechon in Cebu. The truth is, the meat was normal but the star of the show? The skin! Crispy, full flavoured and of course sinfully fatty! Which is why it went really well with rice. You can actually have mouthfuls of rice with 1 sice of skin!

Half kg of CnT lechon. crispy skin.juicy meat. 200 peso

6. Breakfast at Bo’s Coffee

Enough of Starbucks, try out the breakfast at Bo’s Coffee and you’ll soon realise that this local coffee joint can also give its US competitor a run for its money! Good coffee and food at a reasonable price. Ambience to match at that!

Bo's Coffee mushroom and cheese omelette with toast 150 peso — Bo’s Coffee mushroom and cheese omelette with toast 150 peso

Bo's Coffee corned beef with scrambled eggs and pancakes 175 peso — Bo’s Coffee corned beef with scrambled eggs and pancakes 175 peso

Where to stay in Cebu?

7. Castle Peak Hotel Cebu

Castle Peak Hotel in Cebu was the first hotel we stayed at in Cebu and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay because of its spa!!! Made us go like little chicks…”cheap cheap”, “cheap cheap”…

Huge bed in Deluxe room of Castle Peak Hotel

Bath Tub in Deluxe room of Castle Peak Hotel

8. City Suites Ramos Tower

There are several reasons why we enjoyed staying at City Suites Ramos Tower. Firstly, the room was more like a 1-bedroom condominium. It has a small living space, kitchen and even a balcony overlooking Cebu City. We could also see Tops from our room!

City Suites $73 double super single beds

Sunset from our room at Ramos Tower City Suites orangey sky

Sunset and Tops Hill seen from our room at Ramos Tower City Suites

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For your convenience, we have arranged for the best hotel deals in Cebu right here!

We hope you’ve enjoyed our post on the things to do and attractions in Cebu!

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Cebu/Bohol Trip: Day 1

It’s more fun in the Philippines!! The tarsier’s eyes do freak me out when I see the advert on the tourism board webpage. But since we have never been there before, SGD is strong, the people speak english; and we want to go somewhere that is not crowded, nice scenery, laze on a beach, we decided to visit Cebu/Bohol. Many people ask why are we not going to Boracay instead…well, it’s more convenient to do Cebu/Bohol and everyone else has probably already visited Boracay. Cebu/Bohol has a good mix of everything – history, countryside, beach; and we definitely enjoyed every moment of our 8 days there!

We took Silkair ($774 including travel insurance) because of the flight timings.
It was easy to get around with the abundant metered white taxis (How to get from Cebu to Singapore). Our driver Long (yes, that’s his name!) was friendly and seemed honest. He asked us if we want to book his taxi for a day tour; we negotiated the itinerary and price and arranged to meet at 10.30am the next day at the Castle Peak Hotel lobby.

White Cab at Domestic Departure Cebu Airport

Where to get “white taxis” at Cebu Airport

The room in Castle Peak Hotel was not ready yet when we arrived at 1.30pm but we were pleasantly surprised by the newly renovated Twin Peak Spa. Kate went for a one-hour massage while waiting for the room to be ready. After the massage, we were ready to check out what Cebu had to offer!

We chose to walk to Ayala Mall (even though our taxi driver mentioned that it may not be that safe) because it was still bright daylight and the mall could be seen from our hotel room so we reckon it is not that far. The walk took us 15 mins and there were proper traffic lights to allow us to cross the roads safely. The only gripe we had was that the pavements were narrow and uneven; and at times we had to walk on the road.

As it was a weekday afternoon, Ayala Mall was fairly quiet. We window-shopped and decided to catch a movie! While waiting for the show, we challenged each other at shooting hoops in the arcade. And of course I thrashed Kate …I am the best! *evil laugh*

Movie and snacks at Ayala Mall Snacks stall. hot dog 70 peso. popcorn and coke 100 peso

Even though we were kinda full from the hotdog and popcorn, we can’t wait to try the local dishes! We quickly flag down a taxi and soon we arrived at Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant. The food was delicious and the price was reasonable. Washing the food down with cold San Miguel beer made it even better! With our tummy filled, we took a cab back to Castle Peak Hotel and rest for the night; in preparation for the city day tour the next day.

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Golden Cowrie Cebu Shrimps with garlic 89

Crispy pata and Squid in coco sauce – Must try from Golden Cowrie Restaurant!

If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!

For your convenience, we have arranged for the best hotel deals in Cebu right here!

Times fly when you’re having fun and this quickly rounded up our first day in the Philippines. Stay tuned tomorrow for the 2nd day of our Cebu/Bohol Trip!

Happy travels and a blessed 2014 ahead everyone!

Tom & Kate,
2bearbear.com

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Ayala Mall Cebu : Do What The Locals Do!

Ayala Mall is a short 15 minutes walk from our where we stayed – Castle Peak Hotel and it is a NEW mall that offers many shops and eateries!

How to get to Ayala Mall

Means of transport in Cebu – White cabs and Jeepney

Ayala Mall (also known as Ayala Center) is located at Cebu Business Park, Archbishop Reyes Avenue, Cebu City 6000, Metro Cebu. Besides taking a short walk, you can also choose the various means of transport including the Jeepney (which follows a fixed route but costs only 8 pesos!) or the white cabs (safest form of taxi transport in Cebu)

What to do at Ayala Mall

We spent the evening at Ayala Mall just like the locals. Shopping, played the arcade and caught a movie – the Heat!

Shopping options & Alfresco Dining at Ayala Mall

Movie and snacks at Ayala Mall

Here’s what we did…

Arcade

7 peso per game
For 50 peso, we get to shoot hoops for 30 mins and enough “tickets” to exchange for 2 Hello Kitty erasers! 🙂

Movie

180 peso per ticket
Huge cinema (Hall 4, with toilets inside!)

Snacks for Movie

Hotdog 70 peso
Popcorn and Coke 100 peso

Kate usually needs her snacks to stay awake during the movie but The Heat is hilarious!

After our enjoyable evening at Ayala Mall, we headed next to Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant (arguably one of the MUST TRY restaurants in Cebu) for dinner!