CEBU RESORTS

Mabuhay! Welcome to Visit Cebu, the information resource for people planning to holiday in Cebu. We have lived in Cebu for years and know the good places and the places best to avoid.  The reviews contained on this site will help you choose the right vacation spot for you.

For some will be a beach to lazily lay upon sipping your favorite beverage and soaking up the warm tropical sun.  Other will want to experience diving at one of the many resorts that specialize in dive holiday while others are content to just snorkel above the coral looking down at the abundant sea life below.  Island hopping on the native boats is another very popular adventure offered by all the resorts.

If you choose one the many resorts located on Mactan or near Cebu city you can enjoy the tropical beach life style by day and explore the wide range of night life Cebu has to offer as the sun sets.  There are fine restaurants, cabaret shows, nightclubs and bars including the infamous go-go bars where bikini clad dancers entertain you one stage dancing to the latest sounds.

You can explore Cebu Island and stay at some of the smaller resorts scattered all over the island and visit some of the smaller cities and towns.    There are many that enjoy discovering a small intimate resort in a more remote part of the island where they are one of just a few guests.

About three hours by bus north of Cebu lies Bogo City. Bogo has over 50,000 people and a nice little shopping area featuring a Gaisano department store and supermarket, movies, Jollibee and many other shops around about. Not far away is the new market area and jeepney terminal and you can ride a tricycle there for a few pesos.

Nearby there is the port of Bogo, a long wharf that juts out into Bogo Bay where pump boats from other islands like Masbate and Leyte call in, fishing boats drop off their catch and at night, lovers seek solitude and darkness amidst the romantic backdrop of the sea. From the wharf you can look across the bay to Polambato where the vehicular ferry to Leyte pulls in. This is the vessel the bus to Manila uses to continue its 48 hour journey from Cebu City to the National Capital.

Around Bogo there are sugar cane plantations, coconut trees and mango farms. On the road in from Cebu you pass the imposing shrine on the hill. The best place to stay amongst several clean local style hotels is a way out of town at the Nailon Beach Resort. Otherwise head across the tip of the island of Cebu to San Remigio where there are several other resorts and the road south down the west coast to Toledo and MoalBoal. Just north of San Remigio is Hagnaya where you catch the ferry to Bantayan Island enarby.

North of Bogo is a bridge over the Dayhagon Channel. This make Daanbantayan province actually an island itself but few people realise that. The nearest small town, Medellin has a lovely modern marketplace and is very clean and tidy. Daanbantayan itself further to the north is the jumping off spot for Malapascua Island via the port of Maya. This is where the buses stop and start their daily runs to and from Cebu City.

South of Bogo most people go over the mountains to Sogod but you can follow the coast to Borbon and on to Sogod. That used to be the main route but the mountain road was updated some decades ago and since then time has passed by the coastal houses and compounds. Many of these are forever for sale, waiting the day people come flooding back.

Bogo is a great little town to retire to. Enough going on to keep boredom at bay but not so busy it drives you crazy.

PHOTO: Gaisano Mall, Bogo. Photo courtesy of Leylander

Just south of Cebu City lies the city of Talisay. Once upon a time Talisay was a giant estate owned by Spanish Friars with the Talisay tree being the main landmark, hence the name. During the Japanese Occupation from 1942 to 1945, Talisay was the headquarters of guerrilla forces resisting the enemy. In 1945 the US forces re-occupuying the Philippines landed at Talisay and then drove north to fight the Japanese.

Today Talisay is a thriving ‘bedroom’ city for many who work in nearby Cebu City. Since the South Coastal Expressway opened up, travel times from Talisay to Cebu have been drastically cut, lessening congestion along the crowded Cebu South Road. The journey along this latter road gives the impression that there is no place where Cebu City stops and Talisay City begins. However a drive along the newer coastal road takes you from city to city with open space and fish farms that offer a refreshing vista and feeling of space.

Talisay has beachside housing estates as well as houses clawing their way up the steep mountain sides that run along the city’s western boundaries. Within twenty minutes drive from the center of the city you find yourself in hidden hinterland valleys that seem a million miles from anywhere.

Attractions include the Gaisanao Mall, new market and municipal buildings and Crocolandia. Crocolandia is a genuine crocodile farm that tourists can enjoy, strolling between the pens filled with crocodiles, alligators and it even has an ostrich.

Many expats choose Talisay because it is close to the amenities of Cebu City, yet it has some clean, quiet spots suitable for retirement living.

PHOTO: Crocolandia Crocodile Park, Talisay. Photo courtesy of Leylander