Cebu City is the 2nd busiest city in the Philippines. It had been an important trading district for Chinese, Arabs and Malay traders even before the discovery of the Philippines.
Tourism in Cebu expanded since the migration of huge businesses in the island. Mactan Island, now clogged with resorts targets mainly upscale visitors. These resorts filled with luxurious amenities even reconstructed their beaches to make it look more appealingly natural. Such pampering that pushed other towns further down for being discovered. This, however, didn’t take the pride of some established towns in the South. They possess white sand beaches and great dive sites incomparably better than those of Mactan’s.
For local and foreign tourist, there are many places of interest in Cebu. One is Magellan's Cross which was named after Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer who came to Cebu in the early 1500s. Pieces of the original cross are believed to be encased in the present cross. The monument is just across the street from the Sto. Niño Basilica in downtown Cebu City. It used to be the only Catholic Basilica in East Asia. The basilica houses the famous Santo Niño the patron saint of the Cebuanos.
The city closely resembles with Manila but without the presence of dense traffic. Massive establishments, malls, big hotels, well developed resorts and large universities are gearing up the daily activities of Cebu’s fast urban life. Its vast sea port terminal provides easier access to neighboring islands both from Visayas and Mindanao. It has a big ferry terminal that easily moves residents of Bohol and Leyte in and out of Cebu.
Hotels and Resorts in Cebu and Mactan:
Waterfront Hotel
Centrepoint hotel
Costabella
Maribago Bluewaters Resort
Marriott Hotel
Shangri-La Mactan hotel -fine dining. great pool and beach
Cebu Club Pacific which was famous for its so-called nude beaches
Tambuli Beach Club
White Sands
Juan Osmena Street:
Century Plaza Hotel
Vacation Hotel
NS Royal Pension
C’est La Vie Pension
Fuente Osmena:
Cebu Midtown Hotel
Elegant Circle Inn
Garwood Park Hotel
Others:
Hotel Asia, Don Jose Avila St.
Cebu Elicon House, General Junquera St.
Eddie’s Hotel, Manalo St.
City Park Inn, Archbishop Reyes Ave.
Fuente Pension House, Don Julio Llorente St.
Cebu City Marriott Hotel, Cardinal Rosales Ave.
Mayflower Pension House, East Capitol Site
Montebello Villa Hotel, Banilad,
Pacific Tourist Inn, V. Gullas St.
Cebu Grand Hotel, Escario St.
Palazzo Pensionne, Sepulveda St.
Richmond Plaza Hotel, F. Sotto Drive
Cebu Business Hotel, Colon St.
Possible ways to go to Cebu:
To get to Cebu City, one can take ferry boats that ply the Manila-Cebu route (about 23 hours) at the Port of Manila -if you are on a leisurely vacation. But to get there fast, catch any of the airlines that fly almost hourly to Cebu at the Manila Domestic Airport (all airlines except PAL) or the Centennial Terminal (for Philippine Airlines only).