I haven't been to Cebu before that is why on my post 24th birthday celebration (my exact birthday fell on the holyweek) Jan and I decided to go to Cebu for a day of exploring the oldest City in the Philippines. Jan warned me that Cebu City is more like Manila (unless we head to the northern or southern part of Cebu). I initially planned to celebrate my birthday in Bantayan Island but I don't like to be wasting our short trip in Cebu travelling for hours just to get to the destination ..Maybe next time when we have longer vacation days. Our goal was only to relax, experience Cebu delicacies and escape our routinely life in Manila even just for a weekend trip.
Our supposed 7am flight was cancelled and so we were scheduled for the next 9am flight and arrived in Mactan International Airport at exactly 10:10am. Whenever we travel, I always make sure to prepare an itinerary at least one week prior to our scheduled trip to maximize our time and searched on how to get around the destination. DIY Itinerary to Cebu City is pretty much easy. The only hassle is ofcourse transferring from one public commute to another but it'll save you a big chunk of money from availing a package tour and you also have a full control of your own time. Since we only packed for two days clothes, we decided to commute like the locals do and rode jeepneys and taxis to roam around the City.
Selfie inside the shuttle. hehe
Our first itinerary was to head straight to Mactan Shrine. The historical tourist attraction nearest to the airport. Using my Cebu commute guide [which I jotted down on a piece of paper], we rode the yellow airport shuttle to Marina Mall and asked the driver to drop us where we could ride another jeepney to Punta Engano that will pass by to the shrine. Fare is Php11.00.
The shrine was built in commemoration of first Philippine battle happened on 1521 between the Spanish soldiers led by Portuguese navigator, Ferdinand Magellan and famous native Cebuano hero, Rajah Lapu-Lapu.
The Magellan Shrine is believed to be the exact spot where Ferdinand Magellan was killed after a poisonous arrow felled to him by one of the men of Lapu-Lapu.
Inside the Mactan Shrine is also where you can see the bronze statue of Lapu-Lapu.
There are also a lot of stalls along the shrine that sells souvenir items.I bought another ref magnet to add in my collection and T-shirt for my mom.
Punta Engano View Deck
Ofcourse, our Cebu City trip wouldn't be complete without a taste of their famed "Cebu Lechon". They say that CNt Lechon is one of the best lechon restaurants in town and so from Mactan shrine, we rode a jeepney bound for Park Mall. Fare is Php14.00. From there, we rode another jeepney to SM Cebu and walk our way across the mall to CNt lechon located inside a yellow building.
The restaurant's lighting is dim though it looked bright in my photo because of my cam's flash. We ordered 1/4 lechon and chopseuy
My verdict: CNt lechon is chewy and flavorful. No need for any lechon dip or toyo-mansi. No wonder they are often tag to be the best lechon in town.
After our yummy lechon indulgence, we rode a taxi to take us to Castle Peak Hotel where we stayed overnight in Cebu City.
Our room has a modern interior with double size bed, hot & cold shower, refrigerator, coffee maker and cabled TV for only Php1588. For the price we paid, this hotel was a great value.The hotel is also a short taxi/jeep ride away from IT Park Mall and SM Cebu. And less crowded compared if you stay in hotels somewhere in Fuente Osmena. If you want to avail their buffet breakfast, just pay additional 250php per person but in our case, we decided to try out a grilled bar nearby for a change.
After a restful sleep, we started the continuation of our Cebu City tour at the famous Magellan Cross and Basilica Minore del Santo Nino De Cebu. Unfortunately, both religious landmark are still under construction due to a strong earthquake that hit Visayas almost a couple of years ago.
Magellan's Cross
The Cross still has a wooden braces after the earthquake.
Basilica Minore del Santo Nino De Cebu or commonly known as Sto Nino Church is the oldest Roman Catholic Church established in the Philippines by the Augustian priests in 1565. The earthquake happened on October 2013 destroyed the Basilica's belfry and facade and still under construction up to this date.
Beautiful altar of the Basilica. The Basilica is also where you could see the oldest religious relic [sto nino] in the country.
We ordered grilled squid, pork, chorizo and chicken liver barbeque. It also comes with Puso (hanging rice) and plastic glove as it is meant to be eaten using your hand. Eating puso is something new for us. And with all the dishes we ordered, we only paid less than Php300. Super affordable! For desert, of course nothing beats the chocolate sundae of Mcdo. Hehe
Then we went back to our hotel for a quick rest. Jan and I are a big fan of Jazz music [influenced by both our parents.] That is why we were so thrilled to see a Jazz bar across Castle Peak hotel called "Jazz n' bluz". We went to the bar just in time before the bands start to perform. Session4 performed on the 1st set with jazz/bosa nova songs and Purplenotes entertained the guests with their ballad/pop songs. Both bands are equally talented singers and musicians and they would be perfect to perform to formal social gatherings like weddings and business events.
It was so fun watching other guests dance salsa and tango. Most of the guests are same ages with our parents. Parang kami lang ata ang young adults dun. Hehe. But we did enjoy a lot with happy crowd and romantic music. It was indeed a perfect night. We went back to our hotel past 11pm already with the continuation of our foodtrip to the hotel's convenience store eating chips, siomai and redhorse beer for Jan.
The next morning, we went to Taoist temple before our flight back to Manila. Only private vehicles and taxis are allowed to enter the Beverly hills subdivision and you have to pay extra for the taxi to wait for you. Unfortunately, the taxi driver took advantage of us and he's the only taxi driver we rode in Cebu who didn't give us our change. Estimated and double charge. Oh well...
And then we headed to SM Cebu for a quick lunch and Lechon pasalubong. I thought there was a CNt Lechon branch at SM Cebu's food court [as what I've read from a travel blog]. But there is none. Good thing there are other lechon restaurants in the food court such as Marina Lechon and Lechonito de Cebu so I could still brought home lechon. We chose lechonito de Cebu and ordered 1/4k of Lechon for our lunch and 1/2K for my pasalubong to my mom. Comparison between Cnt and Lechonito de Cebu? Nothing much difference. Both are chewy and tasty. Siguro CNt is more flavorful lang but nonetheless, I also recommend Lechonito de Cebu for your lechon pasalubong.
Beautiful clouds on the way back to Manila
Goodbye Cebu..What a refreshing weekend it has been for us to start a new week. We would definitely come back to experience your prestine white sand beaches to Bantayan Island, Malapascua, Oslob and the list goes on. Hopefully Soon! :)
And by the way, Thank you honey for this birthday travel treat :)
Rica ♡And by the way, Thank you honey for this birthday travel treat :)
Always,
This is great tour in Cebu. What tour package did you take on this tour? Is this like what we have in Cebu Tour Package?
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