Cebu is a Home and also a PARADISE

Cebu Churches

Historical Churches in Cebu

    Before Cebu became an economically improved city in the Philippines, there lies a beautiful and historical events: during and after the colonization of the Spaniards that still influenced the heart and mind of the people that lives in this place.

• Basilca del Sto. Niño

    It is the oldest Roman Catholic churchestablished in the country, purportedly built on the spot where the image of the Santo Niño de Cebú, a statue depicting the Holy Child Jesus was found in 1565 by Spanish explorers led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. The image is the same statue given byFerdinand Magellan to the wife of Rajah Humabon as a gift over forty years before after Humabon's baptism to Christianity on April 14, 1521. It was found by a soldier preserved in a burnt wooden box after Legazpi razed the village of hostile natives. The present building, which was completed from 1739-1740, has been the sanctuary of the oldest religious image in the country ever since. 

• Boljoon Church

        The church of San Miguel el Arcangel in Argao was built in 1783 during the time of Father Francisco Espina who was the parish priest from 1782 to 1798. It bears a striking resemblance with the San Guillermo de Aquitania Church in Dalaguete Sporting influences of baroque and rococo, the church features a three-level facade that is dividedinto segments ny pilasters. at the lower level are paired pilasters each with a carved-relief of a cherub clinging to an ornamental plants.

• Argao Church

 

        The church of San Miguel el Arcángel in Argao was built in 1783 during the time of Father Francisco Espina who was the parish priest from 1782 to 1798. It bears a striking resemblance with the San Guillermo de Aquitania Church in Dalaguete Sporting influences of baroque and rococo, the church features a three-level facade that is divided into segments by pilasters. At the lower level are paired pilasters each with a carved-relief of a cherub clinging to an ornamental plants.

• Danao Church

       The Danao City Church, or more officially known as Santo Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church, was built in 1755. The church suffered partial destruction during the Second World War. Partial reconstructions were made to the church but the church’s edifice still stood precariously. The dome of the church has replica of a mitre, which symbolizes the parish’s patron saint. Santo Tomas de Villanueva is an Augustinian friar and the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Valencia, Spain from 1544 to 1555.

Cebu Resorts

Well-known Resorts in Cebu

    Experience pristine and exotic natural settings as you pamper yourself  in visiting the different resorts and beaches, located on the lush and tropical island of Cebu.

• Shangri-la Mactan Island

    Situated at Punta Engano Road in Cebu, Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort is another outstanding, luxurious  hospitality service provider, known particularly for its majestic location and facilities. Inside this ultra fine hotel, people can find special restaurants that serve delectable local and international cuisines. Additionally, it also has a business center, fitness gym, and a health club for all its guests and visitors to enjoy. For as much as 8,000 to 12,000 pesos, they can try any of the grandiose Super Garden View, Deluxe Sea View, and Executive Rooms, with key in-room facilities such as IDD telephone lines, coffee tables, and toiletries.

• Alegre Beach Resort

        Located along Calumboyan within Sogod in the Island of Cebu, Alegre Beach Resort offers tourists and guests a truly wonderful experience as they enjoy the beauty, grace, and elegance of the place. Inside, they can find an excellent gym facility, game room, and several conference rooms. Furthermore, the place also hosts outstanding food service providers like the Cliff Seafood BBQ and Bar as well as the Pavilion Restaurant. 

• Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort

    Found at Buyong within Mactan Island in Lapu-Lapu City, Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort is a very famous Cebu hotel and resort known for its prime facilities and topnotch services. This resort has majestic hospitality service provider has major features like kiddie playroom, swimming pools, and offers exciting indoor games like chess, table tennis, and billiards. It also hosts outstanding food service providers like Amuma Spa Café, Oyster Bar at the Cove, and Allegro Restaurant. In terms of rooms, this place features the finest amenities and in-room equipment available. 

• Cordova Reef Village Resort

    If your budget for accommodations is between Php 6,000 to Php 13,000, then you can have a relaxing night at any of the villas and guest rooms at Cordova Reef Village Resort. Some of the services available at this establishment are air ticket confirmation and reservation, weather forecast, night cap service massage and aromatherapy as well as transportation services. In addition, the place has safety deposit boxes where guests can leave their valuable stuffs.

  

• Costabella Tropical Beach Resort

 The establishment promotes Spanish-Filipino architecture. The hospitality service provider of this resort features cozy guest rooms, which provide basic amenities like a mini bar, a cable television and a private bathroom. Some of the relaxing and attractive tourist destinations nearby are the Gilutungan Marine Sanctuary and the Olango Wildlife Sanctuary. When it comes to services, guests have nothing to worry because the place has babysitting, massage, car rental, laundry and dry cleaning as well as golf arrangement services.

• Royal Vista Resort

    Royal Vista Resort is a captivating water park facility found within the area of Maca-as in the municipality of Catmon, which is a very clean and attractive part of Cebu. It is proud to present a wide array of beautiful facilities including the Children’s Paradise Swimming Pool, the Mountaintop Lazy River Cruise as well as the Hidden Paradise Restaurant that comes with a scenic view from the rooftop. Furthermore, it boasts of world-class pools complete with waterslides. 

• Santa Fe Beach Club

    Santa Fe Beach Club is a very popular resort situated right within the municipality of Santa Fe, which is part of Bantayan Island in the northwestern part of Cebu. It has a wide range of impressive hotel facilities like a cozy restaurant, extravagant rooms and native cottages. Some of the basic room amenities include verandas, dressing tables and private comfort rooms. It also offers access to the Ogtong Cave Resort as well as its numerous facilities. 

• Tambuli Beach Club Resort

    The Tambuli Beach Club is situated within a private area in Mactan Island. It has 35 Standard Rooms and 22 Superior Rooms. The basic features of Standard Rooms include hot and cold shower, a bathtub and air-conditioning system. On the other hand, Superior Rooms have mini-bars and cable television sets. Furthermore, the place is proud to present a number of banquet facilities, which serve as a perfect venue for various kinds of special events like beach parties, debuts as well as weddings. 

• Tubod Flowing Waters Resort

    Even if this establishment is not a first class hotel, guests can have a nice time at this place since it has relaxing amenities like swimming pools, an outdoor billiard, a fishing area and a basketball court. Aside from these, the place features an in-house restaurant that offers scrumptious Filipino dishes. When it comes to services, the establishment offers babysitting, car rental and air transfer services. This hospitality service provider has simple but relaxing guestrooms that have basic amenities like a private bathroom with cold and hot shower and a cable television. 

• Pacific Cebu Resort

    The Pacific Cebu Resort has six types of guestrooms, namely the Standard Room, the Superior Garden View, the Superior Ocean View, the Mezzanine Villla, the Villa and the Family Room. Accommodations in this place range from Php 4,000 to $ 9,000. The establishment has a spacious dining area that offers buffet style of dining. 

• Plantation Bay Resorts and Spa

    Considered as one of the top resorts in the world today, Plantation Bay Resort and Spa is a 5-star hotel facility situated within the area of Marigondon in Mactan Island, Cebu. It features the Mogambo Springs, which is more popularly known as the Spat at Plantation Bay that won the Best Spa Experience Award at the Asia Spa and Wellness Festival 2009 Gold Awards. Aside from this world-class facility, it offers guests the wonderful chance to participate in various kinds of sports and other outdoor activities like scuba diving, fishing and parasailing.

Cebu hotels

Hotels in Cebu

Cebu features some of the finest hotels in the Philippines today, which perfectly complement the booming tourism industry in the area. More than anything else, these hospitality service providers are equipped with the best and the latest amenities available to bring its valued guests total customer satisfaction. When visiting the wonderful City of Cebu, never fail to drop by at any of these excellent venues to experience utmost comfort, pleasure, and convenience.

• Marriott Hotel

    Located along Cardinal Rosales Avenue, Marriott Cebu is one of the most attractive hotels in the entire City of Cebu as it offers people nothing but the best in terms of hospitality services. In terms of hotel amenities, the place is jam-packed with world-class facilities like a game room, a health spa and massage services, as well as an ultra modern fitness facility. This nice hotel also has several function rooms, which are excellent locations for holding big evens as well as other important gatherings. 

• Waterfront Hotel

    Found along Salinas Drive within the district of Lahug in Cebu City. Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino contains hypermodern facilities like a swimming pool, game room, and fitness facility. The place also features two world-class restaurants namely Treff and Mizu, which serve delectable international and local delicacies and specialties.

• Casa Escaño

    Casa Escano is a bed and breakfast hotel known for its rustic atmosphere with a touch of Hawaiian tradition. It is conveniently situated right along Juana Osmena Street in Cebu City.Standard Room rates start at 1,590 pesos, while Deluxe Rooms are a bit higher at the price of 1,890 pesos. It also features a couple of Superior Rooms, an overnight stay of which costs 2,390 pesos. For bigger groups, the Family Room is perfect at the overnight rate of 2,790 pesos. 

• Bellavista Hotel

    The Bellavista Hotel is found within Lapu-Lapu City in Mactan, Cebu. This beautiful hotel facility features different kinds of highly elegant rooms classified mainly into Deluxe Rooms, Executive Rooms, Junior Suites, the Infanta Suite as well as the Channel Suite. All of these rooms have bedside controls, piped-in music and a centralized air-conditioning system.

• Crown Regency Hotel

    A majestic view of uptown Cebu City satiates the eyes at the 40-storey hotel tower, the Crown Regency Hotel and Towers. Comfort and luxury are the main components of each of the facilities and amenities for guests to enjoy during their stay. The Crown Regency Hotel and Towers is the perfect union of an ideal location and impeccable service. A quality business and leisure hotel, Crown Regency Hotel and Towers is a place where service is beyond reproach and the warmth of welcome is sincerely Filipino.

cebu festivals

Famous Festivals in Cebu

     There are lots of things that represent and  embody  the life and spirit of Cebu. It's numerous interesting fiestas and festivals really shines. They are purely based on centuries of tradition and religious  beliefs,  this  celebrations  are  now  among  the  most  closely  followed  events  in  the  beautiful isalnd province.

• Sinulog Festival

    Topping the list of all the fiestas and celebrations in Cebu is without doubt the Sinulog Festival. Held on the third day of the first month of the year, this is a glorious feast for the Santo Nino de Cebu, the most revered religious figure in the province. In its most basic concept, the festival is all about remembering the past religious beliefs of the Cebuanos and their conversion to Christianity. There are actually several of these held in the various parts of the island, but the biggest one is of course in Cebu City.

• Mantawi Festival

    The next Cebu festival is the Mantawi Festival which happens in May. Mantawi Festival is held in Mandaue and this is really of Cebu's past and the crucial role that is played is when Magellan first landed here. Parades and street dances are common during the Mantawi Festival but in addition to those, plays and dramas are also held.

• Halad-Inasal Festival

   In Cebu island, one of its cities do not just serve inasal during fiestas but has made the local delicacy a much bigger part of its annual festival tradition. Talisay’s Halad-Inasal Festival on the 14th and 15th October is held in honor of the patroness, Sta. Theresa de Avila, showcasing the inasal in colorful and creative costumes.

• Haladaya Festival

   The municipality of Daanbantayan is staging the HALADAYA FESTIVAL every 30th of August. This is the major highlight of the town's fiesta celebration, in honor of ST. ROSE OF LIMA, it's patron saint. Haladaya means an offering to Datu Daya ("Halad" - to offer and, "Daya" - the legendary chieftain of Daanbantayan). The Haladaya Festival is a celebration of the victory over the oppressive Moro pirates. It is more than just a prayer and dance; it would give us an identity as Kandayan-ons - a people of grateful hearts for being so blessed with almost everything. 

• Siloy Festival

    The municipality of Alcoy in the Southeastern part of the province of Cebu derives most of its income from the Dolomite mines, which are the biggest in the world. But Alcoy is also home to the Mag-abo Forest where reside the Black Shama - or Siloy - a type of bird that sings a very soothing melody. With its natural habitat now designated as an ornithologist's dream destination, the Siloy's rapidly diminishing population is being zealously conserved not just as a symbol but as a cause. 

• Karansa Festival

    Karansa - is a dance festival that shows the joy and happiness through performing the four basic steps, the kikay, karag, kurug and kurahay. In a little way, its a dance to be merry and to celebrates. Karansa Festival falls on the 3rd Sunday of September, in honor to St. Sto.Thomas de Villanueva, their patron saint of Danao city, cebu.

• Banig Festival

    Banig festival is a yearly celebration of Badian, Cebu. The festival feature the culture, traditions & products of Badianganon. The highlight of the festival is showcase of banig a woven mat made from leaves which is abundant in their town, this mat can be made into products like bag, tissue holder, decorative materials andothers..The town hold an annual parade showcasing BANIG as their main product. It is held every july 25 of the year in line with the feast of st. james apostle.

• Utanon Festival

    The southern town of Dalaguete Cebu is known as "The Vegetable Basket and Summer Capital of Cebu". The festival shall focus on the concept of the people’s cultural practices of religious worship as thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest. This will be held during the Annual celebration of our Patron Saint San Guillermo de Aquitania on February. 

cebu diving

Diving Spots in Cebu

    Cebu is not only advanced in terms of it's economic status yet it has became one of the major diving site destination as well. It's perfect and breathtaking marines and aquatic resources really captivates divers and scuba diving enthusiasts.

• Gato Island

    If you are on Malapascua Island, it would be only a 40 minute ride by boat to get to Gato Island, one of the loveliest marine sanctuaries in Cebu. Gato Island itself is enveloped by several large rock formations, impressive enough, but the real highlights are the assortment of reefs lying beneath the waters, and the exotic life forms living amongst them, the most notable being the whitetip reef sharks and several bamboosharks. You can also dive through a tunnel and see even more marine wonders.

• Pescador Island, Moalboal

    The diving site is about three kilometers away from the southwest side of Tongo Point within the Tanon Strait. From the Panagsama Beach, the area is about 45 to 50 minutes ride in a banca. The water condition is a little bit choppy with water currents that range from strong to rough to fierce. The visibility is about 130 feet away, the average depth is open, and the maximum depth is 165 feet. This is the best dive site that Cebu can offer to diving fanatics because it gives almost everything that you wanted in a dive within a small location.

• Shark Point in Malapascua Island

    This Cebu dive site is quite near to Malapascua Island is directly to its south side), and as the name makes clear, a great place to see thresher sharks, and more. Beneath the waters of Shark Point is a giant plateau, going down some 60 meters (over 200 ft), but there are also a huge number of manta rays, Trigger fish and various corals and sponges. Diving at the site by night is also enjoyable.

• Sunken Island

    Located in the Southwest side of Badian Point and about an hour and a half ride by banca from Panagsama Beach in Capton Peninsula. The water condition is usually choppy with some strong water current. An experience local is needed to reach to the underwater reef. The visibility is about 130 feet away, the average depth is 80 feet, and the maximum depth is 165 feet.

• Badian Island

    Located about a kilometer away from the north side of Badian Point, the diving site is just a five-minute banca ride away if you are staying on the island and a 45-minute banca ride away from Panagsama Beach. The water condition is usually choppy with strong water current to rough and fierce. The visibility is 80 feet away, the average depth is 80 feet, and the maximum depth is 130 feet. The drop-off at 115 feet shelves on around the area. Divers will expect to see the beauty of corals, sponges, invertebrates, and reef fishes. Sightings of whale sharks are common between the months of January to March.

• Olango Island - Mabini Point

    The location of the diving site is about 400 meters off the shore of Santa Rosa and Poo villages. A 20-minute banca ride from Mactan, Cebu will get you there. The water current is normally strong and novice divers should always be in the company of experienced divemasters. The visibility is about 100 feet away, the average depth is 100 feet, and the maximum depth is 130 feet.

• Mactan Island- Tambuli

    The location of the diving site is just a few kilometers off the coast of Tambuli Beach in Mactan, Cebu. It is just a 15-minute banca ride from any of the resorts situated within Tambuli Beach. The water condition is usually calm with some occasional current. It is a good site for novice divers to go where the visibility is about 65 feet, the average depth is 65 feet, and the maximum depth is 115 feet. The dive is normally easy that gradually slopes at the depth of 70 feet. Reef fishes are generally used to being hand fed by the divers and they are really expecting the handouts as you approach them.