Temple of Leah, Cebu City, Philippines
Central Visayas

CEBU [Metro Cebu]

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Marcelo Fernan Bridge, Metro Cebu, Philippines
Aside from San Juanico, this bridge in Cebu is also one of my most favorite bridges in the country. It pretty much looks like a baby version of Japan’s Yokohama Bay Bridge.
📍Marcelo Fernan Bridge

🇵🇭METRO CEBU ADVENTURE PRIMER🇵🇭

✈️🛳🚌 How to get to Metro Cebu:
⏺ Take a plane from Metro Manila to Mactan-Cebu Airport (e.g. Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia).
⏺ Hail a taxi that will take you to Cebu City proper.
 
🏄🏝🚴 Sites to Explore/Activities:
 
Sirao Flower Garden
Temple of Leah
Tops Lookout
Fort San Pedro
Magellan’s Cross
Taoist Temple
Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño
Island Souvenirs
Marcelo Fernan Bridge
10,000 Roses Café of Cordova
Man-Made Forest, Camp 7 of Minglanilla (ride a bus from South Bus Terminal to Toledo City then alight at Lutopan where you can hire a motorcycle to get to the forest)
 
Temple of Leah, Cebu City, Philippines
My friends from the travel community know me as someone who is not fond of doing city tours. But since I was traveling with my family and relatives at that time, I modified our itinerary and included activities that are friendly for older people. 😝😝😝
📍Temple of Leah
Taoist Temple, Cebu City, Philippines
My first Cebu trip transpired in July 2015. My friend and I had a side trip to this temple on our last day in Metro Cebu. This was the only tourist spot in the city that we were able to visit before our flight back to Manila.
📍Taoist Temple
Fort San Pedro, Cebu City, Philippines
Fast forward to September 2017, I went back to Cebu together with my family and relatives. Right after we landed at Mactan-Cebu Airport, we were picked up by our van service which took us to Simala Church in Sibonga. We then enjoyed our lunch of lechon (spit-roasted pig) which we bought from Carcar before heading to Cebu City proper.
📍Fort San Pedro
Fort San Pedro, Cebu City, Philippines
We visited Sto Niño Basilica and Magellan’s Cross before heading here at Fort San Pedro which is Cebu’s version of Intramuros’ Fort Santiago.
Fort San Pedro, Cebu City, Philippines
I was actually not planning to enter Fort San Pedro’s premises since I am not a fan of old structures unless I’m gonna shoot long exposure photography. But then I decided to go inside with my companions and took pictures against the Instagrammable walls as my backdrop. Thank the gods it wasn’t crowded during our visit since it was a weekday.
Marcelo Fernan Bridge, Metro Cebu, Philippines
We hopped on our van on our way to Marcelo Fernan Bridge. I was mesmerized by its design the first time I saw it in 2015 on our way to Cebu City from the airport. That’s why on this second trip of mine in Cebu, I asked our van driver if he could take me near the bridge so I could have a close-up shot of it. Good thing there’s an available space where we could park. We then walked a few meters to get to the benches by the riverbank.
10,000 Roses Café, Cordova, Metro Cebu, Philippines
We then traveled in heavy traffic condition to the municipality of Cordova to see this tourist spot. It was newly constructed so posts about this café were always trending on social media. This is where we capped off our itinerary for Day One. We tried out some of the food the café serves while waiting for the roses to be illuminated. The place was still deserted but once the café switched on the lights of these roses, visitors started arriving.
📍10,000 Roses Café, Cordova
10,000 Roses Café, Cordova, Metro Cebu, Philippines
The biggest challenge was getting a shot without photobombers. I think I only had three photos or so without other people in my frames.
⏰⏳ SAMPLE ITINERARY (Metro Cebu and Toledo City):
 
DAY 1
5:00 PM ETA Mactan-Cebu Airport
7:00 PM ETA accommodation
 
DAY 2
6:00 AM Wake-up call / breakfast
7:00 AM Start of city tour
 
Sirao Garden
Temple of Leah
Tops Lookout
Fort San Pedro
Magellan’s Cross
Taoist Temple
Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño
Island Souvenirs
 
3:00 PM ETD for Marcelo Fernan Bridge
5:00 PM ETD for 10,000 Roses Café of Cordova
7:00 PM ETD Head back to Cebu City
 
DAY 3
5:00 AM Wake-up call / ETD for South Bus Terminal
6:00 AM ETD for Lutopan, Toledo City
7:30 AM ETD for Biga Pit
8:30 AM ETA Biga Pit
9:30 AM ETD for Man-Made Forest, Camp 7, Minglanilla
10:30 AM ETA Man-Made Forest
12:00 PM ETD for Toledo City proper
1:00 PM ETA Toledo City / lunch
2:00 PM Capilla Santa Ana
4:00 PM ETD for Cebu City
7:00 PM ETD for Mactan-Cebu Airport
 
💰💶 ESTIMATED BUDGET (for a solo traveler; expenses include Toledo City): Php 5,000 – Php 6,000 (exclusive of airfare)
***Expenses may vary depending on the type of accommodation you will avail and personal consumption of food and other necessities. If traveling alone, you will solely shoulder the tricycle/motorcycle transfer and tour rates.
 
Sirao Flower Garden, Cebu City, Philippines
Our second day started very early as we didn’t want to be caught in rush hour gridlock. We checked out of our hotel right away after having breakfast then traveled to the flower garden of Sirao.
Sirao Flower Garden, Cebu City, Philippines
Just like 10,000 Roses Café, Sirao Garden has become famous because of social media.
Sirao Flower Garden, Cebu City, Philippines
I may not be a fan of flower farms but I gotta admit, posing in the middle of these flowers for picture-taking was indeed fun.
Temple of Leah, Cebu City, Philippines
We headed next to another popular tourist attraction included in the city tour, Temple of Leah. Being a mainstream family getaway, Cebu has always been flocked by loads of tourists every year. We had to visit this temple early in the morning to avoid the crowd.
Temple of Leah, Cebu City, Philippines
I could still remember the first time I went to Temple of Leah in 2015. My friend and I were disappointed the moment the caretaker at the gate broke the news to us that the place was closed because the temple was being used for some TV shoot.
Temple of Leah, Cebu City, Philippines
Temple of Leah’s picturesque design, inspired by Greek and Roman architecture, has become known among travelers in the country.
Tops Lookout, Cebu City, Philippines
Next on our list was Tops Lookout. We were lucky to have this place to ourselves since it just opened when we arrived.
Tops Lookout, Cebu City, Philippines
We took photos here at Tops Lookout overlooking the city from its high vantage point (my bad for not having any photos of it as our pictures were taken against the light at the time of our visit). But there are portions that are undoubtedly Insta-worthy.
Tops Lookout, Cebu City, Philippines
We actually only stayed here for a couple of minutes to take a breather since we were pressed for time. It would have been nicer to chill out while enjoying the view of Cebu City’s skyline.
Taoist Temple, Cebu City, Philippines
The last stop in our itinerary was Taoist Temple. I was already familiar with this place when I visited it back in 2015.
Taoist Temple, Cebu City, Philippines
This was definitely a city tour of diverse attractions. A few moments ago, we were taking photos in a flower garden, then we marveled at the giant columns of Temple of Leah, and now, we were transported to a Chinese temple.
Taoist Temple, Cebu City, Philippines
It was nearing lunch time when we bid goodbye to Taoist Temple. We first bought some local delicacies and souvenirs from a pasalubong center in downtown Cebu before our van driver took us to the airport. Amidst the extremely heavy traffic and after almost two hours on the road, we finally reached Mactan-Cebu Airport. We were actually too early as our ETD for Bohol was at 4:00 PM. And yes, we took a plane to get to Tagbilaran City from Cebu. For us who live in an island and are so used to sea travel, we opted to fly to Bohol instead (the Philippine Airlines flight to Bohol from Cebu still operated back in 2017).
📜✏️ Tips/Reminders:
📌This travel guide includes the tourist attractions found in Cebu City and other municipalities within Metro Cebu. 
📌You may hire a van if you are traveling with a group or you may opt to hire a motorcycle if you are traveling alone.
📌The city tour can be done in one whole day but you might not be able to cover Marcelo Fernan Bridge and 10,000 Roses Café of Cordova unless you start early and you will be chartering a motorcycle to get to these spots since traffic condition in Metro Cebu is quite heavy especially during rush hour.
📌You may include Toledo City in your itinerary when you explore Metro Cebu.
📌Expect rain during monsoon season (June-February).
📌Always observe the LNT principles.
 
☎️ Contacts:
📌Motorcycle Tour for Metro Cebu: Kuya Kevin Abellana (09358502452)
📌Van for hire: Kuya Tata (09776350200)
📌Motorcycle Driver in Minglanilla: Julyboy Baruiz (09438508264) – you can also hire him to take you to Toledo City’s Biga Pit as the bus stop going here (Lutopan) is just a few kilometers away from Minglanilla’s Camp 7 Man-Made Forest.
Man-Made Forest, Camp 7, Minglanilla, Metro Cebu, Philippines
Who would have thought that Cebu also has a man-made forest just like the one in Bohol?
📍 Man-Made Forest, Camp 7, Minglanilla
Man-Made Forest, Camp 7, Minglanilla, Metro Cebu, Philippines
It was May 2018 and my fourth time in Cebu. After seeing Biga Pit of Toledo City, we had a side trip to this forest along the highway connecting Toledo and Minglanilla.
Marcelo Fernan Bridge, Metro Cebu, Philippines
This photo of mine would have been sharper if I wasn’t on a ferry ride. I could not use my tripod because we were moving after all. But being able to capture this precious moment was remarkably priceless.
Marcelo Fernan Bridge, Metro Cebu, Philippines
The OceanJet vessel left Camotes Island at 5:00 PM and we were just right in time to witness this surreal phenomenon as we cruised along Mactan Channel under Marcelo Fernan Bridge towards Pier Uno.

***For other destinations in Cebu and Central Visayas, you may visit this link

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