davidord

I fly ord - ceb on ua 4-5 times a year.
Always a layover in hkg - cx always hassles me about having to pay for checked bag on the way back even though flight was purchased through ua.

Plenty of stuff to do in ceb, nice decent hotels are cheap $75 - $150.
Transportations cheap, relatively safe.

lax2010

So did you have to pay CX for the checked bag(s)?

What is there to do in Cebu? Examples please.

Thanks!

yrp

Take the ferry to Bohol or Siquijor...

lax2010

+1

RevJim

It depends what you are into... if you like beaches there are several nice beach resorts on Mactan to choose from. Shangri La, Movenpick, Bluewater, JPark, maybe a few others. You can do things like rent jetskis, go sailing, parasailing, scuba diving, island hopping, that sort of thing.

Take a bus south to Oslob and you can go snorkeling with whale sharks right up close. While you are there hike up to the local waterfall which is quite nice.

Same with Moalboal, they have the Kawasan Falls to visit, plus a blue hole to scuba dive in.

A lot of foreigners here visit for the night life, bars, clubs, etc.

Cebu has good medical and dental options if you wanted to get some work done. Laser eye surgery, invisible braces, cosmetic work, etc, all much cheaper here than the US.

Take a short flight over to Boracay or Palawan, both huge tourist destinations.

Sign up for a tour of the local guitar factories.

Just some ideas...

RussianTexan

My stepdad is Cebuano, born & raised and our family (minus Babushka) flew to Cebu last July. It was a blast! Granted, I'm basically an eighth Filipino at this point based on how much Filipino food I eat & how much of the culture I've absorbed, but it will be greatly enjoyable for anyone who speaks a modicum of English.

We stayed at the Movenpick on Mactan Island, which was drop-dead gorgeous! Some might think the beach is small, but I thought it was intimate and peaceful. Loved it there! The food was a tad expensive, but delicious.

What to do? Go clubbing, meet some hot Korean girls (lots of Korean tourists in Cebu, we flew in from ICN via Asiana), sample the local cuisine, visit Magellan's grave on Mactan (a somber moment for me: having history as a 2nd major, it's amazing to see the history you've been reading about for decades come alive in front of your eyes) & go island-hopping!

Many have said that you should hop over to Bohol and I recommend that, but don't miss Olango Island (20 minutes from the ferry jetty right next to the Movenpick) where there is a floating restaurant! You pick your own crabs & fish and they cook it for you right on there! It was brilliant!

Lantaw Floating Restaurant is another one that we ate at, but it's on Mactan Island and you can drive there instead of taking a boat. (I looked up the name & listed it here so you can Google it.) Hmmmm....perhaps I should make a trip report of my July 2014 trip & link it here! It'll be taking my trip report virginity

All in all, I had an amazing time in the Philippines, but it may have something to do with the fact that I was surrounded by uncles & aunts & cousins the whole time. It was wonderful seeing where my stepfather grew up & how he came to be the crazy, brilliant man he is today. I enjoyed my trip that much more because of the family bonds, but I think anyone would have a wonderful time in Cebu!

rpsandiego

I was born and raised in Cebu, been in the States since 2010 but occasionally make trips back.

Mactan Island is where the airport's at. Shangri-la Resort and Plantation Bay are good hotels to stay at. 'Sutukil' and similar restaurants cater to tourists with fresh seafood that you choose from (like a wet market), and cook (grilled, fried, soup, sauteed, etc.). You can look up scuba diving, snorkeling and island hopping tours in Mactan.

Cebu island (where the city is) hosts a lot of shopping (Ayala and SM malls). Downtown is not for the faint of heart (humid, smelly, pickpockets, unclean) but offers a lot of bargain for souvenirs and close to historical landmarks like Magellan's Cross, Santo Nino Church, and Fort San Pedro.

As for foodies, the ones at the malls are too bland for my taste. I've been to a few new ones such as these:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle...rants-try-cebu

davidord

No, don't need to pay CX, but they will try to make you pay, and tell you that you don't have status with One World.
Just tell them the itinerary originated with United, and it's fine.
They will most likely make you take a seat on the side while they find someone to approve it.

If you get a hotel in the city, goto ayala or sm mall.
Watch a newly released movie for $5.
Get a 2 hr massage for $50.
Get some lechon.

If you get a hotel by the beach resorts, go hang out at the beach, do some swimming, snorkeling, etc.
Swimming with whale sharks in oslob is fantastic. (2.5 hour 1-way car ride)

If you have more time, take an excursion to one of the other islands.

RevJim

This must be a typo, I've never heard of a $50 massage in Cebu (unless you are talking about the hanky-panky kind).

Most ordinary massages in Cebu would run about $2 or $3 per hour.

fpmurphy

I have lived in Cebu City. It is a mostly a scruffy city with chaotic streets full of jeepneys and motorbikes (and trikes in parts like Talamban) The number of real tourist attractions is frankly extremely limited.

Mactan Island is beside Cebu City. It contains a number of high end and some medium priced resorts with artificial white sand beaches. These resorts are approximately 40 minutes by taxi from Cebu City proper.

However Cebu is a good base to explore other parts of the Philippines as CEB has a good number of daily flights to MNL, DVO and other major Philippine airports.

If you are into diving then Cebu is a great base. Great wreak and reef diving off Panglao Island and a number of other nearly locations.

ballerinajz

Hey, i am really new on flyertalk.
how to book a flight like this on united.com : MIA-IAD-SFO-HKG-CEB-HKG-SFO-IAD-MIA

choose around trip
or multiple destination - add each city one by one ?