Originally Posted by moondog
i also think you should go to thailand because the phils are too dangerous/unstable, but if you do decide to go to cebu:
-fly there on international flight, even if you have to pay through the nose to do so (you shouldn't)
-try to get a local rate at the shangri-la (can be as low as $50 per night). plantation bay also offers similar discounts, but i'm not a fan of the property (too disneyish)
Don't agree with either of those statements:
I am often in the Philippines on business and regularly take domestic flights. However, I would agree if you said stick to Philippine Airlines or Cebu Pacific. I prefer the former as they often use their long-haul aircraft on domestic routes. Recently flew from Manila to Davao and back in an quite new A330...and it was much more comfortable than the old 747 and DC10 that I had on JAL from Tokyo to Manila and back!
I stayed at the Plantation Bay with my wife and kids and really enjoyed it. The staff were friendly and it was big enough to be relatively quiet even when it was quite full. Just loved the little islands in the man-made lagoon. My wife and I would camp out on one with our books and nobody bothered us all day...bliss!