Why Cebu:
Because Manila is such a hectic place, I decided to end the honeymoon in Cebu City, home of the country’s second largest airport. Beyond Cebu City, the island of Cebu has a lot to offer. The most popular tourist town on the island is Moalboal located on the southwest coast.
May 21, 2024: The Land of Lapu-Lapu
After landing in Cebu on the flight from Siargao, we caught a Grab (Philippines’ equivalent of Uber) for a quick stop before we left. Cebu’s airport is actually not on the island of Cebu but instead is on the island of Mactan where the explorer/conquistador Ferdinand Magellan was famously killed. The American history books say he was “killed by tribesmen in the Philippines” but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
After landing on Cebu, he successfully converted between 800 and 2200 islanders to Christianity. Rather than move on and continue his journey around the world, he decided to try and convert the tribe on Mactan Island which so far had resisted. To gain favor with the tribe he did convert, he sailed to Mactan to fight them and their leader Lapu-Lapu. The Spanish lost the battle and Magellan was killed. Lapu-Lapu, the victorious king, kept Magellan’s body as a war trophy. The expedition sailed on and 18 men eventually made it back to Spain as the first people to circumnavigate the earth.
The focus of the monument is a RIPPED bronze statue of Lapu-Lapu who is now considered somewhat of a national hero in the Philippines. At the same time, Filipinos are deeply Catholic and celebrate the anniversary of Magellan bringing Christianity to the archipelago on the same fateful voyage (more on that when I visit Cebu City for real). I do not understand how the people can reconcile the two.
We then took another Grab to South bus terminal. The journey took an hour through the traffic. Once at the bus terminal, we paid 160 pesos (about $3 USD) for the bus to Moalboal. The air-conditioned buses leave every 30 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised by the organization inside the bus terminal.
The bus ride took about 3.5 hours including a 15-minute snack stop. Once in town, we visited the government office to pay the 50 peso (just under $1 USD) environmental fee. Like mentioned earlier in this blog, the fee is incredibly annoying to pay and should be added into the hotel bill. From the center of Moalboal town, we then took a tricycle 10 minutes west to Panagsama Beach. It’s a bit confusing, but this area is what tourists call Moalboal even though it is actually a few kilometers west of the official Moalboal town. For the rest of this post, when I say Moalboal, I mean the tourist area of Panagsama Beach.
After checking into our hotel, we rested for a little bit and then got a late lunch. Despite being in Asia, Moalboal feels just like a town in Central America or Mexico. Maisie and I ate at a Filipino/pan-Asian restaurant on the third floor. Since this was a tourist town, Maisie was able to get vegan food.
We then headed down to the water to see Moalboal’s biggest attraction: the sardine run. Just meters off the coast, the seabed drops sharply 30 meters (100 feet) and millions of sardines congregate.
To see the sardines, Maisie and I rented snorkeling equipment from a nearby dive shop for 200 pesos each. Plus, we had to pay 100 pesos to the government for a “snorkeling fee”. This fee did not bug me because the snorkeling rental guy was able to pay it for us.
You can also scuba dive to see the sardines up closer, but it’s not necessary. Also, I found it hilarious that the scuba dive boats only go 5 seconds off the coast to reach their dive spot.
The sardines were so plentiful and worth the hype. Additionally, we saw a sea turtle.
The one downside of the snorkeling was the people. The other snorkelers were touching the coral and annoying the turtle to get a photo. Additionally, the Filipino guides were taking flotillas of up to 5 Taiwanese tourists who did not know how to swim. The guide would swim, and the others would hold on to lines attached to his life vest. Absolutely wild.
After the snorkeling, I stayed (along with seemingly every tourist in town) to watch the sunset over the island of Negros.
For dinner, the hotel offered a free appetizer if we dined in, so we took them up on the offer. I ordered kinilaw, the Filipino version of ceviche. We were the only ones there and they played romantic music. The atmosphere was perfect, and I could not feel happier to be honeymooning with the love of my life.
May 22, 2024: Badian Canyoneering
Today, we arranged through the hotel to go canyoneering in Badian. Along with the sardines, this is the top attraction in the region.
Our private transfer picked us up at 9:00 and drove us about 30 minutes south. We then stopped at the tour company’s office where we received our gear and forced to sign their wavers and stored our gear in a locker. They also sell waterproof phone cases but had sold out. Per local rules, each person must have a personal guide.
Then we got into the back of truck and sped off towards the canyon.
After 20 minutes in the truck, we parked at a shaded basketball court that functioned as the canyoneering staging ground. The local town controls access and sets the rules but the guides are all private companies. We received a briefing from the government on safety and received our RFID-equipped bracelets.
Our guides then gave us the choice of walking 40 minutes down a hill to start the adventure or taking a zipline for $12 USD. We picked the zipline.
To get to the zipline, we boarded motorcycles and rode on a narrow singletrack further up the mountain. We then loaded onto the zipline and sped superman style down the mountain. The ride took about a minute. Interestingly, this was the second zipline Maisie and I had taken – two years ago we rode the world’s longest in Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE.
Our guides followed us on the zipline, and we then walked 10 minutes down a steep walkway to the base of the canyon. Again, I asked about a phone cover, but the guide said it won’t be necessary.
When we finally reached the bottom of the narrow canyon, we started wading down the river. Very quickly we reached a 3-meter (10 ft) jump. With no way to walk around it, I resigned myself knowing my phone was toast and decided that I was accept my loss and just have fun.
After Maisie and I jumped, the guides then jumped off the same waterfall while holding my phone above their heads. Miraculously they were able to hold it and it remained operational.
Over the next three hours, we jumped off waterfalls, climbed over rocks and waded down the river. The water was a toasty 30 C (85F). The guides did an amazing job at leading us down the canyon while at the same time capturing content on my phone.
This was so so so much fun!
The tour ended at Kawasan Falls, the most famous waterfall on Cebu and a popular tourist destination in its own right.
We then boarded a shuttle back to the visitor center where we ate lunch which was included with the tour.
I still could not believe that my phone had made it.
For the rest of the day and evening, Maisie and I relaxed and took it easy.
May 23, 2024: White Beach
Remember how I said I could not believe that my phone had made it? Well, I woke up today and both the front and back cameras had fogged up. Water had found its way in.
Since we had four long days in a row, we decided to take it easy and head to White Beach, 15 minutes to the north. The hotel operated a free shuttle to the beach.
The beach here was not as nice as Boracay or Siargao. The sand was not as fine. But it was still very nice, and the water was so warm!
May 24, 2024: The Cradle of Lechon
It was time to leave Moalboal.
My phone camera appeared have cleared. However, the screen started to flash white! Not good.
After getting a ride to the center of town, we got a bus north towards Cebu City. At my insistence, we stopped in the town of Carcar about halfway back.
Cebu as a whole is well known for a food called lechon aka roast pig. The best lechon on the island of Cebu is known to come from the market in Carcar.
After walking 10 minutes from where the bus dropped us off, we reached the market. Immediately, we were assaulted by lechon vendors attempting to get us to buy from them. I picked a vendor based on an online blog post. It was $6 for two portions of lechon. Additionally, we bought some rice and a cabbage salad from a lady who approached us. From there, we walked upstairs. The correct move was to then talk to one of the restaurants upstairs who will give you a plate, cutlery and drinks. However, we were short on cash so we did not realize this, instead opting to eat with our hands.
The lechon was so delicious and I really loved the true local atmosphere.
We then hopped on another bus heading into Cebu City, our final destination for the trip.
Final Thoughts:
Moalboal is a great destination for the active traveler. The snorkeling and scuba diving in town is worth the hype.
The canyoneering was our favorite day of the entire honeymoon! It was so beautiful and so unique. I would go to Cebu just for this.
The town itself also has great restaurants and a nice energy.
There are other activities to do as well such as swimming with the whale sharks in Oslob or hiking in the mountains.
In short, I would highly recommend Moalboal to any Philippines traveler. 3 nights is probably the right amount of time to see everything at a comfortable pace, but you could probably do it in 2.
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