Cebu - An Adventurous Getaway

As usual, if I going for holiday with my friends it won’t be an easy relax laid down holiday. It will really crazy and damn exhausted. As my friend quote, “Pergi holiday, bawak balik penyakit”. It takes me 1 week for my leg to fully recover from muscle pain.

This holiday is totally plan by our own months before the trip. At first, we planned to go to Palawan Island. However the flight tickets were too expensive at the moment.
If we go to Palawan we need to make transit either at Cebu or at Manila. And the only flight going to Palawan is Cebu Pacific. The price Cebu-Palawan or Manila-Palawan is double than the price KL-Cebu or KL-Manila. So the route for annual trip 2018 is change to Cebu. Ironically, cebu is my dream place to go. 

Below is our itinerary trip.

Flight and Hotel

Then we started by surveying the flight ticket and hotel. The plan starts months before. I think the decision made around September 2017. One thing you cannot expect is the airasia plane ticket. Don’t expect if they say promotion, everything will be cheaper. NO! what we did? We take turn to check the ticket price everyday for months. We check the trend. So that we know that base rate of ticket price is this and that. Then we search the hotel. We are weighing to stay at cebu city or around oslob. But we settle to stay within the airport range since the flight back to Kuala Lumpur is early in the morning.

Our flight got delay one hour. Suppose to be at 5.45 pm. The flight KL to Cebu is total 4 hours. Oh, there is no time difference between Philippines and Malaysia. It just that the sun rise early at 6.00 am  than 7.00 am at Malaysia.

So we arrive around 11.00 am at Mactan Cebu International Airport. There are 2 small form you need to fill up for custom clearance. This form will be distributed in the flight. Always carry on pen during travel so it come handy in case like this.  It is also better to have your print out return booking ticket. Sometime the immigration will ask for it. 

We stay at Cleverlearn Residence. It is actually a hostel for student. Cleverlearn is a English Learning School. There are a lot of foreigner student here study English Language.  Well, we are not choosy, as long we have a bed, toilet, accessible area and a door that can be lock, it already fine with us to stay. Besides, we not going to spend so much time in the room. 

Cost :

Bus JB to KL : RM110

Flight + Hotel : RM520

Luggage (20 kg + 7.5kg + food (one way) + seat (2-way)) : RM150

Cebu Airport Tax : PHP750 (RM62.50) to be paid when you are leaving the country

Total : RM842.50

Travel Insurance

This part usually been ignored by most traveler. For me, even I already have medical insurance but i still take the travel insurance. it is compulsory. I always use AIG travel insurance. First reason, because they covered diving activities up to 30m deep. Second, it easier, just buy online. once transaction complete, the policy will be email to you. Travel insurance not only cover your medical and hospitalization, but it only cover your property, your house during your are away and also if you lose anything during your travel period. 

AIG Website 

Cost:

Travel Insurance : RM49.50

Money Exchange

This is exchange rate on our travel time, RM1 = PHP 12. This is the rate in Malaysia. You can also change money at Cebu. Our taxi driver brings us to a good value money exchange shop, of course still a bit lower than in Malaysia, but it is acceptable for those in emergency. The rate is RM1 = PHP11.5. not so bad kan? Do you know how the rate at KLIA2 money exchanger is? It is RM1 = PHP10.

I just change total of RM500 (PHP6000) only for this trip. Since most of the activity already been paid in advance, the cash we need is only for Danasan Eco Adventure, local transportation, a little bit for snacks and souvenir.

Transport

Outside the terminal, go to your right, walk 100m, You can find white taxi station. Or else you can take grab. there is Grab Booth, so no problem if you don't have internet access yet. We take grab from airport to our hotel (Cleverlearn Residence). It just take around 15-20 minutes drive.  Funny things, I forget that at Philippines, it is left side driver, and I did open  the driver door when get in the car!

For public transport, other than taxi, they have grab taxi, habal-habal (motorcycle), jepney, tricycle and bus. For taxi and grab, it only available at Cebu city and Mactan area.

Jepney                                         Tricycle                                       Habal-habal

For taxi, they all use meter taxi, usually if like 10 minutes ride, it only cost around PHP100. We take jepney from Mactan to Mandaue City, the fee only PHP13 per person. We also did get an experience to ride the bus from Danao City to Mandaue City, the price is PHP35 for more than 1 hour ride.

Cost:

Grab Airport to Cleverlearn : PHP250 /4 = 62.5

Jepney Mactan- Mandaue : PHP13

Bus Mandaue- Danao : PHP30

Habal-Habal Danao – Danasan – Danao : PHP400

Bus Danao-Mandaue : PHP35

Grab Mandaue – Cleverlearn : PHP250 / 4 = 62.5

Taxi Cleverlearn – Kontiki Marina : PHP100 / 4 = 25

Grab Kontiki – Cleverlearn : PHP250 / 4 = 62.5

Chatered Taxi (Mactan Shrine) :PHP500 /4 = 125 (we booked the taxi who sent us back to the hotel to come again at 6.00 pm to go to mactan shrine and wait for us until we finish shopping)

Chartered Taxi Cleverlearn- airport : PHP500 / 4 = 125 (Since our flight back is at 7.00 am, it quite difficult to get taxi at 3.00 am, so we book the same taxi to send us to airport).

Total : PHP940.5 (RM78.40)

Food

Frankly speaking, really difficult to get halal food at Cebu. Most of our luggage is food. Maggi is a must, of course the easy one. We need to bring food that are ready to eat since there is no cooking utensil in the hotel.  We also bring my Chef Nasi briyani. At least we get rice. Well, we are local Malaysian, rice is a must.

See that, full table food stock!

Cost:

My Chef Briyani: RM20

Maggi and snacks : ~RM60

Total : RM80

Communication

Outside the arrival hall at the airport, you can find booth selling sim card. There’s only 2 company for telco, smart and Globe. The package and price is quite same for both service.

Cost:
Travel Sim Card: PHP300 (RM25)

Danasan Eco Adventure Park

Because we stay on Mactan Island. We need to find place that easy to access from our hotel. For this trip we didn’t do any booking in advance. We just gamble to go. 

It is our first activity in Cebu. After arrive late midnight yesterday, we wake up a little bit late. We take public transport from Mactan to Danao. We ride jepney from hotel to Mandaue City, then take a public bus to Danao City. We just depend on the local to guide us to the location. if you want to try local transport at Cebu, there is nothing to afraid of.  the bus and jepney driver, the ticket conductor, they are helpful even some of them not really speak english. You just need to tell them your destination or if they not understand your pronouncation, type it on your phone. When we need to transfer from jepney to bus, from bus to habal2, they drop us exactly in front of the bus and habal2 for our next ride.

At this moment we expect, once we arrive at Danao City, we will take taxi to Danasan. But we are wrong, there is no taxi except at the Cebu City. The only transport available is ride Habal-habal. If you are slim, you will ride 3 person (include the rider) on one bike. Lucky I’m not slim enough. 

From Danao City to Danasan, the ride is around 1 hour 15 minutes. The road is bumpy and uphill. Lots of braking and cornering. “ Sakit bontot wei atas motor jalan tak rata.” 

You can choose what you want to play at the park. There are a lot of things. From an easy thing like horse riding to extreme sky drop. They divide the activity by green (extreme)  and yellow (relax). They also offer doing the activity with package. We take package (walk in), 2 green pass, 1 yellow pass and entry fee with total of PHP1250. 

What we really want to do here is skybike. Buckit List Tick! 

The experience over there is really great. The view is really nice because the location on the top of hill. Their worker is really friendly and helpful. One day is not enough if you want to try all the activities. Danasan also offer accommodation for people who want to stay.

Actually they also offer transport from Mandaue  to Danasan, pick up at 7.00am or from Danao to Danasan at 9.00 am. The transport leave at 5.00 pm from danasan. For the transport you need to book in advance. 

You can browse Danasan website. for list of activity and the price offer.

Others than Danasan Eco Adventure Park, there also other adventure park in Cebu such as Medellin Funtastic Island (3 hours drive from Cebu city) and Chocolate Hill Adventure Park (at Bohol, neighbouring island, 2 hours ferry ride from Cebu City).

Cost:

Activity at Danasan : PHP1250 (RM101.20)

Diving

We did our survey for diving after we confirm the flight tickets. The popular place to diven at Cebu is at Malapascua Island.  It is another island at north of Cebu, this place is said popular diving spots due to easy to see thresher shark and manta ray. But you need to travel 4-5 hours from Cebu City to Maya port. And 30 minutes boat ride to the island. If you want to go to malapascua, it is better to stay there at least one night. But the hotel price is expensive at malapascua. So that’s the reason we settle to dive at Mactan island only. 

There’s a lot of dive center in mactan. I did email all the center to ask their package and price. (Pening bila banyak sangat email masuk, kalah survey wedding package). 

Finally we choose SiDive. SiDive located at Kontiki Marina Resort. The price for  3 dive with equipment is PHP3200. If you are going to sanctuary area, then you need to pay for sanctuary fee. PHP200. The collection of the fee is unique, the officer will come in a small boat to your boat to collect the fee. 

We did our diving on our second day. Our Dive Master that day is… we are total of 7 people diver that day. The other is Caucasian (mat saleh) with one of them is the instructor. So we have the dive master all to ours. It might be no big fish in this area. But we did see small plane wreck, sea snake, nudi branch, stone fish, and rich coral. 

Cost :

3 Dive + Equipment : PHP3200 (RM266.70)

Sanctuary Fee : PHP 400 (RM33.30)

Mactan Shrine

This is unplanned trip. we ask the taxi driver on our way back from diving for place to shop for souvenir. He suggest us this place. We book him to be our guide that evening. 

The price is really affordable. Normal T-shirt price is range around PHP100 -PHP150 (RM8-13). If you want size XXL above, the price is PHP350 (RM29). fridge magnet and keychain around PHP10-20 (RM0.80-1.70).  the price is same for every shop. just the design will be different. So you can shop till you drop. 

This place also one of the landmark in Cebu. You can my find a statue of Lapu-lapu, a native leader who defeated Spanish soldier in 1521 Battle of Mactan. 

Cost :
Souvenir: ~PHP600 (RM50)

Oslob and Kawasan Falls

The most tiring day in my life! But also one of my best day, of course!

For this trip we booked through ilink.ph. But all the payment for the trip need to be complete before the trip. No worries, their service is good, trusted and realiable. all price is already inclusive, no extra payment  during the trip. Since the trip is 1 full day, so breakfast and lunch is included also.

We wake up at 2.00am that day since we need to hit the road at 3.00am or else we will be late for our activity. From Mactan to Oslob, we spend only 2.5 hours ride. Thanks to our driver skill. (Because as per google actually it is 3.5 hours ride. But maybe because we go early in the morning, the road is clear.) it is better to go early, if you stay outside oslob. Because the road is usually heavy in traffic. Heavy traffic is normal in cebu. Plan your trip properly, the chance you will be stuck in traffic is high.

Oslob is popular area for Whale Shark Watching. It is 100% guarantee you can meet whale Shark here. The activity is open only half day from 6.00 am to 12.00pm. They keep the whale shark in the area by surrounding big net around the area. The fishermen will keep feed them from the small boat. The whale shark interaction of Oslob has been controversial since it started.  You may refer to this website from the reason people against this activity.

Why we oppose whaleshark Oslob

Beware in mind, ensure there is 4m distance between and the whale shark. No touching them. My tips, keep your hand on your self, do not outstretched your hand. I know it quite difficult to maintain the distance, just keep your distance from the fishermen feeding boat, the whale shark is following the boat.

For Oslob and Kawasan Falls trip we book in advance through tourism company. The company is reliable. it made out trip easier. we just need to take the ride and all is arrange by guide. When we arrive at oslob, everything is ready. We did not have to wait at all. We are among the early one get on the sea, so there are not many people swim around the whale shark. Each boat will get around 30 minutes to stay at the area. Then, we need to get back to the shore for others to ride on. Owh, the local name for whale shark is "Tuki" or "Butanding". Fun facts, even being the largest fish in the world, with its big mouth, but their esophagus is small. they can't eat human. even if they accidentally eat you, you will be spit out. 

 After finish the whale shark watching, we have our breakfast nearby the area. As we are muslim, we already request the agency to provide muslim food for us. We had sticky rice and manggo for our breakfast. 

8.00 am we depart from oslob to Kawasan Falls. it just take around 1.5 hours ride. Same situation at Oslob. Everything is ready for us. My tips for clothing, its good to wear swimwear but fitted and not easy to tore because it might get snag on rock or torn during sliding down. For shoes, wear something that can handle water and slippery road. our guide center also provide borrowed shoes for those who didn't has suitable shoes to wear

Previously, the guide is not compulsory for canyoneering. but after a few accident happen, they made it that guide is compulsory. no guide, you cannot enter the area. you also required to wear life vest and helmet for your safety. From the guide service shop, we need to ride Habal2 to starting point. it just around 15-20 minutes ride. then from starting point, we need to do a little walk and small hike along the hill side. the walk is around 20 minutes for slow walker like me. :p

there are total of 3 waterfall spot in Kawasan. since we doing canyoneering, we do it downstream that commences from Kanlaob River in Algeria until we reach Kawasan Falls. please prepare yourself for Adrenalin rush. the view is superb, with blue clear water, massive rock formation around you and green top on your both side. its fascinating. 

if you really up to challenge, there are so many cliff jump here.The first jump is compulsory. no other way to continue if you don't jump. it is just 20ft height. my tips, don't think, just jump. You have your life vest and helmet. you will stay afloat after the jump. my problem, cannot hold my breath, i keep drink the water during my jump. so guys, practice hold your breath. other than cliff jump, you also had to scramble down and crawl under massive boulders and across slippery bamboo path. 

before reach the first waterfall, you need to trek across big rocks and muddy trails. Then at the first waterfall, you can relax in the fresh and cold water. 

Then we started trak again until we reach second waterfall. here is the jump is 50ft high. i did not brave enough to do the jump. its so high! its around  4 floor stories height! Lucky the jump is not compulsory. you choose to jump or to trek down.

We just hangout around 10-15 minutes here for some pictures and watch people jump from the cliff. We continue trek down to third falls, the famous Kawasan Falls. i am not sure either you can do the jump here or not. the height of the fall at the third fall is around 65 ft (7 stories building). during our time there, i did not see anyone make the jump. 

Previously there a bamboo raft here that you can ride under the waterfalls and get massage by the pouring water. but now the bamboo raft has been suspended. we just hear that someone said, there's been a fatal accident here. someone jump and fall on the bamboo raft below. 

as you see in ther picture. there are no edit, no photoshop. yes, it is blue like ocean colour. if you want to know, the water depth on third fall is 25m and near the fall is 40m.  

if you don't want to do canyoneering, you can just walk to Kawasan Falls. its the last and the lowest waterfall. from the road, you can walk to the entrance and pay the fee (Not sure how much). then follow the trail around 10-15 minutes, you will the waterfall. my tips, don't expect it will be so like paradise. yes, the view and  water still amazing, but there will be a lot of people here. 

Cost :

Oslob and Kawasan Falls Package : PHP18900 /4 = PHP4725 (RM393.75)

Mantayupan Falls and Cow Milk Ice-Cream

This is also unplanned trip. At first our driver and guide ask for our permission to stop by at Mantayupan Fall on the way back from Kawasan Falls. Of course we say yes. 

Mantayupan Falls is actually made up of two levels. The first one has three cascading waters, the highest of which is around 14 meters. Meanwhile, the second level has a waterfall reaching up to 98 meters high. it is the highest waterfall in Cebu. Aside from being a tourist destination, it also has been providing hydro electric power to Barili area for more than ten years.

You only need to walk around five minutes from the entrance to reach the waterfall. it also involves walking through a suspension bridges to reach second level waterfall. They said its the most accessible waterfall in Cebu

owh, i just read somewhere, there will be a cave near the fall that will be open to public soon. if you are going to Cebu later, you may able to check it out.

On our back to Cebu City, we stop by at Molave Milk Station for cow milk ice cream. This is also suggest by our driver and guide. Really thankful to them for bring us to beautiful and delicious place. Kuya Lordam and Jojo. Love you guys!

Cost : 

Entrance Mantayupan Falls : PHP30 (RM2.50)

Cow Milk Ice-Cream : PHP40 (RM3.30)

Total : PHP70 (RM5.80)

Best Time To Visit Cebu

If you are looking for culture, the best time is on January because that is when they celebrate colourful Sinulog Festival. 

Summer in Cebu start on March to May. some said its very hot and humid. but I think it will good for your outdoor picture. but if you have problem with heat, they said you can come around September to February, it is less humid. 

June until August usually rainy season. most of the place is not accessible during this time period. 

We did this at the end of February. It should be summer. It is hot but cloudy. My guide said it due to low pressure weather at Cebu causing thick cloud forming at the sky. It doesn't affect our activity but if you plan to go for sunrise or sunset view, you will not be able to see spectacular view because the of the thick clouds.The best place to watch sunrise is in Oslob and sunset is at Osmena Peak.

This is how sunrise look at Oslob during our time. it is 6am Cebu time. 

..............

If you plan to go the Cebu, you may refer to this website for your tour and book with them 

http://www.ilink.ph/cebutours or you email directly to their agent rastie@ilink.ph  .

i think you can also ask them to arrange the trip as per your itinerary. oslob and Kawasan is in different package, but i ask her if possible to go both in one day. and the outcome is superb. 

Or if you prefer to book through personal person, i can give contact person to you. Email me personally. safnijimat@gmail.com. I think its not good to publish their phone number here. One of the guy said that, he will charge transport  and entrance to oslob for PHP4000. 

We also hear some story that it is not so safe at Cebu. But as our experience, we feel safe. no beggars, no pick pocket. the local are friendly and helpful. They tried to get money through a right way such as provide habal2 transport. sell food and souvenir. we show our appreciation for their effort by giving some tips. we hope that, when they are happy with their work now, they will keep working and avoid doing bad things. 

As you can calculate from the cost above, total cost for our trip to Cebu each person is only RM1926.15!

There are so many place to go at Cebu. Bohol, Moalboal, Osmena Peak, Malapascua Island,  is not is our scope.  Our 4 days trips is not enough to cover all the place. (Nak buat macammana, komitmen kerja beb!) But still we get to do most of the highlight activity here. 

The location from one attraction to one attraction also will played part in planning your trip. You need to take travel time into account so that you did not waste any time by going back and forth in between location.

You can view my full trip video here https://web.facebook.com/safni/videos/10155986171076405/

well...I can say that I Love Cebu!