Cebu - Where to Go and What to Do

I'll be dropping by Cebu for one whole day before I head off to my paradise in Siargao for a 15-day vacation. Then back to Cebu again for another night before I head back to Manila. At first, I was just thinking of staying in a hotel or visiting my in-laws as I wait for my Siargao flight. I've been to Cebu so many times, especially when my sister was living there, that I feel like I've already had enough of what Cebu has to offer. Then I thought, why not try squeezing all the activities that I can, this time, by myself (no hubby in tow) and see how different this experience can be?! Hmmmm... quite scary since I've never done that before except in Boracay last summer when I did my one month vacay all by myself. I guess there's always a first  time for everything. ^_^

So I went through all my previous posts about Cebu to see if there's anything I'm willing to do again. If you haven't explored Cebu yet, you can refer to this list of awesome activities you can do in Cebu the next time you visit.

Where to stay in Cebu?

I know I usually stay in places that are affordable but for some reason, when it comes to Cebu, I was fortunate enough to have stayed and/or visited some of the most wonderful 3 to 5-star hotels. Here are some of them that you might want to visit too:

Sardine Run @ Pescador Island in Moalboal, Cebu

It was supposed to be the last day that our team, Motivating Minds, will train the staff of Club Serena. However, when Carelle and RR decided to stay late the previous night to finish the training, we had the whole morning to ourselves. It was a perfect set up which means my friends get to dive while I get to snorkel at no other than the most famous marine park in Moalboal, Cebu --- Pescador island.

Carelle, RR and Ian were all raving about it. I just hoped it wasn't like my experience at Gato island where I couldn't see anything underwater because of the illegal fishing going on causing the water to be murky with dead fishes floating. On the other hand, I was still excited. They were hoping to catch the sardine run on video and I was hoping to catch it too from the surface where I'll just be snorkeling.

The boat ride from Club Serena to Pescador island was about 30 - 40 minutes. The boat docked near the shallow part of the coast where I can already see the beautiful and colorful corals from where I was sitting. I thought I'd snorkel there too. Unfortunately, as soon as all the divers went underwater, the boat moved to the deeper part of the coast where the water was so choppy. I was scared to snorkel at first. But thinking that we'll be going back to Manila later that afternoon, I gathered enough courage and just went into the water.


I was dumbfounded with what I saw. There were like a billion sardines swimming all around me! I snorkeled right into the middle of the sardine run! I couldn't explain how I felt. I was just too happy that I didn't have to dive just to see this! I was one with the multitude of sardines swimming all around me.

Club Serena @ Moalboal

enjoying the view of the sea...

If at Malapascua, I never woke up on time causing my roommate, Ian, to suffer the loud noise coming from my alarm clock, here in Club Serena, I made sure I was awake at the break of dawn. I wanted to see for myself every nook and cranny there is at Club Serena before we finally head back to Manila the next day.

Club Serena has 8 rooms – Beach Front Suite, Raja Room, Treehouse 1 and 2 (where Ian and I stayed) , Cottages 1 and 2, and Casita 1 and Casita 2 each with its own character. The Honeymooner’s Suite has its own sala and dining area; while Treehouses 1 and 2, bearing aqualife motif, boast of their own azotea or balcony overlooking Tañon Strait. Cottages 1 and 2 are fusion of Oriental and Western inspirations; while the Raja Room speak of indigenous Oriental motif.

This is me enjoying the balcony of our treehouse.

The place is very private, away from the city’s maddening crowd; appropriate for family bonding as well as corporate team building if you exclusively booked the whole place. Or for one used to solitude, one can spend time by one’s self while enjoying the ringing of the wind chimes in Treehouse 1 or 2.

enjoying my swing...

It can accommodate up to 30 guests. Club Serena also has swimming pools. The resort offers Spa Services, Scuba Diving Certification, Kawasan Waterfalls Picnic, Dolphin Watching, Island Hopping, Canyoning and is also ideal for Wedding Venues.

Bye Malapascua, Hello Moalboal

goodbye Malapascua...

When we left Malapascua, we passed by Cebu City for late lunch and went all the way to the southwestern part of the region which is Moalboal. Because our driver drove so slow, we reached Moalboal after sunset. Too bad, the only sunset shot I have of Moalboal was this photo below, which I took while we were still on the road.

hello Moalboal...

Our team was scheduled to train the staff of this beautiful resort, Club Serena, the following day. This means that Carelle, RR and Ian can do a night dive, while I can just simply enjoy the rest of the facilities by myself.

Malapascua - Moalboal Trip with Carelle Mangaliag: an Introduction

This very enriching vacation/volunteer work I did at Malapascua and Moalboal in Cebu started last Dec. 1, 2010 right after our trip to Dumaguete from Nov.26-30, 2010 (which I will just blog about after this Cebu trip).

me inside PAL's Boeing 747

One day, as I was finishing all my tasks at work before heading to Negros Oriental with my hubby, my friend RR Herrera (yes, the former child star ^_^) called me asking if I know how to dive because their company, Train Station (formerly Motivating Minds), is looking for a diver who can help document the training they will conduct among the locals of Malapascua and Moalboal as well as the staff of the dive resorts they will be staying at (the very accommodating Exotic Dive Resort in Malapascua and the beautiful Club Serena resort in Moalboal). Excess funds from the office of former DOT Secretary Ace Durano (he's amazing!) will be used to cover the plane fare and food while accommodations and dives at Malapascua will be handled by Exotic Dive Resort. In Moalboal, Club Serena will take care of the dives, accommodations and food. All of these things will be provided to the team in exchange for the training that will be provided to the people there which will be based on Neuro-linguistic Programming principles being taught by Carelle Mangaliag and RR Herrera of Train Station.

Dumaguete, Malapascua, Moalboal : Work on Vacation

After my grueling hours at work, I am finally on a break. Although my boss asked me to still do a few hours of work whenever I can. So once in a while, when I feel like it, I log in to work. After all, I love my virtual assistant job. I can practically work anywhere as long as there's good wifi connection.

Anyway, I haven't been blogging in a while. I like enjoying life first then blog about it later, which reminds me, I still haven't shared with you the rest of my Vietnam - Singapore - Kuala Lumpur trip last January; I still haven't told you about my amazing vacation at Bicol and the Caramoan Peninsula last April-May and just last week (Nov. 26-30), my hubby and I were at Dumaguete City, Apo Island in Valencia, Casaroro Falls and twin lakes in Sibulan, and now I'm in Malapascua til Dec. 5, after which we go to Moalboal and stay there til the 7th. This is the life!

I just thought of dropping by to say hi. So how are you?

~~~oOo~~~

To see everything that I've written so far about this trip, please head to:
Malapascua 2010

Cebu - Nightlife, Moalboal and Waterfront Hotel

 The next series of travelogues that  I will be sharing with you consist of three weeks worth of vacation,  touring parts of Visayas and Mindanao two summers ago.  This was the time when both of us were able to scrimp the P40,000 we saved up for this adventure and learned the art of backpacking by experience. Come, join us on our journey and explore the beauty of our country. Maybe next time, we can do a backpack tour of Asia and Europe as well. *crossing our fingers now*

~~~oOo~~~

Doing a pose outside our hotel room before heading to Veranda… 

After our Plantation Bay tour, we went back to our hotel to rest for a while before we were picked up by Peter’s cousin, Wawa, who brought us to their really cozy bar, VERANDA, in Mandaue City. It’s quite popular in the area and you should try to drop by when you visit Cebu. They serve fairly priced food and drinks and bands  are invited to play especially on special occasions like the Sinulog every January. 

   

Left to right: Peter, me, Martin and Wawa hanging out at Veranda…

We didn’t stay until the wee hours of the morning (which is usually the case when we go to bars) since we still have an itinerary early the next day. 

It was still quite early in the evening but I was already tipsy…

April 12, we woke up early, had our buffet breakfast (which was included in our hotel package) and hailed a cab going to the North Bus Terminal. We asked around which bus to ride if we wanted to go to Moalboal and they pointed to us this Ceres bus liner heading to the Southwestern part of Cebu.