Central Visayas, Philippines
The Philippines has over 7,000 islands you can explore! We totally understand if you find that a little overwhelming, we felt the same way. One really great way to get a taste of the Philippines is to explore the Central Visayas region. The biggest city to fly in to is Cebu City and the region includes Cebu Island, Bohol, Siquijor, Apo Island, and Malapascua.
Visa
For US citizens you can enter Visa free for up to 30 days. Although some of the information we saw online claimed you need to have proof of onward travel, neither we, nor anyone we met was ever asked for it. We were simply asked how long we plan to stay for and what city we were flying out of. The airport we flew into was the Mactan-Cebu airport. At the customs checkpoint we let them know we would be there for 20 days and plan to fly out from Manila Airport.
How to get around
Car Taxi – We used a taxi a couple of times in Cebu City. There are often taxi stations where you wait in line for the next available taxi, near malls and other public places. We were also able to hail a cab, or use the Grab app for transportation around the city.
Tricycle Taxi – These are generally found in smaller cities such as Moalboal, Tagbilaran, and Dumaguete. We found we would have to haggle with the drivers, and often discovered afterwards we overpaid.
Bus – There are many intercity buses which we always find too confusing to navigate. There is, however, a good network of buses which connect the cities together. They are inexpensive and come in two types, with AC and without. The price difference between the two was negligible and the weather was mild so we would generally just take whichever was the next bus.
Ferry – Connecting the various islands is a network of ferries. In the off season you won’t need to book them in advance, while during heavy tourist season you’ll want to book a day or two in advance. You can choose to sit outside, for cheaper, or there is room inside with AC.
Prices
Prices in the Philippines were a little more expensive than what we were used to for SE Asia. Rooms were generally in the $25-$35 range for the quality which elsewhere we were able to get in the $15-$25 range. We usually get a double room with a private bathroom and a rating of at least 8 on Booking.com or Agoda. Restaurant food was just a little bit more expensive, while transportation was pretty comparable.
[wpgmza id=”1″]
Itinerary:
1. Start in Cebu City (1-2 days)
Cebu City is a great point to start off exploring the Visayas. It has a big airport that you can fly into and many buses and ferries connecting it to the other cities and islands.
Things to Do
Do some shopping at Alaya Mall
Walk to some historical places in the city such as; Magellan’s Cross, Basilica del Santo Nino, Fort San Pedro, 1730 Jesuit House
Tops Lookout
Where to stay
Versteeg Vacations-MCA, Cebu City
($25 per night)
This is great place centrally located to a shopping center and many cafes/restaurants. It has a mini kitchen in the room, a nice bed and bathroom. It’s also a great place for families because they offer family rooms.
($35 per night for a double room)
This is a very clean and modern hotel. Breakfast is included and its pretty good. The place is centrally located and has a very comfy feel to it.
Want to get $25 off your next stay? Use our Booking.com link to get $25 off!
Where to Eat
Shawarma Gourmet- Delicious medditereanian food. Really enjoyed the vegetarian falafel and chicken shawarma. They have really tasty dips and tabouleh salad. Its a great place to visit if you or your partner is vegetarian.
Cafe Sarree- It’s a great place to have breakfast or lunch. We really enjoyed the salmon open sandwich and eggs benedict.
P.H.A.T. PHO- If you are missing PHO this is a tasty little cafe inside the mall.
Big Tom’s Charbroiled Burger
Linear Coffee Shop- Great quality coffee
Lunhaw Vegan Cafe- A great small cafe for vegetarians and vegans. Cheap.
Cafe Talk Library- A super fun and cool spot to read or have a cup of coffee. There’s books and board games as well.
Bo’s Coffee- This is a chain coffee shop in the Philippines. The quality is great and we like the workspace that the cafes usually have.
Where to Next?
After Cebu our itinerary has us going to Moalboal and ending with Malapascua, however you can do it the other way around where you start with Malapascua and end with Moalboal.
2. Moalboal (2-4 days)
Just three hours from Cebu, Moalbaol is a great place to spend a few days diving and exploring. Most people stay on Panagsama Beach since that’s where a lot of the hotels/hostels, food and dive centers are located.
We stayed a few minutes down the road from Panagsama Beach at Mangoes Place. It was a perfect place for us because it was spacious, had a private bathroom, AC, and even a small kitchette outside. We were able to save some money by cooking our own breakfast every morning.
Things to Do
Visit Kawasan Falls & Go Canyoneering
Kawasan Falls are a three tiered waterfall which require a little bit of hiking to get to. At the first and second tiers you can rent life jackets and go swimming right underneath the waterfall. There are also tours to go canyoneering and jump off a cliff at one of the falls.
Rent a Motorbike
Renting a motorbike should be no problem and its a great idea because you can get yourself to Kawassan Falls, to the market and anywhere else. A manual bike should be around 300-350php and an automatic is around 450-500 php.
Hike to Osmena Peak
The highest part of Cebu is a cluster of jagged hills that look a little bit like the Chocolate Hills in Bohol.
It’s very beautiful and the views are gorgeous but it does take a bit of driving to get there.
Swim at White Beach
Just 15 minutes away from Panagsama Beach is White Beach which is a better place to go swimming at if you just want to swim.
Go Diving with Cebu Dive Center
The thing Moalboal is primarily known for is diving. You can see a sardine run, turtles, lots of beautiful coral, and fish. You can do shore dives as well as take a trip out to Pescador Island for some beautiful wall diving.
Where to Stay
($33/night for a double room and private bathroom + kitchen)
It was a super awesome place to stay at. We had a little kitchen outside our room and were able to cook breakfast and save money that way. The room was large, comfortable, had AC and a private bathroom. The place also let us rent a motorbike for the day. We paid around 350 php per day and were able to get to Kawassan Falls and to the local market that way.
Want to get $25 off your next stay? Use our Booking.com link to get $25 off!
Where to Eat
Venz Kitchen – This was our go to place to eat, great for vegetarians and prices are fair!
Last Filling Station – Great wood fired pizza
Lantaw Restaurant – Great food and prices
Local Market– Because we had a room with a kitchen we cooked a lot of meals. We bought veggies, eggs and fruit and were able to save money that way.
Where to Next?
From Moalboal we headed south by bus towards a town called Bato and from there took a little taxi to a smaller town called Liloan. The taxi should cost around $1 a person. There you have hourly ferries until 6:30 pm heading across to Sibulan.
From Sibulan you can choose to go to the next and largest town called Dumaguette. It has the most accommodations to choose from and it’s about an half hour drive from the city to Apo Island. If you want to do some diving you’ll want to head over a little closer to Apo. Just across from Apo is a little town called Dauin. Here you will find a number of dive shops, resorts, as well as some places to eat. It’s not a huge town, but most people are there mainly for the diving anyways.
3. Dumaguete-Dauin-Apo Island (2-3 days)
Dumaguete as a city doesn’t have too much going on except that it is more of a university town than anything else. We actually took the local bus to Dauin, about 15 mins away from Dumaguete and stayed a couple of nights with Bongo Bongo Divers to do some amazing diving on Apo Island. It’s a must!
Things to Do
Go diving to Apo Island with Bongo Bongo Divers
It’s full of marine life and amazing coral. This is where you can spot many sea turtles and be amazed at how gracefully they glide through the water. This is one of our favorite dive spots!
Where to Stay
Bongo Bongo is a relatively rustic place with basic backpacker accomodations. If you are interested in staying somewhere a little more luxury there are a few places worth looking at in town. The nice thing about this place is that it’s a dive center, it has a shared kitchen area and a few cafes around it.
Rated 9.1 on Booking.com it has basic rooms. They are one step above Bongo both in comfort as well as in price.
Rated 8.8 on Booking.com this location is quite luxury. With an outdoor pool, private beachfront, and fitness center it has everything you would want.
Want to get $25 off your next stay? Use our Booking.com link to get $25 off!
Where to Eat
Public Market – Dauin has a public market as well as little stores at every corner where you can buy fresh groceries. Bongo Bongo has a little kitchen you can use for your cooking needs.
Dauin Dive Cafe – Around the corner from Bongo Bongo is a little cafe/restaurant. The prices are fair and the food is good.
Fin Bar – This place is a little further away, approximately a 1o min walk. From the outside it looks a little run down. Once you step in, however, you are greeted with a beautiful interior, games, and delicious food.
Where to next?
From Dumaguete you can either go check out Siquijor Island or head on over to Bohol. We decided to skip Siquijor and went to Bohol. You will have to go to the ferry terminal and buy your tickets. The fast ferry goes only twice a day to Bohol. There’s also a slower ferry that is a little cheaper.
4. Siquijor Island
Siquijor Island is a smaller island located right between Negros Oriental and Bohol Island. It’s primarily known for pristine beaches, its laid back feel, outdoor activities, and a past of witchcraft. We didn’t go there but heard good things about it from other travelers.
There is a ferry which connects it both to Negros Oriental and Bohol so you can reach it from either island and go to the next one afterwards.
5. Bohol Island (3-5 days)
Bohol is an island located in the Central Visays region of the Philippines. It’s a popular tourist destination because of its beaches, resorts, and the Chocolate Hills which are hills of brown-colored (during the rainy season they turn green) limestone formations. It’s full of adventure and beauty. It’s easy to get here from Cebu and Dumaguete.
Things to Do
Stand-Up Paddle Boarding on the Loboc River
Visit the Chocolate Hills, the Bamboo Hanging Bridge and the Man-Made Forest
Firefly Watching
Go on the Abatan Community Life Tour
Go Zip-lining with Loboc Eco-Adventure Park
Visit the Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella
Eat at one of the Bohol Bee Farm Cafes
Go swimming at Alona Beach
Go Dolphin Watching with Pamilacan Island Dolphin and Whale Watching Tours
Cruise down the Loboc River and eat to your heart’s content
Read more about all these experiences on our “Best Things to Do in Bohol Philippines”
Where to Stay
Loboc
We stayed one night in Loboc to do some of the activities around there such as paddling on the Loboc River and renting a motorbike to visit the Bamboo Hanging Bridge, Man-Made Forest and the Chocolate Hills.
We stayed at Fox and the Firefly Cottages
Tagbilaran
We chose to stay in Tagbilaran the rest of our time on Bohol because it was more central to everything and we had greater food and lodging options.
The place we chose was Dayview Tourist Home. We got a double room with a private bathroom (around $18/night). The room was clean and comfortable. It was also located in the city and we rented a motorbike from the front desk to get around.
Where to Eat
Just Sizzlin’
Garden Cafe
Buzz Cafes -There are many locations all over town
Tamper Coffee and Brunch -Our to go place for coffee, breakfast and lunch!
Bos Coffee -A popular coffee chain shop
Where to Next?
To get get to Malapascua you will need to get back to Cebu City and then go to the North Bus Terminal to get on a bus that goes to Maya City Pier. From Bohol’s Tagbilaran Pier you will need to buy your ticket for the ferry and go as early as possible because from Cebu City to Malapascua it takes about 5 hours. It will be a long day so start the journey early. Check out the ferry schedule here.
6. Malapascua (3-5 days)
If you are into diving and are hoping to swim with sharks at some point in your life, this is the island to go to dod it at! This is the only place in the world where you can see Thresher Sharks daily year round. If diving isn’t your thing then theres still plenty to do. There’s a beautiful sandbar not too far from the island and if you stay on the north side of the island the beaches are incredible! Clear blue waters and white sand is a thing on this small beautiful island.
Things to Do
Go diving with Thresher Sharks – This is the only place in the world where you can see Thresher Sharks daily year round.
Explore the beautiful sandy North Beach with hardly any tourists. You can go cliff jumping at Bamboo Point nearby as well
Day trips to Kallangaman Island, Kimud Shoal, or Dona Marlin wreck.
Read more about what to do on Malapascua in our post “Diving in Malapascua With Thresher Sharks”.
Where to Stay
Malapascua has basically two main areas to stay in, more to the north and more to the south. The south side has a lot more dive shops, hotels, restaurants, and a central market. On the north side are a few home-stays, resorts, an empty beautiful beach, and clear blue water.
Where We Stayed
We stayed a little bit to the north at a place called Chaniva-Joy because we wanted to have a place with a kitchen. Unfortunately it was a little bit further from all the dive shops. We compensated for it by renting a motorbike. In retrospect we could have instead stayed in the city and ate at the central market. It’s a great place, however, with extremely kind hosts.
Find it on Booking.com
Find it on Agoda
Other places
Hippocampus Beach Resort – A great resort right on the beach and conveniently located right next to Devocean Divers.
Find it on Booking.com
Find it on Agoda
AABANA Beach&Watersport Resort – On the other side of the south beach this place is highly rated and inexpensive.
Find it on Booking.com
Find it on Agoda
You can also store your bags at Devocean Divers while you walk around looking for a place with the perfect vibe that will work for you!
Where To Eat
Most of the restaurants as well as the market are located on the south side of the island.
Central Market – You can grab cheap vegetables, eggs, or fruit as well ask order barbecued dishes at the central market. It can be found on maps.me marked as Marketplace or ask any of the locals for where Market Market is.
La Isla Bonita – During the day this restaurant serves a buffet meal while in the evening you can order off the menu.
Craic House – Here you can order perhaps the most gourmet and western meals on the island. In conjunction, the price is considerably higher than other places on the island. We had delicious burgers and falafels.
Where to next?
From Malapascua Island you will need to take a ferry back to Maya Pier. Make sure to go earlier in the morning/afternoon because that is when most people leave and the boat will fill up faster. From the pier you can take the local bus back to Cebu City or you can take a mini bus. They are just a little bit more than the bus but they are a little bit more comfortable and faster.
Don’t go to Oslob
A lot of the guides we looked at mentioned going diving with whale sharks in Oslob, but we decided not to because the whale sharks are being fed. The place is overpopulated with tourists all trying to get a picture with a whale shark. We don’t believe in that and want to be a part of thigns that are done ethically and don’t harm the environment.
An alternative place you can go swimming with whale sharks that don’t get fed is in Donsol. Before going make sure to research the best season and time to see whale sharks.
We hope that this has been a helpful guide in planning your trip to the Visayas! The Philippines is full of beauty and incredible marine life. Let us know in the comments below if there any other places you have enjoyed in the Visayas.
Katie and Alex
Get a lonely planet travel guide and start planning your trip!
More Posts About the Philippines
No Comments