Believe it or not, this was my first EVER trip to Cebu City. And I didn’t have that much expectation—I was in it for whatever the trip brings me. I was ready to be surprised, shocked or smitten by the ‘Queen City of the South’.
Ciara, my cousin and I were quite unprepared in the sense that we didn’t know much about anything — we tried researching on-line as I’ve had in all my past trips but unfortunately, useful information was lacking on Cebu. So I, or we, decided we’d just wing it. All we know is we’d definitely want to have a great time!
So first of the many things we’ll learn there is that Mactan Airport where we fly in to is on a different island from Cebu City. Is it just us who were unaware of this? Is this common information? ;0 Good thing our hotel provided a pick-up transportation from the airport to the hotel. Whew!
After checking in to our hotel, we were on a prowl for dinner. Then went where our instinct led us. We actually got lost going back to our hotel that night!!! We didn’t even bother to ask for the hotel’s complete address so it was a bit of a challenge trying to describe the place to the cab driver. That and a bit of a language barrier made the whole thing interesting and a major boo boo!
It was the next day that we realised that two destinations that tourists frequent in Cebu is just a hop and a skip away from our hotel! How lucky is that? We got to see Magellan’s Cross and the Santo Niño Church without that much of a hassle. We also went to some newer attractions such as the Ayala Cebu and the Regency Hotel.
Although we loved Cebu City and its lovely people, I must say that the highlight of this trip would have to be the trip to Bantayan Island —maybe because of the effort it took to get there or the risk involved (there being a super typhoon in PAR at the time), but mostly because it’s overwhelming how utterly beautiful this place is.
We had to take an ordinary bus out of the city for a 3 hour journey into a port called Hagnaya then take a supercat (a water vessel that carries people and vehicles across the open sea between the islands) to Bantayan Island port. This is adventure even for us! Especially me, who isn’t a fan of boats because I get terribly seasick and couldn’t swim to save my life. I do not exaggerate when I say that I stared at the life vests stowed overhead for most of this aforementioned boat ride. (i also kept thinking that since i’m travelling with a swimmer - between the life vest and her, i should survive,right?)
Well, we didn’t have hotel/resort reservations when we got to Bantayan Island ‘cause like I said, we wanted to just go with the flow. But we met a man who was at the port looking for guests for Marlin’s Resort. We have actually seen the on-line but couldn’t make contact with them beforehand. It turned out that we were destined to stay there after all.
But, Oh. My. Goodness.
Bantayan Island is a dream hideaway! It’s serene, underrated, almost deserted and stunning! I would recommend it to anyone who don’t mind the bit of travel involved to get there. I must have laid on one of the beach chairs and dozed off while listening to the crashing of the waves but just forced myself to awaken to better appreciate its beauty. You can gaze over the horizon for ages and you won’t get tired. The water is appealing and the seashells are abundant - so I went to pick one to take home as souvenir!
So yes, next time you’re in Cebu…please go the extra mile (figuratively) and visit Bantayan Island. Totally, totally worth it.
