Korean Job Discussion Forums

[adventureman]

What would you do with two weeks in Cebu? I am planning an upcoming holiday in the Southern Philippines and so far my basic itenerary for that time period is to fly into cebu and make my way down to the north coast of mindanao via boat, check out General Luna on Siagao island and do some body boarding (maybe take surfing lessons as well) , then over to camiguin island for relaxtion, volcano and jungle trekking, snorkeling, then back up to cebu again via a flight or ferry from cagyan de oro...I'll be traveling by myself and I'm taken so I don't care about big cities, tourist traps (Boracay, Palawan), or brothels.

For anyone who has been to the Philippines, specifically this area, does this sound like a good plan?

[I_Am_Wrong]

what's your flight to the Philippines going to run ya?

[gomurr]

Dude you should go to the Island of Siquijor. It's great and not as touristy as Camiguin (and no Koreans as well ). I spent 8 days there on my honeymoon. I would be careful traveling around Mindanao though. I was there last November and my wife who is from Pagadian city there wouldn't let me leave the house unless I was with alot of relatives. But dakak resort is really nice though and not as well known.

[mercury]

Hey, I went to Cebu and had a blast. They have 2 huge malls, SPARRO, lots of great clubs. YOu might want to go to Mactan Island, they have a special place where the explorer Magelon (sp) died. I flew into Manilla, spent a few days, took a ferry to Cebu, lots of fun on the superferry, karoke, safe, don't get a room, too much. Lots of luck!

[trevorcollins]

[chronicpride]

At least once (or twice), get in a taxi in Cebu and tell them to take you to the Black Hole. BF's run for 3000 pesos.

And for a real adrenaline rush, walk thru downtown at night.

[Tiger Beer]

[The Chewbacca Defense]

To the north end of Cebu, you can catch a boat to a small island called Santa Fe. Spent a week there chillin' out in a hut right by the beach, sitting on the deck smoking, drinking and watching life go by. Met a cool dude named Raoul who took me out fishing a couple of times. Great time was had

[adventureman]

Thanks for the responses.

I am wrong: I am flying out from Kuala Lumpur as part of greater asia tour but I also looked into Seoul-cebu flights and they run about 600,000 retunr including tax

chronic pride: what does "bf" stand for? did you feel threatened walking around the philippines at night?

gomurr: are there any good beaches/snorkeling/tropical forest walk opportunites on siquijor?

trevor collins: I remeber reading that you visited eastern negros last septmember..would you say dumagutte area was nice and worth the trip if one only had a limited time in cebu? did you ever make it to camiguin island as well or remember hearing good things about it?

tiger beer: yes I will try!

[Tiger Beer]

[waterbaby]

I spent about 10 days in Cebu in Feb 2002 and I really loved it. We left the city of Cebu quite quickly as it wasn't the best place to be - dirty, lots of beggars, felt quite cautious.

We caught a ferry to Tagbilaran on Bohol Island. It only takes about 2 hours, perhaps less because I remember watching a movie on the ferry & it was at the climax point when we arrived

From there, caught a taxi to Panglao Island There were some nice beaches and bungalows there - stayed a few days, snorkelled, relaxed - not a happening night life if that's what you're into.

Did a day trip around Bohol in the same taxi - went and saw the chocolate hills:



and the tarsiers



Then we headed back to Cebu and caught a bus for a handful of small change to Moalboal Beach. If you do decide to head out of Cebu city, make sure you take lots of cash with you as most places don't accept VISA... as we discovered. We had to end our trip there sooner than we would've liked but we ran out of cash and couldn't get any money out. Couldn't even wire money through the one bank that was there.

We stayed here:



It's a guest house run by a retired American guy Gene and his Filipino wife, Susan. They were very hospitable and we spent our time hanging out with them!

I'm sooo jealous - I'd have to say that it was one of the best places I've ever been to. I'd love to go back

Tip! If you're arriving in Cebu after hours (we arrived at 3am) make sure you have some cash on you!!! We were totally unprepared and unplanned & arrived without pre-booked accommodation and without local currency, expecting to be able to get it out of an ATM. Then we drove around for about an hour or so with an off duty cop and his friend looking for a place to withdraw money and a place to stay - we of course were ripped off - always seems to happen to me on that first day in a new country

[gomurr]

The 8 days I spent on Siquijor were great. The wife and I spent alot of time going snorkling, scuba diving, and bicycling around the island. We took an outrigger out on the ocean and another time we went caving. There is a tropical rainforest trail there but I never got to it. People were nice but of course alot of them were relatives of my wife.
My wife has been to Camiguin several times and says it's great but that was 8 years ago before it was really developed. Everything you are looking for is there. But there are tons of Koreans there nowadays.

[chronicpride]

[Tiger Beer]

Bought a one-year open ticket today to Manila for 711,000 won.. I guess I'll be checking it out soon!