Cebu is a popular spot for people of all ages and genders, but we especially recommend it as a fun place to enjoy a girls’ trip.
Cebu is full of things that girls love, such as snorkeling and other marine sports, as well as shopping, gourmet food, beauty, and photogenic places. Cebu
is a popular resort destination, so you may have heard many people say from friends and colleagues, “Cebu was the best.”
As the saying goes, seeing speaks a thousand words, so it’s best to travel and see for yourself, but in order to help you get a feel for its charms, I’ll introduce how to enjoy a girls’ trip to Cebu with some photos. I’ll also introduce tips and things to be aware of so you can enjoy your girls’ trip to the fullest, so please use it as a reference.
7 reasons why Cebu is perfect for a girls trip
Here are 7 reasons why Cebu is perfect for a girls’ trip.
Reason 1: You can be amazed by the spectacular scenery that can’t be seen anywhere else in Japan
One of Cebu’s greatest attractions is its spectacular scenery that cannot be experienced anywhere else in the country.
Cebu Island is located in the tropical island of the Philippines, and is home to blue seas and white sandy beaches that truly fit the image of a “tropical beach.” Many spots have been designated marine protected areas for environmental conservation, and many have been developed into resorts in their natural state with little artificial intervention, so you can enjoy a thrill that is hard to find in Japan.
Reason 2: You can take memorable and photogenic photos!
Cebu Island has many photogenic spots.
In addition to the crystal clear blue waters and white sandy beaches, there are also many spots where you can take memorable, photogenic shots, such as whale sharks, sea turtles, tropical fish, the sun setting over the horizon, and historic churches, statues, and other buildings.
If you look at the search results for “Cebu Island” on Instagram , you can probably imagine that Cebu Island is full of Instagram-worthy spots, right?
Reason 3: Swim with popular sea creatures
In Cebu, you can swim with whale sharks, sea turtles, clownfish, numerous tropical fish, coral reefs and more.
Many areas of the sea of Cebu are designated as marine protected areas, and in some places fish are fed, so even beginners to marine sports can easily encounter many kinds of marine life. For example, in Oslob, which is famous as a snorkeling spot where whale sharks appear, there is about a 95% chance of encountering a whale shark.
The creatures you can see at each spot are different, so if you check the characteristics of the snorkeling spot before planning your trip, you will be more satisfied. For more information on snorkeling in Cebu, please refer to “4 Snorkeling Spots in Cebu | Enjoy a Private Tour Limited to 1 Group”.
Also, even if you are interested in creatures but are not confident in your swimming, you can enjoy snorkeling safely by wearing a life jacket. Cebu Island is a recommended spot for beginners and those who are trying snorkeling for the first time, as the waves are calm and there are many shallow seas.
Reason 4: Plenty of activities to enjoy, including beach volleyball, BBQ, canyoning, and snorkeling
Cebu may be known as a great spot for snorkeling and diving, but there are plenty of other activities to enjoy, such as beach volleyball and BBQs on the coast or river rafting at the island’s famous waterfalls.
Depending on the hotel you stay at, you may be able to use the hotel’s private beach and pool, and some may even have tennis courts and a casino.
Reason 5: Enjoy local Filipino cuisine! (Lechon)
It is now possible to enjoy cuisine from many different countries in Japan, but there are still not that many restaurants where you can eat Filipino cuisine.
A famous Filipino dish is lechon, a whole roasted piece of seasoned pork. It is a traditional dish eaten locally on celebratory occasions such as weddings and Christmas, and is often cut into bite-sized pieces in restaurants. Cebu Island is known as an area in the Philippines where lechon is particularly delicious, and there are even lechon specialty restaurants.
- ZUBUCHON
Zubuchon is a lechon specialty restaurant with several locations in Cebu. It is popular with both tourists and locals as a place where you can casually eat lechon. Another attractive feature is that a small lechon (about 2 servings) is reasonably priced at 480 pesos (about 1,245 yen)!
Photogenic restaurants are also essential for girls’ trips. For example, Mactan Island, where many accommodations are located, and Nalusuan Island, famous as an island hopping spot, have floating restaurants where you can enjoy your meal while looking out at the sea.
In addition, Cebu City has a wide variety of restaurants serving Italian, American, Japanese, and other cuisines, so there is no need to worry if you are not familiar with local or ethnic cuisine.
Reason 6: Easy access
It takes about five hours to get to Cebu Island from airports in big cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya (direct flights). Most of the tourist spots on Cebu Island can be accessed within three or four hours. Therefore, you can plan a trip to enjoy some of the spots on Cebu Island to your heart’s content by staying at a hotel in Cebu City or Mactan Island, which is next to Cebu City, for about two or three days.
You won’t end up tiring yourself out from long travel periods or having less time to enjoy yourself, so you can use your precious days off effectively and fully refresh yourself.
Reason 7: Good value for money
To fully enjoy a girls’ trip, cost-effectiveness is also important, right? Cebu Island is so popular that it offers excellent cost-effectiveness, even cheaper than domestic travel.
Depending on the season, you can arrange a direct flight to Cebu for around 30,000 yen round trip using low-cost airlines, and prices in Cebu city are much cheaper than in Japan.
A girls’ trip to Cebu Island allows you to experience excitement that you can’t get in Japan at a low price.
Three points to enjoy a girls trip to Cebu
Here are three tips to help you enjoy a girls’ trip to Cebu.
Choosing the best tour company
The first point is to choose the right tour company. It is no exaggeration to say that choosing the right tour company is the biggest factor in whether you can enjoy your girls’ trip to Cebu. There are various tour plans in Cebu, but we would like you to consider our website, “CebuPre.”
CebuPre has the following features that will satisfy a wide range of people, from first-time overseas travelers to those who have been to Cebu several times.
・CebuPre is a private tour limited to one group, not a group tour. It comes with a Japanese-speaking guide and a dedicated vehicle with a dedicated driver, so you can enjoy the freedom and peace of mind of a private trip.
・You don’t have to arrange transportation or entrance fees yourself When traveling to Cebu Island on your own, you have to arrange your own transportation, activity applications, etc. Because Japanese is not spoken, you have to communicate in English or the local Tagalog. In addition, local businesses may offer tourists higher prices than the market rate, so you may need to negotiate.
If it takes time and effort to arrange transportation and activities, you will end up wasting precious time on your girls’ trip.
・Photography support from a guide who knows the area well
CebuPre offers photography support services from local guides who understand Japanese. With support from local guides who know the area well, you can take great photos of Instagram-worthy spots. In addition, for an additional fee (800 pesos = about 1,700 yen), they also lend out underwater cameras, GoPros, so you can take photos of your snorkeling with whale sharks and sea turtles.
・Guides are female.
At Cebu Plus, female guides are available for female travelers. Of course, they can speak Japanese, so you can enjoy sightseeing in Cebu with peace of mind.
・CebuPre is the cheapest in the industry, so it also fully meets the important point of saving money for girls’ trips.
You might think that a tour limited to one group is much more expensive than a group tour, but you can actually use a private tour for less than a group tour. The price of the plan varies depending on the course, but there are plans that you can participate in for less than 10,000 yen.
Be mindful of toilet and changing spots
Although Cebu Island has been developed as a resort, unlike Japanese tourist spots, it does not have toilets and changing facilities where you can go anywhere at any time. Once you have decided on your travel plans, it is important to know where to go for toilets and changing clothes. It is especially important to be aware of this when going to remote islands or spots far from Cebu City, as it is often difficult to find toilets and changing rooms.
Also, please note that toilets in Cebu differ from those in Japan in some ways.
- Toilet paper is often not provided in toilets in Cebu, so you will need to bring your own.
- Most toilets do not allow you to flush toilet paper (toilet paper must be placed in a trash can after use).
- There are many pickpockets and bag snatchers in Cebu, so be careful not to get caught out while changing clothes.
Embrace Local Culture
Try Local Delicacies
Don’t miss out on Cebu’s famous lechon and other local dishes. Street food is also an adventure in itself—sample dishes like ‘siomai,’ ‘taho,’ and ‘balut’ for an authentic experience.
Engage with Locals
Interacting with locals can provide insider tips on hidden gems and local favorites. It’s also a great way to enrich your travel experience and make new friends.
With these tips, you and your friends can make the most of your Cebu adventure, blending excitement, safety, and cultural immersion.
Be careful about UV protection
One thing to be careful of when sightseeing in Cebu is to protect yourself from UV rays. Cebu is a tropical island, so the sun is strong all year round, and if you don’t take precautions, you’ll get sunburned in no time.
When it comes to UV protection, sunscreen is the first thing that comes to mind, but if you’re going snorkeling or swimming in the ocean, don’t forget to bring a rash guard. This is because many designated beaches in Cebu prohibit the use of sunscreen. In addition, it’s a good idea to bring a hat and sunglasses as well.
How to enjoy Cebu Island on a girls’ trip
Cebu Island is an experience that you can’t get anywhere else just by following the tour course, but we will introduce some tips for enjoying it even more, which are unique to girls’ trips. We will introduce ways to enjoy Cebu Island that are unique to women, so that your friends who go with you will say, “Cebu Island is the best!”
Pamper yourselves
In fact, Cebu is also known for offering the best value for money beauty services.
The most popular item is nails. The average cost is about 3,000 yen for gel nails and 1,000 yen for regular nails. Just like at salons in Japan, you can see a sample before ordering, so you can be assured of the quality.
Cebu City also has a wide range of spas that start at around 1,000 yen, as well as Japanese-run hair salons (for haircuts, facials, eyelashes, etc.). Massages and beauty salons are also much cheaper than in Japan, and some stores have many experienced Japanese stylists, so the quality of treatment is very high.
There are many nail, spa, and hair salons in Cebu City, so you can enjoy beauty care while sightseeing in the city.
Souvenir Shopping
You can also purchase local accessories at the souvenir shops in resort areas.
For example, accessories and bracelets made from seashells. Some of these handmade accessories can only be purchased locally, and they are not only a memento of your trip, but can also be used as everyday accessories.
A wide selection of cosmetic souvenirs
Cebu Island also has a wide selection of cosmetic souvenirs. You can buy some for yourself or for your friends.
・Human Nature
Human Nature, known in Japan as a high-end organic cosmetics brand, can be purchased cheaply in their home country of the Philippines. Particularly popular is their “Sunflower Oil” made from sunflower oil.
・Papaya soap
Papaya soap is a popular souvenir for women in Cebu. It is said to have a whitening effect due to the antioxidant properties of papaya.
・Virgin coconut oil
The Philippines is the world’s largest producer of coconut oil, which has also become popular in Japan. As a result, you can purchase it in the Philippines at less than one-third the price of Japan.
Recommended spots for girls’ trips
Cebu Island is full of various sightseeing spots, so we would like to recommend all of them, but we will introduce some spots that you cannot miss, especially on a girls’ trip.
Cebu city sightseeing is recommended for gourmet and beauty
If you are visiting Cebu Island for the purposes of gourmet food, shopping, souvenir shopping, nail and facial treatments, etc., we recommend sightseeing in Cebu City.
Cebu City is a big city with many stores such as shopping malls, restaurants, and salons, so you can achieve these goals by visiting the stores in the city. With a general group tour, even if there is a shop or salon you want to visit, it is difficult to visit them all within the time, but with the private tour company “Cebu Plus”, you can discuss your schedule.
[City sightseeing tour introduction]
“Cebu city sightseeing tour + night view tour”
Recommended snorkeling tours for those who want to swim with marine life
For those who want to swim in the ocean with whale sharks and sea turtles, we recommend a plan that includes snorkeling. Here are some of the most popular plans.
・”Whale shark snorkeling + Sumilon Island & Kawasan Falls tour”
After enjoying snorkeling in Oslob, you may encounter manta rays, clownfish, and other creatures at Sumilon Island.
・”Snorkeling with Sea Turtles + Moalboal & Kawasan Falls Tour”
This plan allows you to enjoy sea turtles and a tornado of tens of thousands of sardines (at Moalboal’s White Beach).
A recommended plan for those who want to take Instagram-worthy photos
Cebu Island has many Instagrammable spots, so no matter what plan you choose, you will never run out of Instagrammable photo spots, but we especially recommend the island hopping plan that takes you around Cebu’s remote islands.
・”Island hopping 3 islands (Pandanon Island + Nalusuan Island + Hilutungan Island)”
The spots where you can take particularly great photos on this plan are the crystal clear waters of Pandanon Island, known as “the island closest to heaven,” and the pier that is longer than the island itself, which is the symbol of the uninhabited Nalusuan Island. You can also enjoy snorkeling at Nalusuan Island and Hilutungan Island, so if you bring an underwater camera, you can take memorable photos that are unique to Cebu and cannot be taken at other spots.
Summary
We’ve introduced you to some tips on how to enjoy a girls’ trip to Cebu and some things to be careful of. What do you think?
Cebu Island is a resort area that meets a wide range of women’s needs, including marine sports, gourmet food, beauty, and shopping. It is a tourist spot that meets a variety of needs, whether you want to be active, go shopping, or just relax on the beach or in a hotel, and most people will be very satisfied and impressed.
If you are going to Cebu, you should choose your tour carefully so that you can enjoy the excitement to the fullest. At CebuPre, we plan and provide private tours limited to one group. Our tours combine the peace of mind of a tour with the comfort of a private trip, so you can enjoy the charms of Cebu to the fullest. Another point that customers are happy about is that we provide photo support.