SOUTH CEBU TOURIST SPOTS. The Best 12!!
Kumusta! Hello, my dear reader! Cebu has many wonderful places to visit, but in this article, I’ll write about the best South Cebu Tourist Spots. The best tourist spots in South Cebu are…
This year, in Feb 2020, I went again to The Philippines with my Filipina wife to visit her parents and we enjoyed it a lot !!
Since 2017, Cebu became one of my favorite places in the world. There, you can enjoy visiting epic waterfalls, panoramic and instagrammable viewpoints, stunning beaches, swimming with fishes, turtles, the great and giant whale sharks, and much more!
We traveled a lot around the entire Cebu Island and that’s why I’ll share with you the 12 best South Cebu Tourist Spots you must visit if you plan to pass a lot on days around that island.
Also, in this guide, you will find some tips and info about the places.
Firstly, let me recommend to you the travel insurance we used on all of our trips. You can click the logo below to visit the website.
Now, let’s talk about how to go to those amazing places.
South Cebu Tourist Spots – How To Go There?
First, if you are not in Cebu City, I recommend you to go there. It is possible to reach those places you want from some near cities or other islands but If you don’t know where to start or go, just move to Cebu City, which needs to be your first step.
For that, if you are in Manila, or outside the Philippines, you will need to fly to Mactan Cebu International Airport.
Let me put here some airlines you can use to go to The Philippines if you are in a near country or to travel to Cebu City if you are not there yet.
Cebu Pacific Air and Philippine Airlines are my favorite two. But…in my opinion, if you need to choose I recommend you Cebupac! It is cheaper than PAL and the Flight attendants always try to make you so comfortable and do some quiz games before the flight. That’s amazing!
Once in Cebu City… move to the South Cebu Bus Terminal!
Once there, we decided to travel to Oslob first because it is one of the best places you can go if it’s not THE BEST. The bus ticket to Oslob cost us 235 PHP.
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Swimming with the giant and docile whale sharks is one of the best experiences I lived in my entire life.
Here, I will put a short video I recorded underwater in Oslob!
1- Oslob. Stay in Island Front / Bangcogon Resort and Restaurant!
Oslob is definitely the first place YOU MUST visit on your trip to the South Of Cebu.
Maybe you’re thinking…why Oslob?
And here’s why…it is because, in that place, you can visit the 2 best South Cebu Tourist Spots: Whale Shark Watching and the fabulous island of Sumilon.
In Oslob, we visited a few resorts but we truly recommend staying more than 1 night in Bangcogon Resort and Restaurant. My family and I love that resort with houses just in front of a good beach and in front of the stunning Sumilon Island!
That resort is managed by good people who always helped us with the things we need.
They managed to take us to the whale shark watching so early in the morning like 4 a.m and that place is only a bit more than 1 km from the Bangcogon Resort.
2- Whale Shark Watching in Oslob – One of the best South Cebu Tourist Spots!
Swimming with Whale Sharks is one of the best things you can do in your life. It feels just amazing to know you’re in the same place as that huge whale.
You really need to go so early in the morning at 4am if you want to see them early without waiting too much. Trust me, a lot of people go there every day.
After standing in line for about 1 hour, we had to follow some steps:
1- Registration
2- Payment. The regular rate for foreigners was about 1500 PHP each for swimming with the Whale Sharks and 500 PHP if you decide to stay just watching over the boat. For locals, the rate was 600 PHP for swimming and 300 for watching on the boat.
3- Orientation – They will explain to you some rules and regulation
4- Verification and Wait.
Every morning, starting from 6am until around 12pm, some fishermen feed the whales so they will stay always in the place they have food to eat.
The watching area is so near the beach, like just 50 meters from de sand. The assigned boatman will explain to you some tips and let you jump into the water.
You can stay in that area for around half an hour.
Some Whale Sharks Info:
Whale Sharks (Rhincodon Typus), also known as Butanding by Filipinos, are the largest fish in the world, measuring up to 18 meters and weighing more than 34 tons.
They make ocean-wide migrations and congregate around areas of high food density.
These huge animals are filters feeders who eat zooplankton and small fishes. They can open their mouths 1 meter wide!
A lot of people asked me if it is safe to swim with the Whale Sharks and the answer I always give to them is YES!! It is very safe so there is nothing to worry about it.
3- Sumilon Island – One of the best South Cebu Tourist Spots
Definitely, Sumilon Island is one of the best South Cebu Tourist Spots!. This place is one of the best Islands I went around Cebu, just 20 minutes boat ride from Oslob.
The same people who manage the Bangcogon Resort and Restaurant are the ones who made us possible to go there. We were 10 people going there and we paid 2000 PHP for the Boat to go there plus the entrance fee to the Sumilon Island of 200 PHP.
If you want to reach the island, you need to know it is only possible by boat. Boats depart from Mainland Bangcogon at 8am, 9:30am and 11 am. The last hour to return from the island is at 5:00 pm, but if it is possible to return at lunchtime.
If you wish to spend the night in this stunning place, you need to know there is only one resort, the Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort, a beautiful 4-star hotel. This resort is costly, but…if you have the money and want to spend it…go for it…why not?
The Bluewater resort even has its own private beach, an outdoor infinity pool, a restaurant, a freshwater lagoon, tents, cottages, and more.
I truly recommend you to go to Sumilon Island if it’s not so wavy, the boat moves a lot at that moment.
4-Santander
If you have a lot of days to travel around Cebu, I recommend you to visit this place. Santander is located in the southernmost part of the huge island of Cebu.
Why recommend this place? Easy, Santander has amazing beaches, and it’s not a crowded place full of tourists.
There, we even saw some sharks swimming on the shore! And they’re not Butandings (Whale Sharks)…they are really sharks!
Luckily I took a pic at that moment and recorded a video of one of those sharks.
Can you find the shark in the picture below? if you can…please share this article with your friends!
And here is the video:
5- Kawasan Falls – One of the best South Cebu Tourist Spots
The Kawasan Falls place is located inside the mountains of Matutinao, a Barangay of Badian, near Moalboal (around 45 minutes driving a car), on Cebu Island.
There, there are many falls you can visit and enjoy. The first one is the largest and more crowded with tourists.
From the entrance, you need to walk like 1.5 km, approximately 15 to 20 minutes and there are many souvenir shops and food shops on the way to the first waterfall. The entrance fee cost us 45 PHP.
A good idea is to bring your own food to that place and once in the place of the first fall, you can rent a table to stay there the time you want.
I remember the table cost us 500 PHP for all our family and we rented the life vest for 50 PHP each.
One of the things you need to know before you go is that the water is cold!!
6-Tumalog Falls
Tumalog Falls, it’s also one of the best South Cebu tourist spots!
Tumalog Falls is a very big cascading waterfall, with a turquoise water pool at its feet of it.
This place is located near Oslob and is a place you MUST VISIT if you plan to stay in Oslob for more than 1 day.
The entrance fee to this incredible place was just 20 PHP, so cheap to enjoy the incredible view of nature and the turquoise water. Tumalog Falls is always open between 6am and 5pm.
To avoid the crowds, just go there early in the morning.
As the water in Kawasan Falls, the water here is also cold.
7- Moalboal – One of the best South Cebu Tourist Spots
Moalboal is a small town located 89 km from Cebu City. The place is so famous for its quiet and good beaches and it is a great place for snorkeling and diving.
The cheapest way to reach Moalboal is by Bus. Also, you can go there by taxi or private Van but it is really much more expensive.
From the Cebu South Bus Station (Bus Terminal of Cebu City), the ticket Cebu-Moalboal cost around 150 pesos for a bus with aircon, and around 120 pesos for a bus without aircon. The bus company is Ceres Liner.
If you want to rent a scooter to tour around Moalboal, it will cost between 200 and 300 PHP/day.
In Moalboal, I recommend you to visit the Panagsama beach area. This Panagsama beach is the home of the fantastic Sardine Run. These fishes moving faster and together like crazy is the best attraction in the small town.
8- Sardine Run
For divers, the Sardines Run in Moalboal might be one of the best underwater attractions, but not only that…if it’s possible to find colorful marine life even sea turtles.
9- Dao Falls
Yes, Cebu island has many waterfalls, and here is another one!
For me, this one is not so good as Kawasan or Tumalog Falls but it is only my opinion. Dao Falls has charm!
Dao Falls is located in Samboan, on Cebu Island.
To reach the main waterfall, you need to walk through the jungle and that’s a great and epic adventure! You will feel like Indiana Jones for some minutes.
The entrance fee costs 60 PHP.
10- AGUINID FALLS
Aguinid Falls is not so popular as Kawasan Falls in Badian, but they are great too and unique. The entrance fee is a bit expensive, more than 200 PHP, but that price includes safety equipment.
This place is located in Samboan, just a bit more than 6km away from Dao Falls.
Here, are some tips to enjoy Aguinid Falls:
- take a guide – Pay it, it’s necessary because the place is not so safe
- Pay for the wet shoes and the dry bag
- Don´t go with food or drinks because it’s not allowed to eat and drink there.
11- Inambakan Falls – One of my best South Cebu Tourist Spots!!
Inambakan Falls is located in Ginatilan, in the South of Cebu Island.
I don’t understand why Inambakan Falls are not so popular as Kawasan Falls…look…Inambakan is AMAZING! I love Inambakan Falls.
So for me…this one is the first on top of all the waterfalls on Cebu Island! I enjoyed it a lot there with my family and yes…I want to go there as soon as possible…when this sh1t of COVID-19 ends.
The entrance fee to visit this stunning creation of God was only 50 PHP.
The water of Inambakan falls reminds me of the Gatorade cool blue drink.
12 – Osmeña Peak
This place, located in the Barangay of Dalaguete, is definitely one of the best south Cebu tourist spots to visit. Osmeña Peak is the highest mountain (1013 m above sea level ) on the entire island of Cebu.
Here, you can enjoy a great view and feel like you are in The Highlands of Scotland.
The entrance fee is just 30 PHP!! What are you waiting for to climb up here? Bring good boots!
I recommend you to visit Osmeña Peak so early in the morning because after lunchtime you will find plenty of people here.
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UFFF… I think I will STOP WRITING HERE…I was so excited about writing and writing this article about the best 12 South Cebu Tourist Spots… and now I have cramps in my hands hehe.
Thanks for reading this entire article about The Best 12 South Cebu Tourist Spots! Your time reading our work is so precious for us.
If you want to know more about other stunning places in The Philippines, I recommend you to visit our articles about:
- The Best Places To Visit In Cebu
- What To Do In Boracay
- Coron Island In Palawan
- Kalanggaman Island
- The Best Things to Do in Bohol
- El Nido in Palawan
- The Best Things To Do on Bantayan Island
- The Province Of Leyte
See you in another article! We know you will like it!
Have a great year!
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