Cebu City Walking Tour Itinerary – Backpacking Series

The first destination in our recent Cebu Pacific Backpacking Challenge was Cebu. Good thing we’ve been to Cebu quite a number of times already.

Poor Mans Walking Tour
Poor Man's Walking Tour

Upon landing at the airport, it quite felt like being the Amazicasang Race season 246 reality show, but not. 🙂 Because the objective was not to finish the race first but to have the most number of fun activities at the least cost.

A walking tour around Cebu City was impending. Vince and I thought that this would be a good strategy so we could save on transportation cost. The challenge now is to arrange our target spots in the most effective manner.

It reminded me of the “Traveling Salesman Problem” from computer science lectures in UP Diliman. In gist, the ‘Traveling Salesman Problem‘ tries to solve the issue of finding the shortest path given that the Salesman have to go to all his customers from a start point to the end. It analyzes a problem to find the most efficient solution.

Fort San Pedro
Fort San Pedro

And indeed, we were able to arrange our itinerary accordingly starting from the Mactan/Magellan Monument and Lapu-Lapu Shrine. This was a natural choice since both landmarks were also located where our airport is – Mactan Island.

Among the teams, only our pair didn’t have any luggage checked in (we think). This gave us a lead time to leave the airport first. Quite disappointingly, the taxi we rode on wanted a fixed price (instead of metered fare). We had to go down about a hundred meters from the airport since we are on a budget and cannot spend for such arrangement. It’s good that the highway policeman assisted us to get another taxi along the highway.

What a great way to start, eh? 🙂

Magellans Cross
Magellan's Cross

After the trip to Mactan Monument and Lapu-Lapu Shrine which are beside each other, we got on a taxi again headed for Cebu City.

First stop was Fort San Pedro and this is where our walking tour starts. The entrance fee into the fort was P40 per person.

Sadly, the old museum within the fort had already moved to another location.

Under the heat of the mid-day sun, we then headed to Magellan’s Cross, Basilica MInore Del Sto Nino, and the Cebu City’s Cathedral, on foot.

Basilica Minore Del Sto Nino
Basilica Minore Del Sto Nino

Across the cathedral, we also passed by Ballanong Balandi and the Jose Rizal Museum which I only saw for the first time. Sadly, again, both were closed and we don’t know why.

From a previous trip, Ballanong Balandi is a two-level museum that houses ancient artifacts including a showcase of Cebu’s old pavements as it developed from soil to cobblestones, to pavements, and finally the modern day cemented road. Photography is not allowed on the second floor.

From the outside gate, we also saw the mobile on display by the garage, used by the Pope, when he went to Cebu decades ago.

Cebu City Cathedral
Cebu City Cathedral

Despite using a map, finding the Colon Monument and Heritage of Cebu Monument was a funny experience for us.

First, we passed by Colon Monument without knowing so. Upon reaching the Heritage of Cebu Monument, we thought it was the Colon Monument (ok, it was just my fault and not Vince’s). It was I who erroneously insisted at first that it (HCM) was the Colon Monument. 🙂

It’s almost noon and at this point, aside from the taxi ride from Mactan, we are the model cheapskate tourists in Cebu having spent only P40 in total (woah!).

Here is our Cebu City Walking Tour Itinerary:
07+ a – Arrive at the Airport
0800a – Mactan/Magellan Monument spent on each ent
0800a – Lapu-Lapu Shrine
0830a – Fort San Pedro
0900a – Magellan’s Cross
0915a – Basilica Minore Del Sto Nino
0945a – Cebu City Cathedral
1000a – Ballanong Balandi
1030a – Jose Rizal Museum
1045a – Colon Monument
1045a – Heritage of Cebu Monument
1100a – The Jesuit House
1130a – Yap-San Diego Ancestral House
1200a – Casa Gerardo Gorordo Museum
1200a – Colon Street

* 0.5hrs from Mactan to Fort San Pedro on Taxi. All the rest at walking rate.
* Time spent on each location may vary

Yap-San Diego Ancestral House
Yap-San Diego Ancestral House

The last two destinations of our walking tour were two old houses: the Jesuit House and the Yap-San Diego Ancestral house, and Casa Gorodo Museum. The two old houses claimed to be the oldest house in Cebu in their own rites and context. 🙂

After a whole morning of walking and catching our breaths, it was time for a little relaxation in the afternoon. For the first time in this tour, we rode a jeepney and trod Colon Street, the oldest steet in the Philippines, on our way to our next spot.

Heritage of Cebu Monument
Heritage of Cebu Monument

Watch out this Friday for the Cebu City Itinerary Part 2 featuring Lunch at Larsians, a 4D Movie + Sky Walk + Edge Coaster at Crown Regency, side trip to Travel Club, Sanuk & Columbia sponsors inside SM Cebu, CNT Lechon, Waterfront Hotel, the IT Park and Pungko-punko (I hope I got that right). 🙂

That concludes our half-day Cebu City Walking Tour of religious and historical landmarks.

12 thoughts on “Cebu City Walking Tour Itinerary – Backpacking Series

  1. huwaw. touring those places would take a whole day at least for most people, and you got it all in about 4 hours.
    I think the old house is named Casa Gorordo, not Gerardo. it’s one of the places I’ve always wanted to go back to.
    you got pungko-pungko right, though I’ve never tried it. and I just had my first Larsians experience last night. gahhh! there’s just so many places to visit here but I’ve never been to them. na-challenge ako with this post hehe..

  2. Lainee – thanks Lainee, I have corrected and verified that yes, it should be Casa Gorordo. 🙂

    wow, you were at Larsians last night. 🙂 enjoy the other spots!

  3. Hi Ed,

    Nice to have an awesome travel blogger drop by. 🙂

    Hope to see you in the Visayas Blogging Summit in Iloilo come end of November 2010.

  4. thanks for the info.. first time to go to cebu it really help me a lot.. by the way it could be possible to go on beach resort? any suggestions? where is the nearest and cheapest rate there? thanks..

  5. @Jeng – That’s nice t know Jeng.

    Most Cebu beaches I know are in the northern and southern part of Cebu. ( except those in Mactan like Maribago Bluewater Beach resort )

    Basically, you have Bantayan and Malapascua in the north while MoalBoal and Sumilon Island is in the south.

    Check out these links:

    https://www.letsgosago.net/2008/10/seeing-cebu-a-travelogue-series/

    https://www.letsgosago.net/2010/03/maribago-bluewater-beach-resort/

    https://www.letsgosago.net/2010/03/visita-iglesia-cebu/

    https://www.letsgosago.net/2010/05/sumilon-island-bluewater-beach-resort/

    https://www.letsgosago.net/2010/08/cebu-city-adventure-itinerary-backpacking-series/

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