Cebu: Sinulog 2008 and Sidetrip Recommendations

Are you going to Cebu for the Sinulog celebrations? Be sure you have already booked your flights in and out, and hotels reserved. There will be hundreds of thousands of visitors on Sinulog weekend. It won’t be easy getting rooms if you walk-in at the hotels. The motels may be full too. But once you’re here and got your hotel reservations, you don’t have to fear. You can get lost in the crowd and still find your way back. Two thousand policemen are deployed to maintain peace and order.

Below is the procession route (the circle on the top left is Fuente Osmeña):



I won’t be seeing any of these. I haven’t seen the street parade since my ROTC days back in 1992 when we were forced to cordon the streets for the dancers. To join the revelry is not in line with my religious convictions. I’d be somewhere out, away from the crowd.

Just some safety tips:
1. Watch for your belongings. Despite efforts of the local government to keep the known thieves in jail for the weekend, there are out-of-towners.
2. Avoid the gangs. There had been frat brawls in the past. Stay away from their hangouts.
3. Stay fit and bring bottled water with you. There will be long walks. At the end of the day, you may find yourself fatigued and dehydrated.

These are some other places (sidetrips) that you can go to after the weekend’s festivities:
1. Beaches in the north of Cebu (San Remigio)
2. Bohol – a 2-hr fast craft ride way.
3. Beaches in Mactan (Shangri-la, Plantation Bay, Hilton, Maribago Blue Waters, etc…)
4. Bantayan Island (2 hrs by bus, 1 hr by boat.)
5. Camotes Island
6. Malapascua Island

To those who will go to Cebu for the first time: Enjoy and make most of your time in one of Asia’s Best Cities.