10 Things YOU NEED TO KNOW Before Travelling to CEBU PHILIPPINES | Philippines Travel Guide

Hey guys, it's Meljin and welcome back to my channel. Now in today's video, I'm going to share with you the top 10 things that you have to know before traveling to Cebu, Philippines. Before we begin, if you're new, hi, welcome. By the way, my name is Meljin Salon and I'm a travel vlogger from Cebu, Philippines. I film travel and lifestyle videos to share with you. So I hope you can subscribe. I would really appreciate it. Also, I do have a merch. I hope you can get one and create a smile in one of the kids here in Cebu City. Anyways, let's start. So you are traveling to Cebu, the queen city of the south. Here's my tip number one. So the moment you land at the airport, my number one tip for you is to get a SIM card. Here in the Philippines, we have a variety of options for you to get a SIM card. We have smart, globe, sun, cellular, and talk and text. Now, but I would recommend for you to get globe or smart. They're actually the biggest network company here in the Philippines. So you have the option to get some data and some call and text as well if you would like. Now, tip number two. Since you already have now your SIM card, you're all set to go to your hotel. Now, how can you go there? Of course, you need a transportation. Now, from the airport, you definitely have around three options on how you can get to your hotel. First, you can go to the regular white taxi which has a flag down fare of 40 pesos. The next option, you can go with the airport taxi which is the yellow one which has a lot higher flag down fee than the white taxi. The next one, which is my second tip for you guys, is to download the Grab app. The Grab app is actually the same as the Uber app. Since we don't have Uber here in the Philippines, it has been shut down, I guess, last year. But this is definitely the most convenient and safest way to do a transport from the airport going to your hotel. Once you download the Grab app, all you have to do is basically put your name and put your local phone number and that is it. You're all set. It really works the same as how Uber, you know. At the same time, it already has a fixed fare so whenever you get stuck in traffic, for example, like in a rush hour, you don't have to worry about the meter going up because it is already fixed. Going down to my third tip, since we have already talked about transportation, our local transportation here in Cebu is Jitney, which actually looks like this. It is this mini bus, colorful, which has a lot of signs on it and this is actually fairly affordable. You can only pay a minimum of seven pesos from wherever you are going to your next destination. Okay, number four, get some cash. Just like any areas here in the Philippines, the most common way of paying your bills is actually through cash and yes, I would recommend for you to have a cash ready on your pocket always because it is not all the time that a restaurant or the places that you are going to go would accept credit card or debit card. So make sure that you always carry cash wherever you go, especially if you're going to some restaurants. There are restaurants that doesn't accept card. Also, let's take for example, if you just gonna go and grab some water in a local store, you have to pay that through cash and or if you go to some fast food chain, Jollibee, which is like the number one fast food chain here in the Philippines, which is I would recommend for you to try. Or if you go to McDonald's, we do not accept card. We normally pay it through cash. So always have cash in your pocket. Tip number five, make sure to always bring a toilet paper. I know this is kind of TMI or maybe unnecessary for some people out there but especially for the girls, always bring a toilet paper with you because when you're in Cebu or when you're here in the Philippines, toilet paper is not always available. Okay, let's take for example, you go to a fancy high-class restaurant or for example, you go to a fancy hotel. Of course, toilet paper should always be available, that's given. But if you're going to go like for example, in a public toilet or like in a fast food chain toilet, there could be a possibility that toilet paper is not available. So it's always to be ready in whatever situation. So that's my number five tip. Okay, number six, keep an eye on your belongings or keep an eye on your things. Just like any other touristy places here in the Philippines or wherever in the world, it is always a good thing to always keep an eye on your things. Especially if you're traveling here in Cebu. I mean, Cebu is actually safe, I would say. I live here and it is totally safe. But we cannot guarantee whatever could happen, you know. Especially if you go to the touristy places or if you go to the busy places which is here in Cebu. If you go to Kelon where you can get really cheap goods or if you go to Carbon Public Market where you can get like some fresh food that are really, really affordable. If you go to those places, make sure that you keep an eye on your things. Your wallet, the bag for the guys and especially your cell phone. Please put it in front for the guys and especially for the girls. If you have a sling bag, please put it in front of you or if you have a backpack, put it in front of you as well. Now we are down to number seven, ask a local. Now the people in Cebu or the Cebuanos are very friendly just like any other people here in the Philippines or the Filipinos in general. We are actually known to be being friendly. Now if you get lost or if you have any questions, please, please do not hesitate to ask some questions and ask a local. They would be so happy or actually are delighted to actually help you in whatever questions you have or in whatever situation you're in. The friendliness or the hospitality of the Filipinos are really, really good. Also the people here in the Philippines can understand English if not most of all. We can also speak English. Okay, tip number eight, try some street food. So you are already traveling, you're already in the Philippines, in Cebu specifically, why not try some street food? I know you're up for some adventures. We have definitely a wide variety of street foods that you can try here in Cebu. They are available in Colon which is the busiest area or the busiest place. We have some exotic street foods that you can try. For example, balut. Balut is this steamed duck embryo which is actually the number one most famous street food here in the Philippines. You can try that or if you're not that adventurer, you can also try some squid ball. We are down to number nine, try the Cebu lechon. Guys, you are already here in Cebu and Cebu is known for the best lechon in the Philippines. Yes, we have it. If you guys do not know, lechon is this roasted pig that has been cooked for hours. The skin is really crunchy, the meat is really juicy and very very tasty and it is very delicious. Since you are already here in Cebu, you should not miss it. There's a lot of options that you can go to some restaurants that offers or that serves lechon. You can go to Rico's Lechon which is the number one. You can also go to Ayer's Lechon. You can go anywhere else and some restaurants does serve lechon. And yeah, let me know what can you say about it. I'm excited for you to try it. We are down to number 10 and definitely this is not the last one because I have still some tips and tricks for you guys. So stay all the way at the end of the video. Number 10 is experience Sinulog. So if you're not here in Cebu yet or still planning your trip here in Cebu and do not know when is it going to be, I would recommend for you to choose the month of January, second week. Why? Because it is when we are going to celebrate the biggest festival here in the Philippines which is Sinulog. Sinulog festival, it is amazing and beautiful. The people are very jolly and you can really enjoy and have a lot of fun. We have a parade of colors where you can see people dancing, street dancing and there's a lot of parties. We also have face painting on the streets and it's just totally, totally fun. And this is absolutely the highlight or like the best thing to experience here in Cebu. It's Sinulog. This is actually in honor of our patron here in Cebu which is Señor Santoninio. Okay, so those are my top tips and tricks for you guys. Now as promised, I do have bonus tips for you. If you're traveling here in Cebu, there are basically a lot of things that you can do. If you go south of Cebu, you can go to Moalboal. Moalboal is the place of everything. First in Moalboal, you have the white sand beach where you can go take a swim. You also have the sardines run where you can experience swimming with thousands of sardines. Next, you can also swim with the turtles there and swim with fish. Swim with a fishy and some nemos which is totally, totally awesome. Also in Moalboal or in the south of Cebu, you can go with some adventures. You have the option to go to canyoneering which is near Moalboal in Bidjan. And you can go to the number one waterfall here in the Philippines which is Kawasan Falls. It has this gatorade blue water and it is absolutely fantabulous. Now, if you go to the north of Cebu, we also have a hidden gem. It is the northern Maldives of Cebu and Bantayan Island. Bantayan, I would call it a paradise. Why? Not a lot of people actually travel to Bantayan. If you are a couple, I would recommend for you to go there. Though, it takes some time for you to go to Bantayan. It would take you about five hours in total to travel there. But I would say it is totally worth it. Also, don't forget to check Paradise Island in Bantayan as well as Virgin Island. Total paradise and it's the Maldives, I would say. And that concludes our video for today, guys. The top 10 things that you should know before you travel here in Cebu. I hope you find this video helpful. If you did, give this video a thumbs up. Please subscribe to my channel if you haven't already. I hope you can get one of my merch and create a smile in one of the kids here in Cebu City. Please follow me on my social media accounts. Everything is at Meljin Salon. As always, I will see you guys on the next one. Don't forget to smile and be happy. Bye!