Mactan Island Place guide

One of the main draws of Cebu is the island of Mactan, which houses a huge number of beach resorts and hotels. This resort island is very popular among tourists due to the fact that you can enjoy the laid back atmosphere of the beach while having the creature comforts and conveniences of a metropolis right across the channel. Mactan island is the place to be at when you want to enjoy the sun, the sand, some heritage, and a lot of good food.

Mactan Island is part of the province of Cebu, and is connected to the main island via a couple of bridges, which are both found in the city of Mandaue. The island is teeming with a lot of resorts, hotels, and pension houses. Mactan Island also has heritage sites, restaurants, bars, and even malls. This mixture makes it ideal for those who want to combine laid-back beach activities with urban adventures and conveniences.

Being on Mactan opens you up to a long list of things to do that include all forms of sea and sand activities. Part of that list is snorkeling, scuba diving, sun bathing, swimming, jet-skiing, and banana boat riding, to mention a few. You can also go shark diving, island hopping, whale and dolphin watching, parasailing, and many more. And that is not all. Apart from beach activities, you can also enjoy bird watching on Olango Island, soaking in some history at the Lapu Lapu Shrine, and feast on fresh seafood at the many restaurants nearby. As if that is not enough, you can also go clubbing, have a massage at a nearby spa, and go on a guitar factory tour.

Mactan Island is very easy to get to, considering that it is where the Mactan-Cebu International Airport is located. Some international flights land directly here, although some people have to go via Manila then get a connecting flight to Mactan from there. Transportation in Mactan includes metered taxis, motorbikes that you ride on with a driver which are called “habal-habal”, and tricycles. You can visit the island any time of the year, although the best time would be the dry, summer months. Cost of accommodations on the island vary greatly from one type to the next, with the more costlier ones being the five-star hotels that have big names, and the budget friendly hostels and pension houses that cost only a few hundred pesos per day.