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I LOVE CEBU!

Cebu is located in the heart of the Philippines, totally surrounded by much larger islands. This means that most typhoons never reach Cebu, and the rare storms that do are already much-weakened. The danger from tsunamis is effectively zero; there is no known seismic fault in this area, and any long-range tsunami would be blocked by other islands.

Cebu is 3rd best island in Asia. Travel+Leisure magazine 2010 poll: Cebu improves ranking
(Sep. 27, 2010)

Cebu has done it again. It has made it as one of the best islands in Asia, climbing one notch higher than its previous rank last year.

Top US travel mag ranks Cebu one of Asia’s best
(Aug. 08, 2010)

Cebu has been ranked the third best island in Asia by New York based travel magazine Travel + Leisure. The Philippine island follows Bali, which ranked first, and Maldives, second.› read more

Cebu is 4th best island in Asia for 2009
(Aug. 31, 2009)

Cebu ranked no. 4 among Asian island destinations, according to Travel + Leisure magazine, which recently rleased the results of its World’s Best Awards 2009, a listing of the best hotels, airlines, cruises in islands and cities all over the world.›

Magellan's Cross is a symbol of Cebu, and the chapel's image can be found in its city seal. It is also seen as the symbol of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines. Magellan's Cross is a Christian cross Portuguese, and Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu in the Philippines on April 8, 1521.This cross is housed in a chapel next to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño on Magallanes Street (Magallanes being the Spanish name of Magellan), just in front of the city hall of Cebu City.

The Sinulog festival is one of the grandest and most colorful festivals in the Philippines with a very rich history. The main festival is held each year on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City to honor the Santo Niño, or the child Jesus, who used to be the patron saint of the whole province of Cebu (since in the Catholic faith Jesus is not a saint, but God). It is essentially a dance ritual which remembers the Filipino people’s pagan past and their acceptance of Christianity.

The festival features some the country’s most colorful displays of pomp and pageantry: participants garbed in bright-colored costumes dance to the rhythm of drums, trumpets, and native gongs. The streets are usually lined with vendors and pedestrians all wanting to witness the street-dancing. Smaller versions of the festival are also held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Niño. There is also a Sinulog sa Kabataan, which is performed by the youths of Cebu a week before the Grand Parade.

The wooden Santo Niño regarded by the Cebuanos as representation of their affection was kept and housed in the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño and San Nicholas de Tolentino church. A colourful and overgenerous yearly festivity was conceptualised by the Cebuanos called “Sinulog” become a climactic symbol of their undying devotion to the Santo Nino every third Sunday of January.