Cebu

Let me welcome you to Cebu the way a Filipino would: with a wide smile and a “Hello, my friend!” in perfect English. You step off the plane and, within minutes, you’re sipping a cold mango juice at a café with wi-fi, chatting effortlessly with everyone, because here English is natural. In one week you work from a modern coworking, dive with a giant sardine school and dance at a neighborhood karaoke. Cebu is the easiest gateway to Asia for a newcomer: cheap, welcoming and surrounded by islands.

Cebu in 30 seconds

Cebu is an island city in the center of the Philippines, big enough to have everything (hospitals, malls, coworkings, an international airport), but with beaches and diving a few hours away. The trump card is English, spoken naturally by everyone. It’s one of the best bases for anyone who wants minimum cost, community and island life without giving up city infrastructure.

Where to stay, walking you through the areas

IT Park (Lahug), in the city: Cebu’s modern hub: coworkings, cafés, restaurants and new buildings, with the best internet on the island. It’s where most nomads settle. Practical and connected.

Mactan: the airport island, linked to the city by bridges, full of resorts and beaches. Good for anyone who wants to wake up near the sea and have diving at the door.

Moalboal: south on Cebu island (~3h from the city), a calm, cheap diving village, famous for the sardine school right at the shore. The pick for anyone who wants quiet and aquatic life.

The must-dos, what to do

• Island hopping: hop by boat between white-sand islands and pool-blue water; full-day trips cost little.
• Canyoneering at Kawasan Falls: descend a canyon of turquoise waterfalls jumping and swimming; Cebu’s most famous adventure.
• Diving with the sardines in Moalboal: a giant school that forms a silver “tornado”, right off the beach. Unforgettable, even snorkeling.
• Thresher sharks in Malapascua: one of the few places in the world to see them; every diver’s dream.
• Tops Lookout / Sirao: a view of the city from above and the “flower garden” for the photos.
• Swimming with whale sharks (Oslob), possible, but there’s an ethical debate about the feeding; research before you decide.

The food, start with the lechon

Cebu is the capital of lechon: the whole roast suckling pig, crackling-skinned, considered by many the best in the Philippines (and Anthony Bourdain agreed). Also try the sinigang (sour soup), very fresh seafood, the skewer street food and the halo-halo (the iced thousand-ingredient dessert) on hot days. You eat very well for very little.

A perfect day in Cebu

Coffee and a coconut bun on the way to the coworking in IT Park, with the fiber flying in the morning. For lunch, lechon with rice for a couple of dollars. In the afternoon, a Grab to a Mactan beach or a quick dive. At night, a seafood dinner with the international crew and, almost inevitably, someone grabbing the karaoke mic, the national sport. On the weekend, a boat takes you to a dream island. Cheap, warm and always with company.

What it costs and the practical stuff

You live very well on US$ 820 to 1,320 a month: a condo with a pool in IT Park costs US$ 300 to 500, eating local costs a couple of dollars and Grab is cheap. The city has good hospitals; for very serious cases, many go to Singapore. And, again, English makes everything, from the rental to the doctor, frictionless.

Getting around

• Grab: the ride app, cheap and practical in the city.
• Jeepney and tricycle: the classic local transport, dirt cheap (an experience of its own).
• Scooter: for anyone who wants autonomy (careful in traffic).
• Ferry / boat: for the neighboring islands and island hopping.

Is Cebu worth living in?

For anyone who wants the easiest path to adjust: thanks to English, minimum cost and island life, Cebu is unbeatable. It’s the best base for exploring the Philippines while working online. The thing to watch is internet on remote islands and the typhoon season; sort that out, and it’s one of the lightest, most welcoming places to start over.

Cebu is the base of the Philippines guide, where you’ll find how to stay legally (extensions and the new nomad visa), the taxes and the other islands.