With kids · Cebu · Philippines
Cebu with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: LMP 2001, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Cebu is a good family destination: calm resort beaches and pools on Mactan, gentle snorkelling, short history walks downtown and swimmable waterfalls. Long road journeys to the south and north need planning with small children. Top picks: Mactan island hopping, Moalboal sardine run and Fort San Pedro. Families usually base themselves in Mactan Island.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 6
- Best area for families
- Mactan Island
- Rainy-day options
- 0
- Busiest months
- January
Best things to do with kids
Experience · Mactan Island
1.Mactan island hopping
Outrigger bangka boats leave Mactan for small islands and marine sanctuaries such as Hilutungan, Nalusuan and the Pandanon sandbar, with snorkelling over reefs full of fish, and for Olango Island's wildlife sanctuary, a stopover for migratory birds.
Book through your resort or an accredited operator, confirm what sanctuary and landing fees are included, and bring reef-safe sunscreen.
- Time needed
- Half to full day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
- Active
Nature · Moalboal
2.Moalboal sardine run
Just off Panagsama Beach, a vast shoal of sardines swirls along the reef wall year-round, often joined by sea turtles. You can snorkel out from the shore in a few minutes, and dive boats also visit Pescador Island's coral wall nearby.
Go early in the morning before the boats arrive, and rent fins; the reef drops off steeply close to shore.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Nature
- Kids
- Active
- Outdoors
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Castle · Downtown Cebu City
3.Fort San Pedro
A small triangular stone fort by the port, begun by Miguel López de Legazpi's expedition in 1565 and rebuilt in stone in the 18th century. It has been a military post, a prison and a zoo, and today holds a garden courtyard, ramparts and a small museum.
Walk the ramparts in the late afternoon, when it is cooler and the light is soft on the coral stone.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Kids
- Outdoors
Historic site · Downtown Cebu City
4.Magellan's Cross
A wooden cross housed in an octagonal kiosk beside the basilica marks the spot where Ferdinand Magellan's expedition baptised Rajah Humabon and his followers in 1521; tradition holds that the original cross is encased inside. The kiosk ceiling is painted with the baptism scene.
Combine it with the basilica next door, and politely decline candle sellers if you do not wish to buy.
- Time needed
- 20 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Iconic
- Kids
Nature · Badian and Alegria
5.Kawasan Falls and canyoneering
A multi-tiered waterfall in Badian with turquoise pools, where you can swim or ride a bamboo raft under the main cascade. Canyoneering trips start upstream and follow the river down through gorges, with jumps, slides and swims, ending at the falls.
Arrive early for quiet pools; canyoneering requires a registered guide, helmet and life jacket, and the higher jumps are optional.
- Time needed
- Half day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Nature
- Active
- Outdoors
- Kids
Viewpoint · Busay hills above Cebu City
6.Tops Lookout
A viewpoint at around 600 metres in the Busay hills with a panorama over Cebu City, Mactan and the Camotes Sea; at night the city lights spread out below.
Go around sunset and stay for the lights; bring a light jacket, as it is breezy and cooler up here.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Couples
- After dark
- Kids
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for families, luxury and beach
Mactan Island
Mactan, linked to Cebu City by bridges and an expressway, holds the airport and most of the area's beach resorts along its eastern shore, many with man-made or small beaches, big pools and kids' clubs. Island-hopping boats leave from here for the reefs and sandbars offshore.
- Good
- Close to the airport; Resort facilities and calm water; Island hopping from the doorstep
- Watch out
- Beaches are smaller than on other islands; Traffic to the city
- Nearby
- Mactan Shrine, Hilutungan Island, Olango Island, Mactan–Cebu International Airport
Family travel tips
- Base yourselves on Mactan for pools, calm water and short airport transfers.
- Bring child-sized life jackets or check that boat operators provide them.
- Kawasan Falls can be enjoyed by swimming and rafting at the falls without canyoneering.
- Break long drives south with a stop at Carcar for chicharon and a stretch.
- Carry reef shoes; many beaches have coral and rocks underfoot.
Day trips for families
- Bohol (About 2 hours by fast ferry, then 1 hour by road) — Bohol's countryside tour covers the Chocolate Hills, more than a thousand grassy domes that turn brown in the dry season, the tiny tarsiers at the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella and a lunch cruise on the Loboc River.
- Carcar and Simala Shrine (About 1.5–2 hours by road) — Carcar is a heritage town with Spanish-era ancestral houses, a rotunda and the market famous for chicharon.
- Sumilon Island (About 3–3.5 hours by road plus a short boat ride) — A small island off Cebu's southern tip with one of the country's earliest marine sanctuaries, clear water for snorkelling and a shifting white sandbar.
When to go with children
The best months overall are February–May. January is the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Cebu good for kids?
Cebu is a good family destination: calm resort beaches and pools on Mactan, gentle snorkelling, short history walks downtown and swimmable waterfalls. Long road journeys to the south and north need planning with small children.
+What can kids do in Cebu?
Mactan island hopping, Moalboal sardine run, Fort San Pedro, Magellan's Cross and Kawasan Falls and canyoneering.
+Where should families stay in Cebu?
Mactan Island: Beach resorts, dive centres and the airport on the island across the channel.