Cebu is the oldest and third-largest city of the Philippines and is about an hour flight from Manila. It basks in its enviable status as the most popular tourist and business destination in the Philippines. The island offers fine beaches and scuba diving and it is the Philippines’ shipping crossroad located at the center of the archipelago. The colorful and festive pageantry of the Sinulog Festival in January is the city’s biggest annual event.

Exploring Cebu City, one encounters a rich historic past. Cebuanos are extremely proud of their cultural and historical heritage, a legacy which has endured thru the centuries from the time the great explorer Ferdinand Magellan first planted the cross on Cebu’s shore.

Time has been kind to Cebu. From Zubu, the fishing village and busy trading port in 1521 has evolved a highly urbanized metropolitan center which now serves as focal point of growth and development in Southern Philippines. With its five cities; Cebu, Danao, Lapulapu, Mandaue and Toledo; and its 48 smaller towns, Cebu has more than kept pace with the nation’s progress. Today, the island province leads in traditional and non-traditional exports and has the highest economic growth rate anywhere in the country. Likewise, recent indications pointed out that Cebu has become the country’s most favorite tourist destination.
In contrast to the bustling metropolis, the rest of Cebu’s 167 islets and islands are lined with idyllic white sandy beaches and pristine clear waters.
Cebu has gained wide popularity for it’s fantastic diving grounds evidenced by the proliferation of resorts which offer luxurious accommodations, excellent dive facilities and the services of competent dive masters and dive guides.

Cebu’s strategic location makes it ideal for those who wish to travel to the other islands and provinces. By plane, boat or bus, nowhere could be too far from CEBU.

Introduction to the Philippines

When Magellan came upon the island of Homonhon in 1521, he claimed these islands in the name of king Philip II of Spain and named them Felipinas, the Philippines. Little did he know then the treasures of those yet unexplored isles, a bounty of verdant mountains rich with gold and ore, of emerald islands ringed with meandering beaches, of forests alive with wondrous flora and fauna, of fertile lands, spectacular sunsets and temperate climes which have bred a warm, smiling people who would be known the world over for their overwhelming hospitality.