Plan Your Moalboal Cebu Trip: Drew Arellano’s Insider Tips For Canyoneering, Free-Diving, and More & Itinerary

We called it — Drew Arellano’s recent visit to Moalboal, Cebu ended up being one of his favorites in his nearly decade-long career as a travel host.

In Cebu’s island paradise, Drew tried free-diving for the first time, jumped into waterfalls with the “Biyahe ni Drew” crew, and loaded up on fresh mangoes and seafood. Here’s their budget-friendly, summer-perfect itinerary.

How to get there
Fly. Cebu is one hour away from Manila by plane. We booked our tickets with Cebu Pacific Air, our official biyahe partner. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter for the latest deals and seat sales!
Drive. Moalboal is almost three hours away from Cebu City. The bus ride costs P100 per person.


Where to stay

Club Serena Resort
Brgy. Saavedra, Basdako, Moalboal, Cebu
The “Biyahe ni Drew” crew stayed at Club Serena. The great thing about most resorts in Moalboal is that they can plan your tour packages for a hassle-free trip. Drew stayed in the “Chairman’s Suite,” which is good for up to three people and costs P6,000 per night. This fancy suite even has its own pool!

For simpler, cheaper accommodations, they also have rooms for P3,000 a night, good for up to four people. All rooms come with a roomy private bathroom.

Moalboal Backpackers Lodge
Panagsama Beach, Basdiot, Moalboal, Cebu
For the most budget-friendly rooms in Moalboal, check out this lodge. A bunk in their dormitory costs P275 per night. Bathrooms are shared.

Where to eat

Stopover: Lantaw Native Restaurant
Mactan, Cebu
“Hindi nagkukulang ang Cebu sa chibog na siguradong tatakam sa inyo,” says Drew. “Medyo mahaba-haba ang biyahe papuntang Moalboal kaya kailangang magpakabusog.” Before heading to Moalboal, we stopped over at Lantaw for some comfort food like chowder and baked scallops.



Club Serena Resort
Brgy. Saavedra, Basdako, Moalboal, Cebu
Dining by a white sand beach? Love it! The family sizes of dishes here are good for ten to twelve people. We particularly enjoyed their Club Serena Special Salad, which has lettuce, grapes, candied walnuts, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and a generous helping of ripe mangoes.


Don’t leave Cebu without having some of their famous mangoes, okay?

All dishes at this restaurant cost between P500 and P700, and are good for up to twelve people. That’s a food trip your group will remember for a long, long time.

Food Trip Express
Moalboal, Cebu
There are also budget-friendly meals to be had in the city proper. Food stalls like this one sell value meals for under P50.

Chili Bar
Looking for some nightlife? Grab a cold beer and play pool with locals and tourists at the ultra-casual Chili Bar.

What to do

Canyoneering

Imagine a waterfall. Then imagine jumping off its cliff and into the pool. Then imagine doing that for seven waterfalls!

Moalboal’s one-of-a-kind canyoneering experience is great for adrenaline junkies, and costs P2,050 per person. This four-hour adventure was one of the highlights from our Moalboal stay. Segment producer Deanna Bibat posted a behind the scenes photo with the caption: “In all my years as a travel producer, this was my favorite adventure.”

It’s safe enough, since you’ll be wearing life vests and will have a guide, but we wouldn’t recommend this for people with young children or knee problems.

Free-diving
Moalboal’s rich marine life is a treat from snorkelers, scuba divers and free-divers. Free-diving lets you get up close with the fish: Without the bubbles from your air tank, you’re less of a disturbance to little critters. For Drew’s first time free-diving, we were joined by Wolfgang Dafert, the Philippines’ first free-diving coach.

“Free-diving is the art of breath-holding,” says Wolfgang. “With the right breathing techniques and some relaxation techniques, it’s surprising how long you can hold your breath.” The sport of diving without a tank is an exhilarating but potentially dangerous endeavor, so it’s important to have a pro with you.

Wolfgang’s introduction to free-diving costs P4,200 per person. His youngest student was 16 years old, while the oldest was 65. This takes place in a swimming pool, and he’ll guide you through the correct techniques. (On Drew’s first try with Wolfgang, he was able to hold his breath for one and a half minutes. On his second attempt, Drew made it through two minutes and twelve seconds. Good job, Drew!)

Later, Drew and Wolfgang went free-diving in open waters. Drew panicked on his first try and came up for air right away, but after a few tries, he was able to get the hang of it — and swim among a school of sardines! “I think I like free-diving more than scuba diving. There’s more serenity and peace…this is one for the books,” he says.

Important: Do not go free-diving on your own, especially if you’ve never trained for it, and refrain from eating and drinking coffee before free-diving. Want to play it safe? You can always stick to scuba diving and snorkeling.

Bike tour
Rent a motorcycle for P800 per ten hours, and you can take it anywhere. If you want to maximize your tour of Moalboal, look for a local guide to point you in the right direction.

Paddleboard yoga
Not all adventures need to be high-intensity. Take a session of Rica Gomez’ paddleboard yoga and your body and mind will thank you. Apart from the relaxation, this gives a light workout thanks to the effort expended to keep your balance. Rica usually teaches in Cebu City and holds special classes in Moalboal. “For beginners, there are some misconceptions about yoga that it’s just about stretching. You do stretch a lot, but it’s really more about breathing,” says Rica.

One session costs P1,500 and includes the use of your paddleboard for an additional hour, which you can spend however you like. If you want to try yoga on solid ground, Club Serena offers one-on-one garden yoga classes for P500 per person; for groups of three to five people, they offer discounted rates of P200 each.

What to see

Cave Busay
Brgy. Busay, Moalboal, Cebu
Right at the opening of Cave Busay is a small pool of water. Think of it as a secret swimming pool! Moalboalanon kids love swimming here, and it’s easy to see why. You can also walk around inside the cave itself. Entrance fee for Filipinos is P12.50, while foreigners pay P25.

White Beach (Basdako) and Panagsama Beach (Basdiot)
Take your pick between these two relaxing beaches. Kick back and take in the sunshine.