Regarded as the grandest festival of the Philippines, Sinulog is a dance ritual dedicated to the patron Saint of the province the Sto. Nino (Baby Jesus). Although pagan in origin, it is now a large religious celebration attracting thousands of tourists both local and foreigners.
In retrospect to our current trip, here are some useful tips should you decide to take part of this annual festival in the future.
1. Book your flights in advance! Sinulog is celebrated annually every January with the culmination on the 3rd Sunday which is the Sto. Nino Feast Day. If you intend to to explore adjacent towns and activities outside the city, allocate more days. For our trip we dedicated 5 days and 4 nights that started January 16 and leaving January 20. Booking your flights in advance gives the opportunity to secure cheaper fares.
2. Book your accommodation within the city centre. On the day of the parade, the major streets are closed and the side roads are full of people. It will be more convenient to just walk your way to any of the parade routes. We opted to stay at Uncle Toms Cabin Hotel.
3. Rent a car. Since we're group of 9, we rented a self drive van that picked us up from the airport, up until the night before the grand parade. It allows us to explore the city at our own phase and customise the destination to our interests. There's no point in keeping the car on the festival day itself since most of the roads are closed.
Self Drive Car Rental:
Balskey Car Rental
4. Plan your itinerary in advance. There are many activities during the festival week, and choose the ones you want to participate in.
Our Itinerary:
Day 1, January 16, 2020
9:20 AM ETA Cebu
- Pick Up Self Drive Van
10:00 AM Early Lunch
- Lapu Lapu Shrine
- Mactan Shrine
- Manna Sutukil Restaurant (Sutukil is shortened SUgba, TUla, and Kilaw. Sugba is grilled, Tula is boiled, and Kilaw is pickled much like ceviche)
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| Lapu Lapu Monument |
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| Mactan Shrine |
12:00 PM Drive to Uncle Toms Cabin
1:00 PM Check-in and Freshen Up
3:00 PM City Tour
- Magellan's Cross
- Sto. Nino Basilica
- La Fortuna Bakery
- Yap-Sandiego House
- Cebu Heritage Monument
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| Magellans Cross |
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| Yap-Sandiego House Their guide takes amazing photos, don't hesitate to approach them! |
7:00 PM Lechon Dinner at House of Lechon
10:00 PM Rumour Bar
Day 2, January 17, 2020
6:00 AM Breakfast at the Hotel
7:30 AM Depart for Cordova Roro Port
- Island Hopping by Ramirez Island Hopping Tour
- Pandanon Island
- Gilotongan Island
- Nalusuan Island
3:00 PM Return to Cordova Port and drive to Hotel
7:00 PM Buffet Dinner at Cebu Parklane
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| The buffet of everything Cebu is known for comes with non stop entertainment from drum beaters, Sinulog Dancers, Fire Dancer and Acoustic Band. We got so much more than what we paid for! |
9:00 PM Depart for Life Dance Baladhay Rave Party
11:30 PM Arrival at Life Dance
2:00 AM Snacks
Day 3, January 18, 2020
10:00 AM Breakfast at Hotel
2:00 PM Cebu Mountain Tour
- Nerris Selfie Village
- Sirao Flower Farm (optional)
- Temple of Leah (optional)
- Tops
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| One of the Selfie Area at Nerri's Garden |
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| Our Group at Tops |
6:00 PM Dinner at Tops of Cebu
8:00 PM Return to Hotel
10:30 PM Party at Icon
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| The Extremely Crowded Icon! |
2:00 AM Return to Hotel
Day 4, January 19, 2020
11:30 AM Brunch at Abaca
3:00 PM Watch Parade Along Mango Avenue
6:00 PM Dinner at Larsian
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| Check the Prices, this came out expensive! |
8:00 PM Party at the Hotel
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| The hotel allowed us to drink by the lobby! |
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| So much that we were dancing already! |
Day 5, January 20, 2020
7:30 AM Buffet Breakfast at Abaca
9:30 AM Depart for Airport
5. Mobile device signals are cut off during most hours of Saturday and Sunday. Make sure everybody's in synch with the itinerary and know where to go in case you get lost in the crowd.
6. Make sure you have enough energy to last you the entire Sunday. The parade starts early in the morning and ends late at night! Nursing a hangover in the heat of the sun is not a good idea.
7. Stock on alcohol. Liquor ban is implemented on certain days, but most people are still allowed to drink. Finding a store that sell would be the challenge.
8. Disinfect with alcohol and wipes. You will get painted, and random hands would definitely touch your skin. Take the opportunity to disinfect as soon as your away from the crowd or settled at your hotel.
9. Bring water containers! The streets are littered with empty water bottles, so please don't add to them by bringing your own.
10. Enjoy! Traffic can be bad and establishments crowded, and in most times all you can do is just dance to beat or get lost in the festivities! Pit Senyor!
Photo Credit:
Nesty Cao Lucas
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