Worth getting out of bed for...

Viewpoint

Tops Lookout, a viewing deck on Mount Busay on Cebu Island, offers a gasp-inducing panorama of Cebu City, Mactan Island and the bridges connecting the two. Visitors pay a small fee to go inside the 'park' area at the top, where there are picnic tables and stalls selling barbecued snacks.

Arts and culture

Take in Cebu's cultural highlights on a half-day historical tour. Your hit-list should include Colon Street (the oldest thoroughfare in the Philippines), Magellan's Cross, ruined Portuguese stronghold Fort San Pedro, Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, and the Casa Gorordo Museum, former residence of Mactan's first bishop.

Something for nothing

The undeveloped white-sand beaches of Malapuasca are the perfect place to chill out; bring a picnic and relax under the peaceful palms.

Shopping

Side-step commercial mega-malls SM City or Ayala and take a jeepney or tricycle downtown to Carbon Market (MC Briones Street): hot and chaotic, Cebu's oldest and biggest market is where the locals go to buy fish, meat, fruit and veg, shoes and clothing. This is also the place to get authentic handicrafts made from home-grown abaca, rattan and bamboo. Cebu is also famous for its guitars: pick up a custom-made instrument from one of the guitar workshops in Abuno, near the airport, where acoustic six-strings, mandolins and ukeleles have been made for generations. Try family-owned Alegre Guitars factory, where you can also watch master craftsmen hand-building guitars.

Daytripper

The island of Bohol, two hours from Cebu by ferry, has overtaken Boracay to become the Philippines' top tourist destination. Its famous Chocolate Hills are a visually arresting display of 1,776 conical mounds spread across 30 square kms. Bohol is also home to the tarsier – one of the world's tiniest (and possibly cutest) primates.

Best beach

The shores of sleepy Bantayan Island off the northwest coast of Cebu have the kind of powdery white sand and turquoise waves the country is famous for, especially around the palmy village of Sante Fe. There’s no good snorkelling here, but it’s the perfect spot for catching rays.

Perfect picnic

Take a boat across diamond-clear waters to a white-sand strand for a romantic beach barbecue. Islands Banca Cruises will arrange everything from a sleek boat to the candlelit desert island – complete with masseuse and violinist (+63 (0)917 630 0736; www.islandbanca.com)

Walks

It’s only a short walk, but for followers of Taoism it’s an important and symbolic one. The 81 steps up to the Taoist Temple in the hills to the north of Cebu City represent the 81 chapters of Taoist scriptures. A pleasant climb rewards you with dragon statues, views across Cebu and tranquility (silence is observed around the temple).

Children

Nippers will enjoy meeting some of Nemo’s reef-dwelling friends on a fish-feeding adventure in the shallow waters of Gilutongan and other local marine sanctuaries off the coasts of Mactan or Olango (www.islandsbanca.com).

Activities

It's from the sea, not the land, that Cebu and the surrounding islands are best viewed, so hop into a kayak, grab a windsurfer, or board a banca – it takes around two hours to circumnavigate Mactan. Alternatively, try island-hopping, dolphin-spotting or sunset cruises, stopping for a romantic dinner on a deserted beach. Even Jacques Cousteau would be impressed with the dive sites here, a regular parade of manta rays, moray eels, pygmy seahorses and a rainbow of reef fish.

And

The Philippines' favourite beer, San Miguel, has a factory in Cebu. Locals are also partial to their rum and home-made tuba (coconut wine), available at most basic street shops in varying degrees of toxicity.