Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
4,454km²
Area
504km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
999m
Highest point
4,632,359
People
30°C
Warmest sea
June
1,489km
To the mainland
When to go to Cebu
Best for the beach from January to March and from June to July.
The sea is warmest in June (30 °C) and coolest in February (27 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island of the Philippines
Cebu is an island in Philippines. It covers 4,454 km², with 504 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 999 m. About 4,632,359 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,489 km away.
Getting there
- Mactan Cebu International Airport (CEB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 33 km in a straight lineCar hire at CEB airport (Cebu City/Lapu-Lapu City)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesCebu - Hilongos, Hagnaya - Santa Fe, Cebu - Tagbilaran, Cebu - Ormoc (Super Shuttle Ferry)
- 1,489 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to March and from June to Julybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Cebu.
- 45beachesBuko Beach, Casay Beach Park, Fish Market and 42 more
- 79viewpointsAdventure Cafe, KM33 Zipline, Beverly View and 76 more
- 4lighthousesBagacay Point Lighthouse, Argao Lighthouse, Naga Lighthouse and 1 more
- 23ferry terminalsCebu Pier 3, Polambato Port, Bogo City, Cebu, Danao City and 20 more
- 2marinasPorter Marina
- 43named peaksRocking Peak, Osmeña Peak, Mount Labalasan and 40 more
- 44waterfallsGining Falls, Kabang Falls, Mukpok Falls and 41 more
- 2castles and fortsFort San Pedro
- 7ruins and archaeological sitesWWII Foxholes, old train, Baluarte and 4 more
- 7dive centresPacifica Dive, SK Divers Center, Deep Zone Dive Center and 4 more
- 3waymarked walking routesMount Lanaya Trails, Osmeña Peak Trail
- 38campsitesHidden Valley Mountain Resort, Discovery Hills - SRCDS Tilhaong, Camp site for Naupa Summit Trail and 35 more
- 648hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 1,236restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Cebu in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Cebu, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
2lakesLakeyas
3waterfallsCascadyas
Largest lake
1.3km²
Silut Lagoon
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
29.2°C
Silut Lagoon
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
29.6°C
Sangat Cove
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
2 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Silut Lagoon1.3km²
- Lake Lanao0.16km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
3 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Mantayupan Falls
- Kawasan Falls
- Cataratas de Kawasan
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 223 m above the sea. 58 % of it is below 200 m.
- 25 %0–50 m
- 33 %50–200 m
- 29 %200–500 m
- 13 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
100 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Cebu City965,332 people
- Mandaue City331,320 people
- Naga138,727 people
- Talisay133,148 people
- Daanbantayan95,080 people
- Danao70,270 people
- Minglanilla62,058 people
- Cogan60,230 people
- Sibonga54,610 people
- Liloan49,198 people
- Consolacion48,638 people
- Carcar40,739 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 |
| Sea (°C) | 27 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 160 | 103 | 83 | 66 | 126 | 212 | 238 | 203 | 219 | 238 | 163 | 198 |
| Wet days | 19 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 25 | 26 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 23 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 4.9 | 5.9 | 7.4 | 8.5 | 7.4 | 6.4 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 5.1 |
| Wind (km/h) | 20 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 18 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +1.1 |
| 2021 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +1.2 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.7 |
| 2023 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.4 |
| 2024 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.7 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Mactan
Philippines59 km²6 m31 km away
BoholPhilippines3,821 km²191 m78 km away
NegrosPhilippines13,075 km²2,460 m84 km away
Panglao IslandPhilippines90 km²190 m85 km away
LeytePhilippines7,368 km²1,349 m142 km away
GuimarasPhilippines581 km²155 m123 km away
BantayanPhilippines113 km²26 m95 km away
PanayPhilippines12,011 km²2,049 m158 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q6447129) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit