I Got Scuba Certified in Cebu and Spent Six Days Eating Lechon

In June 2026, I traveled to Cebu in the Philippines.

The biggest goal of the trip was to get scuba certified on Mactan Island. Looking back, though, it feels like I spent just as much time eating lechon, drinking San Miguel, and getting swept up in unexpected events as I did underwater.

It started with somehow ordering enough Jollibee for 5 people right after I arrived. Then, just before heading home, I left my iPhone in a Grab. Somehow, both situations worked out in the end.

Here is a look back at the 6 days from June 4 through 9, with plenty of photos along the way.

Table of Contents

• June 4: Heading to Narita Airport
• June 5: Arriving in Cebu and Facing a Feast for Five
• June 6: The Fear and Fun of Breathing Underwater
• June 7: Getting Scuba Certified
• June 8: Leaving My iPhone in a Grab
• June 9: Exploring Cebu City Before Flying Home
• Final Thoughts

June 4: Heading to Narita Airport

With a flight the next morning, I started the trip with an overnight stay near Narita Airport. I took the Narita Express to the airport with all my luggage in tow.

For dinner, I went to Matsudo Tomita Mendan at Narita Airport. I had one last bowl of ramen before departure, then checked into the hotel. I was still in Japan, but reaching the airport made it feel like the trip had already begun.

June 5: Arriving in Cebu and Facing a Feast for Five

I flew from Narita Airport on Cebu Pacific Air to Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

My first meal after landing was at Jollibee. Somehow, though, I wound up with enough food for 5 people. With plate after plate of spaghetti and fried chicken lined up across the table, my first day in Cebu started with quite the eating challenge.

I still do not really understand how it happened. But I had ordered it, so there was nothing left to do but eat. That first meal became a pretty unforgettable start to the trip.

Afterward, I checked in at Mercure Mactan Cebu. I took a short break, then went to The Mactan Newtown to exchange cash for the trip.

From there, I headed to The Mactan Newtown Beach. People were parasailing over the water, and beyond them I could see boats traveling back and forth to Olango Island. Instead of rushing from one sight to the next, it felt good to spend some time by the sea, idly watching the sky and the boats.

For dinner, I went to Mactan Alfresco. I tried several different lechons side by side and drank plenty of San Miguel. The crispness of the skin and the flavor of the meat varied a little from place to place. From day one, lechon had already become the center of the trip.

There were cats all over the area, and every one of them was ridiculously cute. The dogs, on the other hand, were a little scary. Whenever one came close, I found myself tensing up.

June 6: The Fear and Fun of Breathing Underwater

I spent the morning on the first day of my scuba certification course.

I was confident in my swimming, so I had been thinking, “If I can breathe underwater, I can basically swim forever.” But once I put on the gear and actually went under, the simple act of breathing underwater was scary at first. My head knew I could breathe, but my body was not ready to believe it.

Once I got used to the feeling, though, the fear quickly gave way to fun. Little by little, I began to understand what it felt like to enter the world I had only ever watched from the surface.

Another person joined us at the airport that afternoon. After that, we had dinner at Azure Beach Club.

We came all the way to Cebu and still ended up eating at a place called Azure. Apparently, we cannot help being Azure Travelers wherever we go.

June 7: Getting Scuba Certified

The next morning, I started day two of the diving course. My fear of breathing underwater had faded since the day before, and I finally felt relaxed enough to enjoy being in the ocean.

Then I did it: I got scuba certified. I finished with a fun dive, where I saw huge schools of sardines. Being surrounded by all those fish was beautiful.

In the afternoon, we walked around Ayala Malls. The daytime heat in the Philippines makes it tough to stay outside sightseeing for long. A cool shopping mall, where you can walk around and stop for breaks, is a welcome relief.

I stopped for an iced coffee at Bo’s Coffee Primo and took a breather. Bo’s Coffee is a common sight in the Philippines.

For dinner, we went to Sugbo Mercado. We wandered through the crowded food stalls and enjoyed a mango shake from Ally Mango, along with more lechon.

June 8: Leaving My iPhone in a Grab

In the morning, we went to SM City Cebu to buy souvenirs. I picked up dried mangoes and banana chips, both classic Filipino treats.

For lunch, we went to I Love Bucket Shrimps Mactan. We ate a generous serving of garlic shrimp while looking out over the waterfront.

We had planned to go sightseeing that afternoon. Then I had a problem. I had left my iPhone in the Grab car.

I opened Find My on another iPhone and could see the missing phone moving. We asked the hotel staff for help, and they called the Grab driver for us.

The driver said, “I have another passenger right now, so I’ll bring it over after I drop them off.” Watching my iPhone keep moving across the map while I waited made it impossible to relax.

In the end, the driver brought it all the way back to the hotel, and I got my iPhone back safe and sound. I was so relieved. I could not thank the hotel staff and the driver enough.

We missed our chance to go sightseeing, but we did make it to Rico’s Lechon - Ayala Malls Central Bloc for dinner. We had lechon, sisig, and a noodle dish that was a little like yakisoba. The sisig was especially good: of everything I ate on this trip, it was number one.

June 9: Exploring Cebu City Before Flying Home

Our flight home was at 2:00 a.m. on June 10 - in other words, 26:00 on June 9. We first moved to a day-use hotel so we would have somewhere to spend the time until then.

For lunch, we went to Gerry’s SM Cebu. The Sinigang na Baboy I ordered was a pork-and-vegetable soup with a powerful sourness. The flavor hit the moment I tasted it and made a lasting impression.

After lunch, we visited Magellan’s Cross and Fort San Pedro. The atmosphere was different from Mactan Island, where we had spent the first half of the trip. Walking through the sites gave us a sense of Cebu’s history.

For an early dinner, we went to House of Lechon and had our final lechon of the trip.

That was it for food in Cebu. We returned to the day-use hotel, picked up our luggage, and headed to the airport for the late-night flight.

Final Thoughts

My scuba diving experience began with a fear of breathing underwater. Two days later, I was on a fun dive, watching schools of fish all around me. Getting certified was the biggest achievement of the trip.

On the other hand, the unplanned moments are some of the ones I remember most clearly: the 5 servings at Jollibee and the iPhone I left in a Grab. When the phone came back, I really felt how lucky I was to have the help of the hotel staff and the driver.

I went diving, cooled off in malls whenever the heat got to be too much, and spent my nights with lechon and San Miguel. For all 6 days, I ate, drank, and stayed on the move.