Argao

Position on Cebu Island

Argao is on Cebu Island, south of Metro Cebu.

Understand

Argao is the name both of a town and of the municipality which includes it; municipal population was 78,000 as of the 2020 census, mostly in the town. The municipality extends into the island's mountainous interior, but most of the population and most places of interest to visitors are along the coast.

Talk

As anywhere in the province, the local language is Cebuano.

Filipino and English are the country's official languages; both are taught in all schools so many people speak them, though the level varies hugely.

Get in

It is on the highway that rings the island and on the busy bus route between Cebu City and Dumaguete. In Cebu, these buses depart from the South Bus Station.

Lite Ferries runs two boats a day between Argao and Tagbilaran on Bohol. These are "roro" boats, cars can roll on and roll off.

Nearly all visitors who fly arrive via Cebu Airport and take a bus to Argao, as for any town in the province. One might also fly to Dumaguete and take a bus or to Bohol and take a ferry. Argao has no airport; there is an airstrip in nearby Dalaguete, but that serves only general aviation and has no scheduled passenger flights.

Get around

Old cannons

Do

The Archangel Michael is the town's patron, and there is a Torta Festival (see #Eat) on his feast days, 28th/29th September.

Eat

Visayan torta

The town is well-known for baking, in particular for the torta, a local type of sponge cake. The original recipe was Spanish; the local variant uses palm wine instead of yeast as the rising agent.

The region also has cacao plants and produces chocolate. The Cebuano version of hot chocolate, sikwate, is easily found and goes nicely with torta.

Sleep

There are beach resorts along the coast and some hotels in the town.

Go next

Moalboal — with many diving resorts, restaurants with international menus, and lively nightlife — borders Argao to the west.