Mandaue

Mandaue is a city in the Philippines, part of Metro Cebu. Mandaue is just north of Cebu City and, like that city, it is on Cebu Island. Just off the coast opposite Mandaue is Mactan Island with the city of Lapu-Lapu on it. From Mandaue two bridges lead to Lapu-Lapu and several good (if sometimes jammed) roads go to Cebu.

Understand

Mandaue is the least glamorous and least touristed of the three cities that make up the core of Metro Cebu, though it has quite a few resident foreigners because its housing costs are lower.

Cebu City is the main center, with better shopping and a wider range of hotels and restaurants, and Lapu-Lapu has the airport and quite a few high-end resorts and condos. Mandaue is mostly residential and industrial; quite a few people live there and commute to work in Cebu.

On the other hand, Mandaue has almost 365,000 people (2020), so it does have all the services one might expect in a medium-sized city anywhere. There are even a few resorts along its coast.

Climate

Like the rest of the Philippines, Mandaue has a tropical climate. It has considerable risk of typhoons, though not as much as some other areas of the country. See Metro_Cebu#Climate for more detail.

Get in

The main airport of the region is Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB ^IATA) in Lapu-Lapu, and the main port is in Cebu City. Mandaue is easily reached by bus, taxi or jeepney from either.

Metro Cebu has two major long-distance bus terminals, the north terminal in Mandaue and south terminal in Cebu City.

• 1 Cebu North Bus Terminal, Subangdaku. There are 3 bus companies that ride to Maya with ferry connection from Malapascua: Ceres, Cebu AutoBus and Rough Riders. Also to Hagnaya, San Remigio (Cebu). 

Get around

See the Metro Cebu article for general information on getting around within the urban area that Mandaue is part of.

Within the town, most people travel by taxi or jeepney. Motorcycle rideshare by Angkas and car rideshare by Grab are also popular.

See

Marcelo Fernan Bridge

• 1 National Shrine of St Joseph.  
• 2 Rizal-Bonifacio Memorial. City Plaza and library 
• 3 Mandaue Presidencia (Mandaue City Hall), PJ Burgos St, ☏ +63 32 230 4500. Neo-Grecian style building built in 1947 (updated Jun 2018)
• 4 Sergio Osmeña Bridge (Mactan–Mandaue Bridge). 864 m (2,835 ft) long truss bridge across the Mactan Channel (updated Jun 2018)
• 5 Marcelo Fernan Bridge. 1,237 m (4,058 ft) long Cable-stayed bridge across Mactan Channel (updated Jun 2018)

Do

• 1 Cebu International Convention Center (CICC). Media center, large plenary hall, exhibition hall and several meeting rooms. (updated Jun 2018)
• 2 Upside Down World Cebu, 2nd Floor Unit A 204-205-206 City Time Square Phase 2 Mantawi Int'l Drive, Tipolo, Mandaue City, 6014 Cebu, Philippines (Inside the Park Mall). A variety of upside-down optical illusions located within the Park Mall. (updated Jan 2024)

Buy

• 1 Mandaue City Public Market, ☏ +63 32 516 7925. 6AM-8:40PM. (updated Jan 2024)

Shopping & supermarkets

• 1 Colonnade Supermarket, P Gomez Street Corner Ceniza Street, ☏ +63 32-4227010. 6AM-9PM. low prices. (updated Mar 2017)
• 2 S & R Membership Shopping, Ouano Avenue Mandaue, ☏ +63 32-3443399. 9AM-9PM. Need a membership card to do shopping. higher prices. (updated Mar 2017)
• 3 Vibs Store, Vibs store building h-abellana ext. brgy. pagsabungan, ☏ +63 32 2667958. 6AM-7PM. Dry goods and mostly grocery items. (updated Jan 2020)

Eat

• 1 Pan de Manila, Plaridel Street (Bridges Town Square). Bakery. (updated Jun 2018)

Drink

• 1 Vienna Kaffeehaus, A. S. Fortuna St (the Orchard Cebu Hotel & Suites). (updated Jun 2018)

Sleep

This guide uses the following price ranges for a standard double room:
Budget	under ₱1000
Mid-range	₱1000-3000
Splurge	over ₱3000

Budget

• 1 P M G Pension House, Jose L Briones Avenue, ☏ +63-32-446-0979. Check-out: noon. Has rooms by the month. (updated Mar 2017)
• 2 Pe're Aristo Guest House, Block 1 Lot 23 Sanjose village, Umapad Barangay, ☏ +63-32-236-0875. Check-out: noon. Fan room with shared bathroom. Free Wi-Fi. from ₱500. (updated Mar 2017)

Mid-range

• 3 The Orchard Cebu, A.S. Fortuna Street, Bakilid, ☏ +63 32 344 1322. All rooms equipped with air-conditioner, LCD cable TV, IDD/NDD telephone, and mini-bar. Some of its facilities are restaurant and cafe, spa and massage services, airport transfer, and high-speed Internet access. Rates on official website start at ₱1741. 

Splurge

• 4 Fairfield by Marriott Cebu Mandaue City, A. C. Cortes Ave, ☏ +63 32-355-8860. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. (updated Jan 2024)

Stay healthy

• 2 Chong Hua Hospital - Mandaue Branch, International Drive City South Special Economic Administrative Zone, Mantawe Ave, Tipol, ☏ +63322338000. Private Filipino-Chinese hospital, open to all. (updated Jan 2024)

Go next

Mandaue is located between Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu and well connected to both by road; getting to either by taxi or jeepney is easy. Another possibility quite nearby is Olango Island, with birdwatching and diving, reached by ferry from Lapu-Lapu.

Going beyond those, anywhere on Cebu Island is readily accessible by road, and there are many buses. Metro Cebu has two main long distance bus terminals; the north terminal is in Mandaue and the south terminal in Cebu City.

For other modes of travel, Metro Cebu is the main hub for the Visayas region and has connections to many cities outside that region. Mactan-Cebu International Airport is in Lapu-Lapu. For travel by sea, the main port is in Cebu City.

Routes through Mandaue

Danao ← Consolacion ←	N  S	→ Cebu City
Liloan (Metro Cebu) ←	N  S	→ Cebu City → Talisay (Cebu)