Best Time to Visit Cebu City

March to May: the dry stretch

If you want the best odds of sun, come in March or April. Days are hot but not extreme, and you get around six and a half hours of sun a day. Rain still falls on about 12 or 13 days a month, usually as short showers. Mornings are good for Magellan's Cross, the Basilica del Santo Niño and Fort San Pedro. By afternoon you'll want a mall or a cold drink.

This is also the best window for island hopping. Boats to Mactan's beaches and day trips to Bohol or Moalboal run smoothly, and the sea is calm. May is hotter and stickier, and the rain starts to creep back. It's still a decent month, just less reliable.

Holy Week (the days before Easter) is busy across the Philippines. Many locals travel, so ferries fill up and some shops close on Good Friday.

June to October: the wet season

Expect rain on most days, often 23 to 26 days a month. July and October are the wettest, and October edges it with 247 mm. Skies are grey, and the sun shows for only two or three hours a day. Typhoons mostly pass north of Cebu, but storms can still cancel ferries and flights.

It's not a write-off, though. Rain often comes in heavy bursts, with gaps between. Prices drop and the crowds thin out. It suits a food trip, with lechon (roast pig) and puso (rice wrapped in woven palm leaves), or a few days in Colon Street's old streets and cafés. Skip the waterfalls at Kawasan if you want clear views, as the trails get slippery.

November to February: cool-ish, but wet

Don't expect a dry winter. January is the gloomiest month, with 176 mm of rain on 21 days. It feels a little cooler, at 28°C by day, but the air is heavy and damp. February is a clear step up, drier and brighter.

This is peak season for domestic travel. Christmas in the Philippines starts early, and the Simbang Gabi dawn masses run from mid-December. Streets get lively with lights and food stalls.

The big date is the third Sunday of January, when Sinulog takes over the city. Dancers in bright costumes fill the streets to honour the Santo Niño. It's loud and joyful, and very crowded. Hotels fill up, so you'll want a room fixed well in advance. If you hate crowds, come a week later, when the city calms down and February's drier days begin.