Cebu eSIM
In Cebu you connect to Globe or Smart, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 34 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Globe and Smart
- Typical speed in Philippines
- 34 Mbps typical, 8 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- partial, on the main islands and in the cities
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Cebu
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $6.89 | $6.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $3.30 | $9.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $2.78 | $13.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $2.09 | $20.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $1.84 | $36.89 |
How Philippines compares across Asia
- Regional typical speed
- 42.95 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Globe, Smart
- 5G
- Partial, main islands and cities
- Next fastest nearby
- Mongolia, 35 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Kyrgyzstan, 33 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 4: Manila, Cebu, Palawan, Boracay
Landing at Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB)
- Airport
- CEB / RPVM
Getting into Cebu
- Bridges across the Mactan Channel (Mactan-Mandaue Bridge, Marcelo Fernan Bridge, Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway) (CEB)
Worth knowing about Cebu
- Cebu's airport is not on Cebu island: it sits on Mactan island in Lapu-Lapu City, reached by three bridges across the Mactan Channel.
- Traffic is split strictly by terminal: Terminal 1, opened in 1990, is domestic and Terminal 2, opened 1 July 2018, is international.
- The airport has been fully owned by Aboitiz InfraCapital since October 2024.
- SIM cards in the Philippines must be registered before activation under the SIM Registration Act (RA 11934), in force since 28 October 2022.
- Under the SIM Registration Act a tourist registers with a passport, proof of an address in the Philippines, and a return or onward ticket showing the date of departure.
- A SIM registered by a tourist is valid for only 30 days and is deactivated automatically when that expires, which is the detail most visitors miss.
- Mactan-Cebu opened a second parallel runway on 30 January 2025, giving the Philippines its only set of parallel runways.
- The main runway is 3,310 metres and the newer parallel one 2,560 metres.
- Terminal 2 is built with Austrian timber arches shaped like an inverted boat hull under a wave roof, and is sized for 8 million passengers a year.
- The airport handled 11,604,218 passengers in 2025, making it the second busiest in the Philippines.
- A fourth crossing now exists: the 8.9 km Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway opened to traffic on 30 April 2022, joining Cebu City's South Road Properties to Cordova on Mactan.
- The expressway's twin 145 metre pylons make it the longest cable stayed bridge in the Philippines, and pedestrians and cyclists cross it free.
- Converge announced in May 2024 that it would install free wifi at Cebu and Tacloban airports that August, part of a project with the Department of Transportation covering nine airports.
- The airport's own transport page distinguishes yellow from white taxis and gives their separate pickup points, fares and journey times.