One More Long Weekend Before Christmas: 5 Trips From Cebu
Bonifacio Day falls on Monday 30 November 2026. Five three-day trips from Cebu, timed by road hours against island hours.
Bonifacio Day falls on Monday 30 November, so Cebu gets a Saturday to Monday weekend without filing leave. Five islands fit inside it, and they are not equal: Siquijor leaves about 41 hours on the island, Bohol and Camotes about 54.
The last three-day weekend before Christmas starts on Saturday 28 November. Bonifacio Day is a regular holiday under Proclamation 1006 and it lands on a Monday, which is the whole trick. The next break after it needs a leave day. The one after that is Christmas itself, when every boat out of Pier 1 is already full of people going home.
So this is the one to use. The question is where three days actually go further, and the honest answer depends less on the island than on how many of those hours get spent on a bus.
When is the Bonifacio Day long weekend in 2026?
Saturday 28 November to Monday 30 November 2026. Bonifacio Day, 30 November, is a regular holiday, so the weekend runs three days with no leave filed. Checked against Proclamation 1006 on 3 November 2026.
Four breaks are left in the year. Only one of them sits before Christmas without costing a leave credit.
| Dates | Days off | Leave needed | The holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 to 30 Nov | 3 | None | Bonifacio Day, Mon 30 Nov, regular |
| 5 to 8 Dec | 4 | 1 day, Mon 7 Dec | Immaculate Conception, Tue 8 Dec, special non-working |
| 24 to 27 Dec | 4 | None | Christmas Eve, Thu 24, and Christmas, Fri 25 |
| 30 Dec to 3 Jan | 5 | None | Rizal Day Wed 30, Last Day of the Year Thu 31, New Year Fri 1 Jan |
File 28 and 29 December and the last two runs join into eleven straight days, 24 December to 3 January. As of 3 November 2026 no special non-working day had been declared for 7 December, so the December weekend still needs that Monday off.
Two pay rules worth knowing before saying yes to a Monday shift. A regular holiday pays 200 percent of the daily wage for work done that day, and 100 percent if not worked. The 8 December special day is the weaker kind: for most private employees it is no work, no pay unless company policy says otherwise.
Which island fits three days from Cebu?
A Saturday to Monday weekend has about 60 waking hours in it. The country has 7,641 islands, and the weekend has room for one of them. What separates these five is how much of the 60 goes to terminals, ports and waiting rooms. Pick an island to see the plan, built from posted schedules and checked between 27 October and 3 November 2026.
Bonifacio Day long weekend
Five islands, three days
Pick an island.
41 hours on the island
Ceres bus south at 6:30 AM, the 1:00 PM Super Shuttle from Oslob to Larena, on the island by about 3:00 PM. Back on the 8:00 AM boat Monday and in Cebu by mid-afternoon. The longest road of the five, and the trip that most needs the third day.
49 hours on the island
Bus from the North terminal before dawn, four to five hours to Maya, half an hour across on a boat that leaves when it fills. Be at Maya by 3:00 PM on the way out, because the last public boats go between about 4:30 and 5:30 PM.
48 hours on the island
North bus to Hagnaya, three to five hours depending on traffic out of the city, then about an hour and a half on the ferry to Santa Fe. Take a midday ferry back on Monday rather than the last one, whose time has been posted two ways.
54 hours on the island
The easy one. OceanJet runs about 13 fast craft a day each way, roughly two hours to Tagbilaran, then under an hour to Panglao. A Monday afternoon boat still has you home for dinner. The catch is that everyone else knows it.
54 hours on the island
Jomalia sails from Mactan Marina Wharf at 8:00 AM, about an hour and a half to Consuelo, and back at 4:00 PM. The Danao boat is cheaper and slower: two to two and a half hours, three pier to pier.
Suroy.ph planning timelines built from posted ferry and bus schedules, checked 27 October to 3 November 2026. Holiday weekends add queues.
Siquijor: the one that needs all three days
Siquijor is the longest road on the list and the trip that most needs the Monday. Ceres buses leave the Cebu South Bus Terminal for Oslob between 6:30 and 7:00 AM, about four hours, ₱269 to ₱330. From Mainit Port in Oslob, the Super Shuttle ferry crosses to Larena once a day at 1:00 PM and comes back at 8:00 AM, about two hours. Fares were ₱500 economy and ₱650 aircon until a 10 percent increase on 28 September 2026, which puts them at roughly ₱550 and ₱715.
Siquijor collects its ₱50 ecological fee on the way out, not the way in. Keep the cash for Monday morning at the Larena port.
The faster routes cost more and run less. OceanJet sails Cebu to Siquijor through Tagbilaran at 5:10 AM and 1:00 PM, about 4 hours 20 minutes, from ₱1,600 plus any fuel surcharge. Sunlight Air flies direct in under an hour, but only two to four times a week, so check that Saturday is one of them before building the weekend around it. Every route is laid out in the Cebu to Siquijor ferry guide.
What the third day buys is a whole Sunday: Cambugahay Falls in Lazi early, before the tour vans, the coast road loop, and a west coast sunset. Without the Monday, Siquijor is a ferry ride with a nap in the middle. The Siquijor travel guide has the island itself.
Malapascua: a diving weekend, or not worth the bus
Malapascua is for the thresher sharks. The dive boats leave Bounty Beach between 4:30 and 5:30 AM for Kimud Shoal, about an hour out, and one morning there with rented gear lands around ₱3,000 to ₱4,000 once the marine park fee, the site fee and the fuel surcharge are on it. The sharks left Monad Shoal around 2022. A shop still selling Monad is selling the old trip.
Getting there is a bus from the Cebu North Bus Terminal to Maya Port in Daanbantayan, four to five hours, then a public outrigger of ₱200 to ₱240 that leaves when it fills, about 30 minutes across. Add a ₱20 terminal fee and the environmental fee, quoted at ₱140 in 2026. Budget ₱400 to cross. The last public boats go between about 4:30 and 5:30 PM, and after that it is a private boat at ₱3,000 to ₱5,000.
On a holiday Saturday the north road out of the city is the slow part, so the first bus is the one to be on. The Malapascua guide and the northern ferry guide have the rest.
Bantayan: the flat, easy beach weekend
Bantayan is for doing very little and paying a clear price for it. Suroy.ph’s Bantayan budget comes to about ₱8,200 solo for four days, and the round trip transport inside that is about ₱1,370 a person.
The north bus to Hagnaya takes three to five hours depending on traffic out of the city, ₱180 to ₱300 depending on aircon, plus a ₱25 terminal fee. Island Shipping charges ₱370 and Super Shuttle Ferry ₱392 for the crossing to Santa Fe, about an hour and a half. Santa Fe collects a ₱30 environmental fee at the tourism office on arrival.
The last ferry back to Hagnaya has been posted at both 5:30 PM and 6:00 PM. On a Monday when the whole island is leaving at once, take a midday boat and the question stops mattering.
Bohol: the most beach time, and the most people on the boat
Bohol is the shortest crossing here. OceanJet runs about 13 fast craft a day each way between Cebu and Tagbilaran, roughly two hours, ₱960 tourist class since 21 September 2026, a fare that includes a 10 percent fuel surcharge the line calls temporary. Panglao is under an hour from the port.
That ease is the catch on a holiday weekend. The Saturday morning boats and the Monday afternoon boats are the ones everybody books, so buy both legs now rather than at the counter. Leave an extra hour at the terminal on a peak day, the rule in the port buffer system.
Two prices to know before the countryside loop. The Loboc river lunch cruise has been ₱1,200 a head since 16 April 2026. The Virgin Island sandbar off Panglao takes 250 visitors every two hours between 6 AM and 6 PM. The Bohol travel guide covers the loop and the east side it skips.
Camotes: the closest, if the tide cooperates
Jomalia sails from Mactan Marina Wharf at 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM and comes back from Consuelo at 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, about an hour and a half, listed at ₱500 before any fuel surcharge. The Danao boat is cheaper, ₱360 economy and ₱400 aircon on Jomalia’s October 2026 listing, but the crossing alone is two to two and a half hours with the drive to Danao on top. Budget three hours pier to pier.
The caves are where a Camotes weekend goes wrong. Bukilat and Paraiso are worth it at high water, shoulder deep and clear, with Tudela giving 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM as the best window. At low tide they are a shallow puddle. Check a tide table before the trip, because signal on the islands is patchy. Scooters run ₱350 to ₱600 a day. The Danao to Camotes guide has both routes.
Staying in the city instead
For a family that would rather not sit on a bus, the weekend is also the opening of Disney On Ice presents Let’s Dance! at SM Seaside Cebu Arena, which runs 28 November to 6 December with tickets from ₱300 to ₱5,800 before online fees. Every child from 12 months needs a ticket. The Disney On Ice Cebu guide has the show schedule.
Book it like everyone else is booking it
Buy the Monday return first. Departures spread out across Saturday. Returns bunch up on Monday afternoon, and that is the seat that sells out.
Carry cash for every fee above, in small bills. The fee windows at ports and tourism offices are paper money operations, and Monday 30 November is a bank holiday. The cash ladder is the system for how much.
Watch the sea, not the sky. The amihan has been blowing since PAGASA declared its onset on 27 October 2026, and gale warnings cancel small boats on sunny days. Check the night before, and keep the Bohol or Camotes plan as the fallback, since the fast craft routes run when outriggers do not.
The August version of this planning, for the National Heroes Day weekend, is in long weekend trips from Cebu.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Bonifacio Day long weekend in 2026?
Saturday 28 November to Monday 30 November 2026. Bonifacio Day on 30 November is a regular holiday, so no leave is needed.
Is 30 November 2026 a regular holiday?
Yes. Bonifacio Day is a regular holiday under Proclamation 1006, and in 2026 it falls on a Monday.
Is 7 December 2026 a holiday?
Not as of 3 November 2026. The holiday is 8 December, a Tuesday, a special non-working day. Taking 7 December as leave makes a four-day weekend.
What is the closest island to Cebu City for a long weekend?
Camotes from Mactan Marina Wharf, about an hour and a half by boat, or Bohol, about two hours by fast craft to Tagbilaran.
Can you do Siquijor in three days from Cebu?
Yes. By bus to Oslob and the 1:00 PM ferry to Larena, the weekend leaves about 41 hours on the island, returning on the 8:00 AM boat on Monday.
Suroy Wear · Statement Series
Three days, one van, and an argument about who paid for gas.
The Retro Van Tee, for the weekend somebody finally said yes to. Made in the Philippines. ₱999.
Wear the story
Fares and schedules checked 27 October to 3 November 2026. Holidays checked against Proclamation 1006 on 3 November 2026. Photographs by Suroy.ph.
