Santa Fe, Oslob and San Remigio drew the most visitors of any towns in Cebu Province from January to September 2026. Santa Fe, on Bantayan Island, led by a wide margin with 130,553 tourist arrivals. Oslob came second with 57,667, and San Remigio, the northern town that holds the ferry port for Bantayan, was close behind with 53,348.
The three sit at opposite ends of the island and offer very different trips: a slow beach week in the far north, a whale shark morning in the south, and a long coastline that most people only see through a bus window on the way to the port. This piece explains what the numbers say, why each town pulls in visitors, and how to use that if you are planning a trip.
The figures come from the Cebu Provincial Tourism Office's consolidated report as of 19 October 2026. Across the province, arrivals for the nine months reached 1,146,864, about 8.6% more than in the same period of 2025.
What the 2026 Numbers Show
Foreign visitors are driving most of the growth. They numbered 250,550, up 26.52%, while domestic arrivals reached 896,314, up a more modest 4.45%. Filipinos still make up the large majority of visitors, but the foreign share is rising quickly.
South Korea remains the biggest foreign market by far, with 60,918 arrivals. The United States followed with 23,594 and Japan with 22,597. In all, 55 countries sent more visitors than a year earlier, while 13 sent fewer.
One detail matters when you read the town ranking. Not every local government had filed complete reports by 19 October: 23 had submitted full figures, nine had sent only August data, 14 were incomplete and five had sent nothing. That is a big reason the list can shift from one report to the next. In the January to August figures, for example, Cordova was the most-visited town, and it still appears among the places the tourism office says contributed strongly in 2026. A town missing from the top three may simply have reported late, so treat the ranking as a snapshot rather than a final verdict.
Santa Fe: Bantayan's Beach Town
Santa Fe's lead is no surprise to anyone who has tried to book a room there over a long weekend. It is the arrival point for Bantayan Island and the town with the most resorts, guesthouses and beachfront restaurants. Sugar Beach and the sunrise-facing Alice Beach are on its coast, the water is shallow and calm for much of the year, and the pace is slower than anywhere near Cebu City.
Getting there takes commitment, which makes its numbers more striking. Most visitors ride a bus or van from the North Bus Terminal in Cebu City to Hagnaya Port, then take a ferry of about an hour to Santa Fe Port. With waiting time, it is a full travel day each way. Fares on the crossing changed in 2026, so check the current rate at the port, and set aside cash for the environmental fee collected on arrival.
Plan around the peak periods. Holy Week, the summer school break and long weekends fill the island, and weekend sailings get crowded. A midweek stay outside those dates is the easiest way to get the quiet Bantayan that photos promise.
Oslob: Whale Sharks and the South Coast
Oslob's appeal is easy to explain in one word: whale sharks. Most visitors arrive before dawn for the swim at Barangay Tan-awan, then add Tumalog Falls or a boat to Sumilon Island before heading back. That makes Oslob a high-volume, early-morning destination, with buses and vans running from the Cebu South Bus Terminal and a road trip of about three hours or more.
The whale shark activity is also the town's most debated attraction. Daily caps, fees and the practice of feeding the sharks have all been argued over, and the rules have changed more than once. Our guide to Oslob whale shark watching in 2026 covers what to check before you go. If you would rather skip the shark encounter, the south coast still rewards an overnight stay, since the falls and Sumilon are quieter in the afternoon once the morning tour groups leave.
San Remigio: The Gateway That Became a Stop
San Remigio is the least famous name of the three, and the most interesting result in the report. The town has the longest shoreline of any municipality in Cebu, about 42 kilometres, and Hagnaya Port, in the barangay of the same name, handles the ferries to Santa Fe. Plenty of travellers pass through on their way to Bantayan, and a growing number now stay a night or two on the mainland side.
There is enough to justify it. The coast has a string of beach resorts and public beaches, several marine sanctuaries and a dive shop for anyone who wants to go underwater. Inland, the Replica de Capelinha de Fatima in Barangay Tacup draws pilgrims and curious visitors. The town's biggest celebration is the Lapyahan Festival, named after the Cebuano word for shoreline, held during the fiesta in mid-May with street dancing on 16 May.
San Remigio is also still recovering from the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck off northern Cebu on 30 September 2025. Churches and heritage sites in the area were among the places marked for restoration, so some old buildings may be closed or under repair. Its 2026 visitor numbers suggest tourism there is coming back, and spending a night at a local resort is a simple way to support that.
What This Means for Your Trip
Read the ranking as a crowd forecast. Two of the top three towns are on the same route north, so the road from Cebu City to Hagnaya and the ferry to Santa Fe are where you will feel the traffic. Leave early, travel midweek when you can, and keep a spare day in case the sea is rough.
- For a beach week: pair San Remigio and Santa Fe. Spend the first night near Hagnaya, cross in the morning, and avoid the late-afternoon ferry rush.
- For a short trip: Oslob works as a long day out of Cebu City, but a night in the south lets you see the falls and Sumilon without the crowds.
- For something quieter: look one town beyond the busiest ones. Daanbantayan, the jumping-off point for Malapascua, is also on the northern road, and our Daanbantayan travel guide covers what is there.
Popularity brings practical upsides too: more transport options, more rooms at different price points and longer opening hours. The trade-off is that popular towns fill first. If any of these three is on your list for the dry months ahead, book the room and confirm the ferry or bus times before you pay for anything else.
Photo credit: Tirachard Kumtanom on Pexels.
Sources
Santa Fe leads Cebu tourist arrivals with 130,553 visitors – SunStar Cebu, 29 October 2026
Foreigners drive surge in Cebu tourist arrivals – The Manila Times, 31 October 2026
DOT: Cebu safe, open for tourists after quake – SunStar Cebu, October 2025
Lapyahan Festival makes a comeback in SanRem – SunStar Cebu, 11 May 2023
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