Kawasan Falls is reason enough to go to Cebu island. Bright turquoise water gushing 130 feet down into a swimming hole is a fantastic way to spend a day. Besides these gorgeous falls, theres canyoneering, cliff jumping and the sardine run.
The best time to go to the Philippines is November-May, which is the dry season. Keep in mind that April and May are the hottest and most humid months of the year.
Kawasan Falls
Kawasan Falls, outside of Moalboal, is a beautiful turquoise waterfall that connects to Badian Canyon. When I arrived in Moalboal I went to a tourist shop to check the price to go to the falls. They call it the Canyoneeing tour but there was no repelling involved. It was $70 USD to go with a tour of 50 people! Instead, I went to Anthonys Beach Resort and had them arrange a private guide with 2 other people. This was $30 for everything- transport, gear, guide and lunch.
The tour buses leave around 9am and I wanted to beat the crowds so we took a tuk tuk at 7am. From Moalboal it was about a 45 minute tricycle ride to the Falls entrance. We met our guide and he gave us helmets, life vests and proper shoes. Theres an entrance fee at the lake which was included in our price.
We walked up to Kawason Falls and it was even better than I imagined. I 
thought the turquoise blue water might be photoshopped, but the water is actually turquoise! I’m glad we came early because we had the falls to ourselves. Theres a restaurant here but it’s expensive, so you’re better off bringing your own snacks and water.
2nd and 3rd waterfall
We hiked up the left side of Kawasan Falls to the top. From here there was a well marked trail to continue on to the other falls. After a 10 min walk we arrived at a 10 ft and a 40 ft waterfall and we took some time for cliff jumping. Theres a cafe/restaurant here as well.
4th waterfall
We hiked through the jungle and up a river bed until we reached the final waterfall. These falls had a 20ft cliff jump, rope swing, rock waterslide. The waterslide was my favorite part- you actually slide pretty fast. We found locals washing their clothes in the waterfall and fishing for catfish. By fishing, I mean snorkeling and catching fish with their hands! Also, some of the locals let us try some of their homemade coconut “wine.” It was a sweet red wine that they made with fermented coconut water and ground up red tree bark powder. Delicious!
Badian Canyon
After the final waterfall we swam through a beautiful canyon with more turquoise water, rock formations and tunnels. I’m glad I went with a guide because after the 3rd waterfall I wouldn’t have realized it continued to this canyon area. Once we arrived at the mouth of the canyon, we rock climbed up the sides of the gorge and did some more cliff jumping and enjoyed the scenery.
At the beginning of the day we had the option to start at the canyon and trek to the falls or vice versa. We chose to start at the waterfalls and Im glad we did because when we returned there were SO many people.
Stranded
Our tuk tuk broke down on the way back! The chain completely broke in 1/2 while we were driving. The driver searched the road for the missing parts with no luck. We helped him push the tuk tuk a short distance to the first villager we found- a one legged man sitting next to the road! This nice man piled scrap parts up to jack the bike up and temporary rigged it back together and we managed to make it back without breaking down again. We got back to town around 2pm, so door to door it was a good 7 hour excursion.
Sardine Run
Theres a massive sardine run in Moalboal year round. There were literally millions in the water when I went snorkeling right off the shore of Panagsama Beach. The school completely surrounded me and the sight of millions of fish changing swimming directions at the exact same time was a cool site.
How To Get Here
Theres 4 options: 
First, you’ll fly into Cebu Airport. After that, you have a few choices to get to Moalboal.
Private Car– 1.5 hours journey drive through hills and along the coast- around $115 USD one way.
Taxi– 1.5 hours journey, around $65 USD to go there and $30 to return to Cebu.
Van– 3 hour journey- next to the bus terminal. About a 10 seater van but they’ll squeeze at least 15 people in. Slightly more expensive than the bus.
Bus – 3 hour journey- about 75 cents USD, leaves from the Cebu bus terminal. Theres AC buses and non AC buses- the AC bus is about $1 USD. Cebu City is the first stop so you might be lucky and get a seat.
I took the non AC bus and it was one of my favorite experiences in the Philippines. No one spoke English but I managed to communicate and get a bus ticket and a purple piece of paper with a number on it…? I wasn’t sure what it was for but when the bus pulled up, a man started yelling out numbers. I figured out that it was a color coded lottery system for who gets a seat on the bus. I was purple number 31 and he called my number- BINGO! Anyone who didn’t get a seat had to stand for the 3 hour journey. However, I was not so lucky for the return bus to Cebu and had to stand.
Driving the bus in the Philippines is a 2 person job- theres a driver and a conductor. The conductor blows a whistle when the driver should stop or start the bus and he collects the money. You don’t need to give money right when you get on. You can sit/stand and the conductor will come find you later. It’s amazing how good their memory is.
Vendors would leap onto the bus selling chickens, water, nuts and pies and then jump off a moving bus. Also, theres usually no bathroom break on the 3 hour journey so plan ahead.
Accommodation
Theres options from budget hostels to higher end hotels.
Moalboal Backpackers Hostel- $7 USD/night for shared dorm, very loungy feel with hammocks everywhere and tiki huts. Nice shaded balcony area.
Anthonys Beach Resort- $20 USD/night for a private room with AC and a balcony over looking the water.
Pacitas Beach Resort looked really nice. I went to Andy’s Place restaurant at the resort and it had a cute beach area.
I usually use hotels.com but specifically in Asia, agoda.com has more choices for accommodation.
Thanks for reading and please email me if you have any questions. For more on the Philippines, check out my posts on Coron and El Nido in Palawan.