How do I get from Mactan-Cebu Airport to Simala Shrine?
Short answer
From Mactan-Cebu International Airport it’s about 65 km to the Simala Shrine - the church most people search for as Simala Church, formally the Monastery of the Holy Eucharist - in Barangay Lindogon, Sibonga, roughly 2-2.5 hours by private car down the southern highway. That makes it realistic to head straight there from a morning landing, with Carcar’s heritage streets and lechon as an easy stop on the way back.
There’s no direct bus or jeepney from the airport to Simala - by public transport you’d first cross into Cebu City, then pick up a southbound Ceres bus from the South Bus Terminal towards Sibonga, then a habal-habal for the final climb. A private transfer that meets you at arrivals and drives straight there skips all of that.
Step by step: Mactan-Cebu Airport (CEB) to Simala Shrine
- 1Meet your driver at arrivals
A private transfer meets you with a name board at Mactan-Cebu airport - no queueing or negotiating a fare.
- 2Cross off Mactan and head south
The route crosses one of the Mactan bridges, skirts Cebu City and continues down the southern highway, about 65 km and 2-2.5 hours total.
- 3Arrive at the shrine in Lindogon
Your driver waits while you visit the shrine and gardens - modest dress is appreciated inside.
- 4Optionally stop in Carcar on the way back
Carcar’s heritage plaza and lechon are on the route back to the airport or your hotel - a popular add-on.
Ways to travel, compared
- Airport transfer + Simala (what we arrange)~2-2.5 hrs
Meet-and-greet at arrivals, then straight south to the shrine with an easy Carcar add-on. Fixed price for any flight time - request a quote.
- Taxi/city transfer + Ceres bus + habal-habal (public)~3 hrs+
No direct route from the airport - first reach the Cebu South Bus Terminal, then a southbound Ceres bus to Sibonga, then a motorbike taxi up to the shrine.
When Simala Shrine is open, and what to expect at the gate
- Opening hours
- Daily, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- Entrance fee
- Free - the shrine is kept up by donations
- Daily mass
- 12:00 noon, every day. Saturday, Sunday and the 13th differ - see below
- Dress code
- Shoulders and knees covered, for men and women. It is checked at the gate, and visitors are turned away
- Quietest time
- A weekday morning, soon after the 8:00 AM opening
- Busiest days
- Weekends, the 13th of every month, and 8 September - the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary
- Plan the drive around the 5:00 PM close, not around the distance. From Cebu City this run is ~55 km but 1.5-2 hours in real traffic, so leaving after about 3:00 PM risks arriving at a shut gate - and the southern highway is slowest on exactly the weekends and 13ths when most people go.
- Leave Cebu City around 6:30-7:00 AM and you arrive close to opening, which is both the coolest part of the day and the emptiest the shrine gets.
- The 13th of the month is a genuine pilgrimage day, not a quiet one: expect heavy highway traffic south of Carcar and a full car park.
- Mass times outside the daily noon service are reported differently by different sources - Saturday is variously given as 10:30 AM, and the Sunday afternoon and 13th-of-the-month services as 3:00 PM or 3:30 PM. We are not printing a time we cannot stand behind; if you are travelling for a particular mass, confirm it with the shrine before you set out and we will time the car to it.
- Shoes come off before the adoration area, and photography is fine outdoors but not inside the chapel or during mass.
Add stops on the way to Simala Shrine
Landing with time to spare before you need to be at Simala Shrine? Your driver can meet the flight, keep your luggage in the vehicle while you stop for lunch or a look around, and still have you there for the hour you name. Send us your flight and the time you need to arrive, and the gap gets built into the quote instead of spent at the terminal.
- The car waits wherever you stop
- Luggage stays in the vehicle
- Fuel, tolls and parking included
- Entrance fees paid locally, as you go
We'll pre-fill Mactan-Cebu Airport (CEB) → Simala Shrine (Sibonga). Put the stops you want in the notes box and we'll come back with one all-in price.
What the quote covers
- A private air-conditioned car or van with an English-speaking local driver for the whole journey
- Door-to-door pickup and drop-off at the exact addresses you give us, not a meeting point
- Fuel, tolls and parking
- Waiting time and any extra stops you tell us about up front, priced into the quote rather than added afterwards
- One fixed all-in price for the trip, agreed in writing before you travel
- Entrance, activity, guide and boat fees at places you choose to stop (paid locally)
- Meals and personal spending
- Accommodation, including a driver overnight on a multi-day trip unless we have set it out in the quote
- Inter-island ferry and boat crossings, unless we have set them out in the quote
We never invent activity or entrance prices - you pay those directly on the ground.
Mactan-Cebu Airport (CEB) to Simala Shrine: FAQs
What time does Simala Shrine open and close?
Simala Shrine is open daily from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and entry is free. Because the drive from Cebu City is 1.5-2 hours, leaving much after 3:00 PM risks arriving to a closed gate - a weekday morning departure around 6:30-7:00 AM gets you there near opening, when it is quietest.
What time is mass at Simala Shrine?
There is a mass at 12:00 noon every day. Saturday, Sunday afternoon and the 13th of each month run to a different schedule, and published sources disagree on the exact times, so confirm with the shrine if you are travelling for a particular mass - we will time the car around it.
Is there a dress code at Simala Shrine?
Yes, and it is enforced at the gate: shoulders and knees covered, for men and women. Shoes come off before the adoration area. Photography is fine outdoors but not inside the chapel or during mass.
Is there a direct transfer from Mactan airport to Simala Shrine?
There’s no direct public bus, but a private transfer goes straight from the airport to the shrine in about 2-2.5 hours, with an easy stop in Carcar on the way back.
Can I visit Simala straight off a flight?
Yes, if your flight lands with enough of the day left - it’s a realistic half-day-plus trip from the airport. Send your flight details with your quote request and we’ll time it.
How far is Cebu airport from Simala Church?
Roughly 2-2.5 hours for the 65 km, crossing off Mactan island and down the southern highway to Sibonga.
Is Simala Church the same as Simala Shrine, and where is Sibonga?
One place, several names. Formally it is the Monastery of the Holy Eucharist, also known as the Our Lady of Lindogon Shrine, and it is commonly called either the Simala Shrine or the Simala Parish Church - so "Simala Church" and "Simala Shrine" are the same building. It stands in Barangay Lindogon in the municipality of Sibonga, which is why an address says Sibonga while directions say Simala: they are the same stop on the southern highway.
Can you do the return trip, Simala Shrine back to Mactan-Cebu Airport (CEB)?
Yes - the same private car and driver, the other way round over the same ~65 km. Send us your flight time with the quote request and we work the pickup back from it, so you reach Mactan-Cebu Airport (CEB) with time to spare instead of guessing. Most people book both legs at once.
What does the price for Mactan-Cebu Airport (CEB) to Simala Shrine include?
The quote is one fixed all-in price for the trip, agreed in writing before you travel, and fuel, tolls and parking are inside it - along with any waiting time or extra stops you tell us about when you ask. What stays separate is what you would choose anyway: entrance, activity and boat fees at the places you stop, your meals, and your accommodation. We do not invent activity prices, so those you pay directly on the ground.
Simala Shrine to Mactan-Cebu Airport (CEB)
We run this route in both directions. For the trip back you tell us your flight time, and we work the pickup back from it, so you get to the airport with room to spare rather than watching the clock on the road.
We'll pre-fill Simala Shrine → Mactan-Cebu Airport (CEB) on the form. Just add your dates and details.
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