Mactan Newtown Beach

Mactan Newtown Beach sits inside a 30-hectare township in Lapu-Lapu City, a managed shoreline rather than an open natural beach. It was known as Portofino Beach before the Newtown development absorbed it; the sand is fine and white, the water calm and shallow, and the backdrop is the high-rise residential and commercial towers of the township itself rather than open coastline.

The beach runs on convenience: cottages for rent, shower facilities, a marked-off area for jet-skiing and paddleboarding, and food stalls along the property serving Cebuano staples like lechon.

Lapu-Lapu City’s transformation is part of the same story. Much of Mactan Island was farmland and fishing villages within living memory, and townships like this one are recent additions layered on top of an economy now driven as much by tourism, IT-BPM offices, and export manufacturing as by agriculture. The beach also sits a few minutes from the Mactan Shrine, marking the site of the 1521 Battle of Mactan, so a day here pairs easily with a stop at one of Cebu’s most-visited historical sites.

Explore More in Lapu-Lapu City

• Tops Lookout
• Hilutungan Channel
• Punta Engaño Beach