Newsstand and books

Opposite several food stalls in Terminal 1, Newsstand and Books is your basic grab-and-go stop for reading material before short hops to Manila or longer flights to Korea and Japan. It sits airside in T1, so you reach it after security, not from the public check-in hall. Think of it as a fill-the-backpack stop: mags, paperbacks, puzzle books, and a few kid-friendly titles stacked near the counter.

Hours typically track Terminal 1’s first and last departures, so expect it open from around 05:00 until the final evening flights clear boarding after 22:00. Stock leans toward English-language titles plus some local Cebuano and Tagalog options, which helps if you still have a 2-hour wait at gate areas used by Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines. Pricing runs higher than downtown Cebu: budget at least ₱350–₱600 for imported magazines and ₱400+ for most paperbacks.

Beyond print, the shop racks up standard travel extras on a single wall: basic headphones under ₱500, ballpoint pens for around ₱50, and last-minute stationery if you need customs forms filled before boarding. Snacks sit near the register, but choice skews to small chocolate bars and chips, nothing like the larger 7-Eleven-style setups pre-security in CEB’s landside area. Power banks occasionally appear, though stock is thinner than at electronics stands near other T1 gates.

Quick tip: if you care about specific authors or niche magazines, buy in Cebu City before heading to Mactan; use Newsstand and Books in Terminal 1 mainly for backup reading when a delay adds 45 unexpected minutes to your gate time.