P70 flag-down gets you into a Yellow Taxi at CEB
Yellow Taxis sit directly outside Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 arrivals at Mactan Cebu International Airport, with a meter starting at P70.00 and increasing by P4 every 300 meters. These are the airport-accredited cabs, painted bright yellow, and they queue right in front of the official taxi stands once you exit customs.
The meter structure is simple: P70.00 initial charge covers the first few hundred meters, then the fare climbs in P4/300m increments as you drive away from CEB. A 10 km ride into central Cebu usually runs far less than a fixed car service, especially during off-peak traffic around 11:00–15:00 or late evenings after 21:00.
Yellow Taxis at CEB operate 24/7, and the line in front of Terminal 2 (international) can stack up to 20–30 passengers in the banked evening arrivals around 19:00–22:00. Terminal 1 (domestic) usually clears faster, often under 10 minutes even at mid-day, but you still queue at the marked Yellow Taxi bay behind the painted line on the curb.
Drivers are required to use the meter, and you see the P70.00 base fare appear immediately once they reset it. If a driver suggests a flat rate to Cebu IT Park or Ayala Center, compare it mentally to a metered run of around 10–14 km; in most cases, the meter plus P20–P50 tip stays lower than any quoted lump sum.
For payment, most Yellow Taxis only take cash in Philippine pesos, and a P20–P50 tip on a city ride is normal if the car is clean and the route makes sense. ATMs sit just inside arrivals in both Terminal 1 and 2, so pull cash before stepping out to the taxi ranks to avoid scrambling in front of the line.
Practical tip: before you hop in, snap a photo of the taxi’s plate number and the side door markings on the bright yellow body; if anything goes sideways with the meter or route, that one photo with the unit number and time stamp makes any follow-up with CEB airport authorities much easier.