Complete 2026 Guide: How to Get to the Airport from the New 3D ACADEMY Campus (MIT Building) by Grab

Today we present in detail, with photos of the actual route, how to get from the MIT Building—where the new 3D ACADEMY campus is located—to Mactan-Cebu International Airport using Grab.

The MIT Building, where the new 3D ACADEMY campus is located, is in the Lahug area of Cebu City. There is a shopping mall called JY Square nearby, and it is also relatively close to IT Park, which makes it a very convenient area.

There are many Grab users in this area, so even in the early hours of the morning or very early, it is rare to find no vehicle available. That is why, on the day you head home or to the airport, using Grab is more reassuring than taking a taxi off the street.

This time, we left the MIT Building at around 5:30 in the early morning and traveled by Grab to Terminal 2 of Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

We explain step by step not only how to request a Grab, but also the walk from MIT Building 2 to the pick-up point, the place where the vehicle arrives, how long the trip really takes, and finally the arrival at the departure door of Terminal 2.

Grab is a ride-hailing app that originated in Singapore.

It is widely used throughout Southeast Asia and, in the Philippines, it has become one of the most common means of transport.

In Cebu, Grab is also very easy to use and lets you get from the school to shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, the airport and many other places.

Of course, in Cebu you can also use regular taxis.

However, lately, depending on the time and place, some taxi drivers try to negotiate the fare. That is why, when I get around Cebu City, I use Grab practically 100% of the time.

One of the advantages of Grab is that, before you get in the vehicle, the app shows an estimate of the fare.

In a regular taxi, depending on whether the meter is used or on the destination, you sometimes have to negotiate the price, but with Grab you can confirm the fare in the app before booking the ride.

Also, if you register a credit card in Grab, you do not need to pay in cash when you reach your destination.

Even if, before returning to your country, you have already spent almost all your Philippine pesos, you can get to the airport without using cash, which is very handy.

In addition, Grab has a review system that lets you rate the driver after the trip.

For Grab drivers, ratings are very important. That is why cases of overcharging or of drivers insisting on a tip are relatively rare, which makes it an easy option to use even for international students.

First, open the Grab app on your phone.

Grab offers several services, such as food delivery, but to request a vehicle you must select 'Car' on the main screen.

When you select Car, you will go to the screen where you set your current location and destination.

If you are a student who already uses Grab regularly, you surely will not have trouble using the app. But if it is your first time, it is better not to install it on the day you return home: we recommend trying it at least once during your study stay.

The new 3D ACADEMY campus, as well as the new internal dorm, are located in Building 2 of the MIT Building.

However, when requesting a Grab, it is clearer to set the parking lot in front of Building 1 as the meeting point, rather than directly indicating the entrance of Building 2.

This parking lot is called AUB Car Park.

It is actually the parking lot of the MIT Building, but in Grab you can find it easily by searching for 'AUB Car Park'.

Around the MIT Building there are Building 1 and Building 2, so drivers who come for the first time sometimes find it hard to locate the exact place.

That is why, if you set AUB Car Park as the pick-up point in Grab, the driver is less likely to get lost, and it is also easier for the student to coordinate the meeting.

Especially on the day you return home, when you usually carry large suitcases, it is more reassuring to indicate a place where the vehicle can easily stop, rather than waiting at the edge of the street or in a place that is hard to find.

In the Grab app, your current location is shown automatically through GPS.

However, if you rely on GPS alone, it sometimes shows a location slightly different from where you are actually waiting, whether on the Building 1 side, the Building 2 side or along the street.

That is why, when heading to the airport from 3D ACADEMY, we recommend not using your current location directly, but searching for and setting AUB Car Park as the pick-up point.

In practice, this makes it easier for the driver to identify the place, and communication when getting in the vehicle went very smoothly.

Next, set your destination.

Mactan-Cebu International Airport has Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.

Basically, the layout is as follows:

• International flights: Terminal 2
• Domestic flights: Terminal 1

That is the general rule.

Students taking an international flight, for example when returning to Japan, should select Mactan-Cebu International Airport Terminal 2 as the destination.

On the other hand, if you are traveling within the Philippines, for example to Manila, you should use Terminal 1.

Before heading to the airport, check your ticket or E-ticket and be sure to confirm which terminal you need.

When 3D ACADEMY students return to their countries, they usually take international flights to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and other destinations, so they normally use Terminal 2.

When setting the destination in Grab, it is safer to specify Terminal 2 clearly, rather than indicating only 'Mactan-Cebu International Airport'.

If you end up at Terminal 1 by mistake, you will have to move from there to Terminal 2, which will cost you extra time on the day of your return.

That is why, before heading to the airport, we recommend confirming the airline, the flight number, the departure time and the corresponding terminal.

The biggest advantage of using Grab is, without a doubt, the clarity and peace of mind it offers.

In a regular taxi, you sometimes have to tell the driver the destination verbally.

For students who are not used to English, even explaining terms like 'International Terminal' or 'Terminal 2' can cause some anxiety.

With Grab, on the other hand, it is enough to enter the destination in the app, and the driver will take you directly to that place.

In addition, because the fare is shown in advance, there is less worry about not knowing how much the trip will cost.

You can also pay for Grab in cash, but personally I recommend registering a credit card or another cashless payment method.

On the day of their return, many students try to spend as much of their remaining Philippine pesos as possible.

Even in those cases, if you have a credit card registered in Grab, you will not need to pay in cash when you reach the airport.

You also do not have to worry about change, and the payment history is recorded in the app, which is very handy.

Many international flights departing from Cebu leave in the early hours of the morning or very early.

That is why some students wonder whether it is possible to request a Grab even at 2 or 3 a.m.

The Lahug area, where the new 3D ACADEMY campus is located, is close to JY Square and IT Park, and is one of the areas of Cebu City with the most movement of people and vehicles.

That is why you are very likely to be able to use Grab even in the early hours of the morning or very early.

This time we also used it at around 5 a.m., and we found a Grab right away.

Of course, on rainy days or at times of heavy traffic, it may take a little longer to find a driver.

Especially on the day of your return, when you already have a set flight time, we recommend requesting the Grab ahead of time, rather than right before you leave.

When you book a Grab, the app shows the driver's name, the vehicle model and the license plate, among other details.

When the vehicle arrives, always check the license plate before getting in.

Around the MIT Building there are usually also many vehicles that are not Grab.

That is why, rather than getting into any vehicle that arrives, it is safer to first confirm that it really is the Grab you booked.

At the end of the study program, quite a few students have more luggage than when they arrived.

If you only have one large suitcase, a standard Grab Car normally has no problems, but if you have two or more large suitcases, or if you are traveling to the airport with other people, it is worth paying attention to the size of the vehicle.

Especially if there are two or more people with large suitcases, the luggage may not fit in the trunk.

Before booking, take into account the number of passengers and the amount of luggage when choosing the type of vehicle.

The travel time from Lahug to Mactan-Cebu International Airport varies considerably depending on traffic.

In Cebu, the streets can get quite congested depending on the time of day.

Especially at the morning and afternoon rush hours, or on rainy days, the trip can take much longer than usual.

That is why we do not recommend leaving just in time based only on the estimated time shown by the Grab app.

For international flights, check-in and immigration control can also take time, so try to leave the MIT Building with enough margin.

Next, we show you the actual route from MIT Building 2 to AUB Car Park.

First, you take the elevator down to the ground floor from MIT Building 2, where the school dorm is.

When you reach the ground floor, you leave Building 2 and head toward Building 1.

You continue straight along the corridor that leads to Building 1.

Even if you are carrying a large suitcase, the distance is not very long. It should not be a major burden on the day you return home.

After walking along the corridor and climbing the stairs, you reach AUB Car Park.

It is actually the parking lot of the MIT Building, but when looking for it in Grab, just type 'AUB Car Park' to find it easily.

This is the place where you wait for the Grab.

You do not need to wait at the edge of the street, and vehicles can enter easily, so it is a very practical meeting point for the day you return home, when you have a lot of luggage.

Since I use Grab regularly, I already have some idea of how long it takes for the vehicle to arrive.

However, sometimes the vehicle arrives faster than expected after you make the booking.

If you request the Grab while you are still in your room in Building 2, the driver may have to wait for you while you go down in the elevator and move with your luggage to Building 1.

That is why, especially if it is your first time, the best thing is to carry your suitcase to AUB Car Park and request the Grab from there.

This way, even if the vehicle arrives earlier than expected, you can get in right away.

The Grab vehicle arrived.

After confirming the license plate and the vehicle model shown in the app, we loaded the luggage and headed to Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

This time, since it is an international flight, the destination is Terminal 2.

Normally, the trip between Mactan-Cebu International Airport and 3D ACADEMY takes between 30 and 40 minutes, or even more, depending on traffic.

However, since we left at around 5:30 in the early morning, the streets were quite clear.

In fact, we got from the MIT Building to the airport in about 25 minutes.

The early-morning trip was very smooth, but during the day or in the late afternoon you will not always get there in the same time, so do not calculate your departure time based only on those 25 minutes.

In about 25 minutes we reached the second-floor departures area of Terminal 2 at Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

If you are taking an international flight, when you set Terminal 2 as the destination in Grab, you will basically be taken directly to this departures area.

When you get out of the vehicle, check that you are not leaving behind any suitcase or other item, and head to the terminal entrance.

If the payment in the Grab app is already completed when you reach the airport, you do not need to exchange cash with the driver.

On the day of your return there are many things to do, such as checking your luggage and checking in, so cashless payment is very convenient in this respect too.

The Terminal 2 departures area has an entrance through which you enter the airport.

At the entrance, you show your passport together with your plane ticket or E-ticket to be allowed in.

On the day of your return, it is advisable to keep your passport and plane ticket at hand—not at the bottom of your suitcase—while you are still in the Grab vehicle, so that everything goes more smoothly.

At this point, the trip from the MIT Building to Terminal 2 of Mactan-Cebu International Airport is complete.

From the moment we left the dorm until we reached AUB Car Park, requested the Grab and arrived at the airport, in this case, in the early morning, the whole trip was very smooth.

On making this trip from the MIT Building to the airport by Grab again, we confirmed that the most important thing is to be clear about the pick-up point.

If you use MIT Building 2 directly as the pick-up point, there is a chance that the place where you meet the driver will not match exactly.

On the other hand, if you walk to AUB Car Park before requesting the vehicle, both the student and the driver can identify the place more easily.

Also, as in this case, in the early morning it is possible to reach the airport in about 25 minutes, but traffic in Cebu varies a lot depending on the time of day.

Rather than thinking 'last time it took me 25 minutes, so this time will be the same,' for international flights we recommend heading to the airport with enough time to spare.

In this article we showed you the whole trip from the new 3D ACADEMY campus in the MIT Building to the arrival at Terminal 2 of Mactan-Cebu International Airport using Grab.

We hope you now have a clear idea of the whole process on the day of your return: how to get from Building 2 to AUB Car Park, the Grab meeting point, the arrival of the vehicle and, finally, the departures area of Terminal 2.

In the next article we will go inside Terminal 2 and detail the whole process, from check-in to immigration exit and boarding.

We will also cover a topic that interests many people before heading home: whether it is worth buying souvenirs inside Terminal 2, looking at the actual shops and their prices.