Things to do in General Santos
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit General Santos
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months, drier roads, calmer bay, best dive visibility, Kalilangan in February.
Rains begin, Sarangani Bay Festival in Gumasa in late May.
Tuna Festival in the first week, worth timing despite wet season rain.
Worst for a first trip, heaviest rain, tubing cancellations and variable dive visibility.
What's on
- Kalilangan Festival Last week of February, culminating 27 February
Founding festival with street dancing and tri-people cultural shows at the oval plaza.
- Sarangani Bay Festival Late May
Beach festival in Gumasa, Glan, with concerts and beach sports, book Gumasa early.
- Tuna Festival First week of September, around 5 September
Street grilling on Pioneer Avenue, float parade, culinary olympics and Grand Fish Fest at the port.
Best things to do in General Santos
General Santos City Fish Port Complex
Watch sashimi grade tuna weighed, graded and auctioned at dawn in the port that made this city.
Tiongson Arcade
The centre of a tuna tasting crawl, with panga, belly, kinilaw and bihod grilled to order.
Plaza Heneral Santos
The city living room and founding story in one walk, best in late afternoon as food stalls open.
General Paulino Santos Museum
Small museum on the founder and the 1939 pioneer settlement that created the city.
Mindanao State University Museum
University collection of Maguindanao, Blaan and Tboli objects that primes a Lake Sebu trip.
Queen Tuna Park
Bayfront promenade for sunset, boats and street food, not for swimming.
Wild Card Gym
Pacquiao hometown gym stop, the one hour version of the Pacman trail for boxing fans.
General Santos City Public Market
Morning market for tuna, Mindanao fruit and frozen tuna pasalubong packed for flights.
Where to stay in General Santos
Lagao, Catolico Avenue mall corridor
first trip, all-round base
Best hotels, restaurants and van terminals within minutes, lit and busy into the evening.
Dadiangas, around Plaza Heneral Santos
budget, festivals, downtown life
Older cheaper hotels by the plaza, market and grill strip, with the most local street life.
Tambler hills, Sarangani Highlands
one-night escape, couples
Gardens and bay sunsets above the city, but nothing walkable and a car needed for everything.
Gumasa, Glan
beach nights
Sleep on the white sand an hour east and get the beach empty in the morning.
Think twice about
- Fish Port and Tambler industrial waterfront
Working port with trucks from 3am, canneries, smells and almost no lodging. Visit at dawn, do not sleep there.
- Queen Tuna Park waterfront at night
Harbour shoreline with patchy lighting and documented litter and water problems. Sunset visit, then leave by tricycle.
- Isolated highway short-stay motels
Hourly motels on the city fringe with no neighbourhood or food. Use the named in-city budget hotels instead.
Best restaurants in General Santos
Tiongson Arcade
Open air grill strip where you point at fresh tuna and seafood and they cook it your way.
Aweng's Balbacuahan
GenSan first name for balbacua, the slow Mindanao ox stew eaten for breakfast.
BigBen Steaks and Grills
City best regarded full restaurant for Angus steaks, ribs and grilled tuna belly.
Tribu Kefi
Mindanao inspired cafe serving an Angus balbacua in a Tboli patterned room.
Sarangani Highlands Garden and Restaurant
Filipino seafood dining in gardens above Sarangani Bay, best from late afternoon.
Tambilawan Kamayan Restaurant
Reliable halal Filipino kamayan restaurant known for nilagpang and buko halo halo.
Chicken Hauz Restaurant
Local legend for garlic chicken eaten with your hands, plus pancit canton and kinilaw.
Mint Cafe
Greenleaf all day cafe, the reliable air conditioned table with the city most praised hotel service.
Best coffee in General Santos
Workstation Specialty Coffee
City specialty coffee stop with iced lattes, burnt cheesecake and laptop friendly hours from 7am.
Outdoor things to do in General Santos
Lake Sebu
Tboli highland lake with dawn boat rides, Tnalak weaving and the Seven Falls zipline nearby.
Gumasa Beach
Long white sand crescent with clear swimmable water, the beach GenSan itself does not have.
Lemlunay Resort & South Point Divers
Shore entry onto the Tinoto Wall, a coral ledge dropping past 50 metres off Maasim.
Sanchez Peak
City highest point hike with 360 degree views of the bay, Matutum and Parker, plus summit camping.
Mt. Matutum
Permitted organised climb of the 2286 metre cone, steep and mossy, for fit hikers only.
Club Kalsangi by Dole Philippines, Inc.
Beautiful private 18 hole course under Matutum, playable only as a Dole guest.
Klaja Karst
Undeveloped limestone towers, caves and the cold Bunga Spring where local families camp and swim.
Isla Jardin del Mar
Full facility Gumasa resort with a huge saltwater pool that suits children and beach days.
Best hotels in General Santos
Grand Summit Hotel General Santos
City top hotel by review volume, with a strong breakfast buffet and a good pool.
Greenleaf Hotel Gensan
Established top tier hotel opposite SM City, praised most for warm, named staff service.
Avior Hotel
Newer, quieter modern hotel on Santiago Boulevard, a good overflow pick for the big two.
Microtel by Wyndham General Santos
Predictable standardised rooms at Valley High, handy for early flights and road trips.
Phela Grande Hotel
Long running downtown hotel walkable to the plaza and market, priced below Lagao.
Sarangani Highlands Garden
Garden hotel above the bay with the city best sunset view, isolated from everything else.
Isla Jardin del Mar
Beach base option in Gumasa with rooms and cottages around the saltwater pool.
Roadhaus Hotel
Small, well kept local budget hotel in a residential subdivision near downtown.
Is General Santos expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₱1,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₱3,500 a person |
| Splurge | ₱7,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Lake Sebu: a few days ahead
- Lemlunay Resort & South Point Divers: a few days ahead
- Mt. Matutum: weeks ahead
- Isla Jardin del Mar: a few days ahead
- Pangi River Tubing: a few days ahead
- Isla Jardin del Mar: a few days ahead
- BigBen Steaks and Grills: a few days ahead
- Lagao hotels weeks ahead for Tuna Festival and Kalilangan weeks.
- Lake Sebu tours and Lemlunay diving 1 to 3 days ahead, Matutum climbs weeks ahead on permitted schedules.
- Gumasa resorts sell out on Philippine long weekends.
Is General Santos safe?
- Check insurance validity for the area before booking.
- Stay in Lagao or Dadiangas, use established operators, return from excursions before late night.
- Do not tour casually west beyond Maitum or into the BARMM interior. Emergency number 911.
General Santos travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Swimming at Queen Tuna Park, which is a promenade over a working harbour.
- The full Pacman tour for non fans, and heroic one day combos of Lake Sebu plus Gumasa.
- City shore properties marketing a pool beside an industrial shore as a beach holiday.
Getting around General Santos: public transport and more
- Tricycles for short city hops, GrabCar for airport and evening trips.
- Vans from KCC terminal for Glan and Koronadal, hired van with driver is best value for groups.
- Arrange a 4.30am fish port ride through your hotel the night before.
Who General Santos suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make General Santos your trip
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