General Santos International Airport

From Pasig City, we made it at 4:30am at NAIA Terminal 3 on time for our flight at 6:55am. I quickly checked our itinerary receipt and noticed that our estimated time of arrival in General Santos City (GenSan) would be at 8:45am. That's a total of 1 hour 50 minute flight to the southernmost city in the Philippines.



Whenever we travel, either by bus or by plane, we usually reserve front seats. Considering my height of 5'11", my long legs need all the leg room available. After take off and as soon as the aircraft gained elevation, I reclined my seat, close my eyes and tried to catch some sleep. The next thing I knew was the Cebu Pacific flight attendant waking me up and asking me to straighten up my seat as the plane was already on its final descent to General Santos International Airport.

I pulled up my window shade and enjoyed watching the view over South Cotabato and Sarangani.

mountain range somewhere in South Cotabato

We passed above mountain ranges, valleys and plantation fields. We also caught a silhouette of Mt. Matutum hiding behind the clouds.

silhouette of Mt. Matutum

The aircraft went past General Santos City and further out above Sarangani Bay where it took a u-turn.

aerial view over General Santos City and Sarangani Bay

Right before landing, we passed above this interesting landscape in Sarangani.

valley in Sarangani

Though the flight seemed short, I was able to sleep for 1 hour 30 minutes, feeling recharged and excited for the day's activity. As we exited from the airport's terminal building, headed straight to the parking lot to look for the van arranged to pick us up.

Joining us in the van were fellow Manila-based bloggers Don Triviño of bonggaba.com and Fitz Villafuerte of fitzvillafuerte.com.

From the airport, it only took us 20 minutes to get to Family Country Hotel, our official residence for the 5-day SoCCSkSarGen Experience Tour 4.0 event.

Transportation: Airport-Downtown hotel service A number of hotels in General Santos City, such as Family Country Hotel (+63-83-552-8895 to 97), provide free shuttle transfers for their guests arriving in General Santos City Airport. Other hotels would charge a fee per passenger. Make sure to have your hotel transfers arranged prior to your arrival. taxi Taxis are parked right in front of the airport terminal building. Standard fare is P300.00. For destinations outside General Santos City, you may contact Mr. Ranulfo M. Cona of Gershom Car Trading (09277265005/09232505444) for the rates.

Transportation: Downtown-Airport hotel service A number of hotels in General Santos City, such as Family Country Hotel (+63-83-552-8895 to 97), provide free shuttle transfers for their guests flying our from General Santos City Airport. Other hotels would charge a fee per passenger. Make sure to have your hotel transfers arranged prior to your arrival. taxi You can take a trike (P10.00 per passenger) and tell the driver to bring you to the taxi terminal. Taxis charge a standard fare of P300.00. Alternatively, you can request for a taxi to pick you up at your hotel with a surcharge of P50.00. You can have this arranged by your hotel or you can directly contact Mr. Ranulfo M. Cona of Gershom Car Trading (09277265005/ 09232505444). Different rates apply for pick-up points outside General Santos City.