Why visit Santo Tomas
Townapedia lists 13 places to eat and 2 places to stay in and around town.
Weather in Santo Tomas
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Santo Tomas
Santo Tomas, officially the Municipality of Santo Tomas (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Santo Tomas; Tagalog: Bayan ng Santo Tomas; Spanish: Municipio de Santo Tomás), is a municipality in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 131,100 people.
From the Wikipedia article Santo Tomas, Davao del Norte (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Restaurants and cafes13
1 more on the map.
Where to stay2
Churches and places of worship2
Shopping3
History
What is now Santo Tomas, initially called Tibal-og, was once part of the jurisdiction of nearby town of Kapalong. Before the 1950s. the place used to be a lush forest inhabited by the indigenous Ata-Manobo people.
According to the town's pioneering residents, the area of what is now Kapalong (in which what is now Santo Tomas was still part of) and Panabo City were planted for abaca during the pre-war years.
Santo Tomas was established as a municipality through Executive Order No. 352, issued by President Carlos P. Garcia on August 14, 1959. It consists of Barrio Tibal-og, designated as the seat of government, and "other barrios or sitios" of Kapalong, and four barrios of Panabo, all then part of the old Davao province.
Feliciano P. Ganade served as the first elected mayor of Santo Tomas after briefly governing the town of Kapalong.
From then on, it continued to grow and prosper, even as it went several successions of mayoralty governance throughout its history.
From the History section of Santo Tomas, Davao del Norte on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Gas and EV charging1
Schools, colleges and libraries39
Healthcare3
Map of Santo Tomas
63 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Bislig Airport (BPH) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 57 km away.
- Veruela 21 km southeast, about 21 min by car
- San Francisco 42 km north, about 42 min by car
- Prosperidad 45 km north, about 45 min by car
- Cabanglasan 53 km west, about 53 min by car
- Bislig 56 km east, about 56 min by car
- Montevista 58 km south, about 58 min by car
- Bayugan 64 km north, about 1 h by car
- Compostela 65 km southeast, about 1 h by car
- New Corella 67 km south, about 1 h by car
- Nabunturan 67 km south, about 1 h by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Municipal hall Sto Tomas, DJ Baguio, CC BY-SA 4.0
Page built November 7, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.