South Road Properties (SRP) & NUSTAR Guide (2026)

TL;DR: South Road Properties (SRP) is Cebu City’s roughly 300-hectare reclaimed waterfront district south of downtown, home to NUSTAR Resort & Casino, SM Seaside City, Cebu Ocean Park, and the open-air Il Corso boardwalk. Budget half a day for the malls and casino, or a full day if you add Ocean Park and a sunset walk on the bike lane. From Mactan-Cebu Airport, expect 35–45 minutes via the CCLEX bridge (about ₱90 toll for a car) or 45–60 minutes on the older bridges, which are free but slower. Verified July 2026.

South Road Properties, usually just called SRP by anyone who’s lived in Cebu a while, is the reclaimed strip of land that runs along the city’s southern coastline, connected to the old downtown by a coastal road and to Mactan Island by the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX). It didn’t exist a generation ago; it was built by filling in the sea, and it’s now where most of Cebu City’s big new money is going — malls, a casino resort, waterfront dining, and high-rise condos. This guide is for anyone deciding whether to spend an afternoon or a full day here: what’s actually worth your time between NUSTAR, SM Seaside, Cebu Ocean Park, and Il Corso, how they connect, and how to get in and out without wasting half your day in traffic. If you’re weighing SRP against Cebu City’s other malls, see our roundup of the best malls in Cebu for how it stacks up.

What’s Actually at SRP?

Verified July 2026.

Spot	Type	Note
NUSTAR Resort & Casino	Casino, hotel, entertainment complex	Casino floor, 3 hotel towers, convention center, waterfront Boardwalk
SM Seaside City Cebu	Enclosed mall	Ice-skating rink, IMAX, bowling alley, department stores
Cebu Ocean Park	Aquarium / marine park	~₱800 weekday / ₱1,000 weekend (~US$14/$17); inside the SM Seaside complex
Il Corso	Open-air lifestyle strip	Waterfront boardwalk, restaurants, Food Yard trucks
City di Mare	Master-planned township	48-hectare development that contains Il Corso and residential towers
Sugbo Mercado SRP	Night food market	Branch of the original IT Park night market; confirm current open nights locally
SRP bike & jogging lane	Free recreation path	Seaside lane running several kilometers; busiest early morning and sunset
CCLEX (Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway)	Toll bridge to Mactan	~₱90 one-way for a car; free lane for bikes and pedestrians

Is NUSTAR Resort & Casino Worth a Visit?

Yes, but mostly for the parts that aren’t the casino floor. NUSTAR is a joint venture between the Cebu City government and Universal Hotels and Resorts (a JG Summit subsidiary), and it’s built as a full resort rather than just a gaming hall: three hotel towers (including the 5-star Fili Hotel at NUSTAR), a shopping mall, restaurants, an infinity pool, a spa, and a 2,499-square-meter convention center that NUSTAR bills as the largest venue of its kind outside Metro Manila, built to hold up to 2,000 guests.

The waterfront Boardwalk and The Mall at NUSTAR are open to anyone and worth a walk even if you’re not staying there or gambling. NUSTAR also programs real events on the property: the Boardwalk hosted the Carnaval de Luz New Year’s Eve fireworks show, a Spotlight Sessions Grand Concert (Zsa Zsa Padilla, Erik Santos, and Angeline Quinto were billed for the February 14, 2026 date), and a Sinulog Artisan Fair at the mall during festival week in January. Confirm the current events calendar on NUSTAR’s own site, since these rotate.

If the casino floor itself is the draw, expect standard Philippine casino rules: a minimum age of 21, a valid ID requirement, and a dress code that rules out shorts, slippers, and sleeveless shirts. For a wider view of Cebu’s gaming options, see our guide to casinos in Cebu.

Is Cebu Ocean Park Worth the Ticket?

If you have kids or half a day to spare, yes — it’s a solid mid-tier aquarium, not a world-class one. Cebu Ocean Park sits inside the SM Seaside complex in Mambaling and is open daily from 10 AM to 6 PM, with last ticket sales at 5 PM. Published rates run about ₱800 on weekdays and ₱1,000 on weekends (roughly US$14–17 at ₱58/US$1), with a 20% discount for seniors and PWDs and free entry for children under 3 feet tall.

It’s not the same scale as Manila Ocean Park, but it’s a reasonable rainy-day or midday-heat option if you’re already at SM Seaside, especially with young kids. Book ahead on Klook’s Cebu Ocean Park listing to skip the ticket line, and double-check current pricing and any feeding-show schedule on the park’s own site before you go, since promos shift throughout the year.

What’s the Difference Between Il Corso and SM Seaside?

SM Seaside is an enclosed mall; Il Corso is the open-air waterfront strip next door. SM Seaside City Cebu is a conventional mall — one of the largest in the Visayas at roughly 470,000 square meters of floor area — with an Olympic-size ice-skating rink (around 1,800 square meters, room for about 300 skaters), an IMAX theater, an 18-lane bowling alley, and the usual SM department store and supermarket anchors.

Il Corso, run by Filinvest as part of the 48-hectare City di Mare township, is the opposite approach: a roughly 10-hectare open-air, low-rise strip built around a paved boardwalk facing the sea, with wide, breezy walkways instead of air-conditioned corridors. The dining here — from sit-down places like Lantaw and Chika-an sa Cebu to the Food Yard’s cluster of food trucks — leans into the waterfront setting, and the SRP Baywalk section is open for an evening stroll even if you’re not eating. Most visitors treat SM Seaside and Il Corso as one outing since they’re only a short walk or a quick tricycle ride apart.

Is Sugbo Mercado SRP the Same as the IT Park One?

It’s a branch of the same brand, not the original. Sugbo Mercado started as a night food market in IT Park, Lahug, and has since opened satellite locations, including one at City di Mare on SRP. The IT Park original runs Tuesday to Sunday evenings, but exact days and hours for the SRP branch have varied and aren’t consistently published — check Sugbo Mercado’s Facebook page for the current schedule before planning a trip around it specifically. If it’s closed when you’re there, Il Corso’s Food Yard and the SM Seaside food court cover the same ground. For the flagship experience, see our Sugbo Mercado night food market guide.

Can You Run or Bike Along SRP?

Yes — it’s one of the better car-free stretches in Metro Cebu. SRP has a dedicated seaside lane for cyclists, joggers, and walkers, separated from vehicle traffic, part of a wider Metro Cebu bike lane network that local officials have expanded over the past few years. It runs several kilometers along the coast with sheltered rest stops and bike racks in places. Il Corso’s own boardwalk section (locally called SRP Baywalk) adds a shorter, prettier stretch right along the water if you just want a sunset walk rather than a full workout.

Go early morning or late afternoon — midday sun on an open, shadeless reclaimed strip is rough, even by Cebu standards.

How Do You Get to SRP?

Grab or taxi is the practical option; there’s no dedicated public transport route from the airport. From Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the fastest route crosses the CCLEX bridge, taking roughly 35–45 minutes and costing about ₱90 in toll for a standard car (motorcycles pay the same class rate; heavier vehicles pay more). The older route via the Mandaue-Mactan bridges is toll-free but typically takes 45–60 minutes, longer in rush-hour traffic. For airport logistics in general, see our Mactan-Cebu Airport guide.

If you’re coming from Cebu City’s downtown or IT Park, SRP is a straightforward 15–25 minute Grab ride down the South Coastal Road, traffic depending. There’s no jeepney line built specifically for the malls at SRP, so most visitors without a car rely on ride-hailing apps or taxis.

Notably, CCLEX has a separate, free lane for pedestrians and cyclists — you can cross the bridge on foot or by bike without paying the vehicle toll, which has turned it into a minor sightseeing stop of its own.

Where Should You Stay Near SRP?

Stay at NUSTAR itself if you want to be inside the district, or in Cebu City proper if you want more restaurant and nightlife variety within reach. NUSTAR’s own hotel towers (Fili Hotel at NUSTAR and NUSTAR Hotel) put you steps from the Boardwalk, the mall, and Il Corso, but you’ll be relying on Grab for anything outside SRP itself. Basing in Cebu City’s Fuente Osmeña, Cebu Business Park, or IT Park areas instead keeps you closer to the city’s wider restaurant scene, with SRP a short ride away. Compare hotel rates in Cebu City on Agoda to see current pricing for both options side by side.

The Honest Take

SRP is impressive in scale and genuinely useful if you want a modern mall day, a decent aquarium for the kids, or a sunset walk with sea views that Cebu City’s older downtown doesn’t really offer. But temper expectations: it’s a reclaimed strip built for cars and condos first, foot traffic second, so outside the mall interiors and the Il Corso boardwalk, it’s not a particularly walkable or shaded district, and the heat on an open, treeless stretch of concrete by the sea is real. NUSTAR’s casino floor is aimed at a specific kind of visitor (and the “one of Asia’s newest integrated resorts” marketing outpaces what’s actually there day-to-day outside big events); if gambling isn’t your thing, you’re really there for the free Boardwalk, the events calendar, and the restaurants. If you’ve already done SM City and Ayala Center, SRP is worth a half-day add-on rather than a must-do — it’s convenient, not essential, unless a specific NUSTAR event or Cebu Ocean Park with kids is the actual draw.

Combine It With the Rest of Cebu

SRP pairs naturally with a Cebu City day: do the heritage core in the morning, then head south to SRP for the mall, aquarium, and waterfront dinner as the day cools off. If you’re staying nearby, Cordova across the CCLEX bridge has its own beach and sandbar day trips — see our Cordova guide to 10,000 Roses and the sandbars for that side trip. For the wider city, our Cebu City travel guide covers how SRP fits into a longer itinerary, and where to stay in Cebu City breaks down neighborhoods if you’re deciding between basing near SRP or downtown.

Sources

• NUSTAR Resort & Casino — official site (facilities, events, convention center)
• Cebu Ocean Park — official tickets and hours page
• South Road Properties — Wikipedia (background, reclamation history)
• Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway — Wikipedia (toll structure, bike/pedestrian lane)
• Il Corso and City di Mare details cross-checked against Filinvest-linked local reporting (Sunstar Cebu, Sugbo.ph); SM Seaside facility details from SM Supermalls’ own listings.
• Prices, hours, and event dates change; confirm current details directly with NUSTAR, Cebu Ocean Park, and Sugbo Mercado before visiting. Verified July 2026.