palawan

In the Paradise of Palawan

I was in Palawan last February 2013 with my girlfriends. I remember as soon as I saw the stunning view of Palawan from the plane, I knew I was in for a great vacation. My excitement rushed much more when the pilot announced our arrival at the Puerto Princesa airport. Well, hello there Palawan.

Palawan is often called "The Last Frontier" because it is the last unsettled area in the Philippines, which also happens to be the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. As much as it is home to a large biodiversity, it's also a paradise of white sand beaches and turquoise water; you would actually see many foreigners backpacking here. And of course, this is the home of one of the Seven Wonders of Nature, the "Puerto Princesa Underground River"!

Airfare tickets from Manila to Puerto Princesa usually cost around 3,500Php (79$) two way. We got ours for only 800php (18$) from a promo fare, imagine that!! There are a lot of cheap airlines flying to Palawan. Check out Cebu Pacific and AirAsia, they almost always have promo fares!

Anyway, we were supposed to be 6 in the group to enjoy Palawan, but due to work schedule, only 4 of us were allowed to go. But then just two days before our flight, one of the girls backed out cause of some “unfortunate event”. And so we’re down to 3. An all-girl group trip! Nevertheless, it doesn’t make our vacation less fun.

Here's a rough draft of our itinerary:

DAY 1: CITY TOUR

12:20 Arrival at PPS airport
13:00 Check-in at the hotel.
1300-1400 Start of half-day city tour. Visit:
- Bay walk
- Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral
- Plaza Cuartel
- Souvenir shop/market
- Mitra’s Ranch
- Baker’s Hill
- Binuatan Weaving Center
- Crocodile Farm

DAY 2: UNDERGROUND RIVER TOUR

HONDA BAY ISLAND HOPPING TOUR – HALF DAY TOUR

07:00 Breakfast
08:00 Proceed to Sta. Lourdes Wharf for Island Hopping Tour.
09:00 Running tour of the below islands:
Pandan, Luli, Bat, Meara Marina, Starfish and Snake Island.
12:00 Lunch at one of the islands
13:00 Scheduled boat ride back to Sta. Lourdes wharf
15:00 Back to hotel/pension house

DAY 3:

07:30 Depart for Underground River.
2-3 hours travel to Sabang beach then 30-45 minute tour inside the cave.
13:00Buffet lunch at the restaurant by the beach in the afternoon.
17:00 Back to hotel/pension house
18:00 Check out of hotel and travel to El Nido

Day 4: El Nido tour

Day 5:

Back to Puerto Princesa and flight back to Manila

To save time and efforts, we looked for a travel agency and purchased a tour package for Puerto Princesa worth 4480php per person (100$). This is also advisable if you like to see the most visited places in Puerto Princesa but backpacking would be much better if you are not visiting for the first time.

Where we stay

We stayed at Casa Fuerte Bed and Breakfast. It's an elegant, relaxing yet affordable inn located in the heart of the busy Puerto Princesa city. Our room was a Twin Deluxe room that's very spacious and even posh.