SarahThe first place many people think about when someone says “Philippines” is: “Boracay”!
But the Philippines is so much more than only Boracay! Boracay may have some amazing beaches – but the Philippines is blessed with a stunning nature including waterfalls, pristine beaches and awe-inspiring limestone formations.
Read: Best places in the Philippines you need to visit this year!
So for me and Markus the closure of Boracay just made our itinerary decision easier – we were going to go to Cebu and Palawan!
Having made this decision, we realized that even this still leaves us with too many possibilities and we really struggled hard to find out, how much time we would like to spend where. In the end, we came up with an itinerary that we really loved and that why I am sharing this Palawan itinerary now with you!
And if you are thinking about visiting Cebu – I got something for you as well!
- Instaworthy Kawasan Falls – how to make the most of your visit
- The Secret Waterfalls Of Siquijor – A Complete Guide!
- Bohol in one day – the ultimate itinerary!
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The perfect itinerary to Palawan in three weeks
Puerto Princesa (Day 1-4)
Puerto Princesa is an easy and cheap entry point to Palawan and that why we started there. The town itself is rather unspectacular but it is the start base for some really cool tours – the Underground River and Honda Bay. The Underground River is a UNESCO World Heritage site and was voted as one of the seven new wonders of nature – and seeing it, this is fully understandable!
Tours from Puerto Princesa cost around 1,700-1,900 Peso, including lunch. You will be driving and waiting quite long for your boat tour through the Underground River – but in my opinion, it was worth it!
The second day in Palawan, we went to Honda Bay – again this is an organised tour, including lunch for 1,500 Peso. You could organise it yourself, but it likely won’t save you much money. Take your own snorkeling gear though – otherwise you will be charged extra to rent it! The tour will take you to some really nice island – though we felt it was crowded compared to Port Barton and the snorkeling spots were also only good but not excellent.
We stayed at Masters Pension Guesthouse – which we liked due to it proximity to the city center and the small pool that they offer for a pretty low price. If you are looking for something more luxurious, Princesa Garden Island is probably your best bet!
One important thing before you move on in Palawan – take cash from Puerto Princesa! Port Barton and El Nido are particularly famous in Palawan for travelers running out of cash because there are very few ATMs. And we never had such big problems withdrawing money with any of our five (!) credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and Amex!) in any other country of the world than in Palawan!
Another trick is to pre-book your accomodation with credit card (that’s why all links refer to Agoda and not Booking – Agoda is always pre-payed) – if you are unsure if you like the place just take one or two nights and then do the same again when you know where to stay!
Port Barton (Day 4-8)
If you never heard of Port Barton, don’t be surprised – it is still a pretty laid back, original small beach village in the middle of Palawan.
But everyone that has been there, said they genuinely liked it – and i am no different! Port Barton is original where El Nido is already completely developed and tourism focused.
Port Barton also has Tour A,B,C and D – but they are more similar. However, they only cost 700 Pesos, you might have lots of the beaches entirely to you and the snorkeling is stellar! We even came super close to big turtles!
And the other difference to El Nido is, that you can actually go swimming at the beach upon your return after the tour because the water is super clean and the beach is fine sand! I call that a deal! Only thing you should know: there is no electricity in Port Barton for most of the day – mainly only from 6pm-midnight. Some upscale places have generators – but I felt like we didn’t need it at all!
In order to get to Port Barton you simply take a shared mini van from Puerto Princesa for 400 Pesos – every hotel can organise that for you! Trip takes about 4 hours and departure are around three times a day with the last usually around 1pm.
We didnt book in advance and did a walk in but based on the season you might want to prebook. We stayed at a lovely place called Elsas Cottages – their garden rooms are a real bargain at 1000 Pesos – Beachfront isn’t expensive as well (1.500 Pesos), but it is directly next to the reggae bar with live music until 11pm. Another great place to stay is Deep Moon – we went there multiple times for their awesome healthy food options (but they were fully booked when we arrived) – they also rent SUP boards for 100 Pesos/h. A must do in Palawan!
Besides the island and snorkel tours (and beach bumming) you can also rent a scooter and drive to some waterfalls – but be warned – the roads in Palawan are not for the faint-hearted! And don’t forget to wear a helmet (even though the locals don’t) – safety first! 😘
Port Barton definitely has to offer a lot of instaworthy places as well!
Read: Most instagrammable places in Palawan – the ultimate guide
El Nido (Day 8-11)
Next stop on our Palawan itinary is the famous El Nido – the scenery of the limestone karst bays is definitely worth visiting. Just be aware that you will share the place with lots of other tourists. And i mean LOTS of them!
There is four different tours (creatively named A,B,C,D – you know this already from Port Barton) that take you one a day tour including lunch for 1,300-1,500 Pesos. With connections you might actually get them for 700-900 but don’t count on that!
The other (and highly recommended) option is to charter a boat for yourself – the price without lunch is just 3,500 Pesos (although agencies will start haggling around 6,000 – stand your ground and walk to the next if they are stubborn – it just took us 15min to find a fair one 🙂 ). The good thing about the private boat is that your captain will be able to go to the places at different times then the huge crowds – but you will probably still have to share the location with a few other boats. Concerning the route, every local will tell you tell that tour A and C are the most interesting ones and I agree on that.
Friends of us also took a new route called “Tour Z” that takes you to other spots and includes e.g. kajak rental and runs on a bigger boat. It’s priced at 1,500 Pesos and is a little bit more a party crowd according to them! 🙂
On thing to be very aware of in El Nido is food poisoning.
Markus and me have traveled to over 50 countries, we have eaten all kinds of street food everywhere and we know that sometimes you will need a toilet more often then you like. But we never ever had such a bad reaction ever – we both were completely knocked out for two days and we don’t have any clue what it was that caused it. I didn’t eat any meat or seafood – so don’t think you are safe if you don’t. Take extra precautions – more than in Thailand, Vietnam or Indonesia! Otherwise you might participate in the “El Nido Diet” (that’s what we call it now!) for a few days!
Since El Nido town is really crowded, we opted to stay outside in Corong Corong at Greenviews Beach Resort
And if you are looking for some other really cool options where to sleep, this guide on where to stay in El Nido will definitely show you some inspiration!
Cruise with Tao to Coron (Day 11-15)
I promise – this WILL be the highlight of your whole Palawan trip! Tao Philippines is an eco-friendly, sustainable, non-profit company that offer 5D4N boat trips between Coron and El Nido. You will go on a trip with up to 23 other guests and 10 crew members (called the lost boys).
During the days you will stop on pristine beaches and amazing snorkeling spots and then you will sleep in Taos base camps in simple iconic wooden huts on the beach. Your trip includes all activities and three meals + some snacks and unlimited water/tea/coffee.
Tao invests all the money they make into the villages on the islands, building schools and community centers, training farmers on organic farming and empowering women. All the food you eat comes from Taos own organic farms and you will taste the difference!
Check Tao’s website early enough when planning to schedule your timing according! You can also do my itinary the other way round if it better fits with Taos sailing dates. DON’T SIMPLY TAKE THE FERRY! If you lack the time for the full itinary – cut somewhere else! 🤗
Read: Tao Philippines – five days in paradise with the lost boys
Coron (Day 15-19)
One thing you should know right from the start about Coron: there is no beach at the city! For a day at the beach you actually have to book a day tour again.
To me that made Coron somewhat less interesting than El Nido – how ever there are a few reason, why you still can’t miss Coron:
- Diving
- Kayangan and Barracuda Lake
- Hot Springs
- Malcaspuya and Banana Island
- Twin Lagoon
To be able to cool off after a hot day i strongly suggest getting a hotel with a pool – Coron city doesnt really offer much of interest. We stayed at Sunz en Coron and found them to be very good value. They have a pool, nice garden cabanas to chill out, super friendly staff and a small restaurant. They are a little bit outside but they offer free tricycle rides should you want to go to Coron city anytime. They even drove us to our next hotel when we had to check out because Sunz was fully booked (and we had only booked few nights)!
If you are looking for healthy food (not easy in the Philippines…) try Brujita or the Harvest bowl at Buzz Express (They also have Pizza but the best Pizza is inarguably found at Altrove!)
If you want to find a really cool itinerary about how to spend four days in Coron, you should definitely read this article too: 4 day travel guide in Coron
And if you are concerned about your budget – this budget guide to Coron will help you save your money!
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Indeed! Palawan is a great place and must be on your bucket list. Ive been to El Nido last year and we spent 3 days to relax.
Ive been in Puerto Princessa as well and spent 5 days to self medidate and remove stress. I wish I could stay longer even if it’s expensive. LOL.
I like the calm environment. So relaxing. So natural. I like the people and the cleanliness of them.
But no one knows that it was the last. I mean now that there was coronavirus, I’m afraid of.
So the next destination if the coronavirus already vanished is Coron. I heard of it but never been there.
I wish that everything will be back to normal for me to travel again.