How get to Palawan Island

Overview of how to get to Palawan and route options

Despite the fact that Palawan is the largest province of the Philippines and a popular tourist destination, getting here is not so easy. The difficulty is that the number and routes of flights of planes and ferries to Palawan are very modest. For example, you can get here by plane with direct flights only from Manila and Cebu, respectively, to arrive here with Bohol, Boracay, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Davao and other major cities and islands, you will have to make a transfer, which, of course, greatly increases the cost of the flight and travel time. The situation with ferries is not much better: there are very few of them, prices are also high by local standards, and you will have to lose a lot of time on the way from other islands.

Therefore, when planning your trip with a visit to Palawan, we advise you to make a route very carefully, calculate everything in advance and buy tickets if possible long before the trip. After all, the closer to the flight date, the more expensive the tickets will be. For example, if you buy a ticket a week before the planned flight, the price may be 2-3 times higher than if you buy it a month in advance. And one more tip: if you want to save money, then don't get tied to specific flight dates, because the price of flights to neighboring dates may differ by one and a half to two times, even if you buy in advance. Prices are especially high during the weekly weekends, and they completely "take off" during national holidays.

During the preparation for the trip to Palawan, we have worked out many options for combined airplane + ferry routes, we share them with you, you can use them as the basis for compiling your routes:

• Flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa -> transfer by land to El Nido -> ferry from El Nido to Coron -> ferry from Corona to Mindoro -> land transfer from Mindoro to the port in Puerto Galera -> Ferry from Puerto Galera to Banagas in Luzon -> land transfer from Batangas to Manila.
• Flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa -> transfer by land to El Nido -> ferry from El Nido to Corona -> ferry from Corona to Mindoro -> transfer by land to Mindoro to the port in Bulalacao -> ferry from Bulalacao to Caticlan and Boracay -> flight from Boracay to Manila to Manila.
• Flight from Manila to El Nido -> transfer by land to Puerto Princesa -> ferry from Puerto Princesa to Iloilo via Cayo Island (Cuyo) -> Then from Iloilo either drive along Panay Island to Caticlan and visit Boracay, or ferry to Bacolod on Negros Island and then through Dumaguete on the island of Cebu, Siquijor, Bohol, etc.

And now more about each of the ways to get to Palawan.

To Palawan by plane

Flight to Palawan

Palawan has three civilian airports: Puerto Princesa International Airport (airport on the map), El Nido Airport (airport on the map) and the new airport in San Vicente (airport on the map).

The most convenient and inexpensive option is a flight to Puerto Princesa airport. Tickets here are much cheaper than to other airports, so it is usually more profitable to fly here and take a taxi to El Nido or San Vicente than to buy a flight to two other airports. This airport has the status of an international airport, but it is impossible to get to it from other countries by regular flights now. It is planned to launch charter flights from Taiwan, but in the meantime, all routes from other countries are connected via Manila or Cebu. Domestic flights are also not very developed and are operated from Cebu and Manila, so do not be surprised, there are flights with transfers when searching for tickets within the country.

Here is a selection of the lowest prices for flights from Aviasales or buy tickets for Trip.com:

If you need to save time and get right to the most popular resort of Palawan in El Nido, you can buy tickets to El Nido airport, but the price of the flight is significantly higher.

As for the new airport in San Vicente, it generally has only two flights a week from Manila by a small private airline Sunlight Air, tickets can only be purchased on the a/k website.

To Palawan by ferry

Philippines Ro-Ro Ferry

There are several marinas on Palawan that operate in several directions to neighboring islands, but the frequency of departures is very rare, sometimes even once a week. Therefore, before starting your trip, be sure to double-check this information on the carriers' websites. Here are the destinations that will be of interest to tourists and travelers:

• Puerto Princesa – Crown. Slow 2GO ferries run once a week, 13 hours on the way, cost from 2000 pesos / 34.67 rub .. Check the schedule on the company's website travel.2go.com.ph
• El Nido - Crown. Fast boats go several times a day according to the schedule, 6 hours on the way, cost from 3000 pesos. There are schedules and tickets for 12go.asia .