Palawan Island

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General information, rest and why to come here

Sunset on Palawan

Palawan is a large island and province of the same name, the westernmost of all the major islands of the Philippines (Cebu on the map of the Philippines). It is part of the large MIMAROPA region, which includes the four large islands of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan. The island of Palawan itself is very long: 425 kilometers long in a straight line (about 600 kilometers by road), and 8.5 wide at the narrowest point.

In general, when they talk about rest and travel on Palawan, in addition to the largest island, they also mean the islands of Koron, Bushuanga, Kulion and other small nearby islets. Well, the most popular and well–known tourist places on Palawan are the small resort town of El Nido, the village of Port Barton, the capital of the island, the city of Puerto Princesa.

Where to go to Palawan, resorts and interesting places

Puerto Princesa / Puerto Princesa is the capital of the island and the largest city, the main airport is located here. Not particularly interesting as a place to relax, but there is something to see and visit in the vicinity for a couple of days.
El Nido / El Nido is the main resort town on the island of Palawan, a place of attraction and obligatory visits by tourists and guests of the island.
San Vicente / San Vicente is still a poorly developed resort with great prospects for development thanks to the magnificent sandy beaches stretching for many kilometers.
Port Barton / Poirt Barton is a small resort village on the west coast, one of the districts of San Vicene, but unlike it is much more developed and suitable for relaxing on the beaches.
Taytay or Taytey / Taytay is a tiny town of little interest to tourists, but here is the main historical attraction of Palawan - Santa Isabel.
Sabang / Sabang is a small village known for. that here is the famous late Puerto Princesa river, accessible to tourists.

Regarding Palawan, there are several critical geographical errors in the Russian part of the Internet. If you want to be a literate person, then remember that El Nido is not an island, there is no island with that name at all. El Nido is just a small town in the north of Palawan, a popular resort and holiday destination. Therefore, to speak and write "In El Nido" is fundamentally illiterate, but you need to say "In El Nido".

You can also sometimes hear about a vacation on the popular tourist destination of Coron Island. But in fact, the small island of Koron is conditionally "uninhabited": there are no hotels and cities, but only beaches and beautiful lagoons, where tourists are taken on excursions. Therefore, in fact, travelers go "not to Koron", but "to the city of Koron" on the larger island of Bushuanga.

Most of the island of Palawan is covered with mountains and forests, many of which are impassable and still poorly explored. Tribes that have not yet fully integrated into modern life, living according to their traditions and poorly acquainted with such benefits of civilization as electricity, transport, cellular communications and the Internet still live here in remote villages. This is one of the few regions of the Philippines where a combination of stunning natural beauty and rich cultural heritage has been preserved. This tropical paradise is known for its picturesque beaches, coastal coral reefs and dense jungle. Palawan offers many exciting adventures. You will be able to explore the underground river, caves, enjoy kayaking on calm waters, swim in waterfalls, go hiking on mountain trails.

The nature of the island is amazing in its diversity. From crystal clear waters to lush green jungle, Palawan is the perfect place for nature lovers and ecotourism. This island will be a real discovery for everyone who wants to dive into the world of tropical wonder and experience a memorable encounters with wildlife.

However, it is fair to say that most of the most amazing and rare places in Palvan are inaccessible to most tourists. Usually, the travel route here passes through fairly standard and promoted tourist places with excursions in the northern part of the island, i.e. everything above the city of Puerto Princesa on the map. If you go to get acquainted with really amazing and little-known places here, you need to go on a trip to southern Palawan, although this is completely different money and a lot of time that you will have to spend. The fact is that tourism and infrastructure in the southern part of the island are almost not developed, and to explore it you will have to go on a mini-expedition with one of the local guides or with local residents.

Island Tours in El Nido, Palawan Island, Philippines

El Nido Island Tour

Puerto Princesa Underground River

Honda Bay Island Tours

Mahilamonen Beach

Bigaho Falls, Palawan Island, Philippines

Bigaho Waterfall

Beach holidays in Palawan

Palawan is without exaggeration one of the most beautiful beaches in the Philippines. Best beaches in Palawan for the most part are located on the West coast (it's left on the map), washed by the waters of the South China sea. The truth is features: there are almost no well-developed and equipped beach resorts where you can come and have access to stunning beaches and urban infrastructure, and in each case you have to choose either one or the other. For example, if you go for a vacation in El Nido, known for his tours in the Islands, you will find that the normal beaches in the town are almost there and need to go to the beach for many miles on a taxi or rent a car. As an emerging area of San Vicente on the contrary has a great many kilometers and deserted beaches, but there is almost no tourism infrastructure and attractions, but a couple of cafés and several dozen guest houses. To one place more or less both can be, except that in Port Barton, which long-term stay, this village is also not everyone is fit.

The eastern shore of Palawan is washed by the waters of the Sulu Sea. But the conditions for swimming and relaxing on the shore are not very good here: the beaches are shallow, there is a lot of vegetation and mangroves, the water is not very clear compared to the west coast. But the water in shallow water is incredibly warm, as if you go into the bathroom.

El Nido City Beach

Las Cabanas in El Nido

Mariposa Beach

Hotels in Palawan and where to stay

There are quite a lot of hotels on Palawan, there is a lot to choose from for a budget holiday, and among expensive hotels with stars. The main places of concentration of hotels are, of course, the resorts and towns of Puerto Princesa, El Nido, San Vicente, Port Barton, Taytay. But there are also free-standing hotels on remote beaches in villages or even in the wilderness. Of course, such a holiday away from civilization and without infrastructure is not suitable for everyone, so choose such options with caution. And finally, in many villages and remote beaches, you can rent inexpensive private housing in the form of a room in a house, a bungalow, or even a whole house if you want to spend one or two days away from hiking trails, but such places are usually not present in online booking systems.

Palawan weather and tourist seasons

Palawan is warm all year round, but there is a dry season (high season) and a rainy season (aka typhoon season or low season):

The dry season or high tourist season runs from January to May. Sometimes it starts as early as December, and this is the best time to visit. Typhoons and rains are rare at this time, and the sky is usually clear and not too hot. Well, in general, March and April are considered the best months.
The rainy season or typhoon season lasts from June to December. It cannot be said that visiting Palawan is contraindicated at this time, but the probability of cloudy weather, rains and typhoons is much higher, this is how lucky. There may well be good weather and not a single rain for several days, and if you are unlucky, you may not see the sun and clear sky for a whole week.

Typhoons or tropical storms occur several times a year in the Philippines, which most often appear during the rainy season and affect the north of the island. They can affect the plans of travelers, but in general they do not interfere much with the rest on Palawan. Before the trip, you should follow the forecasts in order to make a decision immediately before departure. More information about the seasons in the Philippines and recommended times to visit can be found here...

Seasons on Palawan by month, when is the best time to go

Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec

* the best time to visit;
acceptable time to visit;
not recommended time to visit

Средняя температура in Puerto Princesa по месяцам

Осадки in Puerto Princesa по месяцам

Current weather in Puerto Princesa and forecast

График приливов и отливов в Пуэрто-Принцеса на о. Палаван

График приливов и отливов в Пуэрто-Принцеса на о. Палаван подробно ⧉

How to get to Palawan

Flight to Palawan

Although Palawan is the largest province in the Philippines and a popular tourist destination, getting here is not so simple. The difficulty is that the number and routes of flights of planes and ferries to Palawan are very modest. For example, on the plane here it is possible to get only the direct flights from Manila and Cebu, respectively, to come here with the Bohol, Boracay, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Davao and other cities and Islands, you will have to do the transplant, which, of course, greatly increases the cost of the flight and travel time. With ferries, the situation is not much better: they are very small, the prices are too high by local standards, and in the other Islands you have to lose a lot of time.

Transport and how to get around Palawan

Palawan is a huge island, its length from north to south along the roads is almost 600 kilometers. Tourist places and resorts here are scattered at a great distance, and therefore it will not be possible to fully get acquainted with this amazing island without transport. Fortunately, by Filipino standards, public intercity transport is well developed here, you can rent a car or a motorbike, and travel within cities and resorts by taxi or tricycles:

Rent a motorcycle in Palawan

Renting a motorcycle or a low–powered scooter is perhaps the most affordable and convenient way to budget travel for those travelers who like to explore the Philippine islands on their own.

There are rentals, at least in Puerto Princesa (including near the airport), in El Nido and Port Barton. Perhaps you can rent a motorcycle in other, less popular towns and villages of Palawan, but we only met official rentals under the sign at the mentioned resorts.

The rental price depends on the location, time and your ability to bargain. Do not be surprised: even in official rental offices, working under the signboard with all the documents and concluding contracts, it is possible and necessary to bargain. Here are the real prices which we personally met:

In Puerto Princesa – they ask for 500 pesos per day (8.92 RUB), for a period of 10 days we haggled up to 333 pesos(5.94 rubles).
In El Nido - they ask for 400 pesos per day (7.14 RUB), for a few days it is really possible to bargain up to 350 pesos (6.24 rubles).
In Port Barton, they ask for 500 pesos per day, they bargain very reluctantly up to 400 pesos.

And now you can book a motorcycle and get it on arrival without difficult searches on the spot through the service 🏍 BikesBooking.com.

Car rental is not as common as motorbikes, but you can find rental in Puerto Princesa. Prices start from 1500 pesos per day (26.76 rub.), but in some cases there is a limit on the mileage of kilometers per day, usually it is 100-120 kilometers. Unfortunately, online rental booking services on Palawan are poorly developed, so you will have to search for a car on the spot or search for contacts of rental offices via the Internet, write off with them and negotiate a reservation. The most convenient way to do this is through the Facebook Marketplace or look for rental contacts on the Google map. We have personally successfully used Palawan Peter Motorcycle and Rental (aka Pete's Motorcycle and Rental) in Puerto Princesa. There is also a large car rental service near the airport at the exit from the airport parking lot to the main street, but there we were offered slightly higher prices.

Rent a car from Pete's in Palawan

For inexpensive transportation between major cities on Palawan, you can use regular intercity buses. There are several main carriers operating here:

RoRo bus – frequent routes from Peurto Princesa to El Nido via Rojas and Taitai (400 pesos), as well as to the south of the island.
Cherry Bus – large air-conditioned buses between Peurto Princes and El Nido (500 pesos).
Recaro Transportation – minivans from Peurto Princesa to the Port of Barton (about 600 pesos).

In addition to these there are many more small companies carrying passengers on the island, including minivans.

Now most companies moved to the new Irawan Bus Terminal, which is located on the outskirts of the city of Puerto Princesa (Iravan terminal on the map). The old bus terminal in San Jose is no longer in use. In fact, the new terminal in Iravan can now be called the main bus station on Palawan, and all regular buses and minibuses depart from here to different parts of the island.

Palawan Intercity Bus

In addition to regular buses between the resorts of Palawan, you can travel by tourist minivans. Tickets for them are sold in hotels and travel agencies on the street. They are a little more expensive than regular buses, but they depart from tourist areas and even include a transfer from hotels, i.e. you do not have to go to the bus station on your own and spend money on it.

For more information about Palawan transport and how to get around, we have a separate guide, study here.

Sights of Palwan, what to see and what to do

Palawan is famous for its natural attractions, including caves, an underground river, magnificent beaches and lagoons, mountains, waterfalls, hot springs. If you love historical sites and temples, then there are very few of them here, and it's better to go to another island for them, or even better to choose another country altogether. In the city of Puerto Princesa, you can visit a large interesting Heritage center museum about the nature, culture and life of the island, a butterfly farm, a crocodile farm, and an Ivahig hold. Many options for exploring the sights are offered by local excursions. The primary ones are, of course, island tours in El Nido or Honda Bay, tours to fireflies, to the underground river in Sabang, whale shark swimming tours, diving and snorkeling, trekking tours with mountain climbing or hiking in the jungle.

For more information about the most interesting places on Palawan and how to visit them yourself, see this article.

Tours of the Islands in Honda Bay, Palawan island, Philippines

Tour of Honda Bay

Ille Caves in Devil Valley