Can you visit the Puerto Princesa Underground River from El Nido?

Technically — yes, but in practice it is very long and inconvenient, so almost everyone visits the underground river from Puerto Princesa.

The distance from El Nido to the village of Sabang, where the entrance to the river is located, is about 270 kilometers. Even with private transport, the one-way journey will take at least 4.5-5 hours on mountainous and not always perfect roads. This means that just the round-trip travel will take a whole day (10 hours), not counting the time for the tour itself (another 2-3 hours).

In El Nido travel agencies, standard group tours to the underground river are generally not offered precisely because of the great distance. Sometimes you can find an individual tour, but its cost will be very high due to the long transfer.

Practical option: If you plan to visit both El Nido and the underground river, it is more logical to split the trip. For example:

1. Fly to Puerto Princesa, spend 1-2 days there, during which visit the river.
2. After that, head north on the island to El Nido (by bus or domestic flight).

Or vice versa: first El Nido, and at the end of the trip return to Puerto Princesa to visit the river before departure.

All about logistics on Palawan, including transport between cities, we have described in detail in our guide: Puerto Princesa Underground River in Sabang – how to visit, description and reviews.

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