I'm usually on top of lunar new year travel plans by late autumn, but this year, I really procrastinated. Last year we didn't even bother to go anywhere, our first time in Taiwan during Chinese New Year. I suppose our countryside home and having dogs makes us quite content on the domestic front. Even so, for this year of the Pig, I mustered up enough resources to snatch up cheap flights to El Nido.
It was my daughter's first time to Palawan, and my second time, having been there nineteen years ago. We flew into Puerto Princessa and booked tours through our hotel and eventually took a shared van to El Nido.
The food was extreme; the sweets were very sweet, the sour soup was very sour, and everything was extremely salty. I was big into ube (purple potato) everything, usually baked sweets, sticky rice sweets. All of our hotels had complimentary breakfasts and island hopping tours, or diving usually included buffets on the beach or boats. In PP, we ate cheap lunches at the traditional markets, delicious and authentic. At dinner we splurged, at a Japanese restaurant recommended by my Manilan coworker for example or at a nicer hotel. In El Nido, I just had to make sure we were back on our balcony with a beer for the sunset.
Airport transport to PP city: Our hotel picked us up for free, but travelers can also catch a tricycle on the main road for a fare of 50 pesos per tricycle (2016). Take note that there are airport tricycles and regular tricycles. Airport tricycles usually charge PHP 50 (USD 1/ EURO .86/ SGD 1.35/ MYR 4.23) to get to Puerto Princesa city center. Regular tricycle fare is PHP 10 (USD .20 / EURO .17/ SGD .27/ MYR .85)
Puerto Pension Inn (3 nights) 2917 TWD/ ₱ 4,963.62
35 Malvar Street, Palawan, 5300 Puerto Princesa City, Philippines +63 917 836 6316
Tours:
1. PALAWAN UNDERGROUND RIVER - PHP 2200 PER PERSON (1,294 TWD)
2. HONDA BAY TOUR ---PHP 1300.00 PER PERSON (764 TWD)
3. CITY TOUR - PHP 600.00 PER PERSON (353 TWD)
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| Sabang |
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park - more commonly known as the Underground River. At over 8 kilometers in length, is reputably the longest underground river in the world. With its crystalline waters and spectacular cave formations, the Underground River is possibly Puerto Princesa's most popular attraction. The site was also declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. The winding path of the river is navigable via small pumpboats that depart from Sabang Beach. Travel time from PP city to Sabang is about 1.5 hours. Nineteen years ago, I met up with two German backpackers and we just winged it ourselves. I was a little shocked how developed and crowded Sabang was now.
If you are prone to car sickness you should consider using some motion sickness pills because the road is very curvy and some drivers tend to drive quite fast (or very fast). My kid was sure to take one when we started our trip.
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| Walking to the zipline in Sabang waiting for my daughter. |
From Puerto Princesa, take a trike or jump in a minibus going to the "New Market" jeepney Terminal in San Jose. It takes about 10 minutes. Trike fare is about P80 and the minibus about P12. Four trips from the San Jose Terminal to Sabang run daily between 7AM and 2PM. The bus/jeepneys both cost 150pesos and the trip takes about 3 hours.
There's a shuttle that can take you directly from the airport.
Any tour agent in Puerto Princesa will sell you a day trip package for 1750-2200 (1,300TW) pesos where you are transported to Sabang in a minivan and includes a tour to the Underground River and lunch buffet at a beach resort. We booked through our hotel and shared a van of eight other Chinese tourists and a Filipino-American couple.
Note. A permit is now necessary to visit the underground river and only available in Puerto Princesa, though an online system is in construction. Beware that like any other hardworking government office they finish their day at 4pm, so a permit for next day needs to be arranged before that. Travel agents normally can arrange it for you.
The cave was impressive, even if for the second time, and waiting in lines for a boat. We had a guide with a motorboat, helmets, life vest, far from the days we canoed ourselves and swam in the empty lagoon.
Honda Bay - consisting of several islets with beautiful beaches, Honda Bay is the place to go to for swimming, snorkeling as well as beach and island hopping. Of course, you can also just join a packaged tour if you want to just relax and not deal with these transfers and fees on your own. Honda Bay Tour rates are usually between P1400 (826 NT) and P1500 (885NT).
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| Island #2, with a fun fiving board on this cabana |
While in PP, we didn't have time to dive, but if we did, my plan was to dive with:
Morning 2 Dives Package: Php 3,300/ 2,000NT
1 days: 3 Dives Package: Php 4,700/2,772NT
Afternoon 1 Dive Package: Php 2,000/1180 NT
CITY TOURS
Tour operators’ price tag on this tour is at P600 per person but you can hire a tricycle instead for P600 per tricycle. My daughter wanted us to hire a tricycle, but I went for a group van. At first, I thought maybe she was right, as our group was older, slower, but later I was relieved because PP was noise and had noticeable air pollution.
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| Mitra's Ranch with views to the ocean and grazing horses |
Iwahig Penal Colony - I regret not checking out prison farming community. Unfortunately, our tour skipped this site, but if I had one more day I'd check this out. Inmates often live with their families and are allowed to earn a living farming or carving out mahogany handicrafts for tourists. The colony is about 35 minutes from the city center.
Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center formerly the Crocodile Farming Institute, and still referred to by locals as the "Crocodile Farm," is both a tourist attraction and a national research institute devoted to crocodiles. We were a bit shocked that they sold croc meat in the cafe at the end of the tour cafe, as we thought it was a conservation center. They also sell meat from this place in the airport, so I suppose it's more of a croc farm. About 30 to 40 minutes from the city center, the Croc Farm also has a mini-zoo, which features some of Palawan's endemic species of wildlife. Croc Farm Tickets cost 40p for adults and 20 for kids. You start with a guided tour of the crocs which last about 15 minutes.
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| Quartel Square |
Baker's Hill. In Santa Monica, a few kilometers before the Crocodile Farm. A weak and small imitation of Disneyland, with things like a Shrek treehouse. Has a bakery where you can buy things like hopia for reasonable prices. To get here, drop in Santa Monica, then take a tricycle up the road for P10 per person (or walk the 2km or so).
Mitra's Ranch. About another km north of Baker's Hill, along the same road. Has some horses, a cafe, and also very nice views.
Butterfly Garden
See native Palawan butterflies located about half way to the Croc Farm (above) and along the same road. Open 7 days a week from 8 to 5. Entry is 50 pesos.
Our Lady of Immaculate Conception. A very beautiful church that is decorated in blue and white. The jewelry sellers/beggers were intense here, so be prepared. Across from the church is a historical square that was a Japanese prisoner of war camp which burned 150 American POWs were burned alive.
El Nido
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| Sunset View from our balcony, Columbus Inn |
Transport/ van to El Nido Fort Wally Travel & Tours 8am
Contact No.: +63 917 276 2875
Contact No.: +63 917 276 2875
El Nido Columbus Inn (PAID) confirmation # 1922.912.346 PIN code8428 Sitio Lugadia, Barangay Corong Corong, Palawan, 5313 El Nido, Philippines+63 939 632 1454
El Nido is quite different from the simple stretch of huts on the beach from nineteen years ago. It's best to stay outside the noisy center, like in Corung Corung. Since I booked everything last minute, I was lucky to get a double bed with a view. Had I been more proactive, I'd have booked rooms in Corung Corung on the beach, near Tabanka Divers, who we dove with, rather than on the hill.
After checking in, we walked 5 minutes to the closest beach (Marimegmeh) for a swim, which was gorgeous, and made our way slowly to the other side for dinner.
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| Nacpan Beach, 40 km north of El Nido |
One day we rented a scooter and feeling free found ourselves in the stunning and almost empty white sand beach of Nacpan. Then it being too hot, we went for lunch at Nagkalit village with a waterfall and hired a local guide after we ate to take us for a dip. It was about a 40minute walk uphill starting at pretty pastureland with a coconut grove into a clay path jungle trail. We were lucky and had the falls all to ourselves for a quiet twenty minutes before another couple came, then another and so we left.
Another day we went island hopping, and it was so crowded waiting on the beach in El Nido proper, we got on the wrong boat and had to switch at island one. It wasn't a big deal. We did some relaxing snorkeling, rented kayaks at the gorgeous small lagoon and were treated to a beach buffet for lunch. The other tourists on our boat were nice, our boatmen worked hard, made an amazing lunch from the back of the boat and I tipped them well.
We went diving with Tabanka Divers, just across the road from our Columbus Inn. They were fully booked, but travelers were fighting off a stomach bug that was going around and so we were able to join some fun dives. One of the divers was an American chiropractor, now working in Vietnam and he was happily busy nursing everyone's issues, including mine, back at Tabanka's. 3 Dives 1 day (4400p/2600 NT).
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| Last dinner El Nido, some sour tamarind chicken soup- delicious! |
We took a shared van back to PP and stayed our last night at a different hotel Blue Lagoon Suites (TW 1,1000/₱ 1,875) with a pool, practically free airport transfer and an excellent restaurant. My kid might have picked up that stomach bug going around El Nido and didn't have much an appetite, but that didn't stop her from enjoying the pool. At the airport, I bought my landlady a massive bottle of rum for watching my dogs and some dehydrated squid for her mother.
We returned back to Yilan on the new direct airport bus, and a had few days to laze about the homefront before the end of lunar new year holidays.
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| Trying fresh urchin |
BUDGET:
There are no direct flights from Taipei, you have to transit in Manilla. The cheapest flights are through Cebu Pacific.
If you have more time, using local transport is the cheapest way to travel (instead of shared vans).
There are no direct flights from Taipei, you have to transit in Manilla. The cheapest flights are through Cebu Pacific.
If you have more time, using local transport is the cheapest way to travel (instead of shared vans).
Activity
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Pesos
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NT
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PALAWAN UNDERGROUND RIVER
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PHP 2200 PER PERSONx2 =4400
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1,294 TWD
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HONDA BAY TOUR
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PHP 1300.00 PER PERSON
x2=
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764 TWD
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CITY TOUR
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PHP 600.00 PER PERSON
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353 TWD
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Food 150 pesos p/meal
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Php 150 x 2 x 3 = PHP 900 (531NT)
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531 NT p/day
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El Nido Tour A
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PHP 1,200 (USD 24)
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El Nido Land Tour
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Diving El Nido
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10,000 NT
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TOTAL
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