Off To Palawan In Nov For A Holiday

[PaulB]

Hi All

 

My wife and I are off on a trip to Palawan in Nov this year. Just wondered if anyone has any tips in where to visit and things to do. Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

Paul

[Gratefuled]

Be sure to tell us your experience and some advice on your trip.  We are planning to go there.

[Guy F.]

Puerto Princesa was great. Stayed at the Fersal Hotel within easy walking distance of the airport. The tours arranged at the agency in the same building as the hotel exceeded my expectations. Ask for a tour guide named Aissa (pronounced "eye-sah").

 

It's "the city in a forest". No buildings taller than 3 stories allowed. It's very clean. First incident of littering is a fine; the second will result in jail time.

 

The snorkeling is probably better at El Nido, which is where I plan to go next visit to Palawan.

Edited June 27, 2015 by Guy F.

[earthdome]

Spent 5 days in Puerto Princesa Nov. 2013. Unfortunately it was during Yolanda which resulted in us having to stay at the hotel for about 24 hours while it moved through.

 

We did get to see the Underground River. Plan a day for that and use your hotel to get that scheduled in advance. On the way there is a nice rock spire with a zip line that is fun.

Some nice restaurants. The Tiki Bar was nice for live music. Spent part of one day renting a banka boat and going out to an island beach to picnic. There is a nice butterfly place with a nice native exhibit with snakes. Also went to an eco zone and did 3 zip lines there.

 

If you really like beaches and island hopping the place to go is El Nido at the northern end of Palawan.

[GregZ]

I'll second the Underground River tour. Number of visitors per day is limited, so schedule ahead. I was not impressed with Honda Bay as the water was cloudy and not the best for snorkeling. It was good for the above water island hopping part. Wish I could compare it to El Nido, but didn't make it there.

[Guy F.]

The atrocity site was one of the  stops on the city tour. The Palawan Special Battallion WW2 Museum wasn't but it is well worth visiting. It had some unique artifacts which I had not seen the like of elsewhere. While there I got a tee shirt with a photo of the Enola Gay on it. Under that it said "B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay". I didn't have the heart to tell them the B-29 was the Stratofortress.

[bootleultras]

you've got to do the Underground river, it'll take up the whole day and be sure to book in advance for your chosen day, I agree with Greg about Honda Bay, if you want to snorkel you should head upto the likes of El Nido or Coron, its a long drive there from Puerto Princesa. As for Puerto Princesa, earthdome mentioned Tiki Bar for live bands and decent food I might add, also there is a more native restaurant that is well worth a visit, again you'll need to book ahead as theyre always packed, think the name is KaLui if Im not mistaken.

[earthdome]

I have fond memories of Palawan. It was my wife's birthday (fiance then) and I had the hotel staff get a nice cake, balloon's, etc. on her birthday while we were out for the day to put in our room to surprise her when we got back. The staff thought it was so romantic. I think the hotel was named Cecilia's. It was new at that time 2 years ago.

[FlyAway]

Wife and I were in Palawan last January. I wrote up a few trip reports on in the "Where have you been" forum. Great place. Water was really clear when we were there. A typhoon had just passed through. Underground river was closed the first day, so we ended up reversing activities.

 

I asked about going deeper into the underground river. The tour guide mentioned there is a smaller tour available to go deeper into it. Of course at an added expense but I am sure it would be worth it. Next trip I am going to look into it more.