Puerta Princessa Palawan

[starrt]

15 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I might rent a car for part of our stay and explore outside of PP.  The underground river tours usually include a ride to that area and we are probably going to do that.  For our hotel time, we are considering  Astoria for a few nights.  I think the kids will enjoy it.  It is outside the city but they provide  a shuttle.

Hi,

We stayed at Astoria Palawan late last year. It is a far drive from PP, and there is nothing, aside from the resort, in the area.

They do have the water park adjacent to the hotel, with a free one day usage for hotel guests.

The food is good, always a buffet breakfast, and the menu, although a bit on the small side for selection, is ok.

The beach is not that inviting, but they have boards and kayaks etc available for rent.

Have fun.

[OnMyWay]

6 hours ago, starrt said:

Hi,

We stayed at Astoria Palawan late last year. It is a far drive from PP, and there is nothing, aside from the resort, in the area.

They do have the water park adjacent to the hotel, with a free one day usage for hotel guests.

The food is good, always a buffet breakfast, and the menu, although a bit on the small side for selection, is ok.

The beach is not that inviting, but they have boards and kayaks etc available for rent.

Have fun.

Thanks!  I think we would spend a max of 2 nights there, if we can get a good deal.  That gives the kids a full day to enjoy the water park.  Might also book at Princessa Garden Island Resort for 2 nights, then the rest at an AirBnb.  PGIR was very expensive when I looked 2 weeks ago, but now they have specials 30-40% off.  I found a nice AirBnb house that will rent you their Ford Wildtrack for p2200 a day.  Seems like a good deal.

[Baluoyolo]

I would be interested to hear about potential fun activities near PP. Last time we just did the underground river and it was a complete waste of time, so would be good to try other activities if/when we do our next trip to Palawan. The undeground river seemed to be the main one that all the tour services focused on - so if you do or have done some other activities there, please share.

There was a regular and comfortable bus service between El Nido and PP, so I would not worry about transport between the cities as long as you have the time. El Nido is great for island hopping, as posters above already mentioned. Of course, if you only have a couple days in Palawan, I guess the day spent on travel is still a lot.

The underground river in PP - honestly, I would recommend just avoiding it. The most fun part about it was seeing the monkeys steal food from the tourists who violated the "no food" rule. The cavern itself was a waste of time, there was nothing to see - just 30 minute boat ride with the guide going "Ohhh look at that rock it looks like Batman/Jesus/Virgin Mary". That is literally it, everything else is just transport. By the way, even though it is called the Puerto Princesa underground river, it is nowhere near PP - most of the day will just be spent in a van traveling to/from the site.

Edited May 28, 2023 by Baluoyolo

[Mike J]

3 hours ago, Baluoyolo said:

The underground river in PP - honestly, I would recommend just avoiding it

Have to strongly disagree.  The wife and I both enjoyed seeing the various rock formations and the nesting bats. 

 

3 hours ago, Baluoyolo said:

By the way, even though it is called the Puerto Princesa underground river, it is nowhere near PP - most of the day will just be spent in a van traveling to/from the site.

76 kilometers from Puerto Princesa.

[Snowy79]

The Crocodile Farm, Baker's Hill and Honda Bay island hopping is reasonable from Puerto Princessa. As for the beaches they are pretty lame. The Underground River I enjoyed, must have as I've done it 6 times with various friends.

A recent change if you travel to El Nido is no more fresh cooked BBQ on the boats due to many cases of dodgy stomachs amongst tourists, for me that was a great part of the holiday. 

[Mike J]

4 minutes ago, Snowy79 said:

A recent change if you travel to El Nido is no more fresh cooked BBQ on the boats due to many cases of dodgy stomachs amongst tourists, for me that was a great part of the holiday.

Agree.  When the wife and I did the island hopping we rented the entire boat.  There was a huge amount of food.  The three member crew were able to take most of it home to their families.  When I offered a tip the answer was; "No tip required sir, giving us food is good enough tip."   I tipped them anyway.

[Snowy79]

3 minutes ago, Mike J said:

Agree.  When the wife and I did the island hopping we rented the entire boat.  There was a huge amount of food.  The three member crew were able to take most of it home to their families.  When I offered a tip the answer was; "No tip required sir, giving us food is good enough tip."   I tipped them anyway.

When I first came to the Philippines I actually toyed with living in El Nido and doing island hopping every day forever just because it worked out about 1.2k peso per day for a full day out island hopping, snorkelling and as much food as I could eat whilst mixing with new people every day. :-) 

 

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, Mike J said:

When the wife and I did the island hopping we rented the entire boat. 

Any names come to mind?  I would also prefer private and there are 5 of us.

[Sailor Jerry]

8 hours ago, Mike J said:

Have to strongly disagree.  The wife and I both enjoyed seeing the various rock formations and the nesting bats. 

 

76 kilometers from Puerto Princesa.

Roads were poor last year, damn, 6 + hours I'll never get that back in this lifetime lol. Paid extra to fly outa El Nido to Manila {Airswift) and was worth it.  We've been all over Palawan now & none compared to El Nido, its spectacular imho. Have been back several times (love Las Cabanas Beach Resort) but I think with kids on a family holiday PP should be fun too so hope you all have a good time!

[OnMyWay]

3 hours ago, Sailor Jerry said:

Roads were poor last year, damn, 6 + hours I'll never get that back in this lifetime lol. Paid extra to fly outa El Nido to Manila {Airswift) and was worth it.  We've been all over Palawan now & none compared to El Nido, its spectacular imho. Have been back several times (love Las Cabanas Beach Resort) but I think with kids on a family holiday PP should be fun too so hope you all have a good time!

Yeah, I think with the distance, the caves are off the table.  I have a friend from Germany who just went a few days ago.  He seemed to enjoy but that is a long way.  My kids like to swim and snorkel, so I hope the weather will cooperate and we can do the Honda Bay tour.  They stop to swim and snorkel, I assume?