Palawan

First Trip: Sabang > El Nido > Coron

Second Trip: Coron >El Nido

Palawan is a must see island if you are visiting the Philippines. Home to some of the clearest waters and magnificent beaches that the Philippines has to offer it was definitely top of my list when planning the trip both times. Even though I had been once before, I wanted to go back when travelling with my boyfriend as these islands really are a highlight of the Philippines so I didn’t mind doing them again!

How did we get there?

Manila > Coron: lots of flights operate this route so you have some choice on flight times. The airport is only about a 20 minute drive from the town.

Manila > El Nido: a new airport has opened in El Nido making it so much easier to get to rather than the long bus journey from Puerto Princesa. It is not that cheap as the airport is owned by a private hotel in El Nido so this was our most expensive internal flight at around £120 each but well worth it in terms of saving time. The airline is called Air Swift. The airport is about a 20 minute drive from town.

Manila > Sabang: We flew from Manila to Puerto Princesa which took about 1.5 hours and when we landed we got a taxi (tricycle) to a mini bus station where I had pre-booked a mini bus to drive us up to Sabang on the East Coast. The mini bus company was called Lexus and they have a website where you can book. The journey took about 2 hours.

Sabang > El Nido: From Sabang, we suffered through a 6 hour mini bus ride to El Nido which was pretty uncomfortable and hot but it was well worth it! You need to be patient with these mini buses, sometimes they just drop you at the side of the road with not much warning and drive off for you then to find out that a connecting mini bus will be completing the rest of the trip!

El Nido > Coron or vice versa: The first time I made this trip we were on a budget so opted for the 6 hour ferry which was the cheapest option at around 1300 pesos per person. They provide a light meal and drinks on the boat and you can sit looking out the whole way which is nice, see view below! More recently when I visited, we took the fast ferry which was also the earliest to leave giving us more of a day when we arrived. There are 2 fast ferry companies, we booked the Jomalia which took 3.5 hours and cost 1800 pesos – nicest ferry I have ever been on! Bring a jumper though, the air con is very efficient! 

Where did we go, for how long and what did we do?

Sabang: 

We went here just for one night as a base to visit the Underground River / Subterranean National Park. It is a tiny little village with only a few restaurants and places to stay but it was a good place to stop to break up the journey to El Nido. The beach is lined with tall palm trees and hammocks and there are views of the hills in the background. We got up in good time to go to the pier to get tickets to the underground river. The tour takes you by boat to a lagoon where you then swap into smaller boats to do the river tour which lasts for about 45 minutes. It is one of the longest navigable underground rivers in the world and it was amazing to see! You don’t really need longer than a day in this sleepy little village.

El Nido: 

Probably my favourite place that we went to in the Philippines, El Nido is a little beach town in the North of Palawan. The town is situated right on the beach overlooking a magnificent bay with little islands out to sea in the background. The town itself is quite small but there is lots going on with lots of shops, cafes, restaurants and beach bars and is more lively than many of the other places in the Philippines. It has quite a buzz and reminds me a bit of the Gili Islands in Bali. Going back in 2019 after visiting in 2017, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was largely the same, just with a few more hotels and bars. There is more nightlife there now with full moon parties and things but it’s definitely still a great place to visit!

Both times I went, we stayed for 3 nights. There is lots of accommodation in the main town with some budget homestays and some mid-range hotels. If you want something fancy then the neighbouring bay of Corong Corong has lots of cool hotels. As a treat we stayed for a night at Panorama Boutique Hotel and I couldn’t recommend it enough. Stunning rooms centered around the jungle pool and there is a beach bar which is part of the resort where you can reserve a bed and watch the sunset, incredible sunsets from this side of the island!

Whilst we were there, we rented a scooter and drove up the coast for about 40 minutes to Nacpan beach. This is also a popular area to stay in but a lot quieter and secluded with a few choices of accommodation including glamping. If you want more options for drinks and dinner then it is easier to stay in El Nido town as Nacpan takes a while to get to. There is a shuttle bus that runs up until 7pm and a round trip costs you 600 pesos per person. Alternatively you can pay for a tricycle and get the driver to wait for you but the cheapest option is to rent a scooter. When we went, it had recently rained so the final leg of the journey to Nacpan was rather tricky as the “road” was just deep squelchy mud which proved interesting, but either way, worth a visit!

Some opt to do a boat tour lasting 2-4 days/nights which is a great way to get around the islands or between El Nido and Coron. These look amazing as you get to see some of the best spots early in the morning/later in the day away from the crowds. I have heard Big Dream Boat Man (BDBM) and Tao Philippines are good companies to go with!

The main must-do activity in El Nido is a boat trip. You can book onto a trip from any of the little shops in the town and they have different routes to choose from but all include the same things, lunch etc. I used Isla Paraiso Travel and Tour both times and couldn’t recommend them enough – the best tour guides and the fruit platters are insane! Whichever you choose will be amazing but definitely make sure to visit the Big Lagoon or the Small Lagoon as on a sunny day, the colour of the water was out of this world – so beautiful!

Whilst in El Nido, I would also recommend taking a tricyle to Las Cabanas beach, a short ride from town. This a great beach to relax on for the day and there is a zip-line there where you can fly across the jungle and the sea out to a little island in the bay! This beach is a great spot to watch the sunset and grab some drinks at happy hour! Vanilla Beach is a new area close to El Nido that has recently opened with new shops and restaurants and of course a lovely beach, we didn’t have time to get here but would have loved to!

A highlight of our time in El Nido was climbing Taraw Cliff. There is a walk called the Canopy Walk that you can pay to do and it’s a pretty quick and easy climb and then a rope path along the cliffs with a view across El Nido. The other option which isn’t as frequently done by tourists is to pay for a local guide to actually climb from bottom to top and finish a lot higher up with a panoramic view out to sea. It was a tough climb, leaving at 5am in the pitch black and just using our phone torches for light and scaling vertical jagged rocks and I have also never sweated so much in my life! But after an hour when you reach the top, it is pretty magical! If you want to do this I would suggest asking one of the tour guides from your boat trip or in one of the shops and they will know someone who can show you up there!

There are quite a few nice restaurants and bars in El Nido. Sava Bar is slightly more expensive but has lovely seats on the beach and a good happy hour. There a few good greek restaurants including Cafe Athena. There’s also an Altrove pizza place here which is always a good choice!

Coron:

Next stop was Coron. When you reach Coron by ferry you arrive into a rather large industrial looking port which is slightly unexpected, but don’t worry, it gets nicer! You need to grab a taxi into town from the port. The town is slightly bigger than El Nido with lots of restaurants and bars. We stayed here for three nights the first time and only 2 the second time. I would say you only need 2 if you can arrive in good time to have a day and a half here. The town itself isn’t that nice compared to other places but you definitely want to come here for the boat trips. A day and a half is perfect.

A little pricey but the hotel Coron Soleil Garden Resort was just a short taxi ride to the other side of town and I would definitely recommend it. It had a nice pool and comfortable rooms with good wifi and breakfast included. If you are after something in town, more recently we stayed at Bluewave Hotel which was great. I heard good things about Hop Hostel if you are looking for a cheaper place to stay.

There are a few activities you can do from Coron Town itself. You can hike up 700+ steps (724 to be specific!) to see the sunset at the top of Mount Tapyas. This is quite a walk but well worth the view at the top and we took a couple of beers with us to watch the sunset at the top! You can also take a taxi to the thermal baths where you can relax below the trees and enjoy the views out to sea. They obviously smell a bit eggy and some are boiling so it might not be what you choose to do on a hot holiday but still cool!

Again, the main activity in Coron is a boat tour. This is a must do trip as the scenery was some of the prettiest I saw whilst in the Philippines! You will be overwhelmed with tours to choose from but the agents all pretty much sell the same trips, just look for the best price. You can simply book the day before. They will pick you up from your accommodation and take you down to the pier area where the boats set off from. The tours include a freshly prepared lunch and are a full day out. Most tours take you to a mixture of lakes, lagoons and beaches. Lake Kayangan is cool and Lake Barracuda is one of the clearest in the world. As with all the boat tours in Palawan, the areas can get quite busy with lots of boats stopping in the same place but this can’t really be avoided. Even if you pay for a private tour, if you want to go to the most famous locations then unless you are there super early, you are most likely to be there with others. The tour boats tend to be up to 20 people so not too many.