Palawan Blue

The beauty of Palawan is every bit as real as the myths told about it. The giant karst outcroppings, turquoise blue waters, hidden lagoons, underground rivers and mangrove forests impress with each turn. Palawan is a must see, but there's a few changes I would have made to our itinerary.

We began by flying from Manila to Puerto Princessa, a short 1 hour 30 minute flight, but our AirAsia flight was delayed an hour which allowed a little too much time in the dingy Terminal 4 of Ninoy Aquino Airport. Upon arrival, our scheduled hotel transfer did not show, so we taxied to Hotel Uno which was perfectly fine for a one night stay. No frills and centrally located it provided a good place to rest our heads for the night before our long drive to El Nido. We had dinner at a delicious Israeli restaurant on Rizal Ave. that had authentic food and the owner provided a bit of entertainment.

View from our room

We awoke early the next morning and hopped in our hired van for the 5 hour journey to our hotel in El Nido. The ride was actually much more pleasant than I expected, but the hotel was much worse. We stayed at the Resort Bayview, and the bottom line is that we got ripped off. It was way too much for way too little and it basically ruined my stay in El Nido.

Our El Nido stay was pleasant enough. We did the touristy things, a 1/2 day island hopping trip, waterfall hike, secluded beach, dinner on the beach, but the disappointment of the hotel really marred everything. Our island hopping trip was quite enjoyable aside from the screaming 2 year old on the boat...that's my daughter Rosemary. We've scarred her for life on boat trips and now anytime we hit any rough water it's as if we're going to die. The Big Lagoon and Secret Lagoon were stunning and well worth the screaming. We had a nice lunch on lizard beach with 100 other people, but were able to do some decent snorkeling while we waited for our gourmet meal. All in all, the island hopping trip was well worth the money, and is definitely were the El Nido mystique lies. If you can you should spend multiple days just cruising the karst outcroppings, enjoying the private beaches, and turquoise water. Some of the other El Nido highlights were seeing the Stork Billed Kingfisher, hiking to a waterfall, sunset dinner, and drinks on our balcony.
                                                       
  
After 4 nights in El Nido, our last being a homestay (much better then the Bayview), we jumped back in the van and headed to Sabang. Sabang was my favorite part of Palawan. I would go back there in a heartbeat for the relaxation, hiking, and nature that it provides. We did the underground river tour which was enjoyable, but our highlight was the mangrove forest tour. Beautiful mangroves that housed monkeys, pythons, birds, and monitor lizards surrounded us as we gently paddled up river. We were also able to take a short hike back through the forest to get the terrestrial view. Next time, if there is one, I'd like to hike the length of the trail which leads all the way to the underground river cave, about 3.5km. Aside from those adventures, the Dalyuon Beach Resort, provided everything that a relaxing stay should, good food, clean pool, and gorgeous rooms. I was sad to leave this little slice of heaven, but Puerto Princessa called.

  


 
We spent the last 2 night at the Blue Palawan Hotel in Puerto Princessa. This was a nice surprise and a good end to our trip. The resort sat on Honda Bay and provided paddle boards and kayaks for our use. The food was delicious and the pool was serviceable so we didn't do much, but lounge around for a couple of days.

All in all, I would give Palawan 3.5 stars out of 5. It wasn't the natural beauty I expected, but there were definitely pockets of unmatched beauty.

 
 The real detractor is the price of everything, especially lodging in El Nido. They're definitely taking advantage of the foreign dollar and it feels like. My suggestion is to stay in Sabang or on the water and avoid any of the towns.