Palawan!

Here’s our 12 day itinerary and where we stayed in Palawan, plus a quick overnight in Manila. There are more than 5,000 islands in the Philippines and let me tell you, it was hard to decide where to go!  The long flight, combined with the amount of time I could take off work, limited the number of spots we could visit. We initially thought about bouncing around to a couple islands, but after looking at travel time, decided it was best to pick one and explore it.

All it takes is a quick glance at pictures of Palawan to figure out why we made that our destination. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The people are very welcoming, and many speak English. I did find the food to be underwhelming, but I’ll make that a separate post. Now onto our itinerary…

Our Schedule:

Day 1 – Seattle

Day 2 – Travel day (Seattle to Seoul to Manila)

Day 3 – Puerto Princesa, rented motor bikes here and drove to Port Barton

Day 4 – Port Barton

Day 5 – Port Barton

Day 6 – Travel day, took motor bikes from Port Barton to El Nido

Day 7 – El Nido

Day 8 – Travel day, El Nido to Tapik Beach

Day 9 – Travel day, Tapik Beach to Port Barton

Day 10 – Port Barton

Day 11 – Port Barton

Day 12 – Traveled back to Manila, stayed the night, and left for Reno

Our Planning:

I’m going to spend a little extra time explaining our schedule because it was a little different.  First, it’s a long trip to get from Reno, NV to Palawan, Philippines. We found a great flight deal out of Sea-Tac so we used some points to fly to Seattle to hang for a night and then took off from there. Then, it was about 20 more hours of travel to get to our kick off point: Puerto Princessa where we rented motorbikes and drove another 4 or so hours to our first stop.

Most people visiting Palawan take a passenger van straight from Puerto Princessa to El Nido, which takes about 8 hours. On our list of things we can avoid when traveling long trips in passenger vans is def on there. We started looking at alternatives and decided to rent motorbikes. If that is your thing, I can’t recommend it enough as an alternative way to see the island. I made a whole post about motorbikes here, check it out!

Being on bikes gave us a lot of flexibility. We originally had plans to spend days 10 and 11 at Tapik Beach but once we got there T had some work come up and we were longing for Port Barton – this is vacation after all, so we packed up and left! It was great to have the ability to move around freely and on our own schedule rather than waiting on a shared van.

Where We Stayed:

Port Barton – Deep Moon Resort

We loved this place so much! It’s right on the water and has a few little bungalows, a quiet bar, and a small restaurant. We stayed in two different rooms (since we left and came back) that were both Waterfront. Bungalo #4 was our fav because of the tiny desk upstairs – you can see pics on their site. The beach right out the front door is beautiful and it’s located centrally on the small line of resorts and restaurants along the beach. The staff was very friendly, we loved it!

Don’t get me wrong though. This spot is rustic. Like really rustic.  The facilities are basic but sufficient. Rooms have a bed, mosquito net and a thin sheet – there’s a fan but it gets so hot at night a thin sheet is all you’ll want.  There was an issue while we were there so the water was only turned on at certain moments through out the day which was always a surprise to us. I guess what I’m trying to say is this is very far from a luxury resort, so know what you’re getting into. With that said, I would absolutely recommend this spot!

El Nido – Last Frontier Beach Resort

Of all the places we stayed, I thought this one was just so-so. The bungalows are lined up in two rows so only the front two look toward the ocean. The resort was new and clean but lacked personality.   Overall, compared to the rest of the places we stayed, this spot was nice but just not very charming. If I was going back to El Nido, I’d look for something else.

Also, Last Frontier is not in the main area of El Nido (which we knew when we booked) and we had motor bikes so it was no problem getting into the main part of town but if you don’t have a motor bike, the main part of town is not walkable from this spot.

Tapik Beach – Tapik Beach Guest House

Tapik Beach Guest House is super cute and remote. We only stayed one night because we went back to Port Barton but not because we didn’t like it here! Once we arrived, Tillman had some work that came up and needed immediate attention. The internet on Palawan is spotty everywhere but it’s pretty much non-existent on Tapik. Which is part of what sounded appealing when we booked it, but sometimes being off-grid isn’t an option (we gotta pay for all these trips somehow ;).

If you are in El Nido and want to get off the beaten path, Tapik is very remote and quiet. They even post a little warning on their website: “Tapik may not be your ideal destination. This place is not for an average traveler. We are situated in a scenic fishing village in a secluded spot of El Nido.” Take a look at their webpage if you’re thinking about it.

Manila – The Henry Hotel

This Hotel is stunning.  We only stayed here one night but I wish we had more time in Manila to enjoy it! I can’t report on the neighborhood because after a long day of travel we ate at the hotel restaurant and relaxed in our room. As far as hotels go though this was lovely. Their staff was friendly, the restaurant was good, the room was very comfortable and the property is beautiful.

Whew, I think that covers it! If you want more info on motorbiking in Palawan you can see my post here!