Palawan is an island on the westernmost area of the Philippines which is reputed for its excellent diving and breathtaking lagoons. In the Philippines it is also well known as a) an archipelago within and archipelago - it has some 1,000 of the Philippines' 7,000 islands- and b) as a spot that is blessedly spared from typhoons and earthquakes.
If you ask me at the end of this trip what place I enjoyed the most, I may say: Palawan! It has superb beaches, islands galore, and many activities to do such as kayaking, diving, snorkelling, etc. I don't usually consider myself a "beach person" but after spending a week in Bohol and a week here in Palawan i may have to reassess that.
My itinerary for this island was 2-2-2-2:
2 nights in Puerto Princessa (to visit the Underground River);
2 nights in Port Barton, a quieter version of El Nido, where they grow pearls;
2 nights in El Nido, to see the beautiful Bacuit Archipelago;
2 nights in Coron, another set of islands famous for its 12 shipwreck diving sites.
I flew into Puerto Princessa, a smallish town with lots of traffic that can be skipped for those who have a tight itinerary or who want to focus on diving. I elected to stay here for two nights because I wanted to visit the PP Underground River, which was included as one of the new 7 wonders of the world. The River is pretty cool to visit but I am not sure I would recommend it to everyone given how crowded it gets- we arrived at 9.30am and didnt get in until 2.30pm (our guide did take us zip lining and on a tour of the mangroves while we waited, given the expected delays in visiting the river). It is filled with stalagmites and stalagtites, and an audio guide helpfully points out which rocks look like the face of Jesus or a bunch of carrots, hehehe.
Port Barton was fabulous for me since I enjoy quiet places. I stayed at Coconut Garden, a small resort on the island of Capnica, owned by a Swiss-Philippino family whose young adult kids are working in Switzerland. Hung out with two lovely French women and spent my time there snorkelling and finishing book 3 of Amitav Ghosh' s trilogy on the opium war , Sea of Poppies.
In El Nido, I went island hopping again. Tour A was fantastic- we saw a small lagoon that we swam into, a larger lagoon that has turtles, and some great snorkelling spots.. El Nido is a bit touristy but well worth a visit, in fact I could have spent 5 days rather than just one and a half days there! Las Cabanas beach is also lovely and it is possible to kayak and paddleboard around the bay.
After a pleasant 6 -hour boat ride (which can be challenging however if the weather is uncooperative) I arrived in Coron Town, a small town that serves as a base for many diving expeditions. Coron is a famous diving spot thanks to its 12 World War II Japanese shipwrecks. It also offers some amazing island hopping tours. The Backpacker Guesthouse where i stayed helped me book the "Ultimate" tour which was so much fun although very tiring! :) We went to Kayangan Lake (a lake on an island), saw the Skelleton Wreck (the prow of the sunken boat is clearly visible even for snorkellers) and saw amazing marine life- electric blue starfish, clownfish, table corals and corals that look like ginger, and even what looked like a whole forest of blue and purple corals that ressembled the underside of a squid. I didnt take any underwater pictures unfortunately but will try to get pics from others on my tour.
Had so much fun in the Philippines!
xx Mia
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