Palawan: Christmas in Paradise

From Cebu we flew to Puerto Princesa, the flight wasn’t on time, but they did play the instrumental version of Elton John’s ‘Step into Christmas’ when we landed, so y’know, swings and roundabouts. We were meant to split our time between Puerto Princesa, El Nido and Coron, but typhoon Ursula had something to say about that, and we didn’t make it to Coron. Instead we spent a few days in Puerto Princesa and then Christmased El Nido style. Here’s what we got up to...

Puerto Princesa:

Honda Bay

The Philippines is famed for its island hopping day trips, and Honda Bay was to be our first one. Lots of tour companies offer a package including pick up/drop off, several islands, snorkel and food, but I’d read that we could do it cheaper if we organised it ourselves, and luckily it turned out to be true.

The four of us got a tricycle down to Lourdes Wharf and then chose our islands. We ended up picking Starfish Island, Luli Island and Cowri Island. Because we organised it ourselves we got a boat for just the 4 of us, meaning we weren’t restricted by anyone’s else’s schedule- we could choose how long to stay at each island, which was perfect. Our snorkel was included, but lunch wasn’t, which suited us fine because the buffet included in the tour packages is mostly meat which isn’t the ideal for a bunch of vegetarians.

The beaches are all dreamy- think white sand, clear blue waters, and because we’d organised it ourselves, there was virtually no one on the first island as we arrived. Starfish Island turned out to be our favourite because it’s pretty pristine and the starfish lounging in the shallows are super cool. The snorkelling isn’t out of this world, but there are a few fish to see at each of the islands. On Luli Island the best part is watching people ‘dive’ off of the makeshift diving board. Comedy. Gold.

It was the loveliest little island hop, I’d massively recommend doing it and arranging it yourself rather than with a company.

Subterranean River

Described by UNSECO as ‘one of the world’s most impressive cave systems’, the underground river is 8.2km long and flows out into the sea. If you’ve read my other blogs you’ll know how much we love a bit of spelunking, so this was a must on our Puerto Princesa list. It’s almost a 2 hour drive from Puerto Princesa itself, but can be done on the way up to El Nido, breaking up the mammoth 6 hour slog slightly.

We got a banca boat from Sabang Port, (having phoned ahead and sorted out our tickets-apparently you can’t just turn up), which took us the 20 minute ride across the sea. We hopped out onto the beach, at which point our guide decided it was time for an attractive photo shoot in our life jackets- one for the family album. You’re handed an audio guide and then walk a little way into the forest (past the resident monitor lizard doing his rounds) and then wait for your rowing boat to take you into the cave. The National Park is beautiful- forest, limestone karsts, sea, playing macaques, and the mouth of the cave all combine to create a super diverse ecosystem. When your boat arrives you pop in your audio guide and are rowed through the mouth of the cave. You’re told to keep silent, and the only light is that of your rowers head torch. It’s a pretty cool experience, the cave is huge with impressive stalactites and stalagmites (which the audio guide hilariously points out look like fruit, the Virgin Mary or Marilyn Munroe). We saw bats and a snake too. If you’re a keen spelunker, this one’s for you.

El Nido:

Island hopping

At it again aren’t we. And why not, these Filipino island are just so damn dreamy. If you’re going to El Nido, an island hopping tour is an absolute must. There are 4 basic options which pretty much every company offers at exactly the same prices. They’re inventively called Tour A, B, C and D. We decided to go with tour A because we were interested in seeing the Big Lagoon. All the tours seem to get good reviews, it just depends what you’re after. We spent the day in the sunshine with a mix of snorkelling (the water is super clear and there’s lots to see!), kayaking, beach lounging and lagoon exploring. On the matter of lagoon exploring, make sure you’re a hardy swimmer and relatively fit because those waves absolutely bartered us against the rocks on our struggle into the lagoon. Blood was shed. Worth it though.

Vanilla Beach

We were in El Nido for Christmas, we’d done our Christmas Eve shopping at the local market (turns out that last minute shop is just as hectic all around the world), we bought our questionable Filipino presents, cooked our festive dish of ‘Pasta with Whatever-else-we-could-find’, and we were in need of a beach on Christmas Day to build a sandman in the absence of any snow. Luckily, a short tricycle ride from the centre of El Nido is Vanilla Beach which helped us accomplish our Christmassy goals. And the best news was the water was deemed safe enough to swim in because it wasn’t full of fresh sewage like some of the other beaches around El Nido. A Christmas miracle.

Sleep:

Puerto Princesa

Mayumi Lodge- bizarre. Slightly like a brothel. But within walking distance to food, drink, and close to the port for island hopping.

Blessies- the cutest little bamboo bungalows with outdoor showers and they serve breakfast on your little veranda. Not the most amount of space we’ve ever had, but it suited us for one night, and it’s nice and close to the airport.

El Nido

Cozy Gingerbread House- as a Christmas treat to ourselves we splashed out on an Air bnb, a whole house to ourselves so we could play restive games and cook Christmas pasta. A really lovely house (in a bit of a bizarre little neighbourhood) but nice and close to shops, food, drinks and island hopping tours. Extra bonus, the guy who owns this place also owns a posh resort with the dreamiest infinity pool and the most banging sunset, and he lets you use it for free. Nice.

Ashoka Hotel- basic, but everything a backpacker needs, lively owners, and right in the middle of food, drinks and shops.

Eat:

Puerto Princesa

Orange Gecko- absolutely go here for breakfast, it’s like a banquet.

Bajao- a cool little place on stilts over the water with a good sunset and nice local food.

Ima’s vegetarian- tonnes of tasty veggie options.

El Nido

Ashoka- not the cheapest, but oh my word the BEST curry.

Art Cafe- a cool spot with live music and a pretty sizeable menu.

Falafel Restaurant- like the falafel wrap version of Subway, and so darn tasty.

Trattoria Altrove- if you love pizza as much as us, it’s an ABsolute must. So good.

Drink:

Puerto Princesa

Gov’s Bar- cheap beer and a chilled atmosphere

El Nido

Art Cafe- who doesn’t want live music with their beer?

Thanks for the island hopping, Palawan, your islands are the dreamiest. Next stop: Boracay, Panglao and Siquijor!