Korean Job Discussion Forums

[funky worm]

I'm going to Palawan for my Christmas vacation and I'm looking for suggestions for the best place to go. I've never been to the Phillipines, and I'm going by myself. I'm mainly just looking to relax and enjoy some beach time, but I may also try to go on a couple tours while I'm there.

So what's your advice? Where do you think would be the best place to relax and enjoy some beautiful scenery? Also, what's the best way to get there? Are there any other tips you can give me for accomodations, restaurants, specific beaches, etc?

Thanks for any information you can give. Also, feel free to PM me. There are some of you out there I'd like to PM about this topic, but I haven't posted 25 times yet so I can't PM someone first.

[betchay]

my sisters and i went to palawan last month... we stayed at legends hotel in puerto princesa and went on tour with puerto pension... if we had known of puerto pension earlier, we would've book there as well...

anyway, here's puerto pension's website... their tours are not as expensive as the others... we stayed there for three days... we did the island hopping on the first day (1,000 pesos per person), underground river (1,300 pesos per person) on the second day and city tour on the third day before going back to manila in the afternoon...

we flew cebu pacific and paid about 12,000 pesos(round trip and taxes included) for the four of us... at legends hotel, we stayed in their premium deluxe for 60 (or was it 70?) dollars a night...

[Tiger Beer]

I really liked Puerto Pension A LOT. Great place to stay in Puerto Princesa. That might have been my favorite pension of anywhere I've ever stayed in the Philippines.

There are beaches around Puerto Princesa as well. None that are much of a beach culture however. Great beaches nontheless.

If you go northward, Port Barton is popular for it's beach.

El Nido is the star of palawan. But the beach in El Nido is quite small and not that impressive. People can stay in El Nido cheaply compared to the many resorts that are on the islands around there. If you are there, they have a lot of gorgeous limestone cliffs everywhere and gorgeous beaches at the foot of them that are 'out there' in that area.

[funky worm]

Thank you both for the informaton. After doing some more research I think I'm going to go to EL Nido. It seems to have what I'm looking for. Puerto Princessa looks nice too, but it sounds like El Nido has some really unique features that would be cool to check out.

Now that I've chosen, what can people tell me about El Nido? Tiger Beer, why do you say the beach isn't impressive? I've seen some pictures from around there that have beautiful beaches. Are the pictures I'm seeing from the islands surrounding El Nido? Are those islands easily accessible? How about the beaches at the base of the limestone cliffs, are those easily accessible?

Also, I was hoping to do some sort of forest tour while I'm there. From what I've read there is a rainforest there. Has anybody ever taken a tour of the rainforest, or does anybody have any info about tours?

If anybody has any other information about El Nido I would love to hear it. I'd like to learn as much as possible before I go. Thanks

[Tiger Beer]

[Fofazoju]

A friend and I went a few yrs back and you can't just stay in El Nido or Puerto Princessa. You would be doing yourself a great injustice! While El Nido is great and we thought it would be the best, it was in fact a bit of a let down after we had such amazing experiences elsewhere on the island. Hindsight, we had wished we spent more time in the other places and less time in El Nido. Nothing against it, it is beautiful, its just the other places we visited were nicer.

We started in Puerto Princessa and made our way up to El Nido hitting Sabang, Port Barton, Cacinpa island and I believe then El Nido. I feel like there was another stop but I really can't recall as it was a few yrs ago.

Sabang was AMAZING! I know there is a mangrove that we didnt find out about till later. The underground River is there also which is cool. The PEOPLE of Sabang were the nicest people you will ever meet. And since EVERYONE goes to El Nido, you'll have a white sand beach all to urself. You really have to hit up that place.

When you leave from there to Port Barton there is a private island (Cacnipa) with just one set of cabins that we stayed at before you actually head to Port Barton. Its REALLY beautiful but not much to do but play with a monkey that was there. If your alone it can be kinda boring BUT definitely relaxing if you just wanna chill on the beach. The food was incredible at this place tho! And dirt cheap!

I don't remember much else to be honest with you. I know from Port Barton there were no ferries to El Nido so we had to hire a private boat and it took like 6 hours or something insane. El Nido is nice, but hire a boat and get to the other islands around it. I will say that the area/beach where the El Nido airport is located is SOO pretty it almost requires a stop in itself! When you get there, get there earlier (or heck make a day out of it) and spend some time there. WHen I look at my pictures, the ones from the airport are some of the best. Go back behind the aiport to the beach and you will be in awe. All and all, you really can't go wrong with Palawan!

[funky worm]

Thanks again for all the info everybody. I've been doing more and more research about El Nido and I'm getting really excited about my trip. I'd like to explore some other places on Palawan, but I'm only going to have six full days there and I don't want to spend too much time on a bus or ferry. If I find somewhere close worth visiting I might check it out though.

If anybody has anything else to add about El Nido or the surrounding areas I'd love to hear about your experiences.

[Tiger Beer]

[betchay]

amanpulo... so expensive though...

[CentralCali]

Do you smoke? If not, you'll be sick for most of your time in the PI. The last time I was there (November 2000), I spent the majority of my time puking as I have a severe reaction to that nasty crud.

[rudiger]

i think you got it right. i tried to squeeze in puerto and el nido in 7 days and regretted it. puerto is alright but youll remember your time in el nido far more. make sure and fly directly to el nido. i d say wait till youre there in manila to book the flight cause theyre much cheaper that way, usually.

[funky worm]

Has anybody flown directly from Manila to El Nido? What company did you use? From what I have read there is only one company that offers daily flights, and you can't book a flight with this company more than five days in advance. Does anybody have any experience with this? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[Cynical Optimist]

I second the request for info on flights to El Nido, or just Palawan in general. Specifically if I should book a flight before or after getting to Manila, and who to book the flight with.

I'll be arriving late on a Saturday night, then leaving at 3:30AM on the next Saturday -- kinda disappointed about these flight times because it only leaves me with 5 full days and no "halves" -- but 6 nights!

Anyway, is that enough time for Palawan? I'm really just looking for a relaxing time at a few nice beaches. Don't want to travel around too much or try to cram a bunch of stuff in. I've never done any diving, but I'd like to give it a shot as something to do on an otherwise lazy day... So does Palawan sound like the right place for me?

Thanks a million for any tips/info!

[Tiger Beer]

[ttompatz]