After Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines in 2013 and I went to the island of Palawan since it’s cheaper than
Boracay or Palau. I flew into Puerto
Princesa. It’s a pretty small town with
not much to do except to go on a few island hopping excursions which are always
fun such as the Honda Bay islands (which include Starfish island) or to go into
the “underwater rivers” which are dark bat caves that you boat through and take
a tour. It’s cool and the location is
really pretty. Most everyone visiting
Puerto Princesa goes to El Nido (cost roughly 600 pesos and is anywhere between
4-6 hours of a drive. Mine took only 5 hours because they all drive like
maniacs). I wasn’t going to go initially because I didn’t feel like sitting in
a 7 hour crazy-winding-road car ride but I caved in and went. I’m glad that I did. It’s a super cool small beach town. Despite being popular with tourists, there’s
a lot to do like take different island hopping tours (there are 3 to choose
from and cost 1200-1400 pesos but are really nice), go to Cabanas (will cost
150 pesos each way) or Napkan beach which are both a short tuk tuk ride away,
and to walk the town. It’s a fun place at night because there are tons of cool
restaurants that get set up along the beach for dinner and clubs where everyone
hangs out all night at. There are people
from all over that go to El Nido so I met so many fun people. I recommend staying in town if you go to El
Nido versus closer to the beach, there are more things to do. El Nido commonly loses power often for
unknown lengths of time but no worries, the clubs have backup generators which,
is why most people just hang out at the beach all night long. If you decide to go to El Nido, be sure to
withdraw some money before you get there because there aren’t many ATMs at all,
if any. Also, don’t bring any mangoes
from Puerto Princesa to El Nido because there is a stop about a fourth of the
way to El Nido where they stop vehicles and ask if you are bringing any
mangoes. Strange, I know.
If you do decide to fly into Puerto Princesa, keep in mind
that there is a terminal fee when leaving the island. If you fly from Palawan to Manila or Cebu,
the fee is 200 pesos, if you fly somewhere else internationally, the fee is 700
pesos. Just a tip so that you can make
sure you have enough because the ATM isn’t always working at the airport. There is free WiFi in the airport though.
Many people that I met in El Nido told me that they first
went to Coron which is a popular place to visit if going to the island of
Palawan.
I haven’t spent nearly as much time in Manila as I have
Cebu. I like Cebu. It’s a huge city, as is Manila, but there’s more to do and
not AS notoriously dangerous as Manila is.
If you go to Cebu, be sure to get the regular taxis at the taxi stand
(go to the right when exiting the airport), not the ones that you first see
when you walk out of arrivals. Those
will rip you off. Always be sure to have
them run the meter or negotiate a rate beforehand. This is the same with tuk tuks too. You’ll easily get ripped off. A taxi ride from the Cebu airport into town
will cost anywhere between 200 and 400 pesos.
I always went to Cebu because I had to travel down the coast
to a ferry port to go to the island of Bantayan. I went there a few years ago when the super
typhoon Yolanda hit. I was in SE Asia at
the time so I decided to go live in a tent on somebody’s property and help
debris clean, rebuild, play with the kids, and much more for a month. I revisited Bantayan last March/April to see
the remarkable changes and improvements.
Bantayan is a beautiful lively island but there isn’t much to do
there. I know a bunch of cool people who
live there so if you decide to visit Bantayan, I can reach out to them and see
if they have a bungalow on a beach available for you. My friends own a nonprofit on the island and
also own a new pizza shop. I know
someone who own a skydiving company there too if you’re interested in those
kind of things! If you decide to go to a
bus station anywhere in Cebu or Manila, have 10 pesos ready if you take a taxi
there because they charge a 10 pesos fee.
If you take a ferry from Cebu or Manila, be sure to have 15 pesos for
terminal and ferry fees.
When leaving Cebu or Manila and flying internationally,
there is a 550 pesos exit fee. There is no fee when arriving at any airports,
just departing in the Philippines. Have
this money before you get to the airport because there is no ATM there or it
may not work.
If you like diving, many people go to Bohol, Malapascua
Island, and Subic Bay.
Other popular places are: Borocay, Panay, and Palau.
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