Palawan itinerary 6 days — Exploring the coastal town El Nido & port city Puerto Princesa in 6 days

It is unfortunate that you believe that when you come to the Philippines, there are white sand beaches stretching in Boracay or renowned tourist destinations like Cebu – Bohol. Focus Asia Travel has discovered a new region that is still “human foot” in certain ways. The port city of Puerto Princesa (Princess) and the seaside hamlet of El Nido are the two. Both are in Palawan, the biggest province in the Philippines. How to Spend Six Days in Palawan (Palawan Itinerary for Six Days). Let’s take a look at the nation’s island via the lens of our Palawan travel blog: Below is an itinerary for exploring the beach village of El Nido and the port city of Puerto Princesa in Palawan.

If you enjoy serenity, being immersed in nature, or wanting to get away from the rush and bustle of congested cities, you must visit El Nido and Palawan. This is a fairly wild location, with few foreign tourists and the majority of visitors being locals. Focus Asia Travel is confident that your six-day vacation to the Philippines will exceed your expectations. If you enjoy the sea, wildlife, and exploring new areas, this will be one of the most beautiful experiences you will ever have.

When to go to Palawan? What should we do?

Because El Nido and Puerto Princesa are seaside towns, they may only be visited during the dry season (December to early May) and not during the wet season (from May to early December). The sea was neither lovely nor hazardous because it was storm and heavy rain season. The months of March and April are ideal for visiting Palawan since there is no rain and the sea is very clear. That is fantastic for relaxing and taking photographs.

Because the Philippines lacks fish sauce and lemon, Filipino cuisine relies solely on soy sauce. Soy sauce is typically used with vinegar, purple onion, and onion to create a pungent and sour flavor. If you are unfamiliar with the flavor, prepare some seasonings such as pepper salt, shrimp salt, chili salt, and a tiny bottle of fish sauce to consume with your seafood.
Green mussels, green mango, and green mango shake are El Nido’s specialties. However, mangoes are not permitted to be brought on the aircraft because of the insect in the stem and infections in the mango skin, so what to eat in El Nido, simply enjoy at El Nido!

The Philippines is one hour earlier than Vietnam, and the currency here uses PHP (Philippine Piso); 1 PHP ~ 0,02 USD.

Air tickets

Airlines: Cebu Pacific Airlines (Terminal 3) & Philippine Airlines (Terminal 2)

To get to Puerto Princesa, you have to transit through Manila. If you use Cebu Pacific airline, the price is listed as follows:

SGN – MML – SGN: 13762 PHP (~ 265 USD)
MNL – PPS – MNL: 5,622 PHP (~ 108 USD)

If you book tickets at both Cebu and Philippine Airlines, remember to spend more time cause each airline is at different terminals so it will take longer time for you to move.

How to get from Puerto Princesa to El Nido?

The sole modes of transportation are a 16-seat bus or a bus. Traveling by bus, on the other hand, is more inconvenient since you must bring your luggage to the station, whereas the 16-seat automobile will pick you up at your destination. Despite the fact that the automobile has 16 seats, they put additional seats into the vacant area between the car (Toyota Hiace 16 seats) so that it can transport 19 – 20 passengers. The car is parked outside the PPS airport, so you just walk out, and someone goes to question you right away.

The road is quite far away so those who are car – sick, remember to prepare the drug. If you go to El Nido in the morning, the two sides of the grass and flowers everywhere will make you forget the car – sick situation immediately, but If you depart at night, let’s take a nap.

Time for transport: it takes about 6 or 7 hours depending on drivers.
Ticket price: PHP 400/ one way/ a 16 – seat car (~ 8 USD)

My recommendation is that you purchase a return ticket here for convenience, but remember to haggle because they constantly offer greater costs. You should always get a SIM card at the Manila airport in order to contact them more easily while picking them up. 3G is quite poor in this area and is mostly utilized in hotels.

Things to do in El Nido

To travel about El Nido, you may rent a motorcycle. However, after you’ve arrived, you must travel to Hopping Island – that is, sail to explore the lovely islands. The most well-known are the A, B, C, and D tours, which are excursions to the area’s big and small islands. Each tour will take a day to complete; if you have more time, you may do the entire tour; however, if you only want to learn or do not have enough days to complete the tour, Tour A and Tour C are the best options. The two most appealing trips take you to a lovely island introduced by a resident, which will be included in the itinerary.

Hotels

El Nido: There are few alternatives in downtown, mostly hotels and guesthouses (near the marina). The finest is three stars (only two or three hotels), although the quality is comparable to a guesthouse or two stars. As a result, don’t anticipate too much. Rizal Street and Calle Hana Street, or places adjacent, should be reserved in guesthouses.

Puerto Princesa: Because this is a city, there are more alternatives. We slept at Pension Del Flora (Deluxe Fan room), a 2-star hotel with pricing starting at $16 per night. It is located in a residential area, near to the city, and is easily accessible by public transportation. You could request that they make the early breakfast ahead of time.

Palawan itinerary: 6 days in Palawan (Palawan itinerary 6 days)

Day 1: Saigon – Manila – Puerto Princesa – El Nido.

From Saigon to El Nido, it is also at midnight, so you book the hotel in advance in order not to look for a room after a tiring day, and remember that the number of hotels is very little, easy to be out of the room early.

Day 2: El Nido – Tour A (island).

Breakfast: Recommendation from the hotel A cake may be purchased from the town’s sole bakery. From 7:00 a.m. until 17:00 p.m. Should buy additional food as a reserve in case the tour’s lunch is insufficient or unsuitable for you because you are traveling around the island and no one sells anything.

Tour A (Big and small Lagoon＋Shimizu Island＋7 Commandos): As previously said, visiting El Nido without booking tours A and C is a waste of time. The first morning, we opted to do tour A. This tour includes transportation fees, on-board meal expenses, environmental protection fees, and snorkeling diving equipment (diving glasses, snorkel, ..). Big Lagoon, Small Lagoon, Shimizu Island, Secret Lagoon, and Seven Commandos Beach will all be visited throughout the excursion. Every location is breathtakingly gorgeous.