As the capital city of Palawan, Puerto Princesa is said to be one of the most amazing and beautiful islands worldwide and a favorite in the Philippines. However, as charming as it may be, most tourists hurry past this magnificent capital to access other beach destinations such as El Nido and Coron with little knowledge of the great spots and sights that can be found in this wonderful city. Puerto Princesa is home to numerous natural wonders. The welcoming, friendly and disciplined people make this city the greenest and cleanest in all of the Philippines. Here are 7 of the best reasons to visit Puerto Princesa.
1. Island hoping
You can enjoy the sea and sand as you explore the islands along Honda Bay. Located twenty minutes from the city center, you can board a small boat to the islands of Starfish, Pandan, Cowrie, and Luli. Cowrie Island is the closest to the city center and is thus very popular amongst tourists and locals. The Starfish Island is named after its abundance in starfish while Luli is named so because it sinks during high tides and rises in low tides. Pandan is the perfect place if you are looking for a warm afternoon away from the commotion of the busy city. There are plenty of seafood vendors, and you can hire snorkeling gear at the beach.
2. Take a food trip
Even though Puerto Princesa is not known for its large number of restaurants, it has fantastic food spots that allow you to wine and dine with the locals. KaLui is the most famous food stop in this city and serves vegetarian. While they do not serve red meat, they serve a wide array of seafood alongside the vegetable dishes. It is advisable to make a reservation as they are full every day. If you are a chicken lover, you cannot leave Puerto Princesa without visiting Haim Chicken for juicy, lip-smacking grilled chicken. You can have dinner with the locals at Kinabuch’s bar and grill. You can order for their beef salpicao and kanin ni ’04, Tamilok, the local delicacy, or try crocodile sisig.
3. Hiking in Olangoan falls
Sitting in Barangay Binduyan, the Olangoan falls are a hidden gem about forty-five minutes from the city center. You can take a bus from El Nido to Puerto Princesa and then drive down to this beautiful location for some hiking adventure. The hike to Olangoan waterfalls takes about half an hour from the highway. This location is still unknown to most travelers, and thus you can expect to find mostly locals here or no one on a slow day. This makes it a perfect escape when you need to get away from the busy life in the city and towns.
4. Visit the craft breweries in the province
This is a must-visit location for beer lovers. Palawan is known for its perfect outdoors activities such as snorkeling, hiking, and beach swimming. However, anyone looking to spend a laid back afternoon or Saturday can do so while enjoying cold beer brewed in Palaweno brewery. This is the only woman-ran brewery in the country. Tourists are offered a tour around the premise to see how the beer is made. Ensure you drop by the taproom for beer tasting.
5. Explore the underground river
This is listed as one of the seven wonders of nature and is also a UNESCO world heritage site. The underground river is one of the most famous attractions around Puerto Princesa. Located 80km north to the Sabang town, this location is accessible by boat or hike. You will be taken for a tour around the river on a small paddle boat.
6. The city tour
Before you set out to visit all these beautiful locations around Puerto Princesa, you should consider taking a city tour. A trip around the city enables you to enjoy the delights it has to offer. Tour the different destinations like the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, the wildlife rescue, and the local spots where you’ll discover candy making and basket weaving. You can also request for a panoramic view of this beautiful city as part of your city tour package. This day tour will make you see Puerto Princesa in all its glory.
7. Firefly watching
Fireflies are magical, and a watching tour will reveal this fact to you. You can take a boat trip to explore their natural habitat. Watch as the sky turns to darkness, and the flies come out to light up the night with their beautiful luminescent glow. This is a surreal experience that can be enjoyed as you sample the delicious moonlight dinner on the water and under the firefly glow.
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6 Comments
Palawan is a great destination for travel, but there are some downsides, especially for living. Expect frequent power outages, frequent degraded internet connection and monthly and/or weekly Internet outages, and white skin tax. Foreigners can and will be taken advantage of taking trikes for public transporation and sometimes at restaurants. My advive is to learn the dos and dont’s before you visit or decide to stay long term.
Hi Mac. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Power and internet outages are very common here in the Philippines. I wish this part of our system would improve so we can very much compete with our neighbors. Foreigners being taken advantage of is really common not just here but in other countries and the only way to prevent that is banking on research.
Actually, the Philippines is one of the best destinations for vacation. I have covered most of the places and had many best experiences. There are still some places to visit in my travel list. And I was little confused to pick my next travel trip. But, you writings about Puerto Princesa made to fix my plan to this place. Yeah!! for sure, my trip is to visit Puerto Princes, and I have gone thorough your blogs related to this. Perfect, I hope your blogs will be very helpful on my travel. Thank you for sharing this wonderful posts.
Keep sharing your amazing blogs which are very helpful & quite impressive.
Great! Thanks you!
Hi Ms. Keza! Any suggestion of hotel in Puerto Princesa? near city or sabang? Thank you
Hi Rache, sa city Ala Amid bnb. Mgnda rooms, free breakfast and quiet. Sa sabang wala ako alam e. Sorry