Palawan is an excellent and gorgeous archipelagic province of the ever so beautiful country, the Philippines. The place is located in the Mimapora region and it sees countless tourists flocking to it all through the year and from different parts of the world.
It is considered heaven on Earth for tourists. Palawan is perfect for one week where you could cover all the major attractions of the place. Palawan is 566 Kilometers away from Manila.
This is quite a distance but you have multiple ways of covering this distance with ease. You have the option to reach there through taxi, bus, train, flight or your private car. The place is well connected to all major parts of the Philippines.
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Places to Visit in 1 Week Time in Palawan
A lot of people believe that Palawan is the most expensive region of the Philippines and it could be sometimes a nightmare for the tourists to manage their budget. But, this is not true. The place could only be expensive if you don’t plan well in advance.
If you plan your trip let’s say a month in advance then you could get economical hotels and cheap flights to the place. Once you are in Palawan then the following is the itinerary that you must ensure within a week. You also need to remember that you have to travel within the Palawan province and have to divide your stay for few nights in every place.
Day 1 and Day 2
If you are in Manila then you must secure your place preferably on a flight from Manila to El Nido. There are plenty of hotels in El Nido which will suit different types of budgets. A useful recommendation is to choose a hotel that has a pool as it may get a bit hot and humid in Palawan.
Once you have checked in the hotel of your choice on Day 1 then you could look to ideally rent a bike and visit Napcan beach. It is the best place in El Nido to visit in the afternoon and spend a good couple of hours there. Then you can reach back to your hotel and go for an exclusive dinner in the town after changing up. El Nido is the place where you must stay for a couple of days. Therefore, plan your hotel bookings accordingly.
On the next morning, consider taking a full island tour of El Nido. You may consider group or private tours which come with the services of a local guide as well. You can easily check for such tours from the reception or business center of your hotel where you are staying.
Even if you decide to go on a private tour then you must expect huge crowds in there, so be prepared for that. Once you finish the island tour and make a return to the hotel then you can head to the Las Cabanas beach. This is a lovely place and ideal to witness the beautiful sunset. You may also consider taking the zip wire that goes right above the ocean. You can spend your entire evening there while having your dinner there as well.
Day 3
The Montenegro Lines in El Nido operates the fast ferry to Coron. Tourists ideally book this ticket in advance to get the best price and save themselves from the last-minute hassle. Preferably, you must take the ferry at 6 in the morning so that you will reach Coron by 11 AM.
Hoping that you have already booked your hotel in Coron. You may consider different hotel book online sites to get the most economical deal. The Coron town is great which deserves to be toured on foot in the afternoon. You must especially visit Mt Tapyas there.
This is an ideal place for the sunset, especially which sees a lot of crowds typically around 5:30 PM. After that in the evening, your next place to visit should be the Maquinit Hot Springs. You may grab a drink or your evening meal here. Make sure that you finish early and sleep well to make yourself fresh for your busy day tomorrow.
Day 4
Day 4 will have some adventurous activities planned. You can go for the Big Dream man tour. It could be either private or a group tour. If you are with friends then nothing could be a better experience than going in that group.
Otherwise, you may plan to take this tour privately which obviously will cost you more as well. Make sure that you leave your hotel at no later than 7 AM from the town of Coron so that you have ample amount of time to make the most of your Day 4. The top three sights on this Day 4 tour will be Seite Pecados, Kayangan Lake, and the Twin Lagoons. You will also be mesmerized by the wreckage of the WWII ship in the latter.
Consider having your lunch at the picturesque Banol Beach. This meal should be taken before you plan to go to Banana Island for an overnight stay. It is an authentic beach where you will enjoy the special hut accommodation which would be right in front of the sea there.
This special hotel has accommodation for a maximum of 15 people only so make sure you plan and book this day accordingly and well in advance.
The Banana ere provides you with all your required meals and drinks. It would be a great place to enjoy some rum, beer, or perhaps just the regular soft drinks as well. A lot of tourists love to do the star gazing activity on this beach at night, which will be a great experience if you try. If you have visited or have done the island tour in El Nido then you would love and highly appreciate the difference between these two places.
Day 5
The 5th day of your tour starts with the rise of the yellow inferno star and right after that, you are advised to go to Malcapuya and Culion Island. This would offer an excellent local experience to you which you must never miss out on or else you will be regretting long after your tour. Once you are done with this part of your Day 5 then you could go to Pass Island.
This is where you can do your next overnight stay so make sure that you check out from your hotel on the morning of the 5th day. The Pass Island has got excellent accommodation options where the best ones are the native beach cottage there. It is a place with the same situation as Banana. It means that the place only has a room for 10 people to spend the night together.
This also means that the group would have the entire island to themselves. People love to enjoy a lot of activities here at night time which include volleyball, stargaze, dinner and drinks of all sorts. The local guides are often seen hear singing at night which creates a very beautiful atmosphere.
Day 6
When the 6th day of your Palawan tour starts then it means that you have to visit the beautiful and not miss North Cay & South Cay Island. It is also a day to witness the Calauit safari wildlife and then go to the Black Island for an overnight stay. Black Island is a place that is known among tourists for camping.
Once again, it is highly unlikely as before to have a lot of people here at night which makes things quite lucrative for the tourists looking for an overnight stay. This Black Island provides tourists with an excellent and highly remote island experience. This is something that you really cannot afford to miss. This beach is right in front of the big black limestone-type cliffs. If you like then you may also walk through the caves which will be a highly memorable experience for the tourists.
Day 7
Here you are on the 7th and last day of your tour to Palawan. The Philippines. This is the last day of your 1 week planned tour but the entertainment and sightseeing don’t stop here. It will continue throughout the day.
This is the day when in the morning, you should look to take a ferry to reach back in the Coron town. Once you reach back in the town of Coron then the best choice will be to stop at the Coral garden. It will then be followed by the gunboat and then go to the Busuanga Airport. You can take your flight there to go back to Manila or any other place of your choice.
The Hidden Gem of Palawan
Do you know that Palawan is a place having one of the Seven Wonders of the World? It is the Puerto Princesea. It is the underground river in there which is famous worldwide for being so unique and considered as the wonder of the world. This was intentionally missed out from above for a few reasons. Firstly, the place only has got to offer the underground river and nothing else. You don’t have the opportunity to have or experience any other thing there.
Secondly, the place most of the year is extremely busy always. That ruins the experience of the tourists and makes them feel tired to do any other activity on that day. Third and last, this is considered to be any place in Palawan where the tourists may have safety concerns as well.
Although it is a wonder of the world but considering your 1-week schedule and the time it requires with all the concerns, this place is not worth visiting in the time. If you feel excited and want to visit this place then you must extend your tour of Palawan for a day or two.
It used to be a more frequently visited place earlier as Puerto Princesa used to be the only place in Palawan with an airport. But, things have changed now as people in Palawan first come to El Nido or sometimes Coron. Flights to these two towns in Palawan could be taken either from Manila or Cebu.
Transportation to Choose from for Traveling Across Palawan
It is super easy to travel to any part of Palawan. The tourists have more than one option in the mode of transportation which helps tourists who are on the budget. A few of the options that you have for transportation in Palawan are given as below:
- Flight – You may consider taking flights on different days of your trip to Palawan while experiencing different adventures of the place. You may consider taking a flight between El Nido and Coron. But, a lot of experts think that it is not worth taking a flight between these two places unless you are getting some price-crunch flying deals.
- Boats or Ferries – The water transportations will be your very close friend in Palawan throughout your trip. You may go taking a ferry when traveling from Coron to El Nido or vice versa. This will be a very enjoyable and highly economical transportation option as well. You can book your ferry tickets in advance for a good price or you may get one on the spot as well.
- Moped – Moped could be easily rent out in Palawan especially when you are in Port Barton, Coron mainland or El Nido, etc. For a single day, the rent for such mopeds is around 500 pesos which are quite economical as compared to any other mode of transportation.
- Shuttles – If you are in the Palawan mainland then you may get shuttles to and from multiple places in the province. For example, you may get this shuttle transport option if you are traveling from Port Barton to El Nido or perhaps from Puerto Princesa to Port Barton, etc.
Conclusion
The above is a very honest itinerary that one could have for their 1-week tour to Palawan. This is an itinerary that a lot of people have tried and they found their tour to be successful. After very careful analysis, they were hardly able to change anything about it. It is just so perfect and covers all the key areas and islands of the Palawan province.
If we talk about the budget for the place and the 1-week tour then $1,000 per person seems to be more than enough. In that budget, you will be staying in a lot better hotels and will be eating well throughout the week. This also covers your travel cost and all the gate money or guide’s fees that you have to pay.
If you look at the estimated price and the Palawan province then it seems to be good money for the place. It is worth it and you must spare this amount if you don’t want to miss out on any major attraction in the Palawan province.
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