When you think of Palawan, a paradise came up in your mind. And if you love reading travel magalogues especially while you are in flight or sipping your coffee/tea in your favorite spot, you will often cited Palawan being featured as one of the best island in the Philippines and sometimes in the world. This tropical paradise offers one of the best representation of the Philippines.

There are two ways to get to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. The easiest way to get there is by plane. There are a few daily flights to get to Puerto Princesa with Cebu Pacific and Air Asia. The flight will take 1 hour 20 minutes and prices are starting at 1,500-2,000 PHP ($28.90-$38.54). But you can also reach there by boat which is cheaper but will take the trip around 36-40 hours.

Puerto Princesa is such a beauty that anyone would love to visit and wander the place, and that includes me. I was in college when I put this in my “juander list” (my own term of bucket list) and just like most people dream, hoping that I can make a step on this island and able to experience its natural beauty on hand. Fortunately, it happened by God’s grace and now I wanted to share this experience thru this personal blog so that I can be an additional help for those people who dream and plan to visit Puerto Princesa soon. This too was one of my unforgettable experience, for this was the time that I had my memorable first plane ride ever!

A lot of things you can do in here and some of those awesome things you can probably do when you arrive at Puerto Princesa are listed below.

GO ON A CITY TOUR

• Palawan WW-II Memorial Museum

Special Battalion World War II Memorial Museum was inaugurated by the family of local hero Dr. Higinio Mendoza Sr., who sparked the guerrilla warfare against Japanese forces. This special museum showcase some of the various war memorabilia. Few of them are rusting guns and ammunition; old paper denominations; a historic typewriter and stenography machine; miniature war planes and ships; uniforms of American soldiers who fought with the guerrillas; and old vehicles used during WW-II. The museum will collect 30php/$0.58 upon entrance for maintenance and care.

Address: Rizal Avenue, Brgy. Bancao-Bancao, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan 5300, Philippines

• Environmental Enforcement Museum

Environmental Enforcement Museum is also known as “Pasyar Developmental Tourism”, a social enterprise program of the Palawan NGO Network Inc. (PNNI). Basically their program was developed to help mainstream their efforts in empowering the communities to manage Palawan’s natural resources through sustainable tourism. Once you book a tour with them, you will have an opportunity to help their partner communities as well as protect the environment. Moreover, they got one of a kind environmental enforcement museum in the Philippines. From chainsaw tower to illegal boats and trucks and other tools for environmental destruction sure enough you can find it here. If you are an eco-warrior like me who wants to understand on how and what works they are doing to maintain and protect its environment, then this place is perfectly just for you. Sure enough this museum will give you a dose of interesting facts on Palawan’s prestige environment.

Address: Manalo Extension cor. Gabinete Road Intersection, Puerto Princesa, Palawan 5300, Philippines

• Palawan Tribal Village & Butterfly Ecological Garden

Tribal village and Butterfly Garden is a place where you can interact and observe. You are able to experience walking in a garden with different free species of colorful butterflies and see some endemic wildlife that can be found here in Palawan. And traditional Palawan village with crafts and demos showcasing the culture of the Palau’an, an indigenous group in their province. A fee of 100php/ $2 will be collected upon entrance.

Address: Bunk House Road, Brgy. Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan 5300, Philippines

• Mitra’s Ranch

If you wanted to do some adrenaline adventure closer within the city this will probably excites you the most. They offered activities in the area like trampoline, horse back riding and zipline. Used to be a private property but they’ve long been opened to the public from 0600-1800. Plus this gives you an astonishing view of Puerto Princesa City which will be love by many.

Address: Mitra Road, Brgy. Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan 5300, Philippines

• Baker’s Hill

If you are looking for a family’s bonding or simply unwind away from the city stress, Baker’s Hill landscaped gardens and playground will satisfy you that. Make sure to allocate a generous budget for food because they got plenty of that in there, from bakery to some other restaurants available in the area. They also got a view deck in which you can have a wondrous view on its city and coastline.

Address: Mitra Road, Brgy. Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan 5300, Philippines

• Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (Crocodile Farm)

Enjoy a wildlife eco-tour as you visit this facility that works to conserve the two endangered species of crocodiles found in the Philippines. This will staggered you as the tour guide explains to you the economic importance of crocodilians. You will also get a chance to see these cold blooded animals moving on their cage from small to huge sizes that will surely stunned you. Marvelous experience though.

Address: South Road, Brgy. Irawan, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan 5300, Philippines

• Puerto Princesa Bay walk

You can stroll in here after doing the city tour. Its breeze will give you a chill feeling. There were also available bikes for rent which also gives you a little adventure around as the bay walk is big enough to ride those bikes. There were also available grilling restaurants just in case you felt hungry after doing such activities.

Address: Roxas Street, Brgy. Matiyaga, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan 5300, Philippines

GO ON A NIGHT TOUR

• Kitu-Kito Firefly Watching Place

Watching fireflies in this place is such a magical thing to do at night. Though the place is not that improve compared to Iwahig Firefly Watching (which I wouldn’t recommend coz only few fireflies are sparkling there) at least in here fireflies are sparkling all over the mangroves. Obviously, you can see more fireflies in here. Add the bioluminescent planktons present on the place, its like you don’t want to go home and makes you want to just stay for the whole night to watch them sparkling. Also the tour comes with a buffet dinner, either you eat before or after the tour. You can book with Pasyar Palawan Travel and Tours, in that way you can help their partner communities to protect the environment. Click the link below. https://pasyarpalawantravel.weebly.com/contact-us.html

Address: KM33 SitioTag-bato, Brgy. Salvacion, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan 5300, Philippines

Cruise Through An Underground River

This must be on the top list to do in Puerto Princesa. This Subterranean River Park is located about 80 kms. (50mi) north of the city centre of Puerto Princesa, Palawan and is reputed to be the world’s longest that winds through a spectacular cave before emptying out in to the West Philippine Sea. In order to experienced this fun-learning activity, it is better and easy to book it from travel and tour companies for hassle free of getting those permits needed before the tour. A buffet lunch will also be included in the tour package. Want a sustainable book tour package? Click this link: https://pasyarpalawantravel.weebly.com/contact-us.html

Address: Sitio Sabang, Brgy. Cabayugan, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan 5300, Philippines

Thrill Yourself With Various Activities At Ugong Rock

Do not missed this one if you are doing the Underground River Cruise either you do it before or after. Check out and give spare time to indulge yourself with some adrenaline activities. For adventure lovers out there get ready to experience bamboo zip-bike adventure, superman zip-line, spelunking, trekking and caving.

Address: National Highway, Brgy. Tagabinet, Puerto Princesa City, 5300 Palawan, Philipppines

“The most beautiful things in the world is, of course, the world itself.”

Wallace Stevens