Trip to Puerto Princesa - 5D4N Itineray and Budget

We finally had a chance to visit Puerto Princesa last February 2017, to attend our church's annual general conference held in the City Coliseum. Since we had nightly services, we toured the city and other interesting spots during the day. We stayed in the city a total of 6 days and 5 nights. What I am sharing with you is a sample itinerary (our itinerary less the church-related activities) and budget that may help you with your futtre ruip to Puerto Princesa. Enjoy!

ITINERARY

Day 1 - 02/23/2017, Thursday
                   06:00 PM - arrival from Cebu (coming from a delayed flight via Cebu Pacific Air)
06:00 PM - 06:30 PM - travel to Cleon Villas Pension (free, courtesy of Cleon Villas) and check-in
06:30 PM - 07:30 PM - dinner at Mang Gary's bulaloan (Php 125.00/person)
07:30 PM onwards - free time

Day 2 - 02/24/2017, Friday
06:00 AM - 07:45 AM - wake up, take a bath, prepare and breakfast (breakfast is included in accommodation)
07:45 AM - 08:00 AM - walk to the City Coliseum to apply for the PPUR permit
08:00 AM - 08:30 AM - process the PPUR permit for Sunday visit (for details, please visit my entry Trip to Puerto Princesa - DIY Underground River Tour, Php 585.00/person)
08:30 AM - 12:30 PM - city tour (Crocodile Farm, Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, Mitra's Ranch, Baker's Hill, Butterfly Garden, Pasalubong Center, Baywalk, Plaza Cuartel, and Puerto Princesa Cathedral, Php 240.00/person). please check Trip to Puerto Princesa - DIY City Tour for details
12:30 PM - 02:00 PM - lunch at Ka Inato's (Php 150.00/person)
02:00 PM - 04:00 PM - wander around the city or go home early and rest (Php 8.00/person, multicab)
04:00 PM - 06:00 PM - freshen up
06:00 PM - 07:00 PM - dinner (Php 150.00/person)
07:00 PM onwards - free time (you may insert here the visit to the Iwahig Firefly Watching)

Where to Stay in Puerto Princesa: Cleon Villas Pension

Accommodation is probably one of the things that you need to spend on when travelling, especially if you have children or senior citizens with you. You need to find a place that's comfortable, accessible and affordable - a balance of these. It may not be the most luxurious or the most expensive, but can't also be the basic backpacker's paradise.

Our assigned villa

Good thing there's Google Maps and Agoda, searching for the right place was made easy. I utilized Google Maps to find the places that are close to our venue, the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum. The closest one was Palawan Uno Hotel, located just in front of the coliseum. It's a good choice with good reviews online. It has an outdoor pool, which I'm sure my daughter would enjoy. Their buffet breakfast also has good feedback. The downside, we couldn't afford it, with a nightly rate of around Php 2,500.00 for 2 persons (there's 5 of us in the group).

Trip to Puerto Princesa - DIY Underground River Tour

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (also known as Puerto Princesa Underground River, PPUR) is an 80-km underground river located in a protected area in the northern part of Puerto Princesa, Palawan. It helped put the city into the world map when it was selected as the New 7 Wonders of Nature by UNESCO in 2012. It is also the world's longest navigable underground river.

At the Lexxus Shuttle terminal

Most tourists visit the PPUR in group tours. Our hotel offered the tour for Php 1,740.00, inclusive of tour guide, van transfer, boat rides, buffet lunch and permits. The downside of these group tours, especially if there's only a few of you in your group, is that you will be joined with other groups to fill the van capacity. And of course, you have no control over your day's activities because your itinerary would depend on the entire group's itinerary.

Trip to Puerto Princesa - DIY Honda Bay Island Hopping

What’s a trip to Puerto Princesa without the Honda Bay Island Hopping? According to Wikipedia, Honda Bay is a bay on the eastern shore of the island of Palawan. The name comes from the Spanish word “Bahia Honda”, which means “deep bay”.

From top left: the dispatch area, our assigned boat,

and on board with our life vests on

When we visited Puerto Princesa last February 2017, there are six islands that you can visit when doing island hopping – Cowrie Island, Pandan Island, Starfish Island, LuLi Island, Pambato Reef and Splash House. Each island has a corresponding entrance fee. You also need to pay an environmental fee of Php 150.00/person (for Honday Bay and Puerto Princesa Underground River), and a terminal fee of Php 5.00/person.

Trip to Puerto Princesa - DIY City Tour

We finally had the opportunity to visit the city of Puerto Princesa last February 2017, in time for our church's annual general conference. Due to limited time and budget, we decided to DIY all tours to make our itinerary as flexible as possible.

Crocodile Farm, also known as 

Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center

The Puerto Princesa city tour is just one of the many things you can do in the city. In this tour, you will visit several sites in the city with historic and recreational importance. These are: Crocodile Farm, Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, Mitra’s Ranch, Baker’s Hill, Butterfly Garden, Pasalubong Center, Baywalk, Plaza Cuartel and Puerto Princesa Cathedral. This activity can be used as a filler in your schedule as this can be completed in half a day, usually in four hours.