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.

Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, where you can buy souvenirs 

made by the inmates to help them in their personal expenses

The most hassle-free way to do this is to tap an agency or your hotel who will arrange the entire tour for you. Now, this is also the most costly. Our hotel offered us the tour at Php 600.00/person inclusive of a  tour guide, van transfer and entrance fee.

Mitra's Ranch, a space owned by the family 

of former senator Ramon Mitra

Another option is to DIY the tour, especially if you want more flexibility in your schedule, or if you want to spend more time in a specific site. To DIY the tour, you can commute from one site to another and pay a fare of Php 8.00/person to Php 15.00/person per site, depending on whether you’re using a tricycle or a multicab. This is the cheapest way to do it.

Baker's Hill, the haven of baked goodies

If you’re in a group of 2 or 3, you can also rent a tricycle at Php 600.00 for the entire day to take you to the sites. However, let me just remind you that if you’re tall or pregnant or has special needs, this may not be very convenient for you.

Butterfly Garden, where you will not only see different species of butterflies, 

but also the Palawan'on tribe

Another way to DIY it is to rent an entire multicab at Php 1,500.00 for a whole day tour. If you’re in a larger group, this is the most cost-effective option since you can just split the fare. A multicab can accommodate a maximum of 15 persons. (If you need one, I have a contact number with me. Just message me. J)

Baywalk - best to visit here at night when food stalls are open

The last option is to rent an air-conditioned van for Php 1,500.00 for a maximum of 4-hour use. There’s an additional Php 300.00/hour if you exceed the 4-hour limit. As for us, since there are 10 of us in the group, we only paid Php 150.00/person for this option, excluding all entrance fees. (Message me if you want to ask for the van driver’s contact #.)

Plaza Cuartel, a place where some 150 American soldiers where burned alive 

by the Japanese during WWII

Entrance fee to the Crocodile farm was Php 40.00/person and Php 50.00/person to the Butterfly Garden. The rest are free. As for Mitra's Ranch, you will be asked to pay for Php 20.00/person if you decide to enter into the Mitra's main house.

We started our city tour at 9AM and arrived at the Crocodile farm few minutes before 9:30AM, just in time for the guided tour to start. We ended at 1PM with our last stop being the Plaza Cuartel and the Puerto Princesa Cathedral. We then asked the van driver to drop us off at Ka Inato for lunch.

Here's our total cost per person for doing the tour DIY style:
Van                                                    Php 150.00 (Php 1,500.00 divided by 10 pax)
Entrance fee to Crocodile Farm            Php 40.00
Entrance fee to Butterfly Garden          Php 50.00
Total                                                 Php 240.00

Compare it to the arranged tour for Php 600.00/person, we saved Php 360.00 each. The city tour was indeed educational and entertaining.