Due to the typhoon risk, August is not the best month to visit the Philippines, for this reason, in this my first trip I chose a fairly simple itinerary.
The stages of my trip to the Philippines were only 3:
More Cebu, which was only a transit stop.
Palawan
It landed from Singapore to Cebu, where because of flight schedules I had to go there one night before heading out, again by plane, to the island of Palawan.
A little while ago I wrote that I did in the Philippines only 3 stages, but this really is only partly true.
Palawan is long and narrow island, so instead of doing eight hours in a row of buses as many to go north, I opted for a journey within a journey.
I stopped at several locations, making a total of 5 stages: Langogan, Port Barton, El Nido, Taytay, Puerto Princessa.
Langogan
The plane landed from Cebu to Puerto Princessa, but I instead of stopping to sleep in the capital of Palawan and then leave, I chose a place far less busy: Langogan.
Because of my inexperience, at the airport of Puerto Princessa I was persuaded to take a minivan up to Langogan, when I could spend a lot less going by bus.
But okay, it went like this :)
The trip was still interesting and on the way I have seen quite a giant lizard.
A Langogan I was at the Mangrove Resort, a picturesque resort directly by the river.
The beaches in these parts are not anything that is not fine sand, though the country is very quaint and simple.
A Langogan we spent time doing canoeing, cycling, visiting the fishing village, going to the beach, making delicious meals ... so we made a quiet country life.
The hotel where we were guests, the Mangrove Resort, was run by a Canadian really nice and helpful, he looked after us all the time.
If you happen to Langogan I recommend you stay there, you will not regret.
But be careful! Being a place close enough to the jungle, it is not suitable for those who are afraid of insects.
From Langogan, thanks to the valuable information of the Proprietor, we went on a trip by bus to the underground river near Puerto Princessa.
The Subterranean river Puerto Princessa can be visited by boat, but not for its entire length of 4.5 km, but still we enter deeply enough into the cave to admire the thousands of bats that live there.
The Subterranean River National Park was included among the UNESCO world heritage sites, but also the nearby beach of Sabang beach is no joke in terms of beauty!
A Sabang beach you can get there by boat or via a hiking trail directly from the underground river ... and if I remember correctly, there is also a zipline in that area.
Port Barton
From Langogan we then took a bus to Port Barton, a romantic seaside resort famous for its sunsets.
Here we made only sea and relax, enjoying the beautiful beach bungalow for two days in a row.
Buses in the Philippines are very cheap, but we must be prepared to travel without too many pretensions, even on the roof if necessary: p
El Nido
Along with the underground river, El Nido is one of the main reasons why people go to Palawan.
From El Nido in fact, depart several boat trips to nearby Bacuit Archipelago.
The island hopping is indeed the practice in vogue in El Nido, and there are several pre-organized tour (I think I did the tour A).
The beauty of the rock formations present in El Nido is very reminiscent of those of Thailand, particularly those in the Railay area and nearby islands.
Among the things most beautiful views in my boat trip there: big lagoon, small lagoon and secret lagoon.
I still base was in Corong Corong, not far from El Nido.
Area a little 'more tranquil and beautiful sunsets, but at the same time convenient to make trips.
Obviously the Philippines are also suitable for snorkeling, and some pictures are also able to make it during the island hopping.
Taytay
A Taytay we only went to break up a bit 'the return trip south.
Searching the internet we found good reviews for the resort Casa Rosa, mainly thanks to the kindness of the hostess.
Unfortunately, when we went we, the Pink Lady was supposed to be on vacation and we picked the anonymous receptionist who barely spoke to him there :)
From Taytay was possible to make some nice trip, but unfortunately they were about to finish us the money and then we lost two days to go for walks in the area ... Taytay itself is not anything special.
But be careful, do not make the same mistake that we did: in Palawan remember to bring enough cash because only in Puerto Princessa There are ATMs!
There are facilities where you can pay by credit card also in the north, or places where you can get money to pay with the card, but it is better not to risk!
A singular thing I noticed in the various structures of the Philippines, is the presence of beds with mosquito netting.
This maybe because the Philippines mosquitoes can leave a mark :)
Puerto Princessa
In Puerto Princessa we only stayed one day, and only because there was no flight to be taken immediately to leave Palawan.
Puerto Princessa is a dirty town, chaotic and polluted, not like the big cities of China, but we say that it is not still a relaxing place to spend the holidays.
However if desired, also in Puerto there is something to see, such as the church and some park.
The trip to Palawan is over, we spent nearly 10 days.
We traveled by bus, minivan, boats and with the improvised means, but it was very nice.
What I do not recommend you to do as we did ... turn with giant suitcases and not with backpackers!
Below you can find all the videos filmed in the Philippines.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCBrso9WwkFYxBnAJ1EOt4JEQj9uvsmDY
From Puerto Princessa we then flew to Cebu and then we headed in the direction of Boracay (read my post on Boracay).
Enjoy the show with photos of Palawan: