Things to Do in Palawan
Prices, opening hours, best times to visit and the stuff nobody tells you, everything you need for a first trip to Palawan, Philippines, plus one pigeon's opinions on all of it.
Right, Palawan. Regularly voted the world's best island, lagoons the colour of mouthwash, a river that vanishes straight into a mountain, genuinely one of the most spectacular island destinations on this whole trip, limestone cliffs, hidden lagoons, and an underground river system that's become one of the natural wonders of the modern world. This is the proper, no-nonsense guide to things to do in Palawan: what things actually cost, when to go, what to skip, and which bits are worth the boat trip. Three main stops below, plus a quiz elsewhere on this site to see if you were paying attention.
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River
Palawan is home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring one of the longest navigable underground rivers in the world, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River flows for several kilometres through limestone caves before reaching the sea, a genuinely remarkable natural phenomenon, boat tours take visitors into the cave system, striking rock formations and a resident bat and swiftlet population adding to the atmosphere.
Book ahead, this genuinely sells out given daily visitor limits designed to protect the fragile cave ecosystem, worth arranging your permit and tour through an official operator well before your visit.
Hours Daily, roughly 8am–3pm, book ahead
Getting there About 1.5 hours from Puerto Princesa
El Nido & Coron's Limestone Lagoons
Palawan's El Nido and Coron areas are famous for lagoons enclosed by dramatic limestone cliffs, sheer limestone walls surround impossibly turquoise hidden lagoons, popular for island-hopping tours, genuinely some of the most striking scenery anywhere in Southeast Asia, Big Lagoon and Small Lagoon in El Nido, and the various wreck-diving and lagoon sites around Coron, both offer spectacular, if slightly different, versions of this limestone-and-turquoise-water landscape.
Island-hopping tours, typically covering several lagoons and snorkelling stops in one day, are the standard, practical way to see this properly, worth booking through a reputable local operator and checking current reviews given how many options exist.
Best time Morning departures for the calmest water and best light
Palawan's 'World's Best Island' Reputation
Palawan has repeatedly topped international rankings for world's best island, multiple major travel publications have named it the top island destination in the world in recent years, a genuinely earned reputation, the combination of the underground river, the lagoons, and excellent, relatively undeveloped beaches has made Palawan a proper standout even among the Philippines' many beautiful islands.
It's worth building real time into your itinerary here given the scale of what's on offer, this isn't a destination that rewards rushing between a checklist of sights, the whole appeal is in the setting itself.
Best time to visit Palawan
November through May is the dry season and genuinely the most reliable window, calmer seas and less rain for the amount of boat-based touring this list involves.
The wet season (roughly June through October) brings heavier rain and rougher seas, some boat trips may be affected or cancelled during the worst of it, worth checking current conditions if travelling then.
Getting around Palawan
Boats are essential for island-hopping and reaching the lagoons. Tricycles (motorbike taxis with a sidecar) are the practical way to get around on land in Puerto Princesa, El Nido, and Coron.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Palawan worth visiting?
- Yes, unquestionably, genuinely one of the most spectacular island destinations anywhere, the underground river and the El Nido/Coron lagoons together represent some of the best natural scenery in Southeast Asia.
- How many days do you need in Palawan?
- Seven days gives a comfortable pace to properly cover Puerto Princesa's underground river plus both El Nido and Coron.
- Is Palawan expensive?
- Moderate, genuinely affordable by international standards, island-hopping tours and the underground river permit are the main planned expenses.
- What is Palawan famous for?
- The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, one of the longest navigable underground rivers in the world, the dramatic limestone lagoons of El Nido and Coron, and repeatedly being named the world's best island by major travel publications.
That's everything I've got.
A note before you plan around this: prices, opening hours, booking requirements and admission details in this guide were correct at the time of writing, but venues change these often and sometimes without notice. Always check directly with the attraction or its official website before you travel or build a schedule around a specific time or price.
Before travelling to any destination featured on this site, please also check your government's latest travel advice, as safety situations, entry requirements and travel warnings can change.
