Both a province and the island at its epicenter, Palawan is the Philippines’ westernmost frontier. A tropical playground of island-hopping, snorkeling, and scuba diving, the area includes Coron and its sunken Japanese wrecks and the Tubbataha Reef UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the top of the list of things to do in Palawan island is the UNESCO-listed Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, an underground river that runs 5 miles (8 kilometers) through a stalactite chicane. Also worth seeing are the lagoons, beaches, and islets of El Nido’s Bacuit Archipelago.
Palawan’s dry season usually runs mid-November through mid-May, bringing clearer skies and calmer seas. The driest period is generally January–April but note that, like elsewhere in the Philippines, prices can triple around Easter and the New Year. The window for diving Tubbataha Reef is March–June. Visibility on the Japanese wrecks in Coron is best in the dry season, roughly halfway between the full moon and new moon.
Palawan island extends 270 miles (435 kilometers) at its longest point, and buses and minivans link popular destinations, with jeepneys, taxis, and tricycles available in Puerto Princesa and El Nido. Rideshares have not arrived, but it’s easy to rent cars and scooters in popular destinations. You’ll likely spend some time on boats, whether taking a liveaboard to reach Tubbataha Reef, island-hopping around El Nido, or braving the ferry to Coron—which has its own airport with flights from Manila and Cebu.
Palawan food majors on the bounty of the sea, with delicious fresh seafood and the area’s signature lato, a type of seaweed often known as sea grapes or green caviar. Discover its burst-in-the-mouth deliciousness alongside fresh-caught marlin, prawns, crabs, and lobster or tangy seafood sisig at Kalui Restaurant, a wood-framed, seafood restaurant that’s a Puerto Princesa favorite. Wear shoes that are easy to remove; at Kalui, you go barefoot.
