Things to see & do in Palawan

Leaving the dazzling lights and motorised tricycles of Puerto Princesa behind for an evening, your guide leads the group into the mangroves of Kitu-Kito D'Makarios. Here, sitting quietly in a little boat, you watch in amazement as the trees on both riverbanks are illuminated by fireflies as they attract mates, like hundreds of tiny Christmas lights blinking on and off in the darkness.

Throughout this display of bioluminescent beauty, the only sound is the gentle swish of the oar as the boatman propels you through the water. Maximum wonder, minimum disturbance.

The island of Palawan, in the western reaches of the Philippines, is a natural beauty that’s perfect for exploring on adventurous multi activity tours. Shaped like a needle fish, which in the Philippines is often used in ceviche or soups, Palawan is award-winningly attractive – relatively undeveloped, and awash with flora and fauna.

The wider province, also known as Palawan, is home to pangolins, endangered sea turtles, and over 400 species of butterflies, as well as enough birdlife to keep enthusiasts glued to their binoculars from dawn to dusk. There are mountains here, dense rainforests, dive sites teeming with marine life, and idyllic white sand beaches where you can stretch out to relax after a week of excitement.

These sublime landscapes, and the wildlife they shelter, are faced with threats from the logging, mining, quarrying, and fishing industries, as well as the growing danger from the climate crisis. Our Palawan holidays help by encouraging nature preservation and employing local people.

As Karen Zhao, product manager for our partner Intrepid Travel, explains: “Tourism is an important way to combat environmental degradation in Palawan because often the people involved in activities doing harm are just locals trying to earn a living. Whether it’s logging or fishing, they want to improve their lives. If tourism can provide training and opportunities for people, while also avoiding damage to the environment, we can counteract that trend.”

Puerto Princesa, Palawan’s capital, is known as the hub of ecotourism in the Philippines, and much of that is due to the Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park, a 90-minute drive north. The river flows through a vast cave system through which local guides paddle you in their bangka outriggers. You’ll need to be quiet because the cave is full of bats that use sonar to navigate. Even if you can’t see them, you’ll certainly hear them and smell them – the stench of guano is inescapable, but worth tolerating to admire this spectacular natural phenomenon.

Queues form to take this tour, which is one of the most popular activities on Palawan, and there are long wait times, as only a limited number of boats are allowed in the cave at a time, to minimise the effects on the bats. Outside the cave, crab-eating monkeys are charmers or nuisances depending on how much their tourist-baiting antics amuse you, while deeper in the park you might find bearded pigs, pythons, porcupines, and stink badgers – if you were inclined to go looking for them. Probably not.

River and cave tours are often combined with the 110m-high Ugong Rock nearby. So-named because of the sound the walls make when tapped, the Ugong Rock is lined with stalactites and stalagmites. After a spot of spelunking, bold travellers can zipline from the rock down into the rainforest. Activities here are organised by the local community, which was formerly involved in illegal logging but now focuses on tourism.

There are more than 1,700 islands in the Palawan archipelago and seven officially recognised Indigenous groups. Language, beliefs and cultural practices can vary from island to island. The Palawan Heritage Center, a small interactive museum in Puerto Princesa, is a good starting point to learn more about Palawan’s peoples.

San Rafael is a small coastal community an hour’s drive from the Sabang subterranean river. Stay on a private beach and meet representatives of the local Batak tribe, who will accompany you back to their village. Over lunch you can spend a few hours learning about the lives of this once nomadic people, now dwindling in number, who mainly work in subsistence farming, which is particularly susceptible to problems caused by adverse weather events.

“San Rafael and the Batak community we visit there were both quite badly impacted by a typhoon in late 2022,” says Karen. “It was unexpected in that area, but of course extreme weather is happening everywhere nowadays. The beach was wrecked however recovery is underway, and our visit helps to support that. The chalets that we use had to be restored so that they could be used to host guests, so tourism is helping to create jobs and vital income.”

Climate change is leading to changing weather patterns across the Philippines; warming seas, which cause stronger typhoons, and increasing instances of disease and pests. These threaten traditional forms of agriculture such as seaweed and banana farming, putting many families at risk of poverty. Responsible community tourism such as our holidays help to provide alternative sources of income – every group is led by a local, and tour leaders actively help their travellers to buy souvenirs or food from local producers. In markets, for instance, they’ll encourage people to shop from different stalls to spread money around.

Most of our Palawan trips begin in the Philippines’ capital, Manila, which is home to the oldest Chinatown in the world. Given that you’ll have at least an evening, and perhaps a full day, in Manila before continuing to Palawan, it’s a perfect opportunity to enjoy an aromatic street food odyssey.

Local tour leaders make the introductions to stallholders perched under colourful umbrellas. You can stock up on bags of green mango, jackfruit, and lychee-like lanzones. Wash down chicaron (fried pork rinds), barbecued pig or chicken intestines, or fried pig’s ears, with a cold beer, and finish up with a tray of spring rolls, or coconut-y ‘sapin-sapin’ rice cakes.

While some Filipino street food will appeal to those who are more adventurous of palate, there is plenty of tamer fare on offer too, from deep fried quail eggs to plantains caramelised in brown sugar. Then there is ‘dirty ice cream’ – so-called because it’s sold from street vendors’ carts rather than a shop, and perfectly safe and delicious to eat.

If you’re looking for some downtime after a few days of ziplining, forest walks, and wrestling your sandwiches off thieving monkeys, you’ll find El Nido on the northern tip of Palawan to be Relaxation Central. Some 50 or so beaches can be reached just by packing a picnic and arranging a day out with a local boatperson. Alternatively, you can explore independently by taking a kayak out into lagoons shaded by towering cliffs, snorkel among tropical fish, or walk along forest paths accompanied by the cacophonous chatter of birds.

Our Palawan holidays are fully escorted small group tours following fixed itineraries, with group sizes ranging from 12-16. “I think ours is a very well-paced trip,” says Karen. “It’s not just ‘Boom, go, go, go, non-stop’. It takes time, and in places like El Nido you have space to do your own thing too.”

Trips run year-round but typically avoid July and August, which tend to be the rainiest months of the year, and peak cyclone season. Some tours focus exclusively on Palawan, others will have a wider ‘island explorer’ theme, perhaps taking in Cebu or Luzon, the main island of the Philippines where Manila, is located.

The Philippines struggles with plastic waste, much of it ending up in the ocean. Though it should be remembered that other countries such as Japan and the USA regularly export their own waste to the Philippines, sometimes illegally. Our responsible holidays here help cut the use of disposable plastic wherever possible, such as by providing travellers with refillable flasks and ensuring they visit local restaurants and accommodations where potable water is available free of charge.

Palawan is an island of immense natural beauty and rich biodiversity, but given the threats it faces from extractive or polluting industries, and climate change, it’s essential for holidays here to tread lightly. That means using tour operators that respect and protect nature, and create sustainable, nature-friendly employment opportunities for local communities.

Maximum wonder, minimum disturbance.