Book Standard A Package Tour

The standard all-inclusive tour includes basic accommodation, three meals a day each, snacks and a bottle of brandy, and entrance fees for three places. You can let the boatman decide for you or discuss details, such as you'd prefer a bed in a hut or affordable hotel as opposed to tenting on a deserted island. You will be able to communicate with them by facebook in advance, or often you meet the night before and you can discuss what you like over a pleasant beer. If you prefer something fancier you can switch to the custom tour at the bottom and book your own accommodation, or combine it with the basic choices.

According to our suggested travel itinerary for the Palawan area, the places are listed from south to north (El Nido to Coron), but you can easily do it backwards and fine tune it later with the boatman.

The starting point is the lovely, archeological village of Sibaltan:

It is about one hour by van east of El Nido and we can arrange a ride for you. If you have time, you can also beach hop your way along the coast and stay at some of the secluded retreats there (details at the top of the table in the custom accommodation page). The reason we start in Sibaltan is because El Nido is farther away and more expensive, there are many more islands to visit on the east side of the peninsula, and the waves can get rough in the open ocean on the west side.

After that you will be taken to Pical to stay at the village captain's hotel where Arcenas, in charge of shipping the village's daily catch to Manila, will be happy to grill a delicious, fresh dish for you.

Lots of secluded beaches to visit along the way and snorkel. Alternatively, you can stay in a tent on a deserted island, such as Takling. It is your hired boat and you can discuss what you like best once you meet the boatman (usually over a civilized beer the night before your tour launch).

After that it is Cagdanao island with, once again, lots of lovely islands and snorkeling to see along the way.

Or on the nearby deserted island of Calacala, where there is also fantastic snorkeling.

Anywhere along the way, feel free to ask the boatman to teach you how to fish, either while waiting at a snorkel spot or just by dragging the line while the boat is in motion!

Then it is off to the Linapacan area, where you can stay at a hotel in the village of San Miguel (not so interesting but where most of our boatmen live), at several campgrounds in the area, or in a tent or hut on the ever lovely Araw beach:

Lots to see in the Linapacan area, such as the Seniora caves, the Spanish Fortress, hiking on Patoyo island or on my island, or cliff diving into the ocean:

That makes three nights of the standard four day tour, but if you book more days, it's not a problem to stay some place longer or find you another place. Or you can shorten your tour to fewer days but still see most of everything.

From here we continue on to Coron, but with not so much to see along the way, we'll make a snorkel pitstop at the halfway point, Noname Island:

Not the greatest snorkeling, but it's nice to make a stop, and the island itself is fun to explore.

Then it's a beeline straight shot to Coron, but not before visiting two of its most popular destinations, Kayangan Lake:

and Twin Lagoons: