Planning a trip through Palawan can be tricky because the best places are spread out between El Nido, Port Barton, Coron, Linapacan, and other remote island areas. These suggested Palawan travel routes are designed to help you connect the highlights in a logical order, combining private transfers, island hopping tours, multiday boat expeditions, beaches, reefs, local villages, and special wildlife experiences such as dugong watching near Coron.
Whether you fly into El Nido or Coron, these sample itineraries can be adjusted around your arrival dates, budget, number of days, and travel style. Use the routes below as inspiration for building a custom Palawan itinerary.
Many of the packages below are listed as 9 days, because this is roughly the average considering lost time due to flights, but all is easily customizable to add more or subtract days, or individual tours. They are more as customizable templates.
Quick overview:
Route overview Fly into Puerto Princesa, make the 5-6 hour journey to Balabac, then 3 or 4 day Balabac tour, and back to Puerto Princesa by 3-4pm with the options to end that night in either Sabang, Port Barton or El Nido and onwards. You can also skip Balabac and head straight north. Start by … Read more
Route overview Suggested fly into Coron, if arrive early enough can do the Dugong tour right away, next day multiday expedition to El Nido (includes the main Coron sites along the way), El Nido private boat tour the next day. Stay one or two nights, then transfer to Port Barton, private boat tour the next … Read more
Route overview Suggested fly into El Nido, stay one night while enjoying the town (live music on the beach, zipline to neighbouring island to walk back ankle deep along sandbar to sunset restaurant), next day boat tour, transfer in the afternoon to Port Barton. Stay two nights, boat tour in between, following day transfer to … Read more