Puerto Princesa | Tourist Spots to Visit in One Day
Does it happened to you that you’re in a place with a lot of tourist spots to visit to but you are left with a limited time? You already did every possible itineraries to squeeze in everything but in the end the time couldn’t permit to make it happen. I’m always in that dilemma. There are a lot of beautiful and worth visiting spots in one place that selecting a few is a very hard conclusion.
Planning the itinerary and budget for our quick getaway in Puerto Princesa, Palawan isn’t a piece of cake. If visiting the Underground River will be just our agenda then there wouldn’t be a problem but being bitten by a travel bug who would like to cover everything as possible, sigh, it’s a distress. With an intensive planning despite of the limited time and budget, surprisingly me and my travel buddy, Paula, were able to cover as many travel spots as possible during our one day jaunt in the city.
A Stopover to Palawan Provincial Capitol
Before getting to El Nido, we made a stop at the Palawan Provincial Capitol. From airport, we reached the area by riding a tricycle, with travel time of about 10 minutes.
The capitol building is very iconic because of its structure. It is said that this building was structured in mix of Catholic and Muslim design, which was established by the former Speaker Ramon Mitra. Unlike most government offices, offices on this provincial capitol don’t have lunch breaks. A museum can also be found inside the compound of the Provincial Capitol but it was closed during our visit since it’s a Holiday.
Tasting the Local Specialty Chaolong
A few walks away from the Capitol is a food stall that sells the famed local specialty Chaolong noodles.
Chaolong is a Vietnamese rice noodles soup which is popular in Palawan. It is made of rice noodles in sweet broth and tender meat chunks enhanced with bean sprouts and mint leaves. Well in the past, the province was also a home to some Vietnamese. The recipe was then shared to the locals by some Vietnamese who came here.
The noodle soup is best served with a freshly French bread.
Staying at Victoria Guesthouse
Located at WESCOM Sea Road, me and Paula decided to stay at Victoria Guesthouse and Cottages, approximately 10 minutes away from the city proper.
We’ve decided to stay here because of its good atmosphere, native style, it is away from the noise of the city, the accommodation is affordable, and not only that, they also provide free airport transfers and complimentary breakfast. With all these likable features, we didn’t searched for other hotels anymore and instantly booked a double bed fan room for us for one night. The room costs PHP 800 per night. Coming from El Nido, we reached the guesthouse past midnight already and their staff is so kind to accommodate and wait for us during that wee hour. When we were taken to our room, I was surprised that our room has been upgraded to an air-conditioned room without paying extra. Plus points!
The next day, we woke up early as we have tours to do.
We were already expecting that we will be coming back past check out time already so we fixed our things and planned to leave our things at the reception area but the guesthouse staff is so thoughtful that let our bags left in our room until we go back since there are not much guests coming in for the day. Another plus points!
Puerto Princesa Underground River Tour
We booked our tours with the help of Victoria’s Guesthouse. So not to stress ourselves anymore, we’ve decided to give in to group tours. Paying PHP 1,500 per person we were able to see the famous Underground River without the hassle of worrying about our pass permits, transportation and meals. We were even able to pass by some sites along our way that I bet we wouldn’t be able to do so if we do the Underground River tour by DIY (Do-it-yourself).
Spending Lunch at Sabang Beach
Sabang is the gateway to the world heritage-listed Puerto Princesa Underground River. Its beach is lined by several resorts facing the vast South China sea.
After visiting the Underground River tour, we went back to Sabang to have our lunch. We went to Taraw Vista Lodge and Restaurant and had our lunch there. The lunch buffet is already included in the tour that we paid.
Karst Mountain Elephant Cave
Now more famous as one of the sites where the Amazing Race Philippines happened, we stopped by Karst Mountain Elephant Cave. Karst denotes the characteristic scenery of a limestone region, including underground streams, gorges, etc. The Elephant Cave which sits under the karst mountain is one of the most picturesque mountains that you’ll be able to pass by on the way to Sabang.
It is believed that the Underground River is made of karst as well.
Ugong Rock Adventures
Before heading back to the city proper, we stopped by Ugong Rock and tried their main activities – spelunking for all of us and zip line for the two of our companions.
Ugong Rock is a 75-foot limestone formation situated at Brgy. Tagabinet, North part of Puerto Princesa. The limestone formation is located in the middle of farmlands and karst forests. The Ugong Rock has taken its name from the echoing sound of the rocks produce when tapping it. You’ll be amazed when you try it.
What I liked about this place is they promote safety to humans and preservation for the cave. They provide head covering and a pair of gloves before entering the cave. I’ve tried spelunking more than thrice already but it’s only that day that I learned that wearing gloves is important when spelunking or caving, not only to protect our hands from getting cut but to protect the stalagmite and stalactite formations from damage and the cave itself from contaminants.
There are also harness and ropes provided inside making it easy for people to pass through and climb up. But because of these things, the essence of having an extreme adventure has been gone.
It took us about less than half an hour to reach the top of the limestone formation. We were able to have a 360 degree view of the picture-perfect surrounding. From there, we have the option to get through the same path we’ve been through when we climbed up or ride the zip line to reach the ground. And because we’re saving money from expenses and also not really a huge fan of zip lines, we’ve decided the get back to the ground by getting inside the cave again.
The Cave exploration costs PHP 200 while the zip line costs an additional of PHP 200 for sitting position and PHP 250 for the Superman ride.
It was already 3:00 PM when we left the area.
Up in the Baker’s Hill
We asked our tour organizers to drop us anywhere nearby the Baker’s Hill so for us to have a quick visit there before we leave for Manila later that night. And so after travelling the road for about two hours, we were dropped into the national road; we were then instructed to ride a tricycle to get to our destination – and so we did. We rode a tricycle and in five minutes we were able to reach the Baker’s Hill. We paid around PHP 20 for the ride, I think.
Baker’s Hill is located at Mitra Road, Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa City. It started out as a typical bakery but they in time they expanded and decided to make their site into a theme park. The area feels like a kiddie wonderland filled with numerous statues, sculptures, flowers and trees, and even few animals. What’s even more good about this place is the admission is free.
Food stalls and restaurants are also available in the area.
Overlooking at Mitra’s Ranch
Just a few walks away from Baker’s Hill is where the Mitra’s Ranch (also known as Rancho Sta. Monica) is. Visiting hours is 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM. We arrived around 5:00 PM just in time for our visit before it closes for the day.
The property is owned by the Ramon Mitra. And what’s also good about this place despite of it being a private property is the admission is free.
There’s not much of activities to do inside the ranch but horse-back riding and zip lines. What a perfect thing to do on this area is to place yourself down on the ground and sustain the view of the surrounding. I was told that it’s the Honda Bay that can be seen from afar.
Visiting Mitra’s Ranch before we ending our day is perfectly right as we were able to contemplate and wonder about the things that we’ve been through during our trip. Yeah, that moment is so saddening, thinking that our trip will be ending in a few hours.
After a while, we’ve decided to leave and get back to the city proper. We hailed a tricycle that took us to the main road. We paid less than PHP 20 for the ride. From the main road, we rode a jeepney and asked the driver to drop us off at McCoy’s Restaurant. We paid PHP 10.00 each for the fare.
Dinner at McCoy’s Brick Oven Pizza
Me and Paula were craving for pizza and pasta; so I instantly searched for one online using my phone. One the results that came in was McCoy’s. Based on my research about this restaurant, this pizza house is one of the most popular and most visited in the capital city of Palawan. The restaurant is located at 20 National Highway San Miguel, just nearby the airport.
The pizza house is one of the cheapest gourmet restaurants in the area that serves Italian Dishes that is worthy, satisfying and fresh mixed with Mediterranean flavors. It also offer a range of sweet and delicious desserts.
Its ambiance is so surprising – dim lights, a sofa and only adequate people dining in, the place is so relaxing to the eye. The sofa / mini sofa bed is so enticing that we would like to lay down to ease the exhaustion that we were feeling from the whole day jaunt that we had.
Enough of the setting. We then ordered pizza, pasta, mojos and drinks. We’re hungry! I asked the staff to prepare our food quickly as we still have flight to catch in two hours. They willingly obliged my request.
After 10 to 15 minutes, our food have arrived. We wasted no time – me and Paula binged on our food.
They all tasted so nice – good enough for a price of around PHP 500 for our entire order.
It was already like 7:00 PM when we went back to our guesthouse. As soon as we arrived the place, we went to our room and took our things. We bid goodbye to the staff. We were then brought to the airport by the owner. We had a little nice chat with the owner as we traversed the road to the airport. She told us about the humble beginning of her resort, how Puerto Princesa looks like before where everyone knows everybody and so forth. A little nice talk about Puerto Princesa coming from a local’s perspective I must say. We then reached the airport just in time before for the final call for check in.
At 9:30 PM, we boarded the plane bound to Manila. Few minutes approached and we finally left the paradise of Palawan.
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Victoria Guesthouse Palawan
WESCOM Sea Road
Puerto Princesa City, Palawan
Telephone #: (048) 723-2312 or (048) 433-8054
Mobile #: 09204459917 or 09177576749
Puerto Princesa City, Palawan
Telephone #: (048) 723-2312 or (048) 433-8054
Mobile #: 09204459917 or 09177576749
Doing those things in one day! That's great.. gusto ko din gawin yun.. parang sobrang enjoy. Sana madaming pedeng gawin sa GoHotels Puerto Princesa.
Doing those things in one day! That's great.. gusto ko din gawin yun.. parang sobrang enjoy. Sana madaming pedeng gawin sa GoHotels Puerto Princesa.
Hi Cindy, medyo malayo sya, mga 20 mins ata pero pwede naman mag tricycle.
hi, ask ko lang malayo ba un victoria guest house and cottages sa mga resto or kainan, balak kasi nmin lumabas ng gabi? advice naman po. thanks
Gusto ko gnyang lakad isang bagsakan hehehe very much ako .. Ako mga 10 minutes lng din lipat ulet ng ibng lugar
Gusto ko gnyang lakad isang bagsakan hehehe very much ako .. Ako mga 10 minutes lng din lipat ulet ng ibng lugar
We also stayed in Victoria Guesthouse and Cottages. Thumbs-up for their amenities and services that is suited for budget trip to PPS.
We also stayed in Victoria Guesthouse and Cottages. Thumbs-up for their amenities and services that is suited for budget trip to PPS.
I still have 4 travels to blog. 🙁
I still have 4 travels to blog. 🙁
Not really, we spent 30 minutes to an hour for each destinations except for Underground river, of course.
If you really want to get to most of the places despite having a limited time don't travel with a bigger group, 'cause bigger group tends to travel slower.
Not really, we spent 30 minutes to an hour for each destinations except for Underground river, of course.
If you really want to get to most of the places despite having a limited time don't travel with a bigger group, 'cause bigger group tends to travel slower.
wahhh siguro nagdrop by lang kau tapos nagpapix anoh? ang dami naman ninyung napuntahan for a day. ang dami as in super dami.
wahhh siguro nagdrop by lang kau tapos nagpapix anoh? ang dami naman ninyung napuntahan for a day. ang dami as in super dami.
buti ang sipag nga talaga ni marx
ayun oh! pakyawan post oh. go go marx! 🙂