We first flew from Manila to the provincial capital, Puerto Princesa, in order to visit the famed underground river. Located about 2 hours north by van, this world heritage site includes a river running through about 5 miles of limestone caves. A well organized tour of the first half mile or so is available to the public.
I wasn't expecting too much, but was thoroughly impressed. The tour was extremely well organized and the tour guide knew his stuff. Once the van got to the national park, we transferred to a boat for a half hour ride to the site of the underground river where we boarded yet another boat for the actual underground river tour. The scenery everywhere was amazing. The cave and underground river itself were especially awesome. The entire day was well worth the visit.
The main purpose of our Palawan visit, though, was a stay in El Nido. Famed for its limestone islands, protected ecosystem and water activities, we splurged for a stay at the El Nido Resorts island of Apulit.To get there, we traveled from Puerto Princesa by van for 4 hours north to the town of Taytay and then transferred to a boat for the one hour ride out to Apulit Island. The scenery along the way was beautiful, and once we realized what the resort looked like as we neared it, our jaws dropped. Upon arrival, we were met by the resort staff singing welcome songs. They gathered us for a quick orientation and then showed us to our cottages. Somehow, our luggage was already there, even though not all of our bags had name tags. I'm still mystified how they did that.
Apulit is a small island, and the resort is the only development on it. There are 50 cottages that sit over the water together with a pool and club house area. We had one of the larger cottages, and those had a private stairway to the water below. The entire waterfront was full of coral and sea life, and we could watch colorful fish from the cottage deck. It was stunning.
El Nido Resorts is known for its customer service, and they did not disappoint! I've never been anywhere more friendly and welcoming. All food was provided with large buffet meals that were excellent. Virtually all of our activities were also included. They provided us with complete snorkeling equipment for the length of our stay. Kayaks and paddle boards were available. Even a half day island hopping boat tour was included. Owen and I "mastered" the paddle board, and all of us kayaked. Snorkeling on the island is spectacular and among the best anywhere in the world. The water is very clear, and colorful coral and fish are everywhere. We floated for hours every day marveling at the wildlife. It seemed especially difficult convincing Tony to get out of the water!
Every day seemed better than the last. On our final full day, Stephen and Owen arranged for a special lunch. The resort had two helpers bring the food and setup to a hut on a private beach where they cooked a wonderful meal. We snorkeled, then gorged on a special Filipino menu, and then snorkeled some more. It was a perfect day!
We took a direct flight back to Manila from the El Nido airport, still a one hour boat and two hour van ride away. The airport security and check in area was an outdoor area about the size of someone's living room and had a view of the beach and ocean. The boarding passes for the 50 seat propeller plane were small engraved wood plaques. It wasn't your typical plane trip. The entire Palawan island vacation was a really spectacular adventure with great company, and we all can't wait to go back!
For more Palawan photos, CLICK HERE.
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