Palawan Island is a long narrow island situated between the South China Sea and Sulu Sea. Surrounded by roughly 1,700 islands and islets and inhabited with 87 different cultural groups, Palawan is naturally teemed with plentiful of rocky coves and bordered with sugar-white sandy beaches along its coastlines. The island has thick forest reserves covering its chain of mountain ranges as high as 2,000 meters above sea level. With many splendid beaches and resorts, Palawan Island is one of the country’s holiday destination favorites and a favorite getaway for tourists from around the globe any time of the year. Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park and Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and both are located in Palawan.
Palawan Island enjoyed positive reviews from both the National Geographic Traveler and Conde Nast Traveler magazines. National Geographic Traveler magazine rated Palawan Island as the best island destination in East and Southeast Asia region and one of the best islands in the world with incredibly beautiful natural seascapes and landscapes. On the other hand, Conde Nast Traveler magazine voted Palawan’s beaches, coves and islets as the tourist destination with the best beaches in Asia.

Getting to Palawan
Puerto Princesa is the island’s capital and is the site of the island’s main sea port and airport. Philippine Airlines serves regular flights to Puerto Princesa along with other Philippine air carriers serving flights to smaller islands of Palawan to include Busuanga, Coron, and El Nido.
Check for flights availability and schedules here

Palawan Island is also accessible by ferries originating from Manila, Cebu and Iloilo.
Check for ferry schedules here

Activities
One can simply enjoy the sun with the island’s beautiful beaches, wreck diving, snorkeling, visiting historical sights and trekking to the island’s eco-tourism spots, island-hopping on its many islands to name a few.

Photo: Penny and the Pirates