
After the amazing rice terraces of Banaue, in the cooler north, and many hours (possibly 30 or more) spent on various busses – some good, some not so good, it was time to check out the famous beaches! This week: El Nido, Port Barton, and Puerto Francesca – on the beautiful island of Palawan.
El Nido proved to be a disappointing location – very touristy and much too ‘full on’ for me. It’s obviously it is a very popular destination with young backpackers. My accommodation, Denvayn’s Inn, was a nice place to stay. I even got breakfast delivered to my room each morning.
In order to get away from the crowds I chose to go diving on my second day. The three dives were excellent – a bounty of fish and some beautiful coral reefs.
Eating out in El Nido was varied. I found a fabulous Indian restaurant on my first night – Ashoka. Their vegetable curry was excellent. On the second night I chose a Lebanese restaurant. This proved a bad choice. The food was not so good and the rat that ran across my feet, whilst I was eating, was somewhat off putting!
From El Nido I took a Mini Van to Port Barton – 3-hours. I really enjoyed my time here – much more chilled out than El Nido. My accommodation was basic but adequate. The owners were lovely and the breakfast was spot on. The local street food was also very good. One evening I had the pleasure of meeting Lydia, a young lady from Liverpool. We enjoyed an evening meal together. She had quit her job to go travelling for 6-months.
I spent my time in Port Barton (PB) chilling on the quiet golden sand beach, a five minute walk from my accommodation. From PB I took the local bus (3-hours) to Puerto Francesca.
Puerto Francesca (PF) is a fairly big city. My accommodation was fabulous – a lovely big, clean, and well equipped room. The owners were extremely kind and helpful. Again, breakfast was brought to my room to enjoy on the outside terrace. Whilst in PF I visited a number of excellent museums in the city. I also visited the huge Shopping Mall for some retail therapy – flip flops and shorts. I had booked to do the highly recommended’Underground River Trip’ but this was cancelled due to bath weather.
From PF I flew to Cebu for another tranche of Island Hopping. More on this in my next post.







