If you’ve ever daydreamed about disappearing to a turquoise-tinted edge of the world, chances are your subconscious was sketching Palawan. This scatter of more than 1,700 islands—some little more than palm-fringed sandbars, others cloaked in jungle and crowned with karst limestone peaks—has long been dubbed the Philippines’ “last ecological frontier.” The label fits. Biodiversity thrives in its coral gardens, dugong-dotted bays, and rainforest-clad interiors, and many of its landscapes remain so untouched they feel more imagined than real.
Here, island-hopping isn’t just a pastime—it’s a rite of passage. Whether you’re paddling through cathedral-like lagoons or diving into wartime shipwrecks, Palawan offers one of Asia’s most spectacular encounters with land and sea. These five essential experiences will take you across its most iconic regions, from El Nido to Coron, and into the heart of this raw, reef-laced paradise.
What to do in Palawan?
1. Drift into a hidden world on the Puerto-Princesa subterranean river
A two-hour drive north of Puerto Princesa brings you to one of the world’s longest navigable underground rivers, flowing through a vast cave system inside a protected national park. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, the Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River is all cathedral-like chambers, dramatic limestone formations, and the faint echo of water meeting stone.
Guided boat tours glide through a kilometre-long stretch of the river, where the scent of limestone mingles with the hush of subterranean darkness. Above ground, monkey-filled forests give way to the South China Sea, and nearby Ugong Rock offers a thrilling detour: a limestone karst tower where visitors can spelunk through caves or zipline across the jungle canopy.
2. Island-hop through Honda Bay’s Marine Sanctuary
Back in Puerto Princesa, most visitors head inland—but those in the know go seaward, to the coral-ringed isles of Honda Bay. Just 45 minutes from the city centre, this protected Marine Key Biodiversity Area is home to reef sharks, sea turtles, and, if you’re lucky, a slow-gliding whale shark or dugong.
Outrigger bancas ferry travellers between three or four stops—think sandbars haloed in aquamarine and coral gardens teeming with staghorn, damselfish, and electric-blue sea stars. At Starfish Island, snorkellers can float above shallow reefs dotted with namesake echinoderms, while Luli Island (short for “Lulubog-Lilitaw,” or “sink and rise”) offers shifting sands that disappear with the tide. Eco-certified tours are the norm here, with local operators focused on marine preservation and gentle, low-impact exploration.
3. Paddle through the Karst-Laced Lagoons of El Nido
At the northern tip of mainland Palawan lies El Nido, the poster child for wild beauty in the Philippines. Its emerald-backed cliffs and shockingly clear waters form part of the El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area—at nearly 350 square miles, the largest marine sanctuary in the country.
Bacuit Bay is the launch point for island-hopping excursions that feel more like stepping into a dream. Paddle into the mirror-still waters of Big Lagoon, slip through a crevice into the Secret Lagoon, or picnic on the powdery shores of Seven Commandos Beach. More adventurous travellers can dive among giant clams and reef walls near Cadlao Island, or hike through jungle interiors to remote coves.
Most boats depart before 9 a.m. to dodge the day-tripping crowds. For a more serene experience, stay overnight on nearby Miniloc or Pangulasian Island, where El Nido Resorts operates luxury eco-retreats with sustainable architecture and coral restoration projects.
4. Sink below the surface in Coron’s World War II wreckscape
If El Nido is all drama and lagoon shimmer, Coron is its mysterious, deep-diving cousin. Located in the Calamian Archipelago to the north, Coron is best known for the fleet of Japanese warships that rest just offshore, sunk in a 1944 American airstrike and now reborn as aquatic reefs.
Even first-time divers can descend into the wreck of the Okikawa Maru, a vast oil tanker now encrusted with hard coral and swarming with parrotfish. Shallow enough for snorkellers, the site is eerie and beautiful—a ghost fleet embraced by marine life.
Beyond the wrecks, Coron Island hides surreal freshwater lakes like Kayangan and Barracuda, their surfaces glassy and surreal, surrounded by limestone cliffs that seem pulled from another planet. The climb up to Kayangan’s famous viewpoint rewards with one of the most iconic panoramas in all of Palawan.
5. Escape the grid in Linapacan
Midway between El Nido and Coron lies a string of islands so under-the-radar they barely exist on most tourist maps. This is Linapacan—a pocket of Palawan where time slows to the rhythm of the tide.
Here, it’s about the small things: reading in a hammock while hornbills chatter overhead, snorkelling over reefs with no other boats in sight, sharing stories around a driftwood fire with Tagbanwa guides. And perhaps nowhere captures this ethos better than Parada Beach, a barefoot-luxury glamping retreat where you can trek to jungle peaks, fish for your own supper, or tattoo the moment into your skin as the sun dips into the sea.
Linapacan is still largely off-grid, and that’s part of the magic. You won’t find nightclubs or Wi-Fi here—just salt-stung breezes, coconut palms, and a reminder that nature is still, gloriously, in charge.
Palawan is a place of rare quiet and wild spectacle—a frontier where nature still writes the rules. From coral kingdoms to ancient rivers and deserted shores, it’s not just a destination, but a call to reconnect. And whether you come to dive, drift, or simply breathe deeper, the islands will meet you in their own time.Your island escape begins here. Book your stay at Parada Beach and find the rhythm of the wild.
