Palawan
Philippines
Limestone islands out of the sea, and lagoons you can only reach by boat
Photo by Jenevy Vergara on Unsplash
Photos by Mario von Rotz, Geio Tischler, Luca Calderone and Rafael Loreto on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Philippines
November to May (dry season)
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 260mm in Jul
Where it is
11.20°N, 119.41°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Do Tour A and Tour C from El Nido on different days
- Dive the Japanese wrecks at Coron
- Swim Kayangan Lake early before the boats arrive
- Spend a day on Nacpan rather than in town
- Take the Underground River tour from Puerto Princesa, booked in advance
Palawan travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Philippines
Good valueExchange in Puerto Princesa or El Nido town rather than at the airport. Rates in El Nido are noticeably worse than in the city, so bring what you need. Much of Palawan runs on cash, including many resorts.
ATMs & cards
BPI, BDO and Metrobank in Puerto Princesa and El Nido. Machines run empty at weekends and in high season, cap withdrawals around 10,000 pesos and charge a fee each time. Withdraw before heading to Coron or the smaller islands.
Avoid these
- island and resort machines, which empty at weekends
Use these instead
- BPI
- BDO
- Metrobank
Withdraw in Puerto Princesa or El Nido town before heading anywhere smaller. Caps are around 10,000 pesos with a fee each time, and much of Palawan is cash only.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Philippines
SafePalawan is relaxed and crime against visitors is rare. The real risks are on the water: boat safety is inconsistent, life jackets are sometimes an afterthought, and tours go out in weather they should not. Look at the boat before you board. Typhoon season runs June to November, and jellyfish are seasonal on some beaches.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (6 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- Island-hopping boats in bad weather, which go out anyway
- The road between Puerto Princesa and El Nido at night
- Power cuts, which are routine and which stop the water pumps too
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Philippines visa rules
No visa neededup to 30 days
Extendable inside the country to a total of 36 months. Onward or return travel within 30 days is required and is checked at the departure gate. Everyone must file the eTravel form within 72 hours before arrival.
Other passports
Visa required in advance
How to get it: Nothing in advance beyond the free eTravel registration at etravel.gov.ph. Sites charging for it are not official.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Before you fly: the arrival card
eTravelRequired
In the 72 hours before you arrive.
Have these in front of you before you start:
- passport
- flight number
- the full address of your first night
Use the official link above. Sites that charge a "service fee" to submit one of these for you are not the government, and they want the same passport details the real form does.
Health & emergencies all of Philippines
Good but costlyRequired to enter
- Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
- Rabies — the Philippines has a significant rabies problem
- Japanese encephalitis for long rural stays
Getting treated
Manila and Cebu have genuinely good private hospitals. Standards drop sharply on the smaller islands, where a clinic may be a nurse and a room — Palawan in particular means a flight to Manila for anything serious. There is a recompression chamber in Cebu and one in Coron for diving injuries.
Dengue is common and there is no prophylaxis. Do not drink tap water. Any animal bite means a clinic the same day. Divers should confirm their insurance covers the chamber and an evacuation flight.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodGrilled fish and kinilaw — the local ceviche — are what to eat here. Adobo and sisig everywhere. Try halo-halo at least once, and buy fruit from the market rather than the resort.
Nightlife
El Nido has a beachfront of bars and a boat back at dawn; Coron is quieter and Port Barton is a generator and a guitar.
- El Nido — the beachfront bars, and the island crowd
- Coron — the wreck-diving town, and its evening
- Port Barton — one beach, one bar, no plan
Closing: Midnight to 02:00 in El Nido.
A beer in a bar: ₱80–150
Getting around
Limited- GrabWorks here
- JoyrideWorks here
- AngkasWorks here
- UberNot here
- BoltNot here
Angkas motorbikes, Manila and Cebu
- From the airport
- NAIA to Makati ₱400–700, and an hour in traffic either way
- Against a taxi
- Dearer than a metered taxi at quiet times and worth every peso at rush hour.
Grab surges hard in Manila rain. A motorbike is the only thing that moves then.
Time zone and your working day
Asia/Manila — 12 hours ahead of you
0 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — — your time, — theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 21:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 21:00–05:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
Internet speedall of Philippines
Why these are Philippines's numbers and not Palawan's
Home broadband — Good. Comfortable for two people working, streaming in the evening, large downloads. Broadband here runs at about the global median of 130 Mbps.
Mobile data — Fair. Maps, calls and streaming; tethering a laptop works for an hour, not a day. Mobile runs at 61% of the global median of 109 Mbps.
Ookla publishes no separate figure for Palawan, so these are medians for all of Philippines. Cities usually beat the national number and remote islands and national parks fall well below it — treat this as the country's shape, not as a measurement of the street you will be staying on.
A median is the middle of every connection tested there, old copper and new fibre together — so in a country part-way through laying fibre it sits well below what a fibre line actually delivers, and a rental on one can run several times this number. Half of the connections are slower; a fibre flat is rarely one of them. It says what a place can do, not what your rental does, so every listing on Holistay carries its own measured speed and the date it was tested.
Getting online: Airalo or Holafly — a data eSIM for Philippines, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026
Must-see
Nearby day trips
Say a few words
Filipino
- HelloKumustaku-MUS-ta
- PleasePakiusappa-ki-U-sap
- Thank youSalamat posa-LA-mat po
- Yes / NoOo / HindiO-o / hin-DEE
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcuse poeks-KYUS po
- How much is it?Magkano?mag-KA-no
- DeliciousMasarapma-sa-RAP
- GoodbyePaalampa-A-lam
English is official and universal, so nothing here is necessary — but po, added to any sentence, marks respect and changes how you are treated immediately.
Religion
Catholic
Around 79% Catholic, the largest Christian-majority country in Asia, with a Muslim population concentrated in Mindanao. Religion is genuinely central to daily life — expect Mass to be full and Holy Week to stop the country.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Use po and opo when speaking to anyone older — it is the mark of respect and costs nothing
- Accept food when offered; refusing outright is a slight
- Do the mano, touching an elder’s hand to your forehead, if it is offered to you
- Smile and stay light in tone — confrontation is genuinely uncomfortable here
Don't
- Do not raise your voice or criticise someone in front of others; losing face matters enormously
- Do not expect a direct no — "maybe" and "we will see" often mean it
- Do not use the finger to beckon; use the whole hand, palm down
- Do not joke about religion in a country where it is central to daily life
Where to stay in Palawan
No Holistay rentals in Palawan yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Palawan on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Puerto Princesa PPS
5hfrom the airport· 177 km as the crow flies
Five hours north to El Nido by van.
Also worth pricing: El Nido ENI — a grass strip and one operator, but it saves the drive.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
