Puerto Princesa, Palawan (Part 1 of 4)

My first self-funded trip was a local destination for me: Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines.

I went with my boyfriend and our couple friends. We booked a PALakbayan tour package from Philippine Airlines, which included airfare, accommodations, airport/hotel/airport transfers, some meals, and guided tours. The only expenses we incurred outside of the package were dinner meals and transportation to those restaurants.

Planning

We went to Puerto Princesa during the first few days of March, which was perfect because there were very few people. It was the perfect getaway.

The PALakbayan tour package had a default 3 days / 2 nights inclusion. The tours offered were additional cost. We decided to avail of an additional 1 night, and spend 4 days / 3 nights in Palawan so that we can do all the activities available. Here is our itinerary:

1. Arrive in the morning, City Tour in the afternoon
2. Underground River tour (whole-day)
3. Honda Bay Island Hopping tour (whole-day)
4. Depart Puerto Princesa in the morning

Accommodations

PALakbayan offered several options for accommodations. In our case, we chose Hotel Fleuris. It was a nice, affordable place to stay. In keeping with the name, there’s a huge flower at the building’s facade. We had welcome drinks. Free breakfast was also included.

There’s a lounge where our friend Carlo played the piano, and brilliantly at that. Some hotel guests even hung around while he was playing.

There was also a swimming pool which we were not able to dip in. Why swim in a pool when you have white sand beaches to go to?

Although I was not able to take a picture of the hotel rooms, they were nice and clean. We had cable TV, A/C, hot/cold shower, and a minibar. It was roomy enough and comfortable. As to be expected, there were not a lot of amenities, as this is not a five-star hotel.

I will be writing more about each day in separate articles. Keep posted!