Puerto Princesa Do-It-Yourself

When best to visit?
I guess because Puerto Princesa experiences good whether practically the whole year, anytime would do.

How long?
We stayed for 3 days and 2 nights but we missed the Honda Bay Tour so I guess 4 days and 3 nights would be perfect.

How to get there?
The easiest way to get to Puerto Princesa is of course, by air. I know nothing of a trip by sea. Domestic airlines have daily schedules to the city, being one of the top destinations in the Philippines. And the opening of AirAsia would add to the number of domestic flights flying to the city. Flight takes about 1.5 hours from Clark (perhaps it’s almost similar if the flight comes from Manila). To get to Clark, RW Manila’s free shuttle service is a big help.

How to go around?
Riding on tricycles or just renting them worked for us. Minimum fare is P8, but beyond 8PM, it’s P10. Going around downtown is pretty easy. We would walk most of the time. But other parts could be reached by jeepneys or tricycles. For tourists though, tourist vans are always the more convenient vehicles.

Where to stay?
Accommodations in Puerto Princesa range from rooms for rent to pension houses, inns to hotels. I’ve seen a lot of them when we were wandering around the city. It apparently flooded the city streets. Anyway, click HERE (you must be logged-in to Google to view the spreadsheet) for the shortlist I have made for our trip. These are the cheapest I found. And the best that we found that would fit our needs and budget was Casitas de Az Pension at P1,350 per night good for the three of us. The rate includes transfers and free breakfast, etc. It is conveniently located near downtown Puerto Princesa. It is actually a few blocks from Baywalk. Details of the pension house are as follows:

Address: Valencia corner Bonifacio Street (A.Abueg), Puerto Princesa City, Palawan
Tel/Fax No. (048) 434-1945
Mobile No: 0916-9086920/ 0918-5509366
Email: casitasdeaz@yahoo.com
Website: www.casitasdeazpension.com

I was personally satisfied of the service. One because the staff were really nice especially Ms. Shana who was so kind helping us in all the little things we need and in so patiently answering all the questions we ask. And second because prices are really affordable. They actually offer a cheaper rate of P1,400 per pax for underground river tour compared to the prevailing rate of P1,500.

Where to eat?
Locals would suggest Kinabuch, but we had dinner at Balinsasayaw Restaurant. It was good for the money. We actually spent a little less than 150 per pax for a good dinner of bulalo, chopsuey, balinsasayaw rice and mango shake. Of course there are the more popular Kinabuch and Ka Lui, which may be worth the try as well.

What to do?
A suggested tour and itinerary for first time tourists in Puerto Princesa consists of: underground river tour, city tour and Honda Bay tour. We did only the first two. We had 1 whole day and 2 half days in Puerto so I guess that would best fit our schedule and our budget.

While we made our own city tour, courtesy of Kuya tricycle which we hired for P300, we took the services of a travel agency in our underground tour. It wouldn't have been that convenient if we didn't. We were assigned a tour guide who does freelance too - Ricky Gerasmia, or simply Kuya Ricky. He can be reached at his mobile numbers: 09126130579 or 09152000152. He is a registered tour guide and is really funny and cool.

Kuya Ricky could have brought us for an Iwahig Firefly tour quoted at P500each. We were just too tired already we didn't go on with the tour. Sad...Would be doing that next time, as well as the tour in some of the falls of Puerto Princesa.

What to bring home?
Actually, every tourist should bring home a story of how he/she ate tamilok. But I have none, simply because I am not the adventurous type when it comes to food. I’ll have to try it though next time.
Cashew nuts and pearls – these are the products of Palawan. But of course, I bring home t-shirts as a souvenir for myself, which I got for a cheap P90 at the pasalubong center.

How much to budget?
Normally, it would have been (per pax):
Underground -P1,500  
City Tour –P600
Honda  Bay –P1,500
Total – P3,600 ++

But ours was only around P1,620 for both underground and city tour.
We swore to just spend at most P3,000 all-in. I think my friends made it close. I obviously exceeded. Click HERE (you must be logged-in to Google to view the spreadsheet) for the actual expenses.

3D2N Puerto Princesa Itinerary

Day 1- City Tour
2:00PM           -arrival and check in at hotel
3:00PM           -lunch at Bona’s Chaolong
3:30PM           -pasalubong shopping
4:00PM           -travel to Mitra’s
4:45PM           -to Baker’s Hill
5:30PM           -Back to hotel
6:30PM           -To Baywalk and dinner
8:00PM           -Back to hotel

Day 2 - Underground Tour
9:00AM           -Depart city to Sabang Wharf
11:30AM         -arrival at Sabang and lunch
1:30PM           -boat ride to underground river
2:00PM           -underground tour
3:30PM           -back to Sabang
4:00PM           -Ugong Rock
6:30PM           -Arrival at hotel
7:00PM           -Mass at Immaculate Concepcion Church
8:00PM           -Dinner at Balinsasayaw

Day 3 - Extended City Tour
9:00AM           -To museum (but closed)
9:15AM           -Immaculate Concepcion Parish and Plaza Cuartel
10:30AM         -to Robinsons
11:00AM         -early lunch
12:00PM         -check-out


So this wrapped up my Puerto Princesa trip...definitely this will not be my last.

First with the Airline and at the Airport

CLARK, PAMPANGA. We were at first hesistant booking a flight from Clark, but because it was cheap, we thought we'll just have to sacrifice a little of our time for the road trip. And it paid well.

AirAsia

I didn't really have the best experience with this airline. Yes it may be true that Air Asia is the world's best low-cost airline since we were able to book our flight to Puerto Princesa at a very low cost, but I just don't have much to say for now other than I think they still fall short of the service any customer would want. One, they have a problem with coordinating with their partners. I have a related entry on this. Second, they have ads that are misleading and unclear1 Oh I don't want to talk about it anymore, but to be fair, I still thank the airline for bring me (us) to Puerto Princesa in a cheap price of P525 each (two-way).

Click HERE to direct you to AirAsia's official website, in case you want to check for bookings. I have my warning though in my Operation: Detour entry posted in July.

Diosdado Macapagal International Airport

Clark Internationa Airport (now DMIA) is located a the heart of Luzon, providing convenience to travelers from Central and North Luzon. But why us, from the South? We just grabbed the opportunity to spend less for this travel. Haha. The Airport provides runway to 8 airlines, including popularly known domestic airline, Cebu Pacific. We took a 7AM Philtranco bus from Pasay to get to Clark. It was a little less than 2 hours of travel...perhaps because we still dropped by SM Megamall to pick up other passengers. If not, it would have been faster. We were surprised though to learn later that we could have tried Resorts World Manila's shuttle service. We would not have argued so much with the attending staff. (Again, because of AirAsia's misleading ads) So, on our way back, we waited for the shuttle and got free transportation direct from Clark airport to Manila. It is a point to point shuttle though so we were only allowed one drop off point, Resorts World in Pasay.

 

There are other ways to get to Clark airport though. Click HERE to bring you to DMIA's official website and check bus schedules and terminal fees.

Firsts. Probably won't be the last. As to booking in AirAsia again, well that would be a long debate. But in the question of whether I'd have a second, third, etc. flight from Clark...it's fine. It's cheaper but it has an extended travel time...but not bad. And I learned it it is ISO 9001:2008 certified. Good job for the administrators and staff. It just means they give quality utmost attention.

Click HERE for Day 1 of our Puerto Princesa Trip.

10 Must-see Places in the Philippines as listed by TV show, 'Ang Pinaka'

The TV show, 'Ang Pinaka' which airs on Sundays at GMA News TV listed the following as 10 Must-see Places in the Philippines:

I'm proud to have been in two of them - Bohol and Puerto Princesa Subtarranean River National Park. In November and in February next year, I will be in Coron and Boracay, respectively. Whew! It means the pressure is only for the other six!

10. Bohol

Bohol's Panglao Island boasts its long white beaches. This, aside from the more popular, Chocolate Hills, tarsier sanctuary and dolphin watching in Balicasag; and of course, the now equally popular, Danao Adventure Park which  houses the famous exhilarating ride, "Plunge" are just few of the many attractions in Bohol.

9. Vigan
8. Lake Sebu
7. Boracay
6. El Nido and Coron, Palawan
5. Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

The Underground River was recently listed as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. And it is indeed! Truly a must-see for every Filipinos and visitors alike. This is nature's wonder at its best...and its humbling that nature chose to place it in this part of the world --- Palawan, Philippines.

4. Agusan Marsh
3. Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park
2. Banaue Rice Terraces
1. Batanes

The episode was aired yesterday, Sunday, September 16, 2012. 

I totally agree with the top destination. I myself would rank it FIRST. Batanes is also a dream destination I hope to visit. And though it is said that flying to Batanes is the most expensive domestic flight in the Philippines, second being, a direct flight to El Nido; I will still save for both.

Crazy (now) for Climbs

Rei, one of my closest friend called during lunch and shared a news of seeing a good discount in Metrodeal for a day tour at Mt. Pinatubo. In the first few minutes, I couldn't break the enthusiasm just yet...allowing her to savor it a little more, and them boom! I dropped the bomb --- "Rei, I've been there!" "You did?", she said laughing. But I could also imagine how a little disappointed she must have been. I assured her though, that if everybody (roomies) goes, then it's okay with me. Going back to Pinatubo is not a problem and it would be really nice. I just didn't expect it to be this soon. But one of our friend, Novs has been to Pinatubo as well and because she rated 12 in a rating of 1-10 in terms of difficulty and fatigue, she swore she wouldn't do it again. And it didn't change until now.

I suggested a Taal trek instead but she gave even better ideas. It occupied my thoughts then. She suggested Mt. Pulag, Mt. Pico de Loro and Mt. Isarog. Brilliant! This shall be our own top 3 must-climb mountains in the Philippines. At least those that we know, are reasonable climbs based on what little skills we have in mountaineering. I hope we could do at least one, if not all...I've seen some of these in pinoymountaineer.com, a hiking and mountaineering guide/ blog authored by Gideon Lasco. I hope I'd be able to take one of my own too - soon!

 
In my searches, I also came across the title: Top 5 Must-Climb Mountains in the Philippines from www.geosocphil.org.ph, maintained by The Geological Society of the Philippines. The article lists the following: Mount Pico de Loro in Cavite, Mount Daguldol in Batangas, Mount Pinatubo in Zambales, Mount Ugu in Benguet and Mount Pulag in Benguet. Proud to say I've completed one climb already!

We didn't come to a conclusion today because we weren't able to talk to the others - Mars and Edge. We'll see in the next days, maybe weeks or months...even a year. Oh I hope it wouldn't be a long wait.

OPERATION: Detour

For now, it's goodbye Pearl Farm and hello Underground River.

Our Davao trip will suddenly be set for a later time. Because while everything was all set - from the itinerary we prepared the night after booking to the hotel inquiries and reservations, etc. etc, our flight was not. We'd later know that the flight reservation (despite valid payment) was not confirmed. It was clearly a display of inefficiency in the system of both the airline's (Air Asia) online booking facility and the online payment provider (Dragonpay). And how annoying to let the customers carry the burden of having the booking redone! Topping it all was the fact that no seats are already available for Davao...We just have to make a detour.

So, it's destination - Puerto Princesa! Had we not booked this flight, which good thing was on the same date we made in the earlier booking: it would mean war.


REMINDER: For bookings with Air Asia, always confirm if payment was received by the airline. They (Dragonpay and AirAisa) were saying we should have called to confirm (no instruction was said about calling). It's additional work, but it's worth doing since the payment provider does manual validation.(I don't understand then how it is suppose to be called an automated system). I just now appreciate Cebu Pacific and Airphil Express' online booking system. Clear instructions. No hassle.

Cheap Airfare to Bora for Four

Got it for only P4,104. It is a two-way ticket for 4 persons (myself, mama, papa and my youngest brother) to Kalibo, Aklan. I can't contain my happiness in luckily crossing the website (www.airphilexpress.com) in the afternoon of June 7, 2012. The catch was: travel for P88 in selected local destination from Jan.15 to Feb 28, 2013. Adding the fuel charge and taxes, I got that pretty reasonable price I am already very happy about.

I could finally arrange a trip for us four. And how nice --- I'll be celebrating my 28th birthday in the island of Boracay, which again, was voted as one of the top beaches in world by a travel website. Whew! Excited to plan this trip. Saving for the finances too.


Most airline companies would have occasional sale and promos (a really good way to support the tourism industry in the country) so it helps to check on them once in a while or sign up for their email alerts. I have one for Cebu Pacific (www.cebupacificair.com). I wonder if Air Philippines also have the same feature...