Our Palawan Trip 2015 – Day 1
Blog, Travel

Our Palawan Trip 2015 – Day 1

Like our previous trip as a couple in Bicol, I planned this Palawan trip ahead so we can unwind and spend more of “US” time. The airfare and accommodation had been secured long before the trip. The activities we wanted to do and places to visit were all in the itinerary (excel document) but it was only saved as an image shot on Dave’s phone after I *panicked* because I was having issues transferring the excel document to both of our mobile phones just a few minutes before going to the airport! 😅

✈️ Trip Tip #1

Confirm your flight details at least a week before the date of departure.
It’s a good practice to check and confirm your flight details ahead of time because in the event of flight disruptions, where airline companies change flight schedules, you may opt for the following:

  1. Rebook your flight (you can request an earlier/later time of departure (if available)
  2. Ask for a refund
  3. Ask for travel credits

If this happens to you and you chose to rebook your flight, then you can rearrange your itinerary before the trip. 😉📝

A month before our scheduled flight from MNL (Manila) – PPS (Puerto Princesa), I noticed that there was a delay in departure time on both of our flights. I did not get any notification from Cebu Pacific about this. I only found out when I added our booking to my GetGo account because the time listed online and the one I have on print doesn’t match. I was informed by my good friend and experienced traveller, Chaddy, that I can ask the airline company to move our booking to an earlier flight (MNL-PPS) and later flight (PPS-MNL). I immediately contacted Cebu Pacific and luckily there were available seats on my preferred departure times (an earlier flight going to Puerto Princesa so we have time to check out the city before we go to El Nido which is a 5-6 hour travel from there and a night flight back to Manila so we won’t be too rushed to go to the airport after our planned Underground River tour on our last day in Palawan). I was reminded by the agent that they can only grant this request once and I gladly said okay. WIN-WIN! 😊

✈️ Trip Tip #2

Take advantage of web check-in.
Use Cebu Pacific’s Web Check-in feature and secure your boarding pass for a seamless check-in without the queue. Boarding passes can be emailed, saved as an image, sent as an MMS or printed straight from your smartphone. 💻📲

For more information about web check-in, go here.

Day 1 – Puerto Princesa City (4 November 2015)

On the day of our flight to Puerto Princesa, we left the house at 6:19am. After “2 trike and special taxi” rides, we arrived at the boarding gate just in time for boarding at 7:39am. Good thing I have checked in online 2 days prior to departure, printed out our boarding passes the night before and we only had hand-carry bags otherwise we might have missed our flight. We arrived in Puerto Princesa airport at 9:05am. Of course, since we’re first timers, we could not pass the chance to take selfies after disembarking the plane. 🛬 📸 😂

Dave and Jazee MNL-PPS Airport

There are available tricycles and vans near the entrance of the airport. If you’re going somewhere within the city, trike drivers inside the airport will charge at least 50 PHP (special rate for one-way private use). If you’re going to as far as Go Hotels Puerto Princesa (a 15-20 minute drive from the airport) or to the city outskirts, you can get charged around 50-100 PHP (if you’re feeling generous, you can give as much as 150 PHP hehe). Remember, ASK/HAGGLE before boarding. 😆

🗺 Trip Tip #3

Pay for a cheaper trike fare.
If you go outside the airport vicinity and wait along the road for a tricycle, you can get it for at least 20 PHP.

We were told that there is a color-coding scheme also for tricycles in Puerto Princesa, where either blue or white colored trikes ply the city streets on alternating days. Trikes painted in other colors mean it is privately owned.

Privately owned violet tricycle in Puerto Princesa

Here is a privately owned purple tricycle. I wish we had a front view photo of this vehicle – but yeah sorry, we only have thissss! :D

We left our things at Casa Camila before heading to Ugong Rock for Lunch. We were the first customers at 10am. 😂 It’was too early for lunch! Anyway, we had tried croc sisig, mixed seafood sizzling and samadulas, I wanted to try tamilok but Dave wasn’t up for it so I though maybe next time we will.

ugong-rock-lunch-puerto-princesa

mixed seafood sizzlingmixed seafood sizzling
croc sisigcroc sisig
samadulassamadulas
Ugong Rock MenuUgong Rock Menu
Ugong Rock MenuUgong Rock Menu

ACTIVITIES:

Half Day City Tour (Puerto Princesa)
Crocodile Farm 🐊
Mitra’s Ranch 🐎
Baker’s Hill 🍫🍕🍰
Souveneir Shop 👒 👜
Baywalk 🐟
Plaza Cuartel 🏞
Immaculate Concepcion Church ⛪️

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GALLERY

Jaz & Dave – Crocodile FarmJaz & Dave – Crocodile Farm
Lolong – Crocodile FarmLolong – Crocodile Farm
Crocodile FarmCrocodile Farm
Crocodile FarmCrocodile Farm
Crocodile FarmCrocodile Farm
Crocodile FarmCrocodile Farm
Crocodile FarmCrocodile Farm
Crocodile FarmCrocodile Farm
Picture with live baby croc – Crocodile FarmPicture with live baby croc – Crocodile Farm
This pic costs 180 pesos – Crocodile FarmThis pic costs 180 pesos – Crocodile Farm
Stuffed Toys and other souveneir items – Crocodile FarmStuffed Toys and other souveneir items – Crocodile Farm
Souveneir Shops – Crocodile FarmSouveneir Shops – Crocodile Farm
Mitra’s RanchMitra’s Ranch
Mitra’s RanchMitra’s Ranch
Baker’s HillBaker’s Hill
Baker’s HillBaker’s Hill
Baker’s HillBaker’s Hill
Baker’s HillBaker’s Hill
Bhe I Love You – Baker’s HillBhe I Love You – Baker’s Hill
LOVE – Baker’s HillLOVE – Baker’s Hill
Baker’s HillBaker’s Hill
Shrek and Dave – Baker’s HillShrek and Dave – Baker’s Hill
Baker’s HillBaker’s Hill
Jazee and DavidJazee and David
Playground – Baker’s HillPlayground – Baker’s Hill
Playground – Baker’s HillPlayground – Baker’s Hill
Baker’s HillBaker’s Hill
Baker’s HillBaker’s Hill
Dried Fish – Souveneir ShopDried Fish – Souveneir Shop
Souveneir ShopSouveneir Shop
Pasalubong – Souveneir ShopPasalubong – Souveneir Shop
Sarong – Souveneir ShopSarong – Souveneir Shop
Souveneir ShopSouveneir Shop
Native Bags – Souveneir ShopNative Bags – Souveneir Shop
Stuffed Toys & Hats – Souveneir ShopStuffed Toys & Hats – Souveneir Shop
Pearls and Jewelry – Souveneir ShopPearls and Jewelry – Souveneir Shop
Souveneir ShopSouveneir Shop
Souveneir ShopSouveneir Shop
Pearls – Souveneir ShopPearls – Souveneir Shop
Wooden art in Souveneir ShopWooden art in Souveneir Shop
Fish Stall “Paluto” in Bay WalkFish Stall “Paluto” in Bay Walk
Plaza CuartelPlaza Cuartel
Plaza CuartelPlaza Cuartel
Plaza CuartelPlaza Cuartel
Plaza CuartelPlaza Cuartel
Plaza CuartelPlaza Cuartel
Immaculate Concepcion ChurchImmaculate Concepcion Church
Immaculate Concepcion ChurchImmaculate Concepcion Church
Immaculate Concepcion ChurchImmaculate Concepcion Church

After our city tour, we waited for a bit at Casa Camila before travelling to El Nido. Travel time took about 6 hours and we arrived at Caera Place just before 12 midnight. The owners knew that we will be arriving late so they assigned a guy to wait for us at Caera’s. When we arrived there, he was asleep! LOL We tried to wake him up by knocking on the window but we failed. Good thing, I have the phone number of Ms. Beth, the owner, so I called and told her about the situation. She then asked her husband to meet and help us get settled. He was very kind that he even drove us to a nearby eatery where we had our very late dinner. It really was a tiring but eventful day for us.

Watch our Palawan Trip Vid (Vimeo)