Recently named the number one favourite island in Asia by the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2025, Palawan is firmly in the spotlight as a top travel destination. Boasting natural beauty like nowhere else on earth and a huge variety of experiences spanning everything from luxury beach stays to water sports and island-hopping adventures, here’s a guide to Palawan’s traveller hotspots and what to do when you get there.
El Nido
Located at the northern tip of Palawan, El Nido is known for its towering limestone cliffs, mysterious clear lagoons, and secluded white sand beaches. Highlights of El Nido include the Big & Small Lagoons surrounded by limestone rocks, Secret Beach – accessible only by swimming through a narrow channel carved into the limestone cliffs – Shimizu Island, and Seven Commandos Beach.
While El Nido is part of the Bacuit Archipelago, making for a great place to start an island-hopping adventure, Shimizu Island offers excellent diving and snorkelling conditions with clear waters teeming with tropical marine life. Meanwhile, the secluded Seven Commandos Beach – also typically visited as part of an island-hopping adventure – is famous for its long stretch of white sand beach shaded by coconut palms offering the perfect environment for relaxation.
Port Barton
The laid-back and charming coastal village of Port Barton in western Palawan is a popular place for travellers to visit who are looking for tropical beachside relaxation alongside sustainable cultural experiences. Typically attracting fewer crowds than other parts of Palawan, visitors to Port Barton can enjoy boat trips to secluded destinations including Starfish Island, German Island and Exotic Island, serene hiking experiences to nearby waterfalls, and overnight stays in eco-friendly beach huts and guesthouses designed to support the local community.
Balabac Islands
On the southern tip of Palawan, the largely untouched Balabac Islands are made up of as many as 30 islands and islets boasting some of the most stunning sandbars in the country as well as a rich biodiversity. Visitors keen to explore ‘off-the-beaten path’ can journey to Onuk Island for a unique overnight stay in a villa over the water, and Candaraman Sandbar for a day relaxing, swimming, and snorkelling from its impressively long stretch of white sand emerging from the turquoise waters. Rare wildlife encounters such as dolphins and sea turtles are also common when exploring the Balabac Islands.
Puerto Princesa
Regarded as the gateway to Palawan’s most iconic attractions, Puerto Princesa is the capital city of Palawan offering a huge range of hotels and resorts and easy access to a variety of island-hopping adventures as well as stunning scenic sights. Stay in Puerto Princesa and surrounds to take a boat ride along the UNESCO Heritage-listed Puerto Princesa Subterranean River – a limestone cave system with vast chambers – and enjoy a Honda Bay island-hopping experience with stops at Starfish Island, Pandan Island and Cowrie Island.
As a more urbanised and vibrant pocket of Palawan, Puerta Princesa is the ideal stop on your Palawan adventure to try some local delicacies including Kinilaw, a raw fish salad, and Chao Long, a Vietnamese-influenced noodle soup.
Coron
Located in northern Palawan, the island of Coron is a haven for outdoor adventure seekers with a vibrant main town and varied resorts from budget to luxury. With everything you need for a fun-filled tropical holiday on one island, popular activities and scenic spots on the island of Coron include diving and snorkelling, island-hopping, and swimming in some of the Philippines’ cleanest lakes. During your time in Coron, explore the famous Lake Kayangan and Barracuda Lake, snorkel the coral gardens at Siete Pecados, dive the World War II Japanese shipwrecks, relax in the warm waters of Manquinit Hot Springs, and journey to some of the island’s secluded coves and beaches on an island-hopping adventure.
