HomeAsiaPhilippinesLuzonPalawanMy First Solo Backpacking Trip and First Time to Palawan By Marcos Detourist on June 2, 2010I was so inspired by solo backpackers I encountered during my to Banaue last April. Even though I’ve been travel blogging for a while, I haven’t actually done a whole backpacking trip by myself since all of my previous travels had involved being with friends or family members but I’ve always anticipated eventually doing a lot of solo travels because of my lifestyle. I mean, there are so many places in the Philippines that I have not visited yet and promised myself to visit within the next few years and I don’t expect to always have a travel buddy around for every trip at the date that I want. Being in close encounters with a couple of solo backpackers in Banaue and had given me a better sense of the solo backpacking lifestyle and made me very curious about how it feels like and the possibility of doing it myself. So after a month of planning, I’ve set myself to do a solo trip to Palawan. Palawan Solo Backpacking: Cuyo – El Nido – San Vicente – Port Barton – Sabang – Puerto PrincesaAside from being a solo backpacking trip, I decided to do it on “shoe string” budget. Previously, I had always made itinerary and budget plans with super safe expenses estimates. This time, I’ll make sure to pursue the cheapest places to stay, transportation options, food, etc… Again, this is inspired by backpackers I encountered in Banaue. We saw this female solo backpacker walk a 45-minute jeepney ride from Batad Village to Banaue Town Proper. We were riding a chartered jeepney at the time and the driver offered her a P150 jeepney fare, which is how much a regular passenger fare costs. She declined the offer and persisted on walking the whole way (on a hot sunny day along the winding mountainside). I was surprised at her decision, was a bit impressed, and wanted to try doing something like that myself.My Palawan ItineraryI’m actually leaving tomorrow and will be back home after almost two weeks. My journey will start in my hometown, Iloilo City, where I’ll be riding a RoRo ferry to Puerto Princesa, Palawan.The ferry to Puerto Princesa has a stopover in Cuyo Island, so it’ll give me a few hours to visit a few of the attractions there. Taking the stopover into account, it takes approx. 36 hours to get to Puerto Princesa from Iloilo City. After arriving in Puerto Princesa, I’ll be heading strait to El Nido, the northernmost town in mainland Palawan, via a 10 hour bus ride. I’ll be staying there for a few nights to do some exciting island hopping tours of Bacuit Bay.After El Nido, I’m planning on moving southwards and spending at least one night on a few destinations along the way back to Puerto Princesa like:San Vicente Town for its long beach (reputed to be 14 kilometers from end to end – the longest white sand beach in the Philippines!), Port Barton (a popular backpacker’s destination, thanks to Lonely Planet), Sabang (where the St. Paul Underground River, the longest subterranean river, can be found)After Sabang, I’ll be spending a few nights in Puerto Princesa to tour the city extensively. Hopefully, I’ll also get to visit Honda Bay if I have enough time. The last leg of the journey will be the final 36-hour ferry ride back to Iloilo including another stopover in Cuyo.Don’t leave yet. There’s more!Transitions and Getting My Life BackSurvivor Palawan: A Solo Backpacker’s TravelogueAmbot-ah Season 2011 Finale: a year of memoriesBack to Aliwan Fiesta 2010 plus two surprise trips in AprilAmbot-ah Travel Season 2012 PreviewCebu Pacific “Wandering Juan” Travel…Comments gene saysJune 2, 2010 at 4:59 pmGood luck on your first solo trip. Bus ride from Puerto to El Nido will only take 8hrs to 9hrs max. and it’s worth the long trip. :) Have fun. The cheapest accommodation in El Nido is at Marina Gardens, that’s a beachfront resort in El Nido main island. Looking forward to reading your account on this Palawan trip (especially Cuyo and Port Barton). chymera00 saysJune 5, 2010 at 11:38 amthanks :) I’ve already noted Marina Gardens. Hope they’re not fully booked when I arrive. flip saysJune 3, 2010 at 1:02 pmgoodluck on your trip marco chymera00 saysJune 5, 2010 at 11:40 amthanks flip ^_^ thepinaysolobacker saysJune 6, 2010 at 12:11 amwow! finally frnd! i’m so proud of you! na-inspire ka ata ke Derek sa Batad ha! I’d love to take the ferry or roro nxt time too, parang si Flip! :D just be safe but enjoy each moment, relish nature and take more photos! Godspeed! chymera00 saysJune 6, 2010 at 12:57 amOnly a little bit with Derek, he’s kinda like a travel guidebook drone. Wish him all the best with his trips: Puerto Galera (Sabang), Donsol (Butanding), hehe. I wished he has also took our (the locals) advice. Syempre, I should owe it to you din for inspiring me and for the informative posts about El Nido.I’ll be going on Monday pa pala. The last boat was fully booked already :( Turns out I won’t be taking the ferry back to Iloilo. I’ll be going by plane instead, thanks to AirPhil and PAL promo fares ^_^ thepinaysolobackpacker saysJune 7, 2010 at 12:50 amweeeh! ikaw ata idol ko, the OC traveler. planado lahat, detalyado lahat! ;) uu nga pala, the famous travel guidebook! ahaha :D i forgot to tell you, sa power books me nakita akong controversial book, i forgot the author’s name but he used to be an award winning writer for that famous travel guide book, yung title ata something like ” Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?” , “for those who thinks that travel guidebooks are the ultimate travel bible”..something like that. He wrote all the lies and scams he used to do during his travels para lang ma-meet yung deadlines nya, his point is, not everything you read on travel guidebooks are true. hehe. sayang nga, i dnt hve the money to buy it that time. haha cge, happy backpacking Marcus! :) i’ll be watching out for your post, for sure that’s very helpful, as always. wahhh! i’m envious! i hope to backpack the entire island of Palawan in the future too. I’ll post the Batad pix soon, i’m too lazy. haha I’m off to Bohol last weekend of June. chymera00 saysJune 20, 2010 at 2:41 pmLol. That’s why I’ve never traveled with a guidebook before since the internet has already a lot of info needed. Cool nmn Bohol, I’m still hoping to visit it this year. Maybe in September … I’m still not sure to visit Bohol or Southern Cebu. mish saysJune 13, 2010 at 4:38 pmhello.napadaan. may trip kasi ako sa palawan on september. may mga kasama dapat pero hindi na tutuloy ang mga kasama ko pero dahil sayang ang 1500 na binayad ko sa PAL eh tutuloy ko na lang. yun nga lang mag-isa. looking forward sa post mo after the trip. chymera00 saysJune 20, 2010 at 2:34 pmCool. Sana you’ll find my upcoming posts useful :D aldam saysJune 16, 2010 at 4:01 pmposting information on the resorts and other tourist spots in palawan would be helpful so i’ll have an idea when i travel to that island paradise. =) chymera00 saysJune 20, 2010 at 2:32 pmyes, will be posting more about the places I’ve visited soon. peachy saysJune 16, 2010 at 4:18 pmhi marcos…i’m so glad to meet you in el nido…i didn’t expect that we will bump into each other sa el nido…galing noh kasi the day before i leave for palawan nakita ko blog mo tapos i’ll have the chance to meet you pala…hope to see you again in one of my trips at sana mas madaldal ka na by that time…hehehe…post mo pics nten sa sea slugs ha…sana u’ll mention us in your blog too hehehe…enjoy traveling… =) chymera00 saysJune 20, 2010 at 2:31 pmSo nice to meet you too. It was such a coincidence meeting fellow PEXers in El Nido! Hope to see you and others in Palawan again. Even though I was traveling solo I didn’t feel lonely because I got to meet a lot of other travelers like you. It might take quite a while for the posts to get out. I’m having a huge backlog right now and I still haven’t planned for a couple of trips I’m planning for the next half of the year. Take care peachy and say hi na lang to Ana, Cyrus, Cyril, Jo, and Nanay for me :) peachy saysJune 20, 2010 at 8:27 pmshall wait for your blog regarding the whole trip…you inspired me in going solo ha hehehe… take care…good luck in your future endeavors…God bless… chymera00 saysJune 24, 2010 at 5:55 pmwow. If in any case you have a trip planned, pasali naman kung gusto mo may kasama. hehe pinaytraveljunkie saysJuly 9, 2010 at 2:59 pmwhoa! parang pang-billboard ad yung first photo ;p i miss backpacking solo! chymera00 saysJuly 15, 2010 at 3:41 pmwell I think you’ve got something better, you don’t need to travel solo :) Huberto saysJuly 10, 2010 at 1:42 pmnice photos,i love to go backpacking too. Some day ill do it…hehehe…my family and I are going to El Nido this coming September, Im Already excited about the trip. By the way do you know a site that could give me information on how to reach Batanes? Thanks and Good luck on your next trip chymera00 saysJuly 15, 2010 at 3:41 pmNice … Batanes, hmm.. you could go by plane via SEAir or a carrier, I forgot the name, servicing the Laoag-Batanes Route. By sea, I’ve read that there’s a ferry twice a week servicing the Ilocos Sur – Batan route. I made a new post about my Palawan Backpacking Trip (link) chyryl saysJuly 18, 2010 at 3:40 pmhi… ur nice… lov ur lyf… anyways.. try here in bukidnon.. many beautiful spots and im sure u would really enjoy here.. ! tc! chymera00 saysJuly 20, 2010 at 7:08 pmthanks chyryl. Would love to go to Bukidnon in the future. chyryl saysAugust 14, 2010 at 9:55 amnice.. =)) give it a try… Posting of new comments is disabled temporarily.Connect with Marcos on:Detourista.comMarcosDetourist.comFacebookInstagramTwitterDetourista.comDiscover more travel guides and blogs about the Philippines and beyond by Marcos DetouristChoose your next destination: Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
gene saysJune 2, 2010 at 4:59 pmGood luck on your first solo trip. Bus ride from Puerto to El Nido will only take 8hrs to 9hrs max. and it’s worth the long trip. :) Have fun. The cheapest accommodation in El Nido is at Marina Gardens, that’s a beachfront resort in El Nido main island. Looking forward to reading your account on this Palawan trip (especially Cuyo and Port Barton).
chymera00 saysJune 5, 2010 at 11:38 amthanks :) I’ve already noted Marina Gardens. Hope they’re not fully booked when I arrive.
thepinaysolobacker saysJune 6, 2010 at 12:11 amwow! finally frnd! i’m so proud of you! na-inspire ka ata ke Derek sa Batad ha! I’d love to take the ferry or roro nxt time too, parang si Flip! :D just be safe but enjoy each moment, relish nature and take more photos! Godspeed!
chymera00 saysJune 6, 2010 at 12:57 amOnly a little bit with Derek, he’s kinda like a travel guidebook drone. Wish him all the best with his trips: Puerto Galera (Sabang), Donsol (Butanding), hehe. I wished he has also took our (the locals) advice. Syempre, I should owe it to you din for inspiring me and for the informative posts about El Nido.I’ll be going on Monday pa pala. The last boat was fully booked already :( Turns out I won’t be taking the ferry back to Iloilo. I’ll be going by plane instead, thanks to AirPhil and PAL promo fares ^_^
thepinaysolobackpacker saysJune 7, 2010 at 12:50 amweeeh! ikaw ata idol ko, the OC traveler. planado lahat, detalyado lahat! ;) uu nga pala, the famous travel guidebook! ahaha :D i forgot to tell you, sa power books me nakita akong controversial book, i forgot the author’s name but he used to be an award winning writer for that famous travel guide book, yung title ata something like ” Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?” , “for those who thinks that travel guidebooks are the ultimate travel bible”..something like that. He wrote all the lies and scams he used to do during his travels para lang ma-meet yung deadlines nya, his point is, not everything you read on travel guidebooks are true. hehe. sayang nga, i dnt hve the money to buy it that time. haha cge, happy backpacking Marcus! :) i’ll be watching out for your post, for sure that’s very helpful, as always. wahhh! i’m envious! i hope to backpack the entire island of Palawan in the future too. I’ll post the Batad pix soon, i’m too lazy. haha I’m off to Bohol last weekend of June.
chymera00 saysJune 20, 2010 at 2:41 pmLol. That’s why I’ve never traveled with a guidebook before since the internet has already a lot of info needed. Cool nmn Bohol, I’m still hoping to visit it this year. Maybe in September … I’m still not sure to visit Bohol or Southern Cebu.
mish saysJune 13, 2010 at 4:38 pmhello.napadaan. may trip kasi ako sa palawan on september. may mga kasama dapat pero hindi na tutuloy ang mga kasama ko pero dahil sayang ang 1500 na binayad ko sa PAL eh tutuloy ko na lang. yun nga lang mag-isa. looking forward sa post mo after the trip.
aldam saysJune 16, 2010 at 4:01 pmposting information on the resorts and other tourist spots in palawan would be helpful so i’ll have an idea when i travel to that island paradise. =)
peachy saysJune 16, 2010 at 4:18 pmhi marcos…i’m so glad to meet you in el nido…i didn’t expect that we will bump into each other sa el nido…galing noh kasi the day before i leave for palawan nakita ko blog mo tapos i’ll have the chance to meet you pala…hope to see you again in one of my trips at sana mas madaldal ka na by that time…hehehe…post mo pics nten sa sea slugs ha…sana u’ll mention us in your blog too hehehe…enjoy traveling… =)
chymera00 saysJune 20, 2010 at 2:31 pmSo nice to meet you too. It was such a coincidence meeting fellow PEXers in El Nido! Hope to see you and others in Palawan again. Even though I was traveling solo I didn’t feel lonely because I got to meet a lot of other travelers like you. It might take quite a while for the posts to get out. I’m having a huge backlog right now and I still haven’t planned for a couple of trips I’m planning for the next half of the year. Take care peachy and say hi na lang to Ana, Cyrus, Cyril, Jo, and Nanay for me :)
peachy saysJune 20, 2010 at 8:27 pmshall wait for your blog regarding the whole trip…you inspired me in going solo ha hehehe… take care…good luck in your future endeavors…God bless…
chymera00 saysJune 24, 2010 at 5:55 pmwow. If in any case you have a trip planned, pasali naman kung gusto mo may kasama. hehe
pinaytraveljunkie saysJuly 9, 2010 at 2:59 pmwhoa! parang pang-billboard ad yung first photo ;p i miss backpacking solo!
chymera00 saysJuly 15, 2010 at 3:41 pmwell I think you’ve got something better, you don’t need to travel solo :)
Huberto saysJuly 10, 2010 at 1:42 pmnice photos,i love to go backpacking too. Some day ill do it…hehehe…my family and I are going to El Nido this coming September, Im Already excited about the trip. By the way do you know a site that could give me information on how to reach Batanes? Thanks and Good luck on your next trip
chymera00 saysJuly 15, 2010 at 3:41 pmNice … Batanes, hmm.. you could go by plane via SEAir or a carrier, I forgot the name, servicing the Laoag-Batanes Route. By sea, I’ve read that there’s a ferry twice a week servicing the Ilocos Sur – Batan route. I made a new post about my Palawan Backpacking Trip (link)
chyryl saysJuly 18, 2010 at 3:40 pmhi… ur nice… lov ur lyf… anyways.. try here in bukidnon.. many beautiful spots and im sure u would really enjoy here.. ! tc!