Woke up super early to catch the 7:00AM bus out of El Nido, Palawan. My next destination was Port Barton, a small village located in the town of San Vicente, Palawan. While waiting at the terminal for the bus to fill up, I noticed some of the passengers were taking a spot ON TOP of the bus. While it’s fairly common in the Philippines to see people toploading jeepneys/tricycles, it was my first time to encounter it being done on a bus. It didn’t take me long get my ass up there and try toploading a bus for the first time. Definitely the best seat on the bus if you’re looking forward to getting a sweeping view of Palawan’s scenic countryside.


“Eulen Joy” bus parked at the roadside


Makeshift terminal of the Fort Wally shuttle vans


El Nido Public Market

Toploading the bus from El Nido to Roxas, Palawan


Early morning bus ride from El Nido to Roxas, Palawan


Ongoing road construction at the highway section between El Nido and Taytay, Palawan

What happened when it started to rain

I loved the winding roads, lush greens, and coastal views along the highway section from El Nido to Taytay. From Taytay to Roxas, the highway went inland. I stashed my camera inside my bag since it started to drizzle. They drew out a large tarp to cover us and the bags/cargo loaded on top of the bus when it started to rain heavily.

We were still another hour and a half away from Roxas Terminal, where I’m supposed to ride the jeepney to Port Barton. Taking cue from the other passengers, I got to a lying position on top of the stacked up bags and dozed off. On a plane, my experience toploading the bus would be probably be comparable to being on the first class flat beds :)

Jeepney to Port Barton

I arrived at the terminal in Roxas, Palawan at around 12:00NN. Thankfully, the bus conductor remembered that I was supposed to drop off at Roxas and woke me up when we got there. I asked some people at a carinderia about the jeepneys going to Port Barton. I knew there was only one daily jeepney trip from Roxas leaving at around noontime. Luckily, I was still able to catch it before it was about to leave.

I was actually surprised to see a jeepney which had its seats facing towards the front. The set-up was similar to a mini bus. Travel time from Roxas to Port Barton took only one hour.

El Nido to Port Barton Commute Notes

  • El Nido to Roxas bus (4 hours) – P200 fare. All buses/vans from El Nido to Puerto Princesa pass by Roxas Terminal.
  • Roxas to Port Barton Jeepney (1 hour) – P100 fare. Once daily trip leaving Roxas terminal at around noontime.