I've travelled around the Philippines extensively and been to two places on Palawan. I've travelled to Puerto Princesa three times which is a typical Filipino small town. I like it but I can see why others wouldn't because it's only got a handful of bars, one of which is quite lively (Tiki Bar) and two or three decent restaurants, although one restaurant is amazingly good (Kalui) and, needless to say, cheap. It does have a waterfront which they are developing, which is nice to walk along but there's not much to do there except a couple of local cafes/bars. The real good part of Puerto Princesa is its proximity to Honda Bay which offers amazing boat trips with stunning scenery and nice little islands. Well, worth a trip or two. El Nido is another town on Palawan which was a backpackers' resort for a long while, but crowds are starting to arrive. Again, the scenery is stunning and there's a good, chilled nightlife feel. It's a bit less Filipino and more for tourists than PP. I've not been to Busuanga in the north of Palawan, but I'm told it is amazing to see, although Coron Town is pretty boring. There's a resort down the south of Palawan that is supposed to be up and coming but I suspect it is very undeveloped and would need some good research before setting off. As far as getting there, there are a lot of flights to Puerto Princesa, so it's a good place to enter Palawan. There's also a small aiport at El Nido, which is served by one more expensive airline. You can go by road from Puerto Princesa to El Nido but it's a bumpy 5-6 hours trip - at least, that's what I've been told. As for the people, they are really friendly and the scenery is unbeatable.
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