We arrived at Badjao Inn Bldg. before 8 in the morning to secure Underground River Visitor's Entry Permit (VEP). There were people near the door who were also waiting for Protected Area Management Board Office to open. After some heart-pounding moments, we were able to get out permit BUT unexpectedly it's not the schedule that we planned for Underground River tour. We were given the February 20, 3pm schedule to tour the Underground River and were supposed to go to El Nido by that time. IT WAS THE ONLY SCHEDULE AVAILABLE in the next week. The next was Feb. 26, and flight back to Manila is Feb. 23. And that was as of Feb. 16. We abruptly bought the tickets before we run out of the chance to buy one. Yes, Underground River permit is selling like hotcakes nowadays. If you plan to travel, BOOK A PERMIT NOW.
I never expected that Underground River tour is limited. But it is my most anticipated tour and I'm willing to lose the chance to go to El Nido and Honda Bay than this one.I HAVE TO GO TO UNDERGROUND RIVER by hook or by crook.
Considering other people who didn't know that permit are fully-booked in the next few days, I think we were lucky enough to be able to have a schedule within our stay in Palawan.
If we were to go to Underground River on Feb. 20 as scheduled in our permit, then we might not go to El Nido because
- there are no buses going from Sabang (drop-off point to Underground River) to El Nido. There are private vans but it is very limited and unsure. And for sure it is very expensive.
- If we are to tour on Feb. 20 AT 3pm, then we can go to El Nido on the next day Feb. 21 until early morning of Feb 22 because we have a flight on Feb. 23. That is a very short stay and very impractical money wise.
- another alternative: go to El Nido the next day Feb. 17, back to Puerto Princesa City on early morning of Feb. 19. We'll have about 2 nights in El Nido and lose the chance to go for a Puerto Princesa City tour and Honda Bay tour.
therefore I concluded : goodbye El Nido.
After securing our permit, we decided to tour the city on our own and rented a motorcycle. It costs us Php 500 for one day rental. We then tour the main streets of downtown proper.
It's a really nice and peaceful city. The city is not too crowded and I like it. Not even Rizal avenue, the busiest street. It is not as busy as Davao, Cebu, Iloilo and Baguio.People are friendly to the tourists. I started to fall in love with this place and I haven't even been to Underground River and Honda Bay yet!
After breakfast, we went to Baywalk and had a picture-taking. There were very few people there.
After much thinking, since there are only few things you can do in the city, we decided to go far to experience nature at it's best which is what Palawan is known for. We decided to brave the 2 hour drive from the Puerto Princesa City to Sabang via the motorcycle we rented.
Sabang is the drop-off point when you go to Underground River. From the Sabang Port, Underground River can be reached via 15 minutes boat ride. There are nice beaches, mountain trail and waterfalls nearby.
We don't mind going back to Sabang for the Underground River. At these time our plan was to enjoy Sabang beach, trek the mountain and visit the waterfalls.
It was not an easy ride going to Sabang primarily because it rained heavily during half of the trip. Take note Marvin and I are first timers in Palawan but we dared to travel via motorcycle the unknown highway of Palawan for adventure. I can't believe we did it.
It's not really hard to go to Sabang via motorcycle per se. That was according to Marvin. About 98% of the highway is paved. It's just that the rain really took a toll on us. Imagine driving along an unknown highway through a heavy rain? We had to continue driving otherwise the night comes inn and were in the middle of nowhere with no electricity not even houses nearby. Poor us, we arrived in Sabang fully wet from head to toe at around 3pm. But the nice view of Sabang made me think it's worth it.
Sabang photos below
We settled in at Penao Cottage for Php 800 a night (picture below). After changing our clothes and relaxing for some few minutes, we then went out to have our late lunch.
It was about 3:30pm and we hadn't had our lunch yet. We dined at Sheridan Villa Restaurant.
Honestly the place is obviously grand and luxurious but the food is not that good for it's price. We ordered tinolang isda (stewed fish) and buffalo wings. My mother cooks better. We spent Php 850 including 3 rice and a slice of chocolate cake. Too pricey and not worth it. Well at least we satisfied our hunger.
Sheridan Restaurant photo below
After lunch, we enjoyed the nice view of the beach. It's not really an amazing beach, but I look forward to visiting the waterfalls in the next morning.
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