Our 322nd entry in our digital diary is our trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. This is the kid’s first time to visit Palawan. For the older ones, our first visit here was way back in 2011 where we toured the underground river. But for this trip, we only visited Puerto Princesa. 🙂

We took an afternoon flight to Puerto Princesa via PAL. We went to the airport early to avoid traffic, and of course, to get some snacks. 🙂

The weather was fine and sunny, so our flight was thankfully smooth. 🙂

Everyone is here: Papa Dave from Japan, Ate Rei, Sai, Gooya, Lolo, and from Manila are Hearty, Tita Karen, and Tito Dou already landed early in the morning.

We immediately hired a tricycle to get to our AirBnb place along Rizal Avenue.

The AirBnb place that we rented is called Andrew N Sophia’s Guest House. It’s neat and spacious. Perfect for our 1 night stay.

The place has 2 rooms with one room having 2 bunk beds and pull-out beds. There are also available foams for you to use if you want to sleep somewhere else other than the rooms, like the sala. hehe.

We went out at 6pm for our Firefly Watching tour. We boarded a boat where we also had our dinner. And then we were transferred to a mini yacht to view the fireflies in their mangrove habitat.

In the morning, we bought Jollibee for breakfast. It was just across the road, along with other restaurants and also Watsons. Perfect and convenient place. 🙂 We then started our day to tour Puerto Princesa City. Our first stop is the Puerto Princesa Baywalk. This is just meters away from our renter Airbnb. This is also the place where we boarded our boat for the firefly watching last night. This is a good place to relax and see the sunset. There are also lots of restaurants along the baywalk.

Our next stop is the Plaza Cuartel. Most infamously, on December 14, 1944, Japanese soldiers massacred American and Filipino prisoners of war here. They forced POWs into trenches / tunnels underneath and then burned them alive. Of the approximate 150, only about 11 survived. This event is known as the Palawan Massacre.

Our next stop is the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, also known as the Puerto Princesa Cathedral. The first Mass in Puerto Princesa was held on March 10, 1872, just six days after Spanish explorers/missionaries arrived, and it was held in this church.

Our next stop is the Binuatan Creations. This is a weaving center / handicraft workshop & shop. It focuses on preserving the tradition of hand‑loom weaving, using indigenous materials. It functions both as a place for making woven goods and as a tourist and pasalubong (souvenir) destination. You can see weavers at work, observe and try out the whole process, and buy products.

Our next stop is the Palawan Butterfly Ecological Garden & Tribal Village. A nature‑and‑culture attraction combining a butterfly garden / insect sanctuary with a tribal village. It offers both the chance to see butterfly species native to Palawan (and some from outside) in a lush, plant‑filled garden, and a glimpse into the indigenous Palaw’an tribe culture. It is located in Sta. Monica, along the National Highway / South Road, a bit outside the city proper of Puerto Princesa.

The Tribal Village section is meant to showcase the culture of the Palaw’an tribe, you’ll find huts, crafts, demonstrations (e.g. using native instruments, hunting tools, and fire‑making). You can buy handicrafts made by tribespeople. They are also friendly and is happy to take a photo with you. 🙂

Our next stop is Mitra’s Ranch. Mitra’s Ranch is a hilltop ranch / park‑property located at Sta. Monica Heights along Mitra Road, Puerto Princesa. It used to be private property owned by the family of the late Senator Ramon Mitra, Jr. and his heirs. The place offers panoramic views over Puerto Princesa City, including views toward Honda Bay and surrounding hills and greenery.

And our last stop is the Baker’s Hill. Our last stop is actually a souvenir shop, but I did not really considered it a tourist place because it was just a small store. hehe. 🙂 Baker’s Hill started out simply as a bakery famous for its baked goods (especially hopia). Over time it expanded into a combined bakery + mini‑park / garden / pasalubong spot with restaurants, viewing decks, souvenir shops, and landscaped grounds.

And that was just our morning. We had snacks at Baker’s Hill before heading to Astoria resort where we are going to spend our 2 nights. It is around 1.5 hours of van travel, and we planned to have our lunch in the resort when we arrive. Astoria Palawan is an 8‑hectare resort in Puerto Princesa. It’s located in Barangay San Rafael, along the North National Highway, at Kilometer 62 from Puerto Princesa city proper. The resort is somewhat removed from the hustle of the city, offering peace and nature (virgin forests, grasslands, and sea views). We had our lunch meal, rested in our own rooms, and headed to the various pools and beach. 🙂

In the next day, we stayed in Astoria Palawan’s Waterpark. We really enjoyed our morning in here. Specially the wave pool and the slides.

This is Tita Karen’s 41st birthday celebration. Hooray! We did a lot of eating in this day. hehe. 🙂

In the afternoon following the waterpark, we tried different amenities of the resort. We stayed at their recreation building to do karaoke sessions, board games, billiards, and video games among others. We also did some biking and going to the bridge of nowhere. 🙂

And in our last day in Astoria, we went to a nearby sandbar called the Babuyan Twin Sandbar.

We did have lots of fun activities in our trip to Palawan. And this is just the Puerto Princesa area. We hope we can go back some time for the other amazing places here like the Coron, El Nido, and also to let the kids try the underground river. Until next time Palawan oh Palawan! hehe 🙂