Biketouring the Philippines: Leg 6 (Palawan & Final Thoughts)

In this final entry about our tour of the Philippine Islands, we focus on one set of islands-Palawan which is part of Western Luzon.

Days 29-31 (Approximately 40km total)

Heading back home to Manila from Western Visayas, three of us (Jiggs, Edan and I) took two boat trips to Coron (Iloilo to Puerto Prinsesa with a stopover to Cuyo & Puerto Prinsesa to Coron)

Scenes at Cuyo

The nice sandbar/white beach in Cuyo (perfect for kitesurfing!)

Heading to Puerto Prinsesa from Iloilo, we took the Milagrosa shipping lines (Php 1,200 for deluxe accommodations 36 hours). We also had a 6 hours stopover at Cuyo which is a small island with a great white beach and sandbar-the best thing is…it’s free!

After that stopover, we boarded the ship again to head to Puerto Prinsesa, Palawan. Good thing, I had a friend (former student) who hosted us for the day and she directed us to head to Aldo’s pension Inn which was very spacious and provided all our needs. Since we almost had a whole day, we decided to head to the crocodile farm and saw some other wildlife in the park. We were off at 8pm from Puerto Prinsesa for that 16 hour trip to Coron.

With Janet Oab of Puerto Prinsesa Palawan at Aldo’s Pension Inn

The Crocodile Farm and Conservation Center

Different stages of development

At the Provincial Capitol and a must try restaurant “Ka-Lui”

Days 32-35 (approximately 60km Total)

When we arrived, a friend who had a resthouse in Coron requested some folks from the island to pick us up and brought us to the Kubo sa Gubat (Hut in the Forest) for our accommodation. It was indeed a very nice place as we were surrounded by heavy vegetation. And for the next few days, we went to different islands and spots in Coron such as the Barracuda lake, Twin Lagoons, the public beach. Morover, we also hiked up to Mt. Tapyas (around 700 plus steps!) and spent a couple of hours at the Maquinit hotsprings which was a few kilometers away from the port.

At our friend place “kubo sa gubat” (courtesy of Sagada Loopers)

Barracuda Lake

The twin lagoons

A floating restaurant

The trek to Mt. Tapyas

At the Maquinit Hotspring

Day 36-37

We took the 430pm trip via Superferry from Coron to Manila and arrived at 730 in the morning the next day to end our tour

Final thoughts

I believe that the Palawan leg is a good way to end the loop because very little cycling was done to cap off a lengthy tour. While there are many activities here, touring the island by bike might also be another option in the future though there are very few towns (and are far apart) in Palawan. Coron has that “otherworldly” character. That is, it’s landscapes and bodies of water are pristinely preserved as locals are highly engaged and very much protective of their lands. With tourism as the main industry in Palawan, expect costs of goods to be quite expensive. Therefore, it is practical to have your hosts/hotel staff cook meals for you. You can buy canned food and other meats at the public market. Overall, I felt that after several weeks on the road, bike touring the Philippines may be much more manageable if one goes around in specific regions/islands as transfers by boat can be tiresome and inefficient. For instance, boat schedules, port locations and even destinations vary from region to region which can greatly affect the scheduling of your biketour.

In sum, I believe that biketouring the Philippines has been a worthwhile experience and something others should look forward to in the future…

Cover Photo Courtesy of Sagada Loopers

We’re grateful to several people our friends as well as fellow riders from the different places we’ve visited around the country who have offered help and assistance during our trip.

Also, we’re thankful to Sorsogon (esp. Natalie Grace Gestre & Cyrk Ryan Lim), Cebu (Hillboy Honoridez), Iloilo (Del Britanico & Harvey Dhash), Leyte (Junnie & Glenda Cadiente), Bacolod (Carla Alcantara & Yvonne Velasco), Palawan (Prixie Tan-Cruz & Janet Oab).

Myles Jamito of Mount Anywhere and Sam and Anthony Lau of Ross bikeshop for their continued support.