--- title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Puerto Princesa, Philippines | Wimup" description: "Puerto Princesa, Palawan's capital, is the gateway to the UNESCO-listed Underground River. The 10 best things to do, from Honda Bay to the firefly rivers." url: https://wimup.com/city/puerto-princesa type: City guide updated: 2026-09-07 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Top 10 Things To Do in Puerto Princesa Puerto Princesa, Philippines · Asia · By Wimup Editorial, 12 min read Puerto Princesa is Palawan's capital and the only Philippine city with a UNESCO World Heritage site inside its own boundaries. It covers 2,381 square kilometres, almost all of it forest, so the ranked list runs from a cathedral square in the centre to a limestone cave 76 km up the coast. ## Quick answer Give it three days. Book the Underground River permit first, because entry is capped at 900 visitors a day, then spend a morning on Honda Bay and an evening paddling the Iwahig river under the fireflies. Keep the city for last: Plaza Cuartel, the cathedral, the Palawan Heritage Center and the Baywalk at sunset. ## Quick facts - **Best months:** November to April - **Ideal length:** 3 days - **Budget per day:** ₱2,500–6,000 - **Language:** Filipino and English, with Cuyonon widely spoken - **Getting around:** Tricycles, multicabs and tour vans ## The 10 best things to do in Puerto Princesa ### 1. Puerto Princesa Underground River UNESCO World Heritage site · Sabang, Puerto Princesa, Palawan The Cabayugan River runs 8.2 km under a limestone mountain before it reaches the sea, and paddle boats take visitors about 1.5 km of that. UNESCO inscribed it in 1999 and it was voted a New7Wonder of Nature in 2012. Entry is capped at 900 people a day and permits come from the booking office in the city, so arrange it before you fly. - **Time:** Full day - **Cost:** ₱500 entrance plus ₱150 environmental fee - **Best at:** Early morning - **Tip:** Secure the permit days ahead Links: [Official site](https://undergroundriver.puertoprincesa.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 2. Honda Bay island hopping Island hopping · Sta. Lourdes Wharf, Barangay Sta. Lourdes Outrigger boats leave the wharf 30 to 45 minutes north of the centre for Luli, Cowrie and Starfish islands. The water is shallow and calm, which makes this the family day rather than the adventurous one. Seas are most reliable from November to May, when the northeast amihan keeps the bay flat. - **Time:** Full day - **Cost:** About ₱1,500–2,500 per person - **Best at:** November to May - **Tip:** Bring reef-safe sunscreen ### 3. Iwahig Firefly Watching River tour · Iwahig River, Barangay Iwahig A 30 to 45 minute paddle down a mangrove river after dark, with fireflies massing in the trees on both banks. It is run by the Iwahig Community Ecotourism Association, a Gold PATA award winner, and the boats are paddled rather than motored, so the quiet holds as well as the light. - **Time:** 2 hrs - **Cost:** Guided tour - **Best at:** After dark - **Tip:** Go on a moonless night Links: [City tourism](https://citytourism.puertoprincesa.ph/iwahig-firefly-watching/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 4. Ugong Rock Adventures Caving and zipline · Barangay Tagabinet, Puerto Princesa A 75-foot limestone outcrop on the road to Sabang, hollow enough that striking the walls rings like a bell, which is what ugong means. You climb up through the caves and come down on a zipline. Underground River tours pass the turning, so it costs an hour rather than a day. - **Time:** 1.5 hrs - **Cost:** Climb and zipline packages - **Best at:** On the way to Sabang - **Tip:** Wear shoes with grip ### 5. Sabang mangrove paddle boat tour Mangrove tour · Poblacion, Sabang, Puerto Princesa A community-run paddle through the Sabang mangrove forest, guided by residents who name the trees and the birds as you go. It takes about 45 minutes and starts a few minutes from the Underground River wharf, which makes it the obvious thing to do while waiting for a boat slot. - **Time:** 45 min - **Cost:** Community tour fee - **Best at:** Mid-morning - **Tip:** Pair it with the Underground River ### 6. Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center Wildlife centre · National Highway, Barangay Irawan Better known as the crocodile farm, and the reason crocodile sisig is on menus in town. It breeds and rehabilitates Philippine and saltwater crocodiles alongside rescued Palawan bearcats and porcupines. Visits are guided on a fixed circuit, so allow an hour rather than dropping in. - **Time:** 1 hr - **Cost:** Entrance fee - **Best at:** Morning - **Tip:** Ask for an English-speaking guide ### 7. Plaza Cuartel War memorial · Rizal Avenue, behind Immaculate Conception Cathedral A Spanish garrison turned memorial park behind the cathedral. On 14 December 1944 Japanese troops burned around 150 American prisoners of war alive in tunnels here, and eleven escaped to tell it. The shrine and the open-air panels are the whole visit, and it takes a quarter of an hour. - **Time:** 20 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Late afternoon - **Tip:** The cathedral is next door ### 8. Palawan Heritage Center Museum · Provincial Legislative Building, Fernandez Street A 480-square-metre museum in the provincial capitol complex, opened in 2012. Life-sized dioramas cover the Tagbanua, Batak and Palaw'an, and touch screens and a hologram carry the province's history and its current environmental arguments. It is the indoor hour worth taking in the centre. - **Time:** 1 hr - **Cost:** Entrance fee - **Best at:** Midday heat - **Tip:** Open daily, 8am to 5pm Links: [Provincial government](https://palawan.gov.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 9. Puerto Princesa Baywalk Waterfront · Baywalk Park, Puerto Princesa Bay The city's evening promenade on Puerto Princesa Bay: food stalls, a stage and a long line of benches facing the water. Nothing on it is a sight. It is where the city goes after work, and it is the cheapest good hour you will spend in town. - **Time:** 1 hr - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Sunset - **Tip:** Stalls open as the light goes ### 10. Nagtabon Beach Beach · Barangay Bacungan, west coast The city's best beach is on the other coast, an hour's drive across the island: a two-kilometre curve of pale sand under cliffs and palms, with surfable waves in season. It faces west, so the sunset is the reason to stay rather than leave at four. - **Time:** Half day - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Late afternoon - **Tip:** Hire a van or a motorbike ## Best beaches in Puerto Princesa The west coast, an hour over the island from the centre. 1. **Talaudyong Beach** (₱100 entrance · West coast): Quieter than Nagtabon, 8 km north of it and 41 km from the centre. 2. **Sabang Beach** (Free · Sabang): The Underground River's own beach, and the reason to stay a night in Sabang. 3. **Napsan Beach** (Free · Napsan): White sand and bedrock 53 km southwest, paved road nearly all the way. ## Best restaurants in Puerto Princesa Seafood off the day's catch, and two dishes only Palawan serves. 1. **KaLui Restaurant** (Book ahead · Rizal Avenue): The city's best-known table: barefoot dining, carved interiors, a menu that follows the catch. 2. **Badjao Seafront Restaurant** (Seafood · Seafront): Reached on a long wooden walkway through mangroves. Come before sundown for the light. 3. **Kinabuchs Grill & Bar** (Grill · Rizal Avenue): Where most people meet tamilok and crocodile sisig for the first time. 4. **Ka Inato** (Budget · Rizal Avenue): Native-style grill built on chicken inato and rice. The cheapest full meal here. 5. **Hapag by Balinsasayaw** (Filipino · City centre): Filipino cooking in garden huts, a step calmer than the Rizal Avenue strip. 6. **Rene's Saigon** (Vietnamese · City centre): The most serious of the chaolongan: house-made noodles, baked French bread, iced coffee. ## Best bars & cafes in Puerto Princesa One brewery, one gallery cafe and the Rizal Avenue strip. 1. **Palaweño Brewery** (Mon to Sat, 1pm to 9pm · 82 Manalo Street): The country's first woman-run craft brewery, five beers in regular rotation. 2. **Kamarikutan Kape at Galeri** (Cafe · City centre): Coffee inside a working art gallery, and the quietest table in the centre. 3. **Tataboom Bar & Restaurant** (Live music · 355 Rizal Avenue): Live music and a tropical courtyard on the Rizal Avenue strip. 4. **Rockafellas** (Bar · Rizal Avenue): A long-running bar on the same strip. Loud and friendly rather than large. ## Best nature parks in Puerto Princesa Ziplines, pasture and butterflies, all within half an hour of town. 1. **Mitra's Ranch** (Entrance fee · Sta. Monica Heights): Rolling pasture and a view deck over the city, with horses and a zipline. 2. **Irawan Eco Park** (₱800 zipline · Irawan): A 1.3 km zipline through the forest canopy, billed as Asia's longest. 3. **Palawan Butterfly Eco-Garden & Tribal Village** (Entrance fee · Sta. Monica): Butterflies on one side, Palaw'an craft demonstrations on the other, 5 km north. ## Best museums & heritage in Puerto Princesa A cathedral, a provincial museum and the prison without bars. 1. **Immaculate Conception Cathedral** (Free · Rizal Avenue): The blue-and-white cathedral on Rizal Avenue, dating from about 1872. 2. **Palawan Museum** (Entrance fee · Mendoza Park): In the old city hall on Mendoza Park: Manunggul Jar and Tabon Man replicas, Tagbanua and Batak artefacts. 3. **Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm** (Free · Iwahig): An open prison founded in 1904 across some 28,000 hectares. Inmates farm it and sell handicrafts. [City tourism](https://citytourism.puertoprincesa.ph/iwahig-prison-penal-farm/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ## Best markets & pasalubong in Puerto Princesa Hopia, woven buri palm and the last-minute airport run. 1. **Baker's Hill** (Daily, 7am to 7pm · Sta. Monica): Hopia, crumbles and polvoron, plus gardens and a view deck. The pasalubong stop. 2. **Binuatan Creations** (Workshop · Sta. Monica): A weaving centre working buri palm into bags and mats. Visitors can try the loom. 3. **MCA Market Mall Pasalubong Center** (Souvenirs · National Highway): The last-minute option, about ten minutes from the airport. 4. **ASIANO Arts and Crafts** (Crafts · City centre): Woodcarvings, textiles and artwork by Palaweño makers rather than importers. ## Best day trips in Puerto Princesa What the road north and south is actually for. 1. **El Nido** (5–6 hrs · Northern Palawan): Five to six hours north for the limestone bays. Worth a night, not a day. 2. **Port Barton** (4 hrs · San Vicente): About four hours northwest, a quieter island-hopping base than El Nido. 3. **Estrella Falls** (2.5 hrs · Narra): Palawan's best-known waterfall, roughly two and a half hours south at Narra. ## Festivals & annual events in Puerto Princesa (2026) - **Balayong Festival** (March): The city's founding anniversary, timed to the balayong (Palawan cherry) in bloom. Street dancing and parades. - **Holy Week** (March or April): Boats stop and the city empties toward the west-coast beaches for Good Friday. Book transport well ahead. - **Pista y ang Kagueban** (June): The Feast of the Forest, a mass tree-planting in the third week of June, now held near the Irawan watershed. - **Baragatan sa Palawan** (June): The provincial festival on the capitol grounds, running the week around Philippine Independence Day. - **Tandikan Festival** (September): The city's tourism-month programme, named for the Palawan peacock-pheasant. - **Subaraw Biodiversity Festival** (November): Built around 11 November, the day the Underground River was named a New7Wonder of Nature. - **Palawan Massacre commemoration** (December): Wreaths at Plaza Cuartel on 14 December for the prisoners of war killed there in 1944. - **Feast of the Immaculate Conception** (December): The city's patronal fiesta on 8 December, centred on the cathedral on Rizal Avenue. ## Must-try dishes in Puerto Princesa, Philippines - **Tamilok**: A mangrove woodworm eaten raw with vinegar, onion and chilli. The texture of an oyster. - **Crocodile sisig**: Farmed crocodile chopped and fried with onion, chilli and calamansi. Lean and mild. - **Chao long**: Rice noodles in a sweet-savoury beef broth, left by Vietnamese refugees in the late 1970s. - **Lato**: Sea grapes, served cold with tomato and vinegar. They pop between the teeth. - **Hopia**: Flaky pastry filled with mung bean or ube. Baker's Hill is the version people carry home. - **Kinilaw na tanigue**: Raw Spanish mackerel cured in vinegar and calamansi with ginger and chilli. - **Chicken inato**: Marinated chicken charred over coals and eaten with rice, the everyday grill order. - **Danggit**: Split rabbitfish salted and sun-dried, then fried for breakfast with garlic rice. ## Puerto Princesa transport & airports - **Puerto Princesa International** (PPS): The island's main gateway, a couple of kilometres from the centre, with a terminal opened in 2017. Manila, Cebu, Clark, Iloilo and Davao are all served. Tricycles wait outside the doors. [Website](https://caap.gov.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - **San Jose Terminal** (Bus): Buses and vans north to El Nido and Port Barton leave from San Jose, about 7 km from the airport. El Nido is six hours by bus and five by van, with departures from early morning. - **Tricycles and multicabs** (City): Tricycles handle almost every trip inside the city and are flagged down on the street. Multicabs and jeepneys run fixed routes out along the National Highway to Sta. Monica and Irawan. - **Vans to Sabang** (Sabang): Shared vans to Sabang for the Underground River take about two hours from the San Jose terminal. Most visitors go on a tour van that collects from the hotel instead. ## Puerto Princesa at a glance - **Country:** Philippines - **Region:** MIMAROPA (Region IV-B), Palawan - **Population:** 316,384 (2024 census) - **Founded:** Spanish settlement founded 4 March 1872 - **Nickname:** The City in a Forest - **Language:** Filipino and English, with Cuyonon widely spoken - **Currency:** Philippine peso (₱) - **Time zone:** PST · UTC+8 - **Calling code:** +63 48 - **Airports:** PPS - **Power:** 220V · Type A, B and C - **Emergency:** 911 ## Interesting facts - At 2,381 square kilometres, Puerto Princesa is the largest city in the Philippines by land area. - Rural barangays hold 94 percent of that area, which is where the city in a forest tag comes from. - The Cabayugan River runs 8.2 km underground before it reaches the sea, and its lower stretch is tidal. - UNESCO inscribed the underground river in 1999, and a global vote made it a New7Wonder of Nature in 2012. - Chao long, the city's Vietnamese noodle soup, arrived with refugees settled here in the late 1970s. ## Puerto Princesa travel FAQ ### How many days do you need in Puerto Princesa? Three. One for the Underground River at Sabang, one for Honda Bay, and one for the city itself with the Iwahig fireflies after dark. Add a fourth if you want Nagtabon or Talaudyong on the west coast, which is an hour's drive each way. ### Do you need a permit for the Underground River? Yes. Entry is capped at 900 visitors a day and the no-permit-no-entry rule is enforced. Permits are issued at the booking office in the city and processing takes a few days, so arrange it before you fly rather than on arrival. ### When is the best time to visit Puerto Princesa? November to April, the dry amihan season, with February the driest month and the calmest seas for Honda Bay. May to October is the rainy season and July is the wettest. Palawan sits south of the main typhoon track, so it is hit less often than Luzon. ### Is Puerto Princesa a good base for El Nido? It is the arrival airport for most El Nido trips, but the road north runs five to six hours by van or bus. Treat Puerto Princesa as its own two or three days rather than a stopover, and move up to El Nido for at least two nights. ### What should you eat in Puerto Princesa? Tamilok, the raw mangrove woodworm, and crocodile sisig, both on the menu at the grills on Rizal Avenue. Then chao long, the local Vietnamese noodle soup, lato seaweed alongside the day's fish, and hopia from Baker's Hill to carry home. ## Nearby guides - [Boracay](https://wimup.com/city/boracay.md): Philippines · 10 picks - [Iloilo City](https://wimup.com/city/iloilo-city.md): Philippines · 10 picks - [Kota Kinabalu](https://wimup.com/city/kota-kinabalu.md): Malaysia · 10 picks - [All of Asia →](https://wimup.com/asia): 109 cities Part of the [Philippines guide](https://wimup.com/country/philippines.md) · [Asia](https://wimup.com/asia.md) ## Sources - [Puerto Princesa Underground River (official site)](https://undergroundriver.puertoprincesa.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Iwahig Firefly Watching: City tourism](https://citytourism.puertoprincesa.ph/iwahig-firefly-watching/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Palawan Heritage Center: Provincial government](https://palawan.gov.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm: City tourism](https://citytourism.puertoprincesa.ph/iwahig-prison-penal-farm/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Puerto Princesa International (official site)](https://caap.gov.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.