Palawan Island Tours & Trips
4.6 stars on(9,545 reviews)- Choose from 50+ Palawan Island tours
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Table of contents
- The best Palawan Island tour packages
- What people love about Palawan Island Tours
- Travel Palawan Island your way
- Best tour companies for Palawan Island tours
- Best places to start your Palawan Island tour
- Discover Palawan Island tours for every budget
- Palawan Island tours for every type of group
- Top Palawan Island travel itineraries to fit your plans
- Demographics
- Best time to visit Palawan Island
- Contact our Palawan Island travel experts
- What our customers ask about Palawan Island Tours & Trips
The best Palawan Island tour packages
Compiled by
MelissaPalawan Island travel expert at TourRadar
West Philippines Classic 14 Day - One Life Adventures
310 Reviews by TourRadar travelers“A heady mix of natural beauty and fun, we visited several stunning spots to swim, snorkel, and chill, making heaps of wonderful memories and photos along the way.”
Deveshe, traveled in November
Palawan's finest attractions await, from the UNESCO Underground River to Coron's crystal lakes. Private island camping, turtle encounters in Port Barton, and El Nido's limestone cliffs showcase natural wonders with expert local guides.
Duration 14 days Destinations Manila, Puerto Princesa, Port Barton, El Nido, Coron Age Range Ages 18-59 Operator One Life Adventures From
- NZ$3,555
A Week In Palawan, Philippines
30 Reviews by TourRadar travelers“Some of the other reviews had issues with the hotels, I actually thought they were quite quality locations.”
Crystal-clear waters welcome visitors to Big Lagoon, Shimizu Beach, and Kayangan Lake. WWII shipwrecks at Skeleton Wreck and Siete Pecados' coral gardens offer underwater exploration. Comfortable stays at Spin El Nido and Bay Area Coron complement guided boat tours with traditional Filipino lunches.
Duration 8 days Destinations Manila, Puerto Princesa, El Nido, Coron, Clark International Airport Age Range All Ages Welcome Operator CTPH TOUR From
- NZ$2,296+$24 local payments
Natural wonders stretch from UNESCO's Underground River to Coron's shipwrecks. Port Barton's reefs, El Nido's Nacpan Beach, and crystal-clear Kayangan Lake offer diverse experiences. Accommodations include beachfront hotels and remote island camping.
Duration 13 days Destinations Manila, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Port Barton, El Nido, Coron Age Range Ages 18-35 Operator Contiki From $4,073
10% Off- NZ$3,666+$282 upfront costsYou save $407
Philippines: Snorkel and Stargaze
11 Reviews by TourRadar travelers“This trip has been the best trip I've ever been on! This is largely due to the activities we did.”
haylie, traveled in November
Port Barton's pearl farms and Coron's shipwrecks showcase Palawan's marine heritage. Visitors can enjoy El Nido's Big Lagoon, camp on remote beaches, and climb Mt Tapyas while staying at Hotel Oasis Port Barton and R2R Bayview Inn.
Duration 10 days Destinations Manila, Puerto Princesa, Port Barton, El Nido, Coron Age Range Ages 18-32 Operator Topdeck From $2,189
10% Off- NZ$1,970You save $219
Duration 12 days Destinations Manila, Puerto Princesa, El Nido, Coron Age Range All Ages Welcome Operator Vio Travel From
10% Off- NZ$3,729
What people love about Palawan Island Tours
- West Philippines Classic 14 Day - One Life Adventures
Honestly, my friend previously travelled with One Life on their 10 Day Philippines trip and I really didn't believe it was going to live up to the hype. The ability to not only do the 10 days but also continue my travel to Coron with them was unreal! It is an amazing country, and this is the perfect way to do it without having to worry. Transport is sorted, accommodation is sorted and most of your meals as well!! Literally the only thing you need to do is enjoy yourself. I would give it more stars if I was able to!!! Beaches, Camping, Culture, Snorkeling... this trip had it all!! My personal favorite's are Underground River, the island hopping in Port Barton staying on a private beach, the cultural day in El Nido and the island hopping in Coron. I was worried about the night in the Beach huts on Pass Island in Coron but I think that was probably my best highlight of the whole tour!
Just finished the 10 days Philippines tour carried out by Do You Travel. At the beginning, when we figured out that most participants in our group of travelers are single and/or much younger than us, my wife (62) and I (68) thought we had comitted a mistake selecting this trip. The itinerary, the organisation and, above all, very positive group dynamics proved us wrong! We think the biggest merit for this goes to our tour guide Jovain Orlina! We were observing this young man handling complex organisational issues and even more complex (inter)personal challenges with remarkable ease and with passion at the same time. He had a nice word for everyone, open smile in every situation and he managed to reach full identification with the group as a whole. Jovain became part of us. He resolved all problems with skill and dedication. He made us feel relaxed and confident, he opened our hearts and, together with other members of the group, created relaxed mood throughout the tour. Some distracting events like, for example, overall disatisfaction of one group member with the tour, Jovain dealt with patience, in wise and thoughtful manner. However there is much room for significant improvement of one important aspects of the tour. Accomodation could and should be better! The food was for the most part ok, but some selected hotels were not even able to serve a decent breakfast. Rooms were small and in some cases not very clean. Overall, great tour, great group and excellent guide made us enjoy this trip a lot. The best part of the tour was a 3-day cruising expedition from El Nido to Coron on board of Tropical Paradise 7 boat. Excellent cook, skillfull, discrete and attentive crew made us feel thrilled and safe. This was a memorable experience, indeed. Thank you Jovain, thank you Do You Travel. ?
10 Days Do The Philippines Adventure - Palawan Islands (Independent Tour)
- Philippines Sunset
I’m Here travels, led passionately by Amer and Shawn, provided the most magical trip experience. From the moment we arrived at the airport I felt safe, comfortable and excited about the adventure ahead. The accommodation was all very comfortable and the off grid island experience was a really highlight!! We were warmly welcomed on every day trip by local guides and experienced the beautiful people, food and culture of Phillipines.
Travel Palawan Island your way
For those seeking to truly explore Palawan's natural wonders, several standout tours combine the must-see spots with off-the-beaten-path experiences. The most comprehensive options run 13-17 days, giving you time to properly discover each location. Our customers particularly love the 3-day boat expeditions from Coron to El Nido, where they sleep in beach camps and visit remote islands that larger tours skip. The top Explorer tours include special touches like visiting organic farms, learning traditional fishing methods and also staying in local villages. Reviews consistently mention the perfect mix of organized activities and free time - you'll get to snorkel through WWII shipwrecks, kayak in hidden lagoons and trek through jungle canopies while still having evenings free to explore towns like El Nido and Port Barton at your own pace.
Select from our extensive range of 48 fully guided tours to enjoy a worry-free experience through Palawan Island with our expert guides leading the way.
Best tour companies for Palawan Island tours
One Life Adventures really stands out for Philippines tours, with their 14-day Classic route getting fantastic feedback from our travelers. The itinerary hits all the right spots - you'll paddle through underground rivers, hop between pristine islands, connect with local villages and also dive into some excellent snorkeling spots. What makes this company special is how their guides build real connections with local communities, so you're not just passing through - you're actually getting to know the people and places properly. It's clearly working well, since we've seen travelers book additional trips with them - one person loved their Philippines experience so much they signed up for Japan right after. If you're shorter on time, their 8-day Manila & Palawan Explorer is worth checking out. It's got an interesting approach to exploring Manila where you'll use local transport to get around like a resident would. Over in Coron, they've put together some solid water activities - there's kayaking through hidden lagoons and also diving around World War II shipwrecks. The whole setup feels genuinely local rather than touristy. You're getting proper cultural immersion while still hitting those must-see spots, which is probably why our travelers keep rating them so highly.
Best places to start your Palawan Island tour
Most Palawan tours kick off from Manila, with 21 of our popular routes starting in the capital. Puerto Princesa is next up with 7 tours, while El Nido and Coron offer 3 and 2 departures respectively. Our booking data tells us 32 days ahead is the sweet spot for getting good rates and availability - it gives you enough time to plan without locking everything down too early. Puerto Princesa works really well if you're keen on the Underground River, while Coron or El Nido make more sense for snorkeling and marine life enthusiasts. The dry season runs October through May, with March, April and also May being warmest - perfect for beach time. Lots of travelers prefer October through February when the weather's a bit cooler and the waters are calm - ideal for exploring caves and lagoons. The shoulder season gets you fewer crowds and a more local feel, though boat trips can sometimes get canceled if the weather acts up.
Discover Palawan Island tours for every budget
For budget-conscious travelers, Palawan offers several well-rated week-long tours that pack in the essentials without breaking the bank. Our customers particularly like tours that include the Underground River, El Nido's beaches and Coron's lakes. The accommodations are simple but clean, typically featuring local guesthouses with air conditioning and breakfast included. Reviews highlight the independent nature of these tours - you'll join different groups for daily activities while having evenings free to explore. Budget tours excel at hitting major spots like Big Lagoon, Shimizu Beach and also Secret Island, with guides who speak good English and handle all the logistics. Many include boat trips with fresh-cooked lunches, though you'll need to cover your own dinners and optional activities like ziplining.
Palawan Island budget tours
Palawan Island tours for every type of group
Who are you traveling with?
Group
46 tours in Palawan IslandThe group tours running 10-14 days focus on bringing people together - typically 15-20 travelers who often become good friends. Each day mixes planned activities with free time, so you might hike to waterfalls in the morning then relax on the beach after lunch. Our customers love sleeping under stars on private beaches, cooking with local families and checking out small fishing villages. If you book the longer trips, you'll learn traditional skills like spearfishing, climbing coconut trees and local dance moves. The hotels aren't fancy but we pick them for their great locations and connections to local communities.
Small Group
24 tours in Palawan IslandKeeping groups small at 8-12 people lets you have a more personal experience over 7-10 days. You'll stay in family guesthouses and eat at local spots that bigger groups can't access. Our travelers enjoy joining fishing boats at sunrise, picking fresh ingredients for cooking classes and camping on quiet beaches. Being a small group means flexible schedules - like extending snorkel time at good spots or making unexpected market stops. It costs more than larger group tours, but many find the extra freedom and local connections worth the price.
Private / Personalized
13 tours in Palawan IslandPrivate custom tours in Palawan shine when it comes to flexibility and personal attention. The top options run 9-10 days, starting in Manila with a historic tour of Intramuros before heading to Palawan's natural wonders. These tours include special touches like dining with local families, traditional calesa rides through old Manila and exclusive cooking demonstrations in El Nido villages. Our travelers love how these tours blend cultural immersion - learning traditional weaving, visiting fishing communities and meeting local tribes - with classic highlights like the Underground River and island hopping. The accommodations step up considerably, featuring city garden hotels in Manila and beachfront resorts in El Nido and also Coron.
Top Palawan Island travel itineraries to fit your plans
You can explore Palawan two different ways over a week. One route takes you from Puerto Princesa's Underground River up to El Nido and also Coron, with a nice mix of guided tours and free exploring. The other really dives into Filipino culture - you'll pick up some language basics and cook with local families. Both include plenty of island hopping to Big Lagoon, Secret Beach and other spots. Our customers consistently mention how much they love the Coron hotels and the boat trip lunches with super fresh seafood. Seven days gives you enough time to see the main spots without feeling rushed.
Ten days in Palawan opens up so many more possibilities. The journey starts in Manila before heading to Port Barton's quieter side, where fishing villages dot the coastline. Travelers get to do some pretty special stuff - watching fireflies light up the mangroves at night, learning traditional spearfishing from locals and getting hands-on with Filipino cooking. You'll spend 2-3 nights camping on private islands, picking up indigenous knowledge between snorkel sessions. The schedule works really well - active mornings with beach ziplines and viewpoint hikes, then laid-back afternoons exploring small towns. It's ideal for people who want to properly experience Filipino culture.
Two weeks in Palawan lets you really settle into each place you visit. Our travelers love how these longer trips balance cultural experiences - like visiting Port Barton schools and learning traditional stick fighting - with plenty of water activities. You get multiple days exploring both El Nido and Coron's islands, including some quieter spots that shorter tours just can't reach. Having rest days between activities works perfectly for optional scuba diving or wandering through night markets. If you prefer taking things slower and want to experience real Filipino daily life beyond tourist areas, fourteen days is the way to go.
Demographics
Our solo travelers get great value from Palawan's 10-14 day group tours, joining 15-20 fellow explorers for shared moments and new friendships. The tours cover transport, places to stay and most meals, letting you focus on the good stuff. Many love gathering around beach bonfires, trying local restaurants together and exploring tribal villages as a group. The 7-day tours work nicely for tighter schedules, mixing guided activities with free time to wander. Our customers often mention how much they enjoy learning local cooking, camping on private beaches and having skilled guides handle all the planning while they make connections and enjoy island life.
Private tours lasting 9 days hit the sweet spot for couples - you can take things at your own speed and mix active exploring with quiet moments together. Our travelers love starting days with private beach breakfasts, finding hidden lagoons and getting special access to photo spots where larger groups don't go. You'll stay in lovely boutique spots that keep you close to local culture while offering beautiful views. Many couples tell us they enjoy active mornings kayaking or hiking, then spending afternoons getting traditional Filipino massages or finding their own perfect sunset spot on the beach.
Young adults gravitate toward our longer 13-17 day expeditions that combine water sports with cultural immersion. These tours really deliver on both fronts - you'll spend mornings snorkeling with sea turtles and afternoons learning traditional Filipino stick fighting or cooking with local families. Our customers in their 20s and early 30s particularly love the 3-day boat expeditions between Coron and El Nido, where you camp on private beaches and explore remote islands. The hostel accommodations in places like El Nido are modern and social, perfect for meeting other travelers. Many tours include nights around beach bonfires, traditional boodle fight dinners and also chances to try adventures like canyoneering at Kawasan Falls. The guides earn praise for creating a fun group dynamic while making sure everyone gets to experience both the party atmosphere in towns and the peaceful moments in nature.
Our week-long tours around Puerto Princesa and El Nido work really well for senior travelers, with quality hotels, comfortable transport and flexible daily plans. The air-conditioned transfers between sites make getting around easy, and you can take breaks when needed without missing out. Our older guests particularly enjoy the Underground River tours - the boats are stable, the safety briefings are clear and also the guides are really attentive. There's plenty of cultural activities too; you can visit local weaving workshops, explore Puerto Princesa's historic sites and learn about traditional farming. For island hopping, some of our seniors love getting in the water with the colorful fish while others prefer taking in the views from our traditional outrigger boats. The guides are great at reading the group and adjusting the pace so everyone has a good time.
- Solo Travelers35 tours All tours for Solo Travelers
- Couples38 tours
- Young Adults (18 - 39)10 tours
- Seniors (50+)15 tours
Best time to visit Palawan Island
- Winter 2025 / 2026
During the winter months from November through February, Palawan's tours focus heavily on water activities when the seas are calmest. Multi-day tours running 13-14 days combine snorkeling over WWII shipwrecks in Coron with cultural immersion in local villages. Our travelers particularly enjoy starting in Manila before heading to Port Barton, where they spend nights in beachfront bungalows and join local guides for island exploration. The top-rated winter itineraries include school visits where guests can bring supplies and connect with students, private beach camping with fresh seafood feasts and also Filipino cultural days where you'll learn everything from traditional stick fighting to coconut tree climbing. Many tours finish in Coron with hot spring soaks and bonfire nights on Pass Island - perfect for the cooler winter evenings.
- 32 tours
- 47 tours
- popular 49 tours
- Spring 2026
Spring temperatures make our 14-17 day cultural tours really special. It's just right for mixing inland activities like village visits and cooking classes with treks to secluded waterfalls. Our customers love how the spring schedule flows - you might learn traditional fishing from locals in the morning and swim with sea turtles after lunch. The 10-day group tours include beach camping and visits to local schools, while private tours can adjust easily to spring weather patterns.
- popular 49 tours
- 43 tours
- 44 tours
- Summer 2026
Summer calls for our focused 5-7 day tours in specific Palawan regions. These shorter trips help beat the heat while covering the essentials - snorkeling in fish-rich reefs, exploring limestone caves and relaxing on powder-white beaches. Evening activities really shine in summer with sunset sails, beach cookouts and local performances. We keep groups small at 8-12 people, making it easy to work around afternoon showers and catch the best morning water conditions.
- June 2026 popular 34 tours
- July 2026 26 tours
- August 2026 27 tours
- Fall / Autumn 2026
The fall season from September through November sees tours emphasizing both cultural experiences and marine activities. Our most popular 17-day routes start with canyoneering at Kawasan Falls before heading to Moalboal for the famous sardine run - imagine snorkeling among thousands of fish in crystal clear waters. Tours then typically continue to Coron and El Nido, where travelers spend three days sailing between uninhabited islands on traditional boats, sleeping in simple beach huts and meeting local tribes. What makes these autumn tours special is the mix of active adventures like hiking Mount Tapyas and relaxing experiences like traditional Filipino massages, organic farm visits and also cultural performances by local children.
- 34 tours
- 41 tours
- popular 42 tours
Contact our Palawan Island travel experts
Esteban
Expert in Palawan Island at TourRadar
Esteban is one of our seasoned Palawan Island Travel Experts. Reach out to us to get all your questions about Palawan Island tours answered!
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+64 4888 0182What our customers ask about Palawan Island Tours & Trips
Is Palawan really just one island?
You might think Palawan is a single destination but it's actually the Philippines' fifth-largest island and wow there's so much more to it. We're talking about more than 1,700 islands and islets spread across 1.5 million hectares of pure paradise. The main island stretches about 450km from Mindoro to Borneo and you'll find these incredible limestone formations dense rainforests and over 11,000 square kilometers of coral reefs just waiting to be explored.
How do I get around different parts of Palawan?
Getting around Palawan is pretty straightforward with the main transport network linking Puerto Princesa El Nido and Coron. If you're heading from Puerto Princesa to El Nido you'll want to catch one of the air-conditioned vans that run regularly from 5am to 5pm costing between ₱500-700 for the 5-6 hour journey. To get from El Nido to Coron hop on a fast ferry it's about 4 hours and costs ₱1,800-2,500. For the more remote spots like Port Barton the transport gets a bit more basic but you can reach most places combining land transport with bancas those traditional Filipino boats perfect for island hopping.
What's the real difference between El Nido and Coron?
If you're trying to choose between the two El Nido's your spot for amazing limestone lagoons and beaches with the Big and Small Lagoons Secret Beach and Seven Commandos Beach being absolute must-sees. You'll find better infrastructure here and more nightlife options around Bacuit Bay. Coron on the other hand is wreck diving heaven with 12 WWII Japanese shipwrecks plus you've got Kayangan Lake which they say is Asia's cleanest and the super unique thermoclines of Barracuda Lake. El Nido tends to draw bigger crowds while Coron keeps things more chilled and laid-back.
Where can I experience real Filipino culture in Palawan?
You'll find authentic cultural experiences everywhere once you step away from the tourist spots. Try the Islander Experience in Port Barton where you can learn traditional fishing methods and cook with local families. The Tagbanua communities around Coron are fascinating they're one of the Philippines' oldest ethnic groups. Check out the traditional weaving in Binuatan near Puerto Princesa or time your visit for the Pangalipay sa Baybay festival in November it's an amazing celebration of Palawan's maritime heritage.
Which spots are best for seeing Palawan's wildlife?
You'll be amazed by Palawan's wildlife it's right up there with the Galapagos Islands. Head to Honda Bay near Puerto Princesa any time of year for incredible snorkeling with sea turtles and reef sharks. Want to see dugongs? Your best bet is Dugong Bay between October and March with a 90% chance of spotting them. Over at Rasa Island you'll find 10% of the world's Philippine Cockatoos which is pretty special. For unique local species the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center in Puerto Princesa is great you can see Philippine crocodiles and bearcats there. Don't miss the Underground River it's home to thousands of swiftlets and some really unique cave-dwelling creatures.