Puerto Princesa, Palawan: Dos Palmas Day Tour

Day 3: Dos Palmas Day Tour

I first did not opt to include this tour in my Palawan getaway as i consider it a bit pricey. But then I have 1 free day so I decided to do it anyway. I'm sure this place is nice so why not see it.

To take this tour, here are some helpful info:

1. Book the tour at least a day before. If you're in Puerto Princesa, their office is located just outside the NCCC Mall.

2. Day Tour costs 1800php each. 

3. Be in the pick up area on time, the bus leaves at exactly 7:00AM. Pick up area is just in front of their office.

4. Bring your own towel. Renting a towel costs 50php.

5. Use of the pool is not included in the tour.

6. The place is really great. Enjoy it while you're there.. :)

Now to my experience...

06:00 AM - Wake up call. Waking up early is so not my thing, so I had to setup both alarms in my 2 phones. Wahehe. 

06:50 AM - Reached the pick up point. It's just a 5 minute tricycle ride from my hotel.

07:00 AM - Bus left. Got me time to ZzzZzzZzz..

08:00 AM - We reached Honda Bay drop off point. Here we transfer to a boat that will take us to Dos Palmas.  

Travel time to Dos Palmas Island was about an hour and a half. Because sleeping is my favorite game, I played it and again I won. Hehehehe

09:30 AM - Dos Palmas Beach Resort. Finally.

We were greeted with a group of singing Dos Palmas staff. I'm not familiar with the song but the beat is really welcoming. 

We had our welcome drinks inside the restaurant, while we were oriented with what the tour inclusions are.

Then.. Time for my tour and of course, some photo shoot. :)

Did kayaking after. Got no shots though. 

Then i did snorkeling.. 

01:00 PM - My most awaited, the lunch buffet. The kayaking and snorkeling got me starving, so a hefty lunch would be very helpful for me.  

I heard about the stories of good food in here. They said it makes the money you pay for the tour all worth it. Well guys, I couldn't agree more. The food was great.

After lunch, I toured the rest of the area. Time for another round of photo shoot. :)

04:00 PM - Tour ends. Travel back to Puerto Princesa.

Took some rest while waiting for dinner time. Got me a 9:00 PM reservation at Ka Lui. It is my last night in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. I don't want to be alone in my last night so I invited my High School friend over to dinner.

08:30 PM - We arrived at Ka Lui Restaurant. I was amazed with how clean the place was. Guests are required to remove their slippers / shoes upon entering the dining area. The ambiance was great, and the food was great too. there's free fruits for dessert!

 

After dinner I went back to my hotel to take my much needed rest. And tomorrow will be my City Tour day before I head back to Manila.

Expenses:

Dos Palmas Tour: 1800.00 php

Dinner for 2: 400.00 php

Puerto Princesa, Palawan: Honda Bay Tour

 

Day 2: Honda Bay Tour

It was my second day in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Touring Honda Bay was actually an accident. My Plan A was to go to El Nido, Palawan, but because my time in Palawan is very limited, I had to make the most out of it.


The bus going to El Nido is only available in the morning, and the trip will take up to six (6) hours. Meaning, I will spend my day on traveling and not on tour so I opted to go to Honda Bay.


07:00 AM - Wake up time. My phone alarmed. Because I still feel sleepy, I turned it off and return to sleep.


08:00 AM - RC my friend called to wake me up. I knew she will that is why I slept after I turned off the alarm. I checked my phone for a text message and a missed call. I was afraid I overslept and missed the tour. good thing there was none. So I slept again.


)9:00 AM - I woke up in panic, I thought I missed the tour but there still no text message or missed call. So I started preparing for the tour. While packing the things I needed, somebody knocked on the door informing me that the tour guide was waiting outside. I rushed through the van waiting for me outside. I was not able to bathe, good thing I still had time to brush my teeth. And I missed my breakfast. Huhuhu. I was really hungry that time.


Inside the van, there were Jay and Kaye (the couple I'm with yesterday) and another couple. So I went directly at the back seat of the van.


On our way to Honda Bay, we stopped twice to pick up the food and another couple. (I felt alone at that moment. I don't know why.)


10:00 AM - We arrived at the Honda Bay Port. We rented a Snorkeling Gear, bought bread for the fish feeding and water.


I ate some of the bread I bought 'coz I was getting really hungry. I'm sure the fish wouldn't mind.


10:15 AM - The tour started. We rode a bangka, the sea was calm compared to the sea going to the Underground River. It was a comfy ride.


10:40 AM - The first stop, Pambato West Coral Reef. This was not part of the tour package, snorkeling in this area cost 50php.

The reef was about 40 feet and all the corals there are alive. The view under the sea was great although there were only few fishes in the sea.
We snorkeled here for about 20 minutes, not all of us went to snorkeling, there's only three of us. We were kind of in a rush here.


11:40 AM - Our next stop was the Starfish Island. Unfortunately, there were no tourist allowed on that day. Not sure for their reason.




12:00 NN - We reached the Snake Island. Photo Ops right away. Weeee..

12:25 PM - We ate our sumptuous lunch. BURRRRRPPP!!!

01:20 PM - Snorkeling time. Fish feeding at the same time. It feels like I'm inside a big aquarium. The view under the sea was terrific. It is better here than the Pambato Reef. Just beware of the biting fish. Hehe.

02:30 PM - Next destination was the Pandan Island. this was called Pandan island because of the abundance of the Pandan Tree.

04:05 PM - The tour ended. Sadly, but its true. On our way back to the city, I'm still unsure of what to do for tomorrow. I have an option to join the other as they will be doing the City Tour or I can go alone to do a Dos Palmas Day Tour. Because I still have two days left, I chose Dos Palmas. I'll be doing my City Tour on my last day.

05:00 PM - We stopped by to the Dos Palmas office to pay for the tour. I don't have enough money on my wallet, good thing my tour guide lend me. Thanks to him I was able to go to Dos Palmas.

07:00 PM - Call time for dinner. I have a dinner date with Jay and Kaye at Kinabuchs. After dinner we were supposed to have some beer. But due to my 7:00 AM Dos Palmas call time for the next day, we skipped it.

 09:00 PM - As I walked again towards my hotel, I bumped into my Elementary and High School classmate Nenita. It was unexpected, I didn't even know that she lives there. To catch things up with her (and to have some company), she invited me to go over her place.


After watching Mara Clara, I asked her out on a coffee. (She's already married.)

12:00 MN - I went home it ended my second day in Palawan.

EXPENSES: 

Pambato Reef - 50

Honda Bay Tour - 1000

Snorkel Gear - 100

Bread (Fish feeding) - 15

Dinner - 260

Coffee (for three) - 220

Contact: Same as yesterday's tour