Budget Breakdown: 9 Days in Palawan

The trip to Palawan was supposed to be my birthday surprise. I say ‘was’ because WJ is terrible at secrets and he accidentally spilt the location he was taking me to 2 weeks after he booked the trip. He still managed to keep the accommodations secret though, so kudos to him for that!

And although there was supposed to be bad weather in January (which is when we visited Palawan), we were blessed with pretty dry weather and a few days of glorious blue skies! Thank goodness for that because all of our activities were outdoors and torrential rains would have ruined most of our plans.

Without further ado, here’s the breakdown of what the both of us spent on for 9 days in Palawan!

Flights: S$564.47

We flew by Cebu Pacific Air at an ungodly hour – 4am. But since the flight was at the new Terminal 4, we spent the time exploring (almost) every crevice of it. There were even gaming corners near the gates, so we kept ourselves awake playing free arcade games! I lost most of them.

The flight was pretty good and the in-flight meals were actually cheap! There was a layover at Manila airport for about 2.5 hours, and you’ll have to get your passports stamped and leave arrivals and walk to the departures hall.

The Puerto Princesa airport is small without much to do, so pack in a book! We also had to pay terminal fees for the both of us on the way back to Singapore (PHP400 / S$10.81).

Accommodation: S$550.24

In El Nido, we stayed in a private room at Spin, a fun-looking designer hostel (S$308.86 for 3 nights). It gets a bit noisy at night because of the different activities the hostel organises every night. So if you’re looking for a quiet stay, don’t stay here. But if you’re hoping to make some new friends, then this hostel would be perfect for you!

We stayed at Flora Villarosa in Puerto Princesa (S$241.38 for 4 nights). The pool was too small for our huge pineapple float; it’s best for a dip! And since the pension house was rather far away from the main city (and food), we had many meals in the restaurant.

Food: S$358.86

Food is pretty affordable in Palawan. We ate 2 big plates of prawns on the beachfront at Puerto Princesa for PHP1,225 (S$33.11) with free flow rice and 2 beers.

We didn’t really keep a sharp eye on the prices of food, and you can definitely spend a lot less if you eat at the more local shops. But we were there for the scenery and the beach, so we ate a lot at beachfront cafes or restaurants with a view! Most of our full meals ranged from PHP800 to PHP1,000 for the both of us (S$21.61 – S$27), with the most expensive meal being… two bowls of ramen. We were quite shocked when the bill came because it’s comparable to Singapore prices (PHP1,430 / S$38.65)! But the portion was huge and I couldn’t finish the entire bowl.

Transport: S$84.86

Although the areas we stayed at were pretty walkable, there were times where we were a little lazy. There was also once where it was pouring and we had no umbrella or shelter, so WJ and I hailed a trike. The rides cost between PHP30 to PHP70 depending on the distance and the driver (S$0.81 – $1.89).

For the long 6-hour (at least) ride from the airport at Puerto Princesa to El Nido, we booked 2 seats on a van via El Nido Paradise (PHP1,100 / S$29.73). They really filled up every seat, and space was a bit tight in the front row with 3 people. And they dropped us off at the bus terminal, so we had to take a trike there.

We booked a van transfer towards El Nido directly to Floral Villarosa in Puerto Princesa through Day Tripper (PHP1,750 / S$47.30). This ride was a lot more comfortable with better seats and also because there were only 4 passengers including us!

Tours: S$554.60

Hooray for sales! We booked all our tours in El Nido and Puerto Princesa through Klook as there was a sale and it was really convenient! We went island hopping in El Nido on Tour A and Tour C and loved it! I can now tick off swimming through a tiny hole at high tide to a secret beach while hoping I don’t get smashed into the sharp rocks by the strong waves off my bucket list! And WJ can also tick off having to poop on a beach and hoping nobody saw him do it off his list.

In Puerto Princesa, we went on a Sabang adventure tour cruising the pitch dark underground river full of bats and riding a 800m zipline across the sea. We also went on the Iwahig firefly watching tour amongst mangrove trees. Too bad we were both having diarrhoea so we had to skip the Honda Bay island hopping tour! We should have gone for that instead of the Dos Palmas Resort day which feels like a waste of money. The beach wasn’t fantastic and there wasn’t that much to do.

We also rented kayaks twice (S$21.62) and there were some conservation and entrance fees that weren’t included in the day tour prices (S$18.38).

Check out our post on activities to do in Palawan if you don’t dive!

Shopping & Gifts: S$37.30

Since most of our day tours included walking waist-deep through the water to the boat or being on a boat surrounded by water, we decided to buy plastic waterproof mobile cases (PHP300 / S$8.11 for both). You can find them everywhere in both El Nido and Puerto Princesa!

We also bought back some Filipino snacks for our families.

Miscellaneous: S$182.37

WJ had bad diarrhoea from eating or drinking something in Palawan, and we skipped a tour we booked so he could camp in the toilet at Flora Villarosa. Luckily I didn’t get it as bad or we’d have to fight for the toilet bowl! We bought a stash of diarrhoea pills from the Watsons pharmacy (S$12.35) after WJ finished all the charcoal pills we brought along!

Other miscellaneous items we spent on were for travel insurance (S$46.25), toilets while we were on day tours, 2 massages each (S$97.29) and various tips.

The Breakdown

Flights: S$564.47
Accommodation: S$550.24
Food: S$358.85
Transport: S$84.86
Tours: S$554.60
Shopping & Gifts: S$37.30
Miscellaneous: S$182.37

GRAND TOTAL: S$2,295.40 for the both of us