Things to do in Puerto Princesa, ranked
Do the Underground River, do the Iwahig fireflies, then decide about Honda Bay. That is the whole city in one line. A TripAdvisor destination expert with 25,000 posts called this place a workaday Filipino town, that people normally stop a day before or after their flight in June 2026, and he is not wrong — the postcard lives 5–6 hours north in El Nido. What is here is a UNESCO cave nobody else has, the best-reviewed evening product in Palawan at ₱1,200 (~$21), and a food scene locals eat in. Two full days and roughly ₱6,000–10,000 (~$103–172) a head covers it with no regrets.
What this city is, and is not
El Nido is better than Puerto Princesa at the thing you came to Palawan for. The limestone lagoons and the gin-clear water are five and a half hours north, and no amount of writing changes that. What Puerto Princesa has is the Underground River, the cheapest and most frequent flights on the island, a food scene locals actually eat in, and no crowd. Concede the first point and the rest of this site is worth trusting.
Everything below is ranked against that. A December 2025 reviewer called the city unorganised, no charm, and on a wet Tuesday on the wrong street he has a point. The counter-argument is not scenery — it is that the Underground River holds 4.4/5 across 5,813 TripAdvisor reviews and exists nowhere else, that the fireflies are the best evening in Palawan, and that the food is the only genuinely local thing on the island. Give it two days. Nobody in the reachable forum threads regretted giving this city one night; several regretted giving it three.
The ranking below is by how much a day of your trip it earns back, not by popularity. Four things get a clean WORTH IT. Four get a SKIP. The rest are genuinely conditional, and the condition is usually whether you are going north afterwards — see how many days you actually need.
The 14, best to worst
The Underground River
The only thing here El Nido cannot duplicate: a UNESCO World Heritage cave with a 60–65 m ceiling in the Cathedral chamber, reached by a 45-minute paddle. The ratio is brutal — 7 to 10 hours door to door for 45 minutes on the water — and it is still the reason to come. Permit-rationed; book 1–2 weeks ahead December to May.
Iwahig firefly watching
The best-value thing in the city and the one nobody plans for. A paddle bangka along 1.2 km of mangrove, a star talk from the boatman, and on a dark night bioluminescent plankton off the paddle. Go on or near a new moon. It stacks on top of any day tour because it starts at 17:30.
Honda Bay island hopping
Three sandbar islands, shallow water, a buffet on Cowrie. The best family day in the city and the lowest-rated headline attraction in it — 4.0 against the river's 4.4. If El Nido, Coron or Port Barton are on your itinerary this will be the worst snorkelling of your trip. If they are not, go.
Plaza Cuartel and the cathedral
On 14 December 1944 Japanese guards burned 139 American prisoners of war alive in trench shelters on this ground; 11 escaped. Without the story it is a small garden. With it, it is the most sobering 20 minutes in Palawan, and one survivor's debriefing set off the Cabanatuan Great Raid six weeks later.
Baywalk after dark
Dead by day, alive from about 18:00: grilled squid ₱100–200, pork barbecue sticks ₱15, pedal carts, live acoustic some nights. The single best free evening in the city and the least touristy hour you will spend here. Arrive 19:30–20:00 for a seat.
Nagtabon Beach
About 1 km of cream-gold sand in a cove 30 km west, now paved all the way down. No entrance fee, no signal, no reef, no lifeguard worth the name — rip currents drown people here most years. Rent a motorbike at ₱500–600 a day and it is the best free day in the municipality.
The crocodile farm
Properly the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center, DENR-run since 1987, breeding the critically endangered Philippine crocodile. The only city-tour stop with real substance, and the enclosures are small. Skip the baby-crocodile photo op; the fee is not published anywhere current.
The half-day city tour
A ₱750 (~$13) van loop of C-tier sights whose whole is slightly bigger than its parts. Croc farm, Binuatan and Plaza Cuartel are the substance; Baker's Hill and Mitra's are drive-by kitsch. If you are time-poor, do Plaza Cuartel and Baywalk yourself by tricycle for under ₱200.
Ugong Rock caving and zipline
A guided climb up through the inside of a 75 ft limestone tower, then down by zipline — 20 minutes before Sabang, so it bolts onto the Underground River day. Run by the Tagabinet community association, which is also the right answer when you ask how to keep the money local.
Binuatan Creations
A working hand-loom workshop in Sta. Monica weaving native grass and fibre into bags, placemats and blinds. You can try the loom, and it is harder than it looks. The only stop on the city loop reviewers consistently call surprisingly good, and the answer to where do I buy something real.
Baker's Hill and Mitra's Ranch
A bakery that grew into a kitsch statue garden, plus a free hilltop view of Honda Bay next door. Go for the hopia at ₱50–120, which is the best pasalubong in the city, and leave. Reviewers in December 2023 and March 2026 describe the caged animals as being kept in appalling conditions.
The Butterfly Eco-Garden
A modest butterfly dome, insect cases, a Palawan peacock-pheasant, a bearcat, and a resident Palaw'an family giving music, blowgun and craft demonstrations. Good with curious kids and your only indigenous-culture touchpoint near the city. There is no pangolin exhibit, whatever you read elsewhere.
Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm
The open-air prison without walls, established 1904, open to visitors again per reviews through 2023–24. Inmate band, handicraft shop, conversations with minimum-security colonists. It is either the most unusual hour in the Philippines or something you would rather not watch — both reactions are legitimate.
Whale shark snorkelling
Natural, no-feeding encounters southeast of Honda Bay — the ethical opposite of Oslob, and the reason to do it here. Season is April to October, sightings peak within about a week of the full moon, and nothing is guaranteed. Only 136 reviews exist, so treat it as a small, seasonal product.
One day, two days, three days
The single most-asked question in the forums is how many days is enough. The consensus answer is two. Here is what each length actually buys, and the long version is here.
| You have | Do this | Cost per head | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| An afternoon or a layover arrival day, or waiting on a flight | Plaza Cuartel and the cathedral by tricycle, then Baywalk at dusk | ₱200–500 | WORTH IT |
| One full day the classic one-night stop | Underground River 07:00–16:00, then fireflies at 17:30 | ₱3,200–4,200 | WORTH IT |
| Two full days the sweet spot for almost everyone | Day one city tour plus fireflies, day two the river with Ugong Rock | ₱4,500–6,000 | WORTH IT |
| Three days only if you are not going north | Add Honda Bay or a motorbike day at Nagtabon | ₱6,000–10,000 | DEPENDS |
| Four days or more with El Nido still on the list | Do not. Take the ₱650 shuttle north and spend the days in Port Barton | — | SKIP |
Costs are per person including tours, fees, food and tricycles, excluding your room. The ₱150 city environmental fee is paid once and covers both the Underground River and Honda Bay.
What is actually bookable this week
What not to bother with
Being useful means naming the things that waste a day, and four of them get sold hard here.
Anything sold as a day trip to El Nido, San Vicente or Balabac. El Nido is 5–6 hours each way. Long Beach at San Vicente is 3–4 hours each way on a bus timetable that makes same-day return absurd. Balabac is 8–12 hours one way — a van to Buliluyan Port, then a boat. Those turquoise sandbar photographs cost four days, not one. The day-trips page has the honest list of what does work.
The cruise-ship shore excursion to the river. The identical boat sells at $165–210 on board, and up to around $600 has been reported, against $38–46 booked independently. The cruise-day arithmetic is its own page.
Honda Bay after El Nido. The most repeated regret in the review corpus, phrased by one forum regular as after El Nido island hopping it will be a bore. Sequence matters more than the tour does — the head-to-head is here.
Irawan Eco Park and any ATV or eco-safari product. No credible 2024–2026 listing exists for either; recent first-hand reports on the eco park are thin enough that we treat it as dormant. See what has closed or changed before you plan around anything a 2013 blog post promised.
Jump to the decision you are making
The questions people actually type
What are the top things to do in Puerto Princesa?
The Underground River, Iwahig firefly watching, Honda Bay island hopping and Plaza Cuartel, in that order. Those four plus a Baywalk evening fill two days and cost roughly ₱4,500–6,000 (~$78–103) a head including fees and food. Everything else on this list is a filler you add if you have a third day.
Is Puerto Princesa boring?
For beach-seekers, yes — there is no quality beach within about two hours of the port, and a June 2026 forum regular with 25,000 posts called it a workaday town people stop in for a night. For anyone interested in caves, food and history it is not. The city holds one UNESCO site, 4.1★ fireflies across 891 reviews, and the only Vietnamese-Filipino food story in the country.
How many days do you need in Puerto Princesa?
Two full days for almost everyone: one for the Underground River, one for the city plus a firefly evening. Three if you add Honda Bay or a beach day. The Poor Traveler's canonical plan is 3 days and 2 nights on about ₱6,000 a head for two people sharing.
What can you do in Puerto Princesa for free?
Plaza Cuartel and the Immaculate Conception Cathedral (free to about ₱20), the Baywalk after 17:00, Mitra's Ranch viewpoint, Balayong People's Park, and Nagtabon Beach, which has no entrance fee. Budget ₱150–350 for street food at the Baywalk and you have a full free day for the price of dinner.
What is there to do in Puerto Princesa at night?
Two things worth planning: the Iwahig firefly tour, which picks up 17:30–18:30 and gets you back by 21:00–22:00 for ₱1,200–1,700, and the Baywalk food stalls from about 18:00. After that it is Kinabuchs on Rizal Avenue, which opens 16:00–17:00 and runs to 23:00 or later.
Is Honda Bay worth doing if I am already island hopping in El Nido?
No. Honda Bay rates 4.0/5 across 2,040 TripAdvisor reviews against the Underground River's 4.4, and the standing complaint is thin coral and poor visibility. If El Nido, Coron or Port Barton are on your itinerary, spend that day on the river instead or go north a day early.
Is there Grab in Puerto Princesa?
No. Grab does not operate here at all, and guides that tell you otherwise were written from a desk. Tricycles are the system: ₱15–25 a shared hop, ₱100–150 to charter one from the airport into town, ₱600–1,200 to charter one for a half-day of city touring.
What should I skip in Puerto Princesa?
Any product sold as a day trip to El Nido, San Vicente or Balabac; the cruise-ship shore excursion at $165–600 when the same boat is $38–46 independently; Honda Bay if El Nido is already booked; and Irawan Eco Park, which has no credible 2024–2026 operating record.
The fee stack
Every quoted price here is missing a fee, and the fee is cash. The ₱150 city environmental fee is collected separately even on tours that say all-inclusive — it is valid about a year and covers both the Underground River and Honda Bay, so keep the receipt and do not pay twice. Cheap local island tours quietly add ₱50–150 per island, ₱150 mask hire and ₱150 aqua shoes. The big platform listings mostly bake these in, which is why a ₱1,300 tour and a ₱1,880 tour often cost the same by lunchtime.
Draw cash in the city, and draw more than feels reasonable. Tours, tricycles, markets and most restaurants are cash. Foreign cards are charged about ₱250 per withdrawal at nearly every bank and per-transaction limits run ₱10,000–20,000. Airport machines empty at weekends and around the 15th and 30th. Sabang is effectively an ATM desert — arrive with the whole stay in your pocket. Always decline the machine's offer to charge you in your own currency.
Grab does not operate in Puerto Princesa. Not reduced, not patchy — absent. Guides that tell you to just grab a Grab from the airport were written from a desk. Ride-hailing firms have been reported as eyeing the city and none had filed for a franchise at the last check, so treat any app that does show cars as a bonus. The system here is the tricycle: ₱15–25 a hop shared, ₱100–150 to charter the whole thing from the airport into town. Agree the fare before you get in and you will never have a problem.
is the whole
city.
There are 411 Booking.com properties in Puerto Princesa against El Nido's 576, and the city ones are cheaper, better connected and rarely full outside Holy Week. Dorms run ₱450–800, a decent boutique double ₱2,500–5,000.
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