Sunlit limestone islands around blue-green water beneath a clear sky in Bacuit Bay, El Nido

Sabang to Coron

Two Puerto Princesa nights, four in El Nido and three in Coron.

Trip length: 10 days / 9 nights
Bases: Puerto Princesa · El Nido · Coron
Between bases: Shared van and ferry
Finish: Busuanga airport

Finding rooms in El Nido

A cave visit, then two different island groups

The Underground River is the reason to begin in Puerto Princesa. It lies at Sabang on the opposite coast from the city, so it needs a full excursion day after arrival. Starting here gives the cave a place in the route without driving back south after El Nido. The northbound van then follows mainland Palawan; Coron requires a separate sea crossing to the Calamian Islands.

The route has six full sightseeing days. Three are in El Nido, where the bay tours have a beach day between them. The two Coron days change the scenery again: lakes within Coron Island’s cliffs, followed by the sandy islands farther out. Puerto Princesa’s city evening adds a little history and local food to a trip otherwise dominated by boats.

This plan uses shared outings and town hotels. It suits a small party that wants the cave, lagoons and lakes in the same holiday, while accepting a group’s stop order. An offshore Coron resort would add another boat to the final stay. If daily boarding, wet beach landings or a long van ride are difficult, reduce the number of bases and organise the remaining outings around that limitation.

A river flowing to the sea

UNESCO describes an 8.2-kilometre underground river within a limestone landscape. Its lower stretch is influenced by the tide. The visitor boat goes into this cave system from Sabang’s coastal side.

Big Lagoon from a kayak

Tour A includes Big Lagoon among its Miniloc stops. Kayaks let visitors move through the lagoon separately from the motorboat; the hire and lagoon admission are additional to the tour seat.

Nacpan’s long shore

The beach extends for roughly four kilometres north of El Nido. The return shuttle leaves several hours to walk the sand and spend time ashore between the two boat days.

Tour C’s outer islands

The selected route names Helicopter Island, Hidden Beach, Secret Beach and Talisay. It reaches a different set of beach landings from Tour A; Matinloc Shrine is a separately charged optional visit.

The bay above Kayangan

The famous viewpoint looks back towards the sea landing. The lake lies beyond the rise, reached by descending on the other side; the photograph and the swim are different parts of the visit.

Malcapuya, Bulog Dos and Ditaytayan

The Island Escapade day groups these three sandy destinations in one outing. Keeping it separate from the lake circuit gives the final Coron day to the outer islands.

Best for

First-time Palawan visitors who want the river cave as well as Bacuit Bay and Coron
Travellers comfortable with full boat days and a long shared-van journey

StartBooker answer

How can I visit Puerto Princesa, El Nido and Coron in ten days?

Spend two nights in Puerto Princesa, four in El Nido and three in Coron. The first full day reaches the Underground River at Sabang. A shared van takes you north for Tour A, Nacpan Beach and Tour C on separate days. Atienza’s ferry connects El Nido to Coron, where the final two full days cover the lakes and outer-island beaches. Day ten finishes at Busuanga airport; an overnight for a later international connection extends the nine-night route.

River outing: ₱2,850 per adult with Alvea, including the ₱150 eco fee
Van north: ₱800 per shared seat; around 5–6 hours on the road
Coron crossing: Atienza lists 12:30–16:30 at ₱2,600 per adult

Things to do in Puerto Princesa, El Nido, Coron, Philippines

Explore tours, attractions and local experiences in Puerto Princesa, El Nido, Coron along this route through Philippines.

Loading activities…

Activities provided by GetYourGuide. We may earn a commission on bookings.

Three bases, south to north

The route stays in the city at Puerto Princesa, beside Bacuit Bay in El Nido and in Coron town on Busuanga.

3 stops · swipe

1

Puerto Princesa
2 nights

The Sabang river cave, a wartime city history and chao long noodle soup

Choose a city-proper address around Rizal Avenue for both Puerto Princesa nights. That area has restaurants and tricycle connections, while a Sabang hotel would be a separate coastal stay. Alvea’s day trip brings you back to the city before the next morning’s northbound van.
Read the Puerto Princesa guide →
2

El Nido
4 nights

Bacuit Bay’s limestone islands, lagoons and beach landings

El Nido town is the base for four nights. The waterfront faces Bacuit Bay, while the tour offices sit on the town streets behind it. Corong-Corong is a separate shoreline south of town; rooms there trade the central streets for a view across another part of the bay.
Read the El Nido guide →
3

Coron
3 nights

Kayangan and Barracuda lakes, Twin Lagoon and outings to the outer islands

Coron town occupies Busuanga’s southern coast; Coron Island and its lakes sit across the water. A town hotel fits the two tours’ pickup areas. The final airport ride stays on Busuanga.
Read the Coron guide →

Ten days from city streets to island beaches

Days three and seven move between the overnight bases. Day ten is the airport departure.

1 Day 1 City streets after arrival Transfer

Take a tricycle to the Puerto Princesa city hotel. Use around ₱150 per private vehicle, carrying up to three people, as a planning estimate for a short city trip; agree the actual destination and fare before boarding. Allow roughly ten to twenty minutes, depending on the hotel. Once settled, explore the Immaculate Conception Cathedral area: the present angular church dates to 1961. Mendoza Park adds shaded acacias and a memorial to the wartime doctor after whom it is named. For a local meal, look for chao long, the noodle soup that developed from Vietnamese refugee cooking and Palawan tastes.

A city-proper hotel
The cathedral and Mendoza Park
Chao long noodle soup

Base: Puerto Princesa

2 Day 2 Sabang’s Underground River Transfer

Use Alvea’s Underground River outing for the full day, at ₱2,700 per adult plus the separate ₱150 environmental fee. Its package includes return van travel, motorboat transfer, entry permit, licensed guide, audio device and buffet lunch. Allow around eight to nine hours away, with roughly one and a half to two hours on the road each way and time for the wharf queue. Sabang’s coastal boat takes you to the river entrance, where the visit continues in a paddle boat. Listen through the audio device while moving through the rock chambers.

The road to Sabang
The coastal and paddle boats
Audio-guided cave chambers

Base: Puerto Princesa

3 Day 3 The northbound van Transfer

Leave Puerto Princesa for El Nido in a morning HTT shared van, ₱800 per person. Allow five to six hours on the road plus the departure wait. When reserving, send the passenger count and luggage details so the vehicle arrangement fits your party. After the journey, check into the El Nido room and explore the town waterfront. The beach faces Bacuit Bay, with tour boats offshore and limestone hills behind the town. Spend the arrival afternoon on this coast; the first island-hopping outing is the following morning.

Mainland Palawan by road
El Nido town arrival
The waterfront and tour office

Base: El Nido

4 Day 4 Tour A and Big Lagoon

Join El Nido Paradise’s Tour A, ₱1,500 per person, and allow around seven hours as a planning estimate for a shared island day. Its listed route includes Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, Shimizu Island and Seven Commando Beach. The package supplies a bento lunch, drinking water, mask and snorkel, while your ride to the meeting point is separate. Pay the El Nido environmental fee on this first tour and retain the receipt for Tour C. Big Lagoon has an additional ₱200 admission per person. If you want to paddle, a two-seat kayak is about ₱350 for the rental.

Big Lagoon
Shimizu and Miniloc’s shores
A shared two-seat kayak

Base: El Nido

5 Day 5 Several hours at Nacpan Car

Book HTT’s return Nacpan shuttle at ₱700 per person, choosing both departures before setting off. Allow around forty-five to sixty minutes on the road each way and three or four hours at the beach between them. Walk along the sand before lunch at Sunmai, H Hospitality Group’s beachfront restaurant. It serves wood-fired pizzas, seafood and Filipino dishes, and welcomes both day visitors and overnight guests. Sunmai also offers a breakfast buffet for walk-in visitors, useful if you choose an earlier shuttle and eat after reaching the beach.

The booked return shuttle
Nacpan’s long beach
Sunmai’s beachfront lunch

Base: El Nido

6 Day 6 Tour C’s beach landings

Choose Paradise’s Tour C at ₱1,700 per person, with another full shared-boat day of around seven hours. The published circuit includes Helicopter Island, Hidden Beach, Secret Beach, Talisay and Matinloc. Take the environmental-fee receipt paid for Tour A, which the operator accepts for later tours during the same stay. Bento lunch, drinking water, mask and snorkel are included. Matinloc Shrine has an optional separate ₱200 admission; decide whether you want that visit before paying it. The group’s boat determines the sequence of landings.

Helicopter Island
Hidden and Secret beaches
The optional Matinloc Shrine visit

Base: El Nido

7 Day 7 Atienza from El Nido to Coron Ferry

Take Atienza’s El Nido–Coron sailing at 12:30pm, reaching Coron around 4:30pm. The adult seat is ₱2,600 and the crossing lasts four hours. Eat in town before checking in at the port. At the far end, continue to a Coron town hotel within the next day’s pickup area. Hunt Restaurant at The Funny Lion serves Perky Pig, coffee-barbecue pork ribs with potato salad. Its menu also has Adobombs, pulled-pork adobo sliders with roasted tomato and salted-egg mayonnaise, and Imperial Grouper, a whole fried fish with mapo tofu sauce and egg-and-scallion fried rice.

The four-hour passenger crossing
A Coron town room
Hunt’s coffee-barbecue ribs

Base: Coron

8 Day 8 Kayangan, Barracuda and Twin Lagoon

Join Paradise’s Coron Island Super Ultimate outing, ₱2,200 per person. Town-hotel pickup is listed for 7:30–8am, with return around 5pm, so keep the day for the boat programme. The route names Kayangan and Barracuda lakes, Twin Lagoon, Skeleton Wreck and beach stops. Kayangan requires a climb from the sea landing and a descent towards the lake; tell the operator before booking if that terrain is difficult for you. Explain your swimming ability to the guide before the water entries. The package includes the site admissions, buffet lunch, water, guide and town-hotel return; the municipal environmental fee is separate.

Kayangan’s viewpoint and lake
Twin Lagoon
Barracuda Lake

Base: Coron

9 Day 9 The outer islands

Use the Island Escapade programme for Malcapuya, Bulog Dos and Ditaytayan, ₱2,000 per person with Paradise. Pickup is listed for 7:30–8am from town hotels, followed by the boat departure around 8:30am. Keep a full day for this circuit. Malcapuya has rest huts beside its white-sand beach, offering shade between water entries. The quoted seat includes island admission fees, buffet lunch, drinking water, guide and the return to your town hotel. Any kayak or snorkelling-equipment arrangement needs its own quoted total.

Malcapuya
Bulog Dos
Ditaytayan

Base: Coron

10 Day 10 The Busuanga airport departure Flight

Arrange a shared town-to-airport van through your hotel. Use a starting ₱300 per person as a published planning allowance: Psalms lists that bidirectional rate, but its displayed seats are currently sold out, so obtain an available pickup quote. Allow roughly forty to sixty minutes for a shared road transfer. Plan to leave town about four hours before the flight, including three hours at the airport. Cebu Pacific recommends that airport lead for domestic flights; for PAL it is our planning buffer, with your ticket’s check-in instructions taking priority. Choose a booked Clark or Cebu departure for your date. A subsequent hotel night for an international connection sits outside these nine nights.

The shared airport van
Three hours at the airport
The booked domestic connection

Base: Coron

The two inter-base reservations

The van stays on mainland Palawan; the ferry crosses to the Calamian group.

2 transfers

Puerto Princesa El Nido

Transfer Travel time: Around 5–6 hours on the road, plus pickup waits

HTT lists ₱800 per person from Puerto Princesa to El Nido. Its private alternative is ₱7,000 for a van carrying up to eight people and luggage; the price is one way.
El Nido Coron

Ferry Travel time: Atienza: 12:30–16:30, about four hours

The published adult fare is ₱2,600 from El Nido to Coron. This is the boat crossing; local hotel-to-port rides and unloading add time at either end.

A worked total for two adults

These bookings assume two adults paying the ordinary non-Palawan visitor rates, sharing one Big Lagoon kayak and using town accommodation. Hotel nights, flights and most meals are additional.

Underground River day Two Alvea places at ₱2,700 plus two ₱150 eco fees. The package includes the van, boats, permit and entry, guide, audio and lunch.: ₱5,700 for two adults
Puerto Princesa arrival A city-airport planning estimate for the vehicle, shared by the two adults. Agree the actual fare and hotel destination at pickup.: Approximately ₱150 per private tricycle, up to three people
The northbound connections HTT: 2 × ₱800. Atienza: 2 × ₱2,600. Any separately quoted hotel-to-terminal or port ride is outside this sum.: ₱6,800 for two shared van seats and two ferry seats
El Nido’s two boat days Tour A ₱3,000 + Tour C ₱3,400; environmental fees ₱800; Big Lagoon ₱400; one two-seat kayak about ₱350. Optional shrine entry is extra.: ₱7,950 for the selected tours and lagoon extras
Nacpan shuttle The selected HTT fare is ₱700 per person round trip. Beach food and any optional activity remain additional.: ₱1,400 for two return places
Coron’s two outings Super Ultimate ₱4,400 + Island Escapade ₱4,000 + environmental fees ₱400. Site entries and the two lunches are included in the tour seats.: ₱8,800 for two adults, including one municipal fee each
Airport van allowance Based on the published starting ₱300 shared rate. The cited provider’s displayed places are sold out; the actual hotel-arranged quote can differ.: From approximately ₱600 for two

Booking tips

The selected bookings and allowances, including the city-airport tricycle, come to about ₱31,400 for two adults, before rooms, flights, meals outside the five package lunches, optional gear, the shrine, booking or baggage charges and other local rides. The starting airport-van quote and kayak allowance make this a planning total.
For the two El Nido tours, Paradise’s advertised deposits are ₱375 per adult for A and ₱425 for C. Two people pay ₱1,600 in deposits, leaving ₱4,800 in tour balances before the separate environmental, lagoon and kayak payments.
Coron’s environmental fee is ₱200 per visitor and the operator describes it as valid for ten days. Retain the receipt for the second Coron outing. This is a separate charge from the included lake and beach admissions.

Compare El Nido town addresses and the separate Corong-Corong coast for the four-night stay.

Compare El Nido rooms →

Palawan from south to north

The map opens on El Nido and marks the three overnight towns.

Permits, rentals and the season

Can I obtain the cave permit after arriving at Sabang?

The park’s standard procedure starts with a Visitor Entry Permit from its Mendoza office before travelling to Sabang. At the wharf, present that permit, the relevant receipts and valid identification. With a package, supply the operator’s requested passenger details in advance so it can arrange the permit.

Does the paddle boat cover the whole 8.2-kilometre river?

UNESCO’s length describes the underground river. The park publishes forty to fifty minutes for the visitor paddle-boat section, reached by a separate coastal boat taking twenty to thirty minutes. The full-day city excursion also includes road travel and the wharf queue.

Does a full eight-person party save with the private van?

HTT’s shared seats cost ₱6,400 for eight people, while its private van is ₱7,000 for up to eight with luggage. The private option adds ₱600 for the party, or ₱75 each. Compare the pickup and hotel drop-off arrangements before choosing; terminal connections can add to a shared-seat bill.

Do younger children pay the El Nido environmental fee?

Paradise’s current fee page lists ₱250 for non-Palawan children aged six to thirteen and exempts those under six. Those are the named provider’s published age bands for the environmental fee. Ask separately for the child’s tour-place price and whether the selected outing suits them.

How much remains to pay for the Coron tours after deposits?

Paradise advertises ₱300 per adult as the Super Ultimate deposit and ₱400 for Island Escapade. For two adults on both outings, that is ₱1,400 upfront and ₱7,000 remaining in tour balances. The environmental fee and any separately hired equipment are additional.

Which months give the three bases a drier common window?

January–April is a useful choice. Puerto Princesa and Coron’s historical PAGASA records show lower rainfall then, while El Nido’s municipal climate plan places those months within its drier season. May is already wetter in the two station records. These land-rain patterns cannot establish sea conditions for a particular crossing.

Permits, ferries and flight records

Editorial team StartBooker Editorial Travel guide editorial team

Checked on 2026-10-06

Updated 2026-10-06

How we reviewed this guide: We checked the cave procedures, tour inclusions and road and ferry connections against the park and named operators. We compared the three overnight locations, local rain records and the costs for two adults with independent travel reporting.

31 Source records

Transport, park and travel sources