Puerto Princessa | A Day in Honda Bay

I was too fascinated with Palawan that I had to come back and see what more it can offer. After my trip to El Nido last June, I was itching to go back but not to the same place. This time I set foot in Puerto Princessa, the city capital of Palawan.  It is called "The City in a Forest" because of the lush rain forest surrounding the city. Some quick facts I know about Puerto Princessa, it was awarded as cleanest city in the Philippines, it boasts of the great Honda Bay and it is home of the biggest crocodile captured in the country. I had four awesome days allotted  to discover what's in Puerto Princessa. To simply layout the itinerary, the first day is for island hopping in Honda Bay,  second day is discover one of the 7 wonders of the world candidate - Subterranean River National Park, third day is unwind in Dos Palmas and the last day is roam around for City Tour.

Aerial View of Palawan Islands

Day 1, we spent the entire day island hopping in Honda Bay. It is advisable to start the tour in the morning when the tides are still low. Honda Bay is composed of Islands that are close to each other and just minutes away from the city. Although many islands comprise Honda Bay, not all of it  can be visited in the tour because some are inaccessible by boats, protected by the government and privately owned. Nonetheless, we were taken to the commonly visited islands which are Pandan Island, Snake Island and Pambato Reef. The Pandan Island was our first stop which also served as our lunch venue. There are spacious cottages you can stay to eat, sleep and relax. Water sports activities are also available in the island like the Banana Boat, Kayaking, Jet skiing and Snorkeling.

Pandan Island on a gloomy weather

"Salo-Salo"

Our second stop was the Snake Island. This island has a similar name of that 'Snake Island' in El Nido but extremely different in terms of sand bar composition. The Snake Island in Honda Bay is much bigger, wider and more commercialized. The best thing you can do here is go snorkeling but be careful because the water is very deep. The fishes are abundant in the area so make sure you bring a slice of bread to feed them.

Snake Island

Father and Son enjoying the water

Hand shape starfish

Sadly, we caught up with a bad weather while in the Snake Island so we had to go to our next stop for us not to compromise the remainder of the tour. Our third and last stop was the Pambato Reef. For me, this is the best part of my day because I really enjoy dipping in the water and snorkeling with the fishes. The Pambatao Reef is one of the outstanding snorkelling sites I've seen in the Philippines. The corals are very much alive and different colorful fishes were visible swimming under. The reefs are obviously untouched and a clear definition of a marine sanctuary.

Pambato Reef Site

So that ends the island hopping around Honda Bay. Please come back again to read my next blogs about the Puerto Princesa Underground River. Dos Palmas Resort and the must-visit restaurants in the city.

Until the next destination,

Teng

P.S. - July seems to bring rainy weather in Palawan so better go there on summer season.