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Just to clarify, my $80 per day for 2 people combined is for all expenditure while in Palawan (hotels, transport, tours, meals), not just for boat tours in El Nido,Port Barton, and Honda Bay. That is midrange accomodation (maximum of 2000p per night per room), not rock bottom.

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Hi Kristina & paul,

Palawan is also a great place for jungletrekking. We did a one day trekking starting in Caramay on the eastcoast.

During the trek we crossed many small river , we discovered a waterfall, and even settlements of the bataktribe in the mountains.
Caramay is one of the less developed places in Palawan. We stayed there in the native beachcottages.
Some pictures of the jungletrekking are on facebook

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.359105630834567.81446.210233589055106&type=3

Wish you both a great time in palawan

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I currently live in Palawan and have explored many parts of the island. This thread is well developed, meaning that it's full of good advice.

Allow me to add a few other points of interest:

1. Iwahig is a penal colony that was established by the Americans a hundred years ago. Aside from being an interesting destination, you can also buy intricate souvenirs there. The souvenirs are mostly made of handcrafted wood that you know took a long time to create. Iwahig is less than an hour away from the city of Puerto Princesa.

2. Quezon is a town in the southern half of the island on the west coast. Quezon is the home of the Tabon Caves (where the earliest evidence of humans in the Philippines was discovered in the mid-20th century). Eighty percent of all visitors only explore the northern half of the island so Quezon doesn't receive much traffic. Also, the beaches on the west coast are arguably more pristine than those on the east coast along where most of Palawan's population live.

3. Cuyo is my third suggestion. It's an island municipality. Actually it's the name of the town situated in an island of the same name. And that island is the population center of a group of islands that collectively is called the Cuyo archipelago. It's the oldest municipality in Palawan, among other things. I maintain a blog about my life here in Palawan and if you google these two terms (retirednoway cuyo), you'll find the posts I wrote about my trip to Cuyo last year.

Enjoy!

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1. 17 I had a quick look at your blog, wow very informative..

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Thank you alonamaria and alexcooper1 for all your tips! I'll keep the jungle trekking in mind! There seems to be plenty of things to do in Palawan - we're very much looking forward to it! What are some nice laid back beach towns you would reccomend to hang out in for some days or more? .Small, a good mix of local+some travellers, yet not too developed.. or is that asking too much? Thailand was definitely NOT our thing (as expected), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Philippines, and Palawan will be quite the opposite. Any comments on that?

Big thanks to all of you for your tips!

kind regards,
Kristina and Paul

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"What are some nice laid back beach towns you would reccomend to hang out in for some days or more?"

El Nido or Port Barton, either would be a good option..