Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

Sagada or Palawan?

Country forums / South-East Asia Islands & Peninsula / Philippines

I have this plan to travel to Philippines as a combination of Holidays and work. and i need to have a schedule for every single day of my trip.
I have searched a lot and find two spots amazing to explore. Sagada and Palawan. They are different and i am sure of that. And as i have read on net Sagada trip would be a little long so i need to get myself prepared for 13 hours journey on road.
But as i have never been to this country and i am not sure about road safeties and the level of difficulty i need some hints on that matter.
Also i don't know which agency is reliable for me to choose.
can anyone gimme some idea on that matter?
I also heard that in April the weather is pretty warm in Sagada.
As my trip would start pretty soon it would be great if anyone could help me a little.

Thanks

It really depends what you would like to see and how much time you have. Goig up to sagada and batad to see the beautiful rice terraces would take a week or 9 days.

Palawan, I have been in PP and El nido. Around 9 days too.

Sagada is walking/trekking / caving and culture.
While palawan is beaches. Not sure re the weather in april. If the weather isn't good then I would guess a beach wouldn't be the best.

Check the weather and go from there. We went to Sagada solo and wasn't so bad, get a night bus from manila, then jeepneys will get you all the way there. I got my directions from lonely planet book and it was quite good.
If you go do not miss the rice terraces in batad! Amazing. So is el indo, so beautiful. But if the weather isn't good don't go.

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lilly2188 thanks for your prompt response.
Actually i was thinking of 3 or 2 days tours for sagada or palawan. which will definitely cover all sight seeing. I guess you travel there by yourself. Do i have to find a tour or is it a place that could be discovered alone?
I think the weather would be pretty warm and sunny by the time i get there so the weather conditions won't help me limit my choices!

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So 2 to 3 days will cover the transport time too?
In sagada, I don't think you need a tour. In the centre (very small town) there is the tourist info which will give you all the info re walking/trekking/caving and hanging coffins. We where there for 2 days and did a walk, caving and the hanging coffins all from the tourist info, they will give you a guide. Quite easy to organise, just have to get there. Again night bus from manila and then a jeepney or 2. Then back! Not sure if all that travelling is worth only 2 days though! We stayed longer and went to the rice terraces which made it worth it.

Pp, what would you like to do? The underground river in PP or el nido islands? With 2 days I would choose el nido beaches if the weather is nice and you like beaches. To get to El nido you can fly to pp then get a van from pp to El nido (long and cheaper) or else you can fly direct from manila to El nido (much faster), only 1 airline. Small plane and book over email withel nido boutique art cafe. Then when in El nido just walk around see the boat tours on offer and you can book with them there.

Again does the 2 to 3 days include transport? Coz if it does you will spend more time getting there then enjoying

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The tour contains the night trip to sagada which will leave Manila 10 pm every Thursday and you will get there in the morning and enough time to see all great spots but i have never been there and dunno how fast the tour may show us all of them. as you can see it below that is the tour description:
3D/2N accommodation with private bathroom at George Guest House/ Sagada Guest House/ Canaway Resthouse Inn/Alibama Inn/ Indigenous Inn/ Residential Lodge/ Sagada Igorot Inn/ Traveler’s Inn
Sagada Tour 1: Town tour – Echo Valley, Burial Caves, Hanging Coffins, Sagada Weaving, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
Sagada Tour 2: Sumaguing Cave Spelunking
Sagada Tour 3: Pongas Falls or Marlboro country
Kiltepan Rice Terraces sunrise viewing ( if weather and fog conditions permit)
Private Sagada tour guide
Private jeepney transfers (when needed)
All entrance permits and fees
In that case i may go for palawan, puerto princessa and of course el nido. I didn't have any idea how tough that trip could be although i have done travels like this (being in the way more than visiting the spot) back in my country but this seems to be so hard!
Thanks for your help

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The tour looks good, and covers most of what there is to see in sagada. 2 days would be sufficient to see all those as they don't take more than 2 to 3 hours each. Even less.

You can get to El nido from manila in 1 day if you get an early flight. And back in 1 day too, if you don't get the direct flight to save time. If you have the funds and don't want to stop in PP id suggest this.

If you want to see the underground river you would probably need to spend the night in PP. Book the underground river from before.

Have fun

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I used to live in Palawan so have seen much of it....But Sagada and the rice terraces I w ould go back to......the spelunking we did was amazing, and was followed by our guide playing some nose flute.....absolutely incredible..... and the rice terraces, especially from the top IMO were also amazing........ there are some great hikes that you can do, down to the waterfall and to other villages..... Some hikes take a full day and are in the 20 km range...

El Nido is special, but if you've seen Phi Phi or Halong Bay, it's about the same but different... El Nido that you need to charter a boat for the day to go and see the beauty of the surrounds... the beach IMO was nothing special...

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give you self more time to travel in the Philippines like 2 weeks.

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My travel will be for 10 days but i need to be at a seminar 4 days from morning to night and it is exectly in the middle of my trip. That's why my plan seems so unrealistic....
But fortunately I realized about bus schedules and i can find one to match my time criterias.
Thanks anyway for your respond.

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