Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Puerto Princesa (Part 2) - Honda Bay Tour

Puerto Princesa (Part 1) - DIY City Tour 



After we had our breakfast, our Tour Guide, Kuya Rodel arrived to take us to Sta. Lourdes Wharf, the pick-up and drop-off point for Honda Bay Island Hopping. He agreed to take us there and back to Tres for P500.


Japanese-style Breakfast at Tres
On our way to the port, we dropped by a shop to rent some snorkeling gears (P150/set) and a waterproof camera case (P350). It's a bit pricey compared to those shops on the pier itself but it was explained to us that the gears are being sterilized before they are rented out so I guess it won't harm to shed a few extra bucks for hygiene.

At the wharf, Kuya Rodel assisted us in getting a boat. He gave us a list of what we need to pay. It includes the rental for a small boat (P1300) and Environmental fee (P80/pax)


This is an outdated rate. The entrance fees already increased.Pandan P125, Starfish P50, Pambato Reef P50, LuLi P60
We head off to Pandan Island first. It's my favorite among the other islands we visited. It's called Pandan Island because the Pandan Trees are abundant here.


Pandan Island
Underwater View

I enjoyed this place very much because you can see fishes swimming even in the shallow part of the beach. Fish feeding is also allowed so we brought some bread crumbs while snorkeling.

We didn't brought any packed meal so we spent our lunch here. It's pricey but we don't have any choice. Other islands don't have restos or stores where you can buy food.

Our lunch: BBQ (P20/stick), Steamed Talaba (P300/order), Rice (P20/cup)
Table rental is at P300

Fresh Buko at P25

At 1PM, we head off to Starfish Island. There's not much to see there but it has some cottages where you can take a nap. But who wants to nap on an Island Hopping Tour?

Starfish Island

Next destination is Pambato Reef. This is where the snorkeling gears are needed because you will not see the view underwater without them. I was too afraid to snorkel here since the water they said is about 40m deep but our boatman guided us. He had us hold on to a rope while pulling us around.

Floating cottages in Pambato Reef

Our fourth and final destination was the LuLi Island. It's called LuLi which is short for Lulubog-Lilitaw since the island is not visible during high tide. We're so tired already after arriving on that island so we just rested and waited for the boatman to take us back to the wharf.



The overall experience was great. It's something that is really worth-trying in Palawan

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