Potchie's Bucket: A Travel Diary

Travel itinerary, expenses and tips on Port Barton, San Vicente, Palawan

I first heard Port Barton from the foreign couple that hubby and I met when we first set foot in Palawan on Feb 2010. We were waiting for our batch's turn for the underground river tour when we exchanged stories about the places we both visited here in the Philippines. Mesmerized by the underwater beauty of Port Barton, they recommended it to us and even showed its location on the map. That was when I mentally saved the name "Port Barton" on my bucket list.

Year 2009 when it became a custom for my travel buddies and me to travel and have our R&R during Holy Week. For 2013, we agreed to explore Batanes, the province located between the islands of Luzon and Taiwan, but due to our limited budget, we decided to defer it and go to El Nido, Palawan instead.

Weeks before the trip, I started drafting our El Nido itinerary. With the help of blogs, reviews and different Palawan sites, I was able to squeeze in the Port Barton tour! Yeah bah! As you can see on the map below, Port Barton is in the middle of Puerto Princesa City and El Nido.

Photo courtesy of islandproperties.com

Port Barton is a small coastal barangay in San Vicente, Palawan. One has to experience the rough, unpaved and bumpy road before enjoying its pristine white beaches and calming atmosphere. Due to its remote location, public transportation is limited. Electricity is from 6PM to midnight only. There are no banks or ATMs. Maybe these are some of the reasons why it is not as popular as the underground river, El Nido or Coron. Even my travel buddies never heard Port Barton before (well, I'm glad as I was the one who introduced it to them, wink!).

Tip#1 - Since there are no banks or ATMs, bring extra cash with you.

You have 3 options to get to Port Barton from Puerto Princesa:

Hire a van for P5500. Travel duration is 3 hours. This is recommended for a group of 7-up with heavy luggage with them and opt convenience. You can book the van prior to your Palawan trip or check out those vans for hire at Puerto Princesa airport.
Ride on a multicab (tricycle) going to San Jose terminal. Fare is approximately P60, depending on the number of passengers and travel duration is 10-15 minutes. Then ride a jeepney bound to Port Barton. Just make sure that you'll be at the terminal as early as 8AM because jeepneys travelling to Port Barton are limited. Approximate fare is P200 and travel duration is 3-4 hours.
From San Jose terminal, ride a RORO bus bound to Roxas, San Vicente or El Nido. Tell the bus driver that you are going to Port Barton so he could drop you on National Road - San Jose intersection. Fare is approximately P480 and travel duration is 2-3 hours. Compared to the buses I saw from different blogs, RORO bus is air conditioned. From the San Jose intersection, hire a tricycle that will take you to Port Barton. Approximate fare is P600 for 2 persons and travel duration is 1 hour. Since the road to Port Barton is unpaved and rough, it is recommended for the tricycle to accommodate only 2 passengers.

Tip#2 - Weigh your options. Van for convenience or public transport for affordability?

Long introduction isn't it? Hahaha!

Friday, March 22, 2013

We didn’t get a cheap flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa on March 23, so, we decided to stay overnight in Puerto Princesa on March 22 and book the cheapest lodging that I could find. Alas! After searching and contacting several transient houses, I was able to find one via sulit.com.ph - the DUYAN HOUSE PALAWAN, owned and operated by Pepito Donaire or Kuya Peps as I call him. He is not related to the Filipino Flash, Nonito Donaire (instead, he calls himself "The Filipino Toilet Flash Donaire"! wahaha! funny). I reserved a family room good for 6 pax with free airport transfer. The transient house is just a 3-minute ride from the airport.

With the 8PM-flight, most of us were already at the airport around 5:30PM (takot ng maiwan ulit ng eroplano! nyahaha!).

We arrived Puerto Princesa at 9PM. While waiting for our checked-in luggage, we roam around looking for van-rent that will offer the lowest rate, to no avail :)

At Puerto Princesa City Airport

We reached the transient house at 930PM where we met the very accommodating Kuya Peps. After discussing our itinerary, he recommended a van operator that could take us to Port Barton (then to El Nido and back to Puerto Princesa if we want to).

We went to Kinabuchs restaurant to discuss our itinerary and activities for the Port Barton trip. While waiting for our order - tamilok, sizzling tuna and adobong crocs, I called Kuya Ike, the van operator recommended by Kuya Peps to haggle the van rental cost. He agreed on P4500 rate (our original budget is just P3500! haha!) for the Puerto Princesa - Port Barton trip and P7000 for the Port Barton - El Nido trip. It was not a concern to Kuya Ike to stay overnight in Port Barton for 2 nights for free since he could stay with his friends' place :)

Tip#3 - Compare van rental cost - from those at the airport and those outside the airport or referred by your contacts. You might be surprised by the cost difference between those 2.

Dinner at Kinabuchs

Saturday, March 23, 2013

When I went to the guest house's receiving area for our breakfast, I was starstruck when I saw Governor Mitra talking to Kuya Peps (mas gwapo ang lolo mo sa personal). We found out that he used to work with Governor Mitra when the latter was still in congress.

Duyan House Palawan with Kuya Peps and Governor Mitra

From L-R (Kuya Peps, Meongski, Agdie, Governor Baham Mitra, Me, Ivy, Yani, Roy)

Kuya Ike arrived around 8AM. We then proceed to San Jose Terminal to fetch our other travel buddy - Joy. We also bought some supplies such as water, junk foods, chocolates and coffee on our way. The first 2 hours of the trip was smooth (good thing that there is no traffic in Puerto Princesa). Halfway to Port Barton when it started to rain. We didn't realized how abominable the road could be on this weather condition. We have to endure the unpaved road for almost an hour.

Start of the bumpy road to paradise

It was 1PM when we arrived at Elsa's Beach House - the lodging I reserved for our 2-night stay. We immediately unload our bags from the van and proceed to our assigned room. The family room, with its own balcony is spacious enough for the seven of us.

We were in Elsa's restaurant when one of my travel buddies told us that she forgot her phone in the van (which was then locked so I texted Kuya Ike), but when she went back to get it, it's already gone. Who do you think got it? Haha! That was the first casualty of our trip.

Tip#4 - Check your stuff before leaving the van :)

While waiting for our lunch to be served, we arranged our 2-day activities and took the leisure of enjoying the white sand beach in front of Elsa's.

View from Elsa's Restaurant:

Elsa's Beach House, Port Barton, Palawan

Our afternoon activity was a visit to Bigaho Falls situated in Sitio Bigaho, a 30-minute boat ride from the mainland then another 15-minute trek from the sitio (village).

Sitio Bigaho

The calming water and fine white sand in Sitio Bigaho were already an exhilarating sight. Wondering what more the falls could offer, we started the trek with the 2 kids that served as our guide.

The trek to Bigaho Falls (photo courtesy of Joy)

Not as high as the other waterfalls I visited, Bigaho falls is good enough for us to dip and enjoy its cold water.

Bigaho Falls

After the Bigaho Falls, we requested the boatman to drop us at the small island that we saw on our way to Sitio Bigaho. The island is called Luli Island, short for Lulubog-Lilitaw, as the island would only appear during low tide and disappear during high tide.

Luli Island

Starfishes in Luli Island

It was already 5PM when we finished our afternoon activities. While the others went back to the room to freshen up, the rest wander around the area. We found some houses offering tourists their vacant rooms. These should be cheaper than those lodgings near the beach. We also saw the non-aircon bus and jeepney travelling to and from Port Barton.

Puerto Princesa - Port Barton Bus

Puerto Princesa - Port Barton Jeepney

There are also lots of restaurant in Port Barton. We first tried Elsa's - where the amount of food served was quite good. While the ambiance and food in Ayette’s Bamboo House has nothing special to offer, the pizza in El Busero is a must-try. But what made our food trip in Port Barton memorable was our first dinner. Considering that we were on a tight budget, we bought fresh-catch fishes and requested the seller, Ate Jackie, to cook it for us, who also allowed us (after minutes of convincing her) to had our dinner in her house (o diba, nanggulo pa sa bahay ng may bahay! hahaha!). If you wish to do the same, Ate Jackie lives near Ayette's Bamboo House! Hahaha! I told her that I will recommend her to my friends! Wink!

Dinner at Ate Jackie's house

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Port Barton is amazingly beautiful both on land and underwater so I suggest you bring your own snorkel during your visit.

Our first stop was the Exotic Island. Its long stretch of fine white sand is a good place to lay back and feel the beauty of nature.

Let the photos speak for its beauty :)

The underwater of Exotic Island:

Exploring the whole island took us about an hour.

Photo courtesy of Joy

The second island on our itinerary is the Paradise Island, this is now privately-owned, fees will be collected once we dock, so, we decided to just pass by and head to the last island - the German Island.

Paradise Island

German Island is also a privately-owned island but there is no fee for docking. After minutes of appreciating its pristine white sand, each of us took a nap on the available hammocks.