I arrived in Palawan with a single roll of slide film and the idea that I would stay a week. The island is about 450 kilometres long and barely 40 wide, and it took me most of a month just to understand its shape: the karst towers of El Nido in the north, the lakes and wrecks of Coron across a stretch of open sea, the slow provincial capital of Puerto Princesa in the middle, and a south that still feels half-mapped. Everything here moves by bangka, the outrigger boat, and by weather.
These routes are the trips I would hand a friend: the famous lagoons done at the right hour, quieter beaches, a few long journeys south, and the history beneath the surface. Prices, fees and boat rules change often, so treat the details as a starting point and check locally before you set out.
