Sacred Grove

Honda Bay is famous for its white sand beaches comparable to that in Boracay. It is the most favored resting place for tourists taking a day-long island hopping and explorers docked here to get a good view of neighboring islets. Honda Bay can be reached by taking a 30min ride from the city. One can rent pumpboat going to these islets. Seafarer’s gear like snorkels can be rented at the port area administered by local tourism.

The tour includes hopping to islands starfish, turtle and Honda bay. Named after what it is famous for, starfish island boasts of its sugary fine to pinkish sand where one can go deep sea diving. Over a hundred of these starfish species can be seen even with a naked eye that peppers the whole coast of the island.

In Honda Bay, cottages spell a unique character. Giant trees architected by nature served as huts and made into wooden planks of chair. Every visitor has to keep their names in a small record book to ensure that the place has been kept-off from garbage and pellets of candy wrappers before leaving the bay.

We took our lunch with inihaw na talakitok freshly-catch and cooked by the beach’ caretakers. No restos and bars are available. A small sari-sari store has been maintained where you can ask them to cook food for you at a very reasonable price.

Lunch has never been so festive with seafood and mouth-watering crabs cooked by “mamita”, our hosts’ trusted cook. We were booked at Crown Hotel for a 7days stay in Puerto Princesa. Located at Jacana Road, about 15 minutes away from the City, the hotel is still in its infancy where few rooms has been fully furnished and construction of pool and other amenities are still on going. For a budget free travel one need not opt for expensive perks if the objective is to explore.

We took a week-long break to uncover its mystery that made Palawan the top most tourist destination in the Philippines. Like our many travels, the local people have been our guide in our exploration. It gives us the opportunity to interact with the local inhabitants of the place, their culture and tradition.

We boarded the Cebu Pacific plane which regularly flies to Puerto Princesa City. On peak season, they offer discounts and promo but one should book ticket in advance in order not to endure the long queue of passengers. We were greeted by our host at the Puerto Princesa airport for a 15min ride to Jacana. The city has a small airport good enough to accommodate airbus planes and where passengers can move freely upon arrival. Luckily, famous ABS-CBN news and current affairs anchor Ces Drilon was also on board the same plane, so my cousins took the chance for photo op.