Planning a Honeymoon in Palawan: Where to Go, When, and What It Costs

Journal 18 August 2026 7 min read

Palawan turns up on every honeymoon list, and for good reason. What the lists tend to skip is that it is a very long province with several quite different personalities, and choosing the wrong one for the trip you actually want is the single most common way a Palawan honeymoon goes sideways. Here is how to choose.

First, decide which Palawan you mean

El Nido. The famous limestone cliffs and lagoons. The most spectacular scenery in the province and, inevitably, the most visited. Good restaurants, a lively town, and boats everywhere between nine and three.
Coron. Wreck diving, Kayangan Lake, hot springs. Slightly easier to reach than El Nido and slightly less crowded, though the same day-boat rhythm applies at the famous spots.
Western Busuanga. An hour past Coron Town and almost nobody goes there. Quiet coast, mangroves, no nightlife, and very few other people. This is where we are, so read what follows with that in mind.
Puerto Princesa and San Vicente. The underground river, and Long Beach. Worth a night if you are already passing through; rarely worth building a honeymoon around.

If you want restaurants, variety and the postcard scenery, El Nido. If you want to be alone together, go west. The full comparison of the two sides of Busuanga is in this piece.

How many nights, honestly

Travel days are the hidden cost of a Palawan honeymoon. Manila to Busuanga is a short flight, but with transfers and check-in it consumes most of a day at each end, and moving between El Nido and Coron is a four hour ferry or another flight. A ten night trip that visits three places contains perhaps six usable days.

Four to five nights: one place only. Do not split it.
Seven nights: one place, or a two-night start somewhere busy and five nights somewhere quiet.
Ten nights or more: two places comfortably, with a night in Manila if your international flight demands it.

When to go

December through May is dry season, and March and April are the most reliable weeks of the year for flat water and clear skies. They are also the busiest and the most expensive. The shoulder weeks — late November, early June — are noticeably quieter and cheaper, and the rain, when it comes, tends to arrive in short heavy bursts rather than settling in for days. There is a month-by-month breakdown here.

One date to avoid. Holy Week is the busiest travel week in the Philippines. Rates rise, boats fill, and the quiet lagoon you saw in photographs will have thirty other boats in it. New Year is a close second.

What the days actually look like

A good Palawan honeymoon day is not densely scheduled. Something on the water in the morning while the sea is calm, a long lunch, the afternoon doing very little, and dinner somewhere the sun is going down. Couples who book a tour every day usually tell us afterwards that the best day was the one they cancelled.

If you are staying somewhere remote, the practical version of romance is that meals are handled, the boat is yours rather than shared, and nobody is asking what time you would like to be collected. That is most of what you are paying for.

Budgeting, realistically

Excluding international flights, plan for three layers: getting there, the room, and everything else. Domestic flights to Busuanga or El Nido are modest if booked early and painful if not. Rooms run the full range. It is the third layer — meals, tours, boats, transfers — that quietly doubles a Palawan budget in the towns, and it is the layer that full-board island resorts have already absorbed.

Our own rates start at ₱6,160 per night with every meal included and transfers arranged, which is worth comparing against a town rate plus three meals out, a day tour and two transfers before deciding which looks expensive. The rooms are here, and the multi-night packages bundle the boats in as well.

Five mistakes couples make

Booking three destinations in seven nights. You will spend the honeymoon in transit.
Arriving on the last flight. Delays are common and a dark boat transfer is a poor first evening.
Assuming everywhere has reliable power and signal. Much of Palawan does not. Ask, and then tell your families in advance.
Scheduling the famous lagoons at midday. Go first or go last; the middle of the day belongs to the day boats.
Not mentioning it is a honeymoon. Every property in the Philippines will do something for you. It costs nothing to say so.

Common questions

How many days do you need for a honeymoon in Palawan?

Seven to ten nights is the sweet spot. Palawan is not one destination but several, each a flight or a long boat ride apart, and travel days eat a honeymoon quickly. Under five nights, stay in one place. Over ten, you can comfortably combine two.

Is El Nido or Coron better for a honeymoon?

El Nido has the more dramatic scenery and more restaurants; Coron has the wrecks, the lakes and a slightly shorter journey. Both are busy. Couples who care most about privacy tend to be happier on the quiet western side of Busuanga, away from both.

When is the best time for a Palawan honeymoon?

December to May is the dry season, with March and April the most reliable. The shoulder weeks in late November and early June are quieter and better value, with a real but manageable chance of rain. Avoid Holy Week unless you like company.

How much does a Palawan honeymoon cost?

Excluding international flights, a comfortable week for two runs from roughly ₱90,000 at a mid-range resort with meals and a few tours, to several times that at the luxury end. Full-board island resorts often work out closer than they look, because tours, transfers and every meal are already in the rate.

Planning a honeymoon in Palawan: an honest guide