Things to do — Palawan

The two anchor destinations of Palawan deliver very different experiences, and that contrast is exactly what makes the region unique.

At El Nido, the headline activity is island-hopping in the Bacuit archipelago. Local operators run four standardized tours (A, B, C, D) that visit secret beaches, slip into lagoons accessible only by swim or kayak — the Big Lagoon and the Small Lagoon are the most iconic images of Palawan — and skirt vegetation-covered limestone walls. Tour A is the most popular; Tour C, slightly less crowded, is often the divers' favorite for its reef quality. Nacpan Beach, 45 minutes north of El Nido, offers an antidote to the organized-tour crowds. El Nido also has a respectable shallow-water diving scene that suits beginners.

At Coron, wreck diving is the main event. The bay shelters around a dozen Japanese supply ships sunk during a US Navy raid in September 1944 — frigates, freighters, an aircraft tender — resting between 5 and 40 meters down. The Kogyo Maru and the Okikawa Maru are the most accessible; the Irako, deeper and more demanding, is one of the great wreck dives on the planet. Above water, Kayangan Lake — its view from the limestone ridge is one of the most photographed scenes in the Philippines — and Barracuda Lake (a freshwater-saltwater thermocline you can feel as you swim through it) make up the headline non-diving Coron experience. Malcapuya Island and the beaches of Busuanga round out a generous coastal menu.

Palawan also offers cross-cutting experiences. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River (UNESCO), accessible from the south of the island on a day trip, winds for 8 km beneath protected coastal forest — one of the longest navigable underground rivers in the world. The Tabon Caves on the southern coast hold some of the oldest human remains in Southeast Asia. Together, these sites turn Palawan into a region where every day rewards a slow, deliberate pace.