7 Countries 47 Cities 138 days For only $3081.30 each That’s $22.32 per day About 156.29 per week And $669.60 per month
In this guide, I will share all the details of our Southeast Asia budget backpacking trip that included Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore.
View of Taytay from Casa Rosa Guesthouse.We made a break for Taytay, hoping to escape the mass tourism and expensive prices of El Nido. We took Roro Bus for P138/$3.20 from El Nido Roro Bus Terminal. The bus was air-conditioned and left at 10am. It was a quick ride to Taytay: only an hour and a half. We took a tricycle to Casa Rosa Pension (our review here) for P50/$1.20. We scored a basic bamboo fan hut with a shared bathroom for P500/$12. The view from the restaurant was beautiful: definitely worth the climb.
El Nido Beach.We hopped on a jeepney in Port Barton bound for Roxas which is the transfer point for onward travel to El Nido. On our jeepney were 17 people and two chickens. We stopped to pile a shitload of animal feed on the roof and then we were off to Roxas (with a quick stop to drop off a delivery of a shitload of animal feed).
The beach in Port Barton.We were informed that the jeepney to Port Barton left from Puerto Princesa‘s San Jose Terminal at 9am. We ate breakfast and took a tricycle to the terminal (P60/$1.45). When we arrived, we had a couple of buses to choose from. We were excited at the prospect of taking our first jeepney, but the buses were a lot bigger and more comfortable so we took the 9:30am bus to Port Barton (P200/$4.80, about 4 hours). Before the bus pulled out of the station, a large Filipino man read some bible verses for us and prayed for our souls (and asked us for a donation for the privilege). We were off! [Cue the obligatory dance music]
As we made the descent into Palawan we sensed we’d made the right choice.We flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Manila, cleared customs with our bags, and continued on to Puerto Princesa City on the island of Palawan. We chose to spend two weeks in Palawan to relax on some white sand beaches and do some island hopping. By the time we arrived at Puerto Princesa International Airport, we hadn’t slept for 24 hours. We had booked an airport pickup and a couple of nights with Dallas Inn (P600/$14.40 double bed room with private bathroom, P300/$7.20 per person for dorm). We exited the airport and scoured the pickup drivers for our name on a board. No luck. Our flight had arrived late and we didn’t feel like waiting around for who knows how long, so we jumped on a tricycle for 50 pesos/$1.20. When we arrived at the guest house, they told us that someone had been sent to pick us up. Not really sure what happened there. Aside from the airport pickup debacle, Dallas Inn is arguably the best backpacker accommodation in Puerto Princesa (make sure you book ahead).
