We traveled a total of 20 days from across the islands in Palawan, starting from Puerto Princesa and making our way up to Busuanga Island. We were looking for a paradise-like country where prices were affordable as our budget was going down. To our surprise, we found instead one of the most expensive countries we have traveled in and the most expensive by far in South East Asia. This is the breakdown of our costs:
We spent a total of $4,275 AUD in 20 days. That is an average of $214 per day per couple. At the time of the conversion 1 AUD was equivalent to 35.36 php. That is after applying the exchange rate from our Citibank travel card and also the fees they would charge in ATMs. The conversion used for € is 1€:$1.6:
Transport
As we had to fly from Brisbane to the Philippines, that turned out to be a quite expensive flight. On top of that, we also had to take local flights from Manila to Palawan forth and back. The price of local flights also add up as this time we had to check in big backpacks:
Transport in Palawan is generally more expensive than any other countries in South East Asia. However, the infrastructures were still very poor. There were long delays in small, crowded, local airports and very bad road conditions. So we left Palawan feeling that we were paying more for the same hustle.
Activities
One of the reasons we allocated a big part of our budget to Palawan is because we did scuba dive a lot and we took our certificate in PADI Advanced.
On top of the diving, we did some island hopping, some kayaking and even hired our own boat to camp a night in a small remote island, which turned out to be just for ourselves.
Accommodation
This was the most disappointing area of the whole trip. It was pricey and pretty basic. We felt we were not getting the value that we were paying for. By far, the most expensive and most precarious accommodation. In other countries in Asia, we would be able to get a 3-star hotel for that price. It might have been because we were there in high season. We were also told by many local tourists that Palawan was the most expensive region in the whole Philippines. Altogether we spent $523 for 20 nights. An average of $26.17 per night per couple. It is not an excessive amount. However, paying that for a room that would have power cuts most of the day and with a bucket shower, it did feel overpriced.
Food
Philippines cuisine has meat in most of their dishes. So we cannot tell how tasty these are. However, we always had a vegetarian choice of noodles or rice. It is, like every other country in South East Asia, very inexpensive. We spent a total of $485, with an average of $24.25 per day per couple.
Miscellaneous
We spent a total of $150 with an average of $7.52. This area covers mostly sim card, laundry, haircut, and some non-alcoholic beverages.
Alcohol
We spent $122 meaning $6.08 per day per couple. Beer in Palawan was expensive as $3 per bottle.
The Philippines had definitely some of the best island hopping and scuba diving we have done so far. It was also an easy country to travel as people are friendly and speak English very well due to American influence. It was a very nice cultural experience with lots of beautiful nature that came with bigger costs than expected. However, I have no doubt I would like to come back to experience the laid back vibe once again and discover some more of this paradise on earth.
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