With our backpacks on our back, my friend April and I headed up the Northern Part of Palawan for a legit backpacking adventure. Without any idea on what bus/van to take and with no plans on where to stay at and what to do in the place we're about to go to, we adventurously continued our holiday beach getaway.
Early morning after Christmas of 2014, April and I went to the San Jose Terminal to get on a PUV (public utility vehicle) which will take us to a paradise called "Port Barton".
Port Barton is a baranggay in the Municipality of San Vicente which is situated in the north-west coast of the island of Palawan. It is about 23km north west of the Municipality of Roxas, Palawan.
This peaceful place is approximately three (3) hours away from the city of Puerto Princesa.
Prior to the trip, April and I had no idea on what vehicle we should ride and what are the schedules of the trips going to Port Barton. The night before our trip, we just decided to meet up at the terminal at around 6 in the morning.
Early the next morning, i arrived at the terminal and April was not there yet so i decided to ask the people around on where i could find a bus/van which travels to Port Barton. The person i asked was surprisingly our former employee. He recognized me and asked me who i was and upon confirming that i am the person who he thought i was, he introduced himself.
Kuya Moroy (his name) now works as a dispatcher for the Recaro Shuttles which travels from Puerto Princesa to Port Barton and vice versa. I learned from him that the first trip of their shuttles leave for barton at around 9 am. April and I were too early for the said trip so we decided to eat breakfast first. We just ask Kuya Moroy to reserve us seats for the 9 am trip. So come 9am, the van wasn't there yet because they picked up some passengers from their respective hotels. When the shuttle arrived, we were led to the front seats which Kuya Moroy reserved for us.
We left the terminal at around 9am and we arrived in Port Barton at around 12nn. Travel time is around 3 hours.
The trip was very much comfortable. A few kilometers away from our destination, we were stuck in the road because a huge truck in front of us had engine problems but after a few minutes of waiting, it was fixed anyway and we moved on.
After a few more minutes, we already reached PORT BARTON!!
Port Barton has a long stretch of beach and there are a lot of very nice beach front accommodations.
According to some of the locals here, in spite of the number of inn/hotels and other accommodations present, it is still not enough to accommodate all the tourists and locals which goes here every peak season (from December to April). A story was related to us by the locals that there was a time that a vehicle full of tourists went to Taytay and El Nido instead because of all of the accommodations are already fully booked. And there was also a time that the stretch of beach was full of tents also due to lack of available accommodations in Barton that the tourist just pitched in their tents by the beach.
During the time of our visit, which was December 26, 2014, almost all of the beach front accommodations we've checked are already fully booked.
Remember, April and I had no prior reservations during our trip, so the moment we stepped on the land of Port Barton, the first thing that we did is to look for a place to stay.
We started at the west side of the line of beachfront hotels.
First accommodation we checked was Elsa's. They have a nice and spacious beachfront courtyard and a restaurant, but unfortunately they're already fully booked.
So off we go. The next accommodation we checked was El Dorado's. Luckily, one more room is available. Take note, only one! We checked it out, the room was okay but we didn't like the atmosphere because there are a lot of foreigners lounging at the balcony area and most of them smokes so we decided not to get the room anymore. I don't know why we were so brave to let go of the room knowing that most of the accommodations are already fully-booked.
Some of the other accommodations we've checked are the following:
So we walked farther west, we passed by some accommodations that are really really nice but unfortunately they, too, were fully booked already.
This one is what we badly wanted to check-in to. They have nice beach front cottages that we really liked.
Sadly, this too, is fully-booked. :(
We reached the western most part of the beach and still we have no place to stay in, so we decided to go back and check the other end of the beach. This time we went to the eastern side. So April and I, walked again and check out the other accommodations.
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| (Ausan Cottages, Port Barton San Vicente Palawan Philippines) |
What we were looking for is a nice beachfront accommodation with gorgeous lawns where we could bum around all night while star-gazing. After checking out a lot of accommodations, we finally came across one which suits our taste. The Villa Marguerita!! We kept our fingers crossed as we entered the place. I kept on praying "Lord, please! I want this! Please let us stay here and please, may this place be not fully-booked!"
We went inside and talked with their staff, and guess what?? They have a blank space baby, and I'll write your name! haha just kiddin'. They have vacant rooms! Hooraaaaay!
They have a big cottage with three (3) rooms in it. Only Three (3) rooms!!! and the other one is already taken so, there are only two rooms left. We asked if we could see the room so that we can decide if we will take it or not. So the staff led us to the room upstairs. It's the only room on the second floor and it has two beds, a balcony and a private bath. It was perfect!!!
It was super nice and it looks super comfortable. It's just perfect! For only 1,500 per night we can enjoy a very nice room with a great view of the beach! Not a bad deal at all! We then decided to get the room. So, we told the manang caretaker that we will get it.
But wait, here's the catch. Upon confirming that we want to get the room, one of the staffs told the other staff (the one we're talking with) that the room is already taken. Oh no! huhuhu. April and I were about to cry. We were soooo tired from the trip and from all the walking that we did only to find out that the perfect room that we finally found is unfortunately taken already! Feels like another heartbreak. haha. Villa Marguerita has three staffs and they didn't have a good coordination during that time so, we were really surprised to find out that the room we're about to get was already taken. Our happiness really faded away. I was really sad to let go of the room. But, we don't have a choice, a foreigner couple already took the room and we we're just a few minutes or seconds too late! Argggh!
But don't worry, we didn't sleep at the beach. haha. As I have mentioned earlier, there are two rooms available, so we asked them again if we could see the other room. We went downstairs to see the other room, though it doesn't have a private bath and an amazing balcony view, we still decided to take it. Aarte pa ba kami, eh fully-booked na nga lahat at pagod na kami kakalakad. And ang ganda kaya ng lawn, beach chair, at gazebo nila haha. And mabait din naman ang staff so go na.
This is the room that we took. It's 800 pesos per night, good for two. Here's the room:
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It's still not a bad deal. But we still had a hard time moving on from the almost perfect accommodation we would've had! huhu. Feels like another heartbreak talagaaaa. |
Where we stayed:
Villa Marguerita (click here for a more detailed article about our Villa Marguerita experience.)
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After checking in, we decided to eat our late lunch.
Where we ate:
Earlier, while we we're still looking for a place to stay in, we passed by this restaurant and our attention was caught by these giant chairs. Photo ops!
So finally, after being able to secure a place to stay in for the night, April and I went back to the restaurant which caught our eyes. Because of these giant chairs, we decided to try their food and eat here. Sadly, it was a bad idea. For more stories about our Jambalaya Experience read it here:
After eating at Jambalaya, we went back to Villa Marguerita to change outfits. Pictorial and swimming time!
The serenity of place is to die for! We felt like we own the beach! Ang saraaaaap. The place is super peaceful and not crowded at all. We spent the entire afternoon at the beach taking pictures, swimming, enjoying the beautiful sunset and sharing stories!
When it was already dark, we went back to our accommodation. We took a shower and changed outfits, had dinner and just chilled at the gazebo, and lounged at their beach chairs while stargazing. After that we decided to call it a night.
How to get here:
1. If you're coming from Puerto Princesa:
From the town proper of Puerto Princesa, you can ride a multi cab going to the San Jose Terminal. Travel time is around 10 minutes and fare is 13 pesos.
From the San Jose Terminal there are already chartered trips of shuttles and buses which travels from Puerto Princesa to Port Barton daily.
There are two trips of shuttles daily going to Port Barton. Fare is P350 per person and travel time is around 3 hours.
RECARO SHUTTLE TRIP Schedule:
There is also a bus which travels here daily. San Isidro Express (a non-air conditioned bus) leaves the terminal at around 9 am and the same bus goes back to Puerto Princesa at around 2pm. Fare is 200 pesos per person and travel time is around 4 hours.
Other options if you miss the said trips above:
Ride any bus/van going to the northern part of Palawan like Roxas, San Vicente, Taytay or El Nido bound buses and you can get of the van/bus before it reaches Roxas, specifically at the National Road-San Jose intersection where you could hire a tricycle/habal-habal going to Port Barton. Travel time from Puerto Princesa to National Road-San Jose Intersection is about 1 hour and 45 minutes and fare is P140. The travel time for tricycle/habal-habal ride is about one hour and fare/hire is usually P500. A tricycle can only accommodate up to 2 persons while for a habal-habal single passenger only.
2. If you're coming from Roxas, Palawan:
Go to the Public Transportation Terminal of Roxas and ride the jeepney going to Port Barton. Their daily trip schedule is 11 am and travel time is about 2 hours. Fare is 100 pesos for locals and 150 for tourists.
3. If you're coming from San Vicente, Taytay or El Nido, Palawan:
a. Ride any bus/van going to Roxas. Then refer to number 2 above.
b. Ride any bus/van going to Puerto Princesa and tell them that you ought to get of the van/bus at the National Road-San Jose intersection where you could hire a tricycle/habal-habal going to Port Barton. Travel time from Puerto Princesa to National Road-San Jose Intersection is about 1 hour and 45 minutes and fare is P140. The travel time for tricycle/habal-habal ride is about one hour and fare/hire is usually P500. A tricycle can only accommodate up to 2 persons while for a habal-habal single passenger only.
c. There are also private boats for hire.
COME AND VISIT THIS PARADISE NOOOOOW! :)
For Port Barton tours, you can contact a local tour guide friend of mine Dave Cabungan at 09479688904 or send him an e-mail at davzred008@gmail.com :)
ADIOS!
-The Palawenya Explorer ;)
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