Ultimate Adventure Tour 3D2N from El Nido to Port Barton

Description

This boat expedition will take you along the wild west coast of Palawan, from El Nido to Port Barton, over 3 days and 2 nights. Much of this shore cannot be reached by road at all. Along the way you’ll see an incredible range of scenery: deserted islands and beaches, the still waters of a sheltered sound, coral reefs teeming with tropical fish, sandbars that break the surface at low tide, and a splendid coastline with no resorts or tourists in sight. Few trips show you this much of Palawan’s wild nature at once, and almost no one ever sees this stretch of coast.

The trip always follows the same four stretches of coast, but no two departures are quite alike. Each morning the expedition team leader reads the tide, the swell and the coast guard’s advisory, and then decides where you actually stop, making each adventure tour truly unique.

The route, from north to south:

• The southern gate of Bacuit Bay. You leave El Nido by sea and explore some of the finest corners of Bacuit Bay, pushing on toward the spots the island-hopping day boats never reach.
• Malampaya Sound. This is a protected sanctuary, and the wildest part of the route. Irrawaddy dolphins still hunt in the sound, one of the last places in the Philippines where they do. Dugongs graze the seagrass beds, and when the water’s flat you can spot sea eagles working the ridge.
• Long Beach & San Vicente. At San Vicente you drift past the longest beach in the Philippines, around 14 km of sand with barely anyone on it. That night you sleep on a beautiful island beach, with nothing around but the sound of the water and the Milky Way overhead.
• Port Barton. The islands of Port Barton Bay are some of the best spots for snorkeling, and for turtle watching as well: green sea turtles feed on the seagrass here, so there’s a good chance you’ll swim with one before you glide into the calm of Port Barton.

Where you sleep:

Each night you make camp on a deserted beach, on an island off the coast, far from everything and wonderfully quiet. The crew gets everything ready for the evening, and once the sun goes down there’s a bonfire on the sand, a meal cooked with care, and cocktails waiting for you. Tents, mats and bedding are all provided, and each camp has toilets and fresh-water showers. There are no power outlets, so bring a power bank and leave the rest of the world to wait.

Included with this expedition:

• All your meals and snacks
• Drinking water, fruit juice, coffee and tea
• Unlimited alcohol cocktails
• Tents, mats and bedding
• Private campsites with showers and toilets
• Mask and snorkel
• All park, entrance & environmental fees

The exact meeting time and place in El Nido will be sent to you when you book the tour online. Before taking part in this expedition you must understand that this is a one way trip. The boat will arrive in Port Barton, from where you can plan a van transfer to another destination, going back to El Nido if you have a flight from there, or continuing the trip to Puerto Princesa. Also you should always give at least 1 day allowance before your flight to make sure you won’t miss it.

Pricing:

Here is the detail of the price per person:

• 3 Days / 2 Nights: P21,900 P18,900 per person, all-inclusive

Deposit:

You only have to make a 30% confirmation deposit today to confirm your seats. You’ll settle the remaining balance in cash when you’re in El Nido. If we have to cancel a departure because of the weather, you can reschedule it for another date, get a credit for another tour, or get a full refund.

Start Date and Booking Duration:

To book your expedition, you only have to select the start date. Your tour will last 3 days and 2 nights, even though the cart recap may show a duration of only one day. Departures run from October to May, with around one boat per week.

Other Route and Private Expeditions:

This tour also runs the other way, as an expedition from Port Barton to El Nido. You’ll find the full itinerary, the map and all the departure dates on the El Nido to Port Barton expedition page.

If you want to make it a private expedition, for your group only, we also run private charters of 3 to 8 days for up to 25 passengers, all year round: have a look at the Private Ultimate Adventure Tour, or contact us directly and we’ll be happy to make it happen for you.

What’s special about this expedition?

Running from El Nido down to Port Barton, this Ultimate Adventure Tour reaches parts of the coast that almost no one visits, well away from the busy islands and the usual crowds. It’s also, quite simply, the most varied trip we run: on top of the snorkeling and island-hopping you’d get on any route, you’ll drift over shallow reefs, slip into a protected wildlife sanctuary, follow a coastline unlike any other in Palawan, and stand a real chance of swimming with sea turtles — with dolphins turning up on the lucky days.

For this new itinerary, we use the same purpose-built expedition boats and teams that have run our El Nido–Coron expedition since 2015. We opened this route to reveal the wildest corners of Palawan, untouched by mass tourism, where you’ll truly understand why the island is called the last frontier. This is the perfect trip for anyone who wants to get properly off the grid for a few days, in a place very few people have ever seen.