Port Barton is one of the up and coming places in the island of Palawan, Philippines.
I first heard of Port Barton when my boyfriend mentioned that he would like to visit this place with me. Next thing I did was to google it because where is Port Barton?.
Geographically speaking, Port Barton is a village on the north-west coast of Palawan. According to wikitravel.org it is 23km north-west of Roxas. And in my own experience, it is somewhere in the middle of El Nido and Puerto Princesa.
Port Barton is a small quieter place for introvert travellers like me. Most of my friends would probably choose El Nido because it’s buzzing with night life and more tourists go there. But to me, this serene village is a paradise.
When I went in June 2018, Port Barton was unspoiled and somehow this was a good thing for me. Not all places had wifi and electricity which meant that one could really have time to relax and enjoy the view without distractions. In my case, I had the chance to bond and to have quality time with my boyfriend and my youngest brother. We didn’t feel rushed in restaurants and the calmness of the area gave an extra relaxing feel.
You can easily walk around as the village is small. The locals were all friendly and happy to help. The restaurants have good food and since July is not peak beach season in the Philippines, we got the boat trips all to ourselves. This was a bonus because it meant we can choose where we want to go next and didn’t have to rush in visiting the small islands nearby.
To me, visiting Port Barton was a break from a busy itinerary back then. We had a jam-packed schedule as we tried to squeeze as many places as we can during our trip to the Philippines in June/July 2018. And this little break in Port Barton was exactly what we needed from a 12-hour direct flight from London.
Here is my itinerary for Port Barton.
Day 1: Travel from Manila to Puerto Princesa
My boyfriend and I arrived from London the night before so we stayed at an airbnb for one night and took a late flight in the afternoon to Puerto Princesa. We arrived at Puerto Princesa International Airport around 7pm in the evening. We flew via AirAsia as this was the airline that suited our schedule at the time. Flights to Puerto Princesa are regular so there is plenty to choose from.
Once we arrived there, we took a tricycle going to Voyager’s Palace, a budget hotel along Puerto Princesa North Road.
It was a comfortable stay. For £28, we had a double bed, a single bed for my brother and a private bathroom with free breakfast. The owner was nice and welcomed us personally.
Day 2: Travel via minibus from San Jose Bus Terminal to Port Barton
As a control freak myself, I had all the itinerary planned including where to go and what time we should get up. We left the hotel at around 10am after our hearty Filipino breakfast. We went to San Jose Bus Terminal and asked for where the van leaves for Port Barton. The van cost us Php 350 each and was around 4 hours travel in total (including stops to buy snacks along the way). The van ride was not that bad. There were probably 10 to 14 passengers at that time.
Arriving at Port Barton, we went to look for our hotel. We stayed at Stellbucks Huts. We paid a total of £45, two rooms for two nights. Yes our hotel was cheap. The rooms are made up of nipa huts, made us feel the local atmosphere . We had our own showers and toilets. The hotel was situated near the beach. The hotel staff were all lovely and friendly. They welcomed us with big smiles and attended to us to make our stay more comfortable and enjoyable. One of them also introduced us to one of the boatmen.
Our first day in Port Barton was more on walking around and exploring the beach. We went to Barton Bistro and Cottages for lunch and drinks. My boyfriend loved the rum and coke that he had. Apparently it was his favourite drink from the trip (next to coconut juice).
We went during the rainy season which usually starts in June (although when we were there, it didn’t rain at all!). It meant though that there were less tourists but the downside was, there was not enough supplies in the area. The locals rely on deliveries from nearby towns for their supplies. We found out from speaking with locals that there is limited delivery during the quiet season. It was particularly difficult for my boyfriend as he doesn’t eat meat and fish. We had to look for restaurants that have veggie dishes.
We found one in the end, Ayette’s Bamboo restaurant and bungalows. It was not a bad restaurant. I tried their sisig with rice. The only comment I had at the time was it was a bit dark in the cottages and that there were mosquitos. It was a nice meal so it was not a bad experience.
Day 3: Island hopping
As with the other places in Palawan, a visit to Port Barton wouldn’t be complete without island hopping tours. As we found our manong boatman the previous day, we just went to the beach for our tour for the day.
We went to (in no particular order): the Turtle spot, Starfish island, German island, Albaguen island and Exotic island. I’m not sure if this is the standard island hopping tour because like I said, it was a private tour for us and we were able to choose where we went. The entire day was spent swimming, snorkelling and just exploring the different beaches. The island tour included food as well – always a nice treat as I love fish and seafood! Probably not one for vegetarians and vegans so please inform your boatmen ahead of time so that they can prepare something for you. My boyfriend had some veggies and rice because we told them the day before that he only eats vegetables.
After island hopping, we went to Happy Bar. They served nice and cheap cocktails there. We also went to Native’bo Bar. There was live music and just really nice ambience. For dinner, we went to Villa Marguerita. Food was good and it was dinner al fresco. Really nice atmosphere and tasty food. I would recommend going here.
Day 4: Travel from Port Barton to Puerto Princesa to take a ferry to Coron
We left Port Barton after breakfast at the hotel. We went to chill in a nearby cafe but I forgot the name of the cafe. Anyway, I will write more about our travel from Port Barton to Coron via the ferry in another post.
Here are the pictures during the trip. Enjoy!
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Junieper 
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