We arrived in Port Barton from El Nido after what they said was going to be a 3 hours bus ride but turned out to be 5. That was when we learnt that in the Philippines when they tell you how long any journey (car, boat, bus) is going to take, you need to add 2 hours to get the real length of it.
The road there is not going to see concrete any time soon. It was incredibly rural, bumpy and beautiful. I felt like being on a trip in the rainforest, I couldn’t take my eyes off the road for those 5 hours.
The bus stopped next to the gas station in Port Barton, which is where all the busses would come to. We booked a room right next door at Ausan cottages on the beach.
The room was spacious, with a big bed, a fan and private bathroom, and breakfast included for 1,500php.
Ausan cottages from the outside:
Most places in Port Barton only have electricity during the day, this place also switched it off at 12:00am. We stayed here for two nights, then found a place with 24 hour electricity and moved there. Our new place was called Summer Homes and we stayed there for 2 more nights.
The room we had there:
Summer Homes from the outside:
Also with breakfast included we paid 1,600php for a night. We were satisfied with both places but liked Summer Homes more, due to the luxury of 24 hour electricity, which is a big deal if you can’t stand the heat at night.
So what’s Port Barton like? It’s a small, quiet fishing village with many bamboo houses, dirt roads and welcoming locals. Backpackers like going there because it’s a nice place to chill out, watch beautiful sunsets on the beach with a cocktail in one hand and socialise with local people.
Just like everywhere in the Philippines you’re better off booking your accommodation ahead to be sure you have a place to stay, because the few guesthouses fill up fast.
Being the small village it is, it doesn’t have an awful lot of activities. You can go for a walk and explore the countryside, or walk on the beach.
We were a bit disappointed to find out the beach here is not ideal for swimming, as there were boats all along the beach and it was also jelly fish season. But you can hire a boat and go for an #islandhopping trip.
These are cheaper than what you’d see in El Nido or Coron (800php/person compared to 1,200php) and they’re also much more chilled and not that packed with people. There were only four of us on our boat, us two and a French couple. We stopped to see some star fish, a huge turtle and some white sand beaches. We also had the best island hopping lunch on this trip.
You can rent a motorbike and go to see the waterfalls nearby. The road there is very bad, so only do it if you’re an experienced driver. We didn’t get to see them because it was raining a lot when we were there and the roads would have been too muddy.
What we loved the most in #PortBarton was White Beach, which is a 20 minutes boat ride away.
Any boatman will take you there and come back for you at the agreed time for 50php one way. There is an entry fee of 50php/person on this beach. Faithfull to its name, it has white sand and turquoise waters. There are hammocks to chill out in and a restaurant with simple dishes. I got stung by a jelly fish here but I still enjoyed it.
Some places we’d recommend for food in Port Barton are Mabuti café (great vegetarian food, real coffee and they also have swings 😊).
Real coffee is a big deal in the Philippines because at most places you’ll only get 3in1 ‘coffee’. Blue Merlin is a bar on the beach – a good place to watch the sunset.
They have proper fresh fruit juices and nice cocktails. We also heard Mojito bar was a cool place but we didn’t manage to get there, as it’s a very long walk away from the beach through the village and inside the jungle. Let us know if you’ve been there! We’d love to know how you liked it. We visited Yoske, an Israeli restaurant but didn’t really like the food there (small, tasteless, but expensive portions).
All in all we enjoyed our stay in Port Barton, after the busy El Nido and Coron a little chill out time was just what we needed. If hammock culture is your thing, you’ll love Port Barton as well.
There are no ATMs in Port Barton, so bring enough cash with you. They exchange major currencies in the shop between the petrol station and Ausan cottages, but you won’t get a good rate. WIFI and mobile internet connections are a pain in the backside on the whole of Palawan and here it only gets worse.
From there we went to Puerto Princessa by a minivan. Tickets were 500php/person. Fortunately we booked the front seats in it next to the driver, I’d have been sick in the back because the journey was like a roller coaster ride. The van was also very full, so book a seat in the front if you can to have a bearable journey. The ride to Puerto Princessa takes about 4 hours and you can ask the driver to drop you at your hotel or the airport.