Things to Do in Port Barton, Palawan: Part 1 ~ Cheap Travel for Women

by Shawi Cortez

After being in Coron and El Nido, and having a wide array of package tours to choose from, I expected to have the same choices in Port Barton.

It turns out that the packaged boat trips here are more expensive than my budget would allow me.

Good thing, I met Dong earlier. Instead of the money going to middle men and tour operators, hiring the boatman himself assures that he brings home the entire amount (less fuel expense), which allows him to give a top-notch and impeccable service.

pristine white beach of Port Barton

boatman Dong, prepping the ride

oh yeah, the walk way from Itaytay Inn to the beach

how's this? Port Barton

I shared the boat with a fellow traveler, and together we embarked on a private tour all to ourselves. The maximum Dong's boat can handle is 4 pax, himself included.

As I tried to do my best bargaining and reasoning out that we already arrived late in Port Barton and there's not much else to see and do with the remaining time, we closed the deal at P600.

It only took us several minutes to change to our swimsuits, so we were out by 2:30pm.

The boat ride took approximately 20 minutes to bring us to Twin Reef, one of the more popular snorkel areas in Port Barton.

well Hello yacht!

Thinking I've already seen them all, I deeply regret not taking the camera with me.
Even if it was a little cloudy, the water was still clear to see some corals and schools of fish.
I never expected to see such a diverse marine life. Combine what I saw in Coron and El Nido, and it's still not enough compared to how much I saw in Port Barton!

A little over an hour was enough to satisfy my snorkel-lust (if ever there's such a word). We immediately hopped to go to our next destination, Bigaho Falls.

shoreline to the waterfalls

8-minute walk to the waterfalls

We rode to the other side of the main land and upon reaching the shore, it only took us 8 minutes to hike and behold the waterfalls.

Welcome to Bigaho Falls

What's unique with this waterfalls is that it's a bit prepped up. Stones were cut to create a pathway. They're rebuilding a picnic area, which was hit by a typhoon a year ago.

picnic area

inviting Bigaho Waterfalls

For this effort, they ask for some donation. Nearby, is the home of a local who's also in charge of taking care of the area. He transformed his backyard into a home-y garden, having a wide array of fruit trees and ornamental plants.

caretaker

i cannot resist having my picture taken with this native couch

yes the old man cares for these lovely orchids

Out of the blue, travel partner had a craving for fresh coconut. We asked the caretaker because we saw some hanging in his backyard. He gladly picked one for each us, and we enjoyed it while sitting on a hammock, and his native couch.

refreshing buko juice break

more buko!

We left refreshed as the sun was beginning to set.

Before heading home, I asked Dong to drop by the sandbar I saw earlier. Puting Buhangin is not as pristine as I had expected it to be, but we spotted stray jellyfish and broken corals.