If you’ve been researching Palawan and you keep seeing the same names — El Nido, Coron, Port Barton — Balabac is the one that barely comes up. It sits right at the southern tip of the island, far enough from Puerto Princesa that most people don’t bother. We bothered. We spent 3 days and 2 nights island hopping through it, and what we found was the most untouched stretch of water we’ve seen anywhere in the Philippines.
🎥 Watch the full trip: We filmed the whole thing — including the moment we walked into the water at Onuk Island and came face to face with sea turtles — on YouTube. Watch it here → https://youtu.be/hEsbdCG13Ek
Getting to Balabac: What the Journey Actually Involves
This is the part people gloss over, so let’s be upfront: getting to Balabac takes commitment. The direct option is a bus from Puerto Princesa that leaves at around 2:00am and takes six hours to reach the port. Not ideal.
What we did instead was stay the night before at Sunsea Beach — a guesthouse right along the coast from the port — and take a tuk-tuk down the next morning. The ride took about two to three minutes. It made the whole start of the trip feel manageable rather than brutal, and we’d absolutely do the same again.
Once you’re at the port, the process is straightforward: a brief wait in the port area, then you’re walked straight onto your boat. First stop is Tangkahan Island, around 15 minutes away by speedboat. The scenery on the way out already starts to deliver — proper Palawan blue water, islands in the distance, the kind of view that tells you the next few days are going to be worth it.
Tangkahan & Patawan: The First Day’s Islands
Tangkahan Island is a community island, home to a local Muslim tribe with an indigenous community living further along the shore. Visitors are asked to stay within the designated area near the cabanas — which is genuinely fine, because the designated area is beautiful. Palm trees, hammocks, a small sari-sari shop with cold drinks, and water that turns proper turquoise the moment the sun pushes through the clouds. Snorkel gear can be rented directly from the boatman if you want to get in.
Lunch here is included in the tour price — beef adobo with squash and rice when we visited — and it sets the tone for the food across the whole trip. Simple, solid, exactly what you want after a morning on the water.
From Tangkahan it’s on to Patawan Island, which is the one you’ve probably already seen on Instagram. It’s quieter than Tangkahan — only a couple of tour boats around when we arrived — and the water might be the clearest of the whole trip, even on an overcast day. There’s a sari-sari shop, a bar, and a sandbar that stretches out from the shore that your boat pulls right up alongside. Walk to the far end of the beach and you’ll find an almost completely empty stretch with fish darting just below the surface. If you’ve got a snorkel, use it here.
💡 Want the full guide? Our complete Balabac Island Hopping PDF covers the full cost breakdown, a day-by-day itinerary, packing list, and every practical detail we wish we’d had before booking. [Download it here → searchingparadise.com/product/balabac-island-hopping-complete-guide]
Camping on Cano Bunin: What to Expect from the Overnight Stays
After Patawan, you head to your first overnight camp on Cano Bunin Island. Two accommodation options: a basic tent with a surprisingly decent mattress (closer to memory foam than you’d expect), or a hut with a bed and an electric fan. Both are genuinely comfortable enough.
Power runs from 6:00pm to 6:00am only — so the moment you arrive, plug in everything that needs charging. Cameras, drone batteries, phones. There’s no electricity during the day, and you’ll be out on the water anyway.
The toilet situation is a bucket system: fill the bucket, pour it over yourself to wash, same method to flush. It sounds rougher than it is. Within about five minutes it becomes completely normal. Worth knowing before you arrive rather than being surprised on the night.
For the second camp — where you end up after the Onuk Island day — we upgraded from the tent to a beach hut, which cost an extra 1,000 pesos. The mattress on the floor was better, there was a bit more space, and after a full day of snorkeling it felt worth every peso. The toilet at the second camp is a step up too: a proper bowl rather than a bucket, though still manual flush. Dinner is a buffet — fish, beef, fruit — and afterwards, with almost zero light pollution, the stargazing is genuinely some of the best we’ve experienced anywhere in the Philippines.
Onuk Island: The Sea Turtles That Make the Whole Trip Worth It
This is the one. Onuk Island is why people make the effort to get to Balabac.
The day starts with a 45-minute boat ride to a snorkeling spot where the water goes turquoise long before you’re even in it. Snorkel gear rents for around 150 pesos if you didn’t bring your own. The reef is genuinely one of the best parts of the trip — better than some of the more well-known spots elsewhere in Palawan. Clownfish, giant clams, healthy coral. Take your time here.
Then you arrive at Onuk Island itself, and within about 30 seconds you understand what all the fuss is about. Wild sea turtles — not one or two, but five or six at a time — feed right off the beach. You don’t need a boat, a guide, or any special equipment. You just walk into the water and look out.
This is the part that’s honestly better seen than read — you can watch it in the video here.
Later in the afternoon, once the day-tour boats have cleared out and the island has emptied, head to the famous wooden stairs. With the tide going out, the water around them gets shallow enough to wade through, and the stairs themselves — the ones that have been all over Instagram and TikTok — make for one of the best photos of the entire trip. Time it for low tide and golden hour if you can. The light turns the whole island pink and gold, and with barely anyone else around, it feels like you’ve got the place to yourselves.
The Journey Back (and Why You Should Factor It Into Your Plans)
Getting back to Puerto Princesa is not quick, and it’s worth being honest about that upfront. First there’s a boat back to the main port — around an hour and 45 minutes, including a mid-ocean boat swap, and tide-dependent so low tide can cause delays. Then a six-hour van ride back to the city, with one stop at Brooks Point about two hours in (there’s a Jollibee there, which after three days of camp food hits differently than it normally would).
Factor in a full day of travel on each end of the actual island hopping. If you’re trying to squeeze Balabac into a tight Palawan itinerary, it might feel rushed. If you give it the space it needs, it’s one of the most rewarding trips we’ve done in the Philippines.
Quick Tips Before You Go
- Stay the night before at Sunsea Beach and tuk-tuk to the port — far better than the 2:00am bus from Puerto Princesa
- This is a 3 days, 2 nights tour — all your gear travels with you on the boat the whole way; there’s no base to leave bags behind
- Power at camp only runs 6:00pm–6:00am — charge everything overnight
- Camp one toilets are bucket-flush; camp two has a proper bowl (still manual)
- Snorkel gear rents for around 150 pesos a day if you didn’t bring your own
- Onuk Island turtles need no guide, no boat — just walk in off the beach
- Upgrade to a hut for the second night if you can — 1,000 pesos extra for a noticeably better sleep
- Time the Instagram stairs visit for low tide and golden hour, once the day-tour boats have left
- Patawan Island has rooms to rent but they book up fast and cost more than you’d expect — book well ahead if you want to stay there
- Budget for a pricey tour — Balabac’s remoteness means everything comes at a premium, but it’s worth it
Take the Full Guide With You
The article gives you the shape of the trip — but the PDF guide goes much further. Inside you’ll find the full cost breakdown, a complete packing checklist, day-by-day itinerary, and everything else we figured out so you don’t have to.
[Download the Balabac Island Hopping PDF Guide → searchingparadise.com/product/balabac-island-hopping-complete-guide]
And if this has got you thinking about the Philippines or the rest of Southeast Asia, we’re over on YouTube every week with more honest guides just like this one. Subscribe to Searching Paradise and you’ll never miss one.