Puerto Princesa

Puerto Princesa is the capital of Palawan — the Philippine island that has been voted the world's best island so frequently that the distinction has become almost routine. This city of roughly 300,000 serves as the gateway to landscapes of such superlative beauty that even the most experienced travelers find their vocabulary of praise inadequate.

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains the world's longest navigable underground river — over eight kilometers of limestone cave system through which visitors glide by paddle boat beneath cathedral-scale chambers decorated with stalactites and stalagmites of otherworldly formation. The cave system's biodiversity is equally remarkable, supporting populations of swiftlets and bats that create a living ecosystem within the geological one.

Beyond the underground river, Puerto Princesa provides access to Honda Bay — a collection of islands and coral gardens accessible by island-hopping boat tours. Starfish Island, Cowrie Island, and Luli Island offer snorkeling over reefs that maintain their health through the relatively low tourist pressure that Palawan's distance from Manila provides. The marine life ranges from vivid reef fish to sea turtles and the occasional whale shark during seasonal migrations.

Costa Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Seabourn include Puerto Princesa on Philippine and Southeast Asian itineraries. The city itself, while primarily functional rather than beautiful, offers the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center — home to Philippine crocodiles, bearcat, and other endemic species — and a dining scene centered on the fresh seafood that the surrounding waters supply daily.

November through May provides the dry season's most reliable conditions, with February and March offering optimal visibility for snorkeling and underground river visits. Puerto Princesa is the gateway to paradise in the most literal sense — a functional port city that exists primarily because one of Earth's most extraordinary islands requires an entry point, and which rewards transit passengers with natural experiences that justify crossing oceans to witness.