Travel Photo: Filipino Boatmen

Filipinos by nature are very easy going and welcoming people. It is hard to see them without a smile on their face. They seem to have taken their tough past and poverty in their stride and seem to enjoy whatever they do. During my travel days in the Philippines, I would always end up having great conversations with Filipinos and Filipinas alike.


In this case, I had an interesting conversation with these two Filipino gentlemen who take the Puerto Princesa Underground river customers from Sabang to the river on their boat. They come from poor backgrounds, have very basic education and apart from taking tourists, they double up as fishermen in the night. In spite of all this, they seemed to enjoy their work and seemed to learn a lot of things too. The people of Philippines have a lot of humility and joy in them and it was personified in these two Filipino boatmen.

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Robert’s Resort and Restaurant: Simple Beach Front Cottages in Sabang, Philippines

Sabang is the destination to go to if you are looking to explore the Puerto Princesa subterranean river national park. While most of the tourists do day trips to the national park, I decided to stay at Sabang, from where the underground river boat trips start. While I was at Sabang, I stayed at Robert’s resort and restaurant for just one night and this review is based on that experience.

1) Robert’s resort and restaurant is situated right on the beach and is very close to the office of the underground river at Sabang.

2) It has beach facing cottages, which are simple, fan cooled rooms with an attached bathroom (cold shower). The beds come with mosquito nets and the room comes with a balcony. The price for their cheapest room is 400 PHP.

3) Electricity is available in the town of Sabang only from 6 PM to 6 AM and during the other hours the resort does not run a backup generator.

4) They do not have wi-fi in this resort. So does the most of Sabang with the exception of some expensive hotels.

5) They have an in-house restaurant, but they only serve certain items on the menu. The rest is always out of stock. May be, it was because I visited in the low season.

6) The other restaurants, bars, supermarts, souvenir shops and the bus/van booking office is just a short walk away.

The hotel is decent for budget travelers and for those who just wish to spend the night here. You might need to look elsewhere if you wish for a little bit luxury.

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How to get your permits done for the Puerto Princesa Underground River?

The Puerto Princesa Underground river national park houses the world’s longest subterranean river along with great wildlife and natural beauty. This place is considered a natural wonder of the world and is also a UNESCO World heritage site. However, one cannot simply walk in and enter this national park as only a maximum of 900 people are allowed to enter the national park every day. The requirements are that one needs to get a permit done in advance to visit the national park. Either you can go through a travel agent or if you arrive via Puerto Princesa and have enough time in hand, you can walk in to the Puerto Princesa Underground river office and get it done.

The Puerto Princesa underground river office is located in the San Miguel area of Puerto Princesa and is located on the ground floor of the city colosseum building. One can either hire a tricycle or walk 25 minutes from the down town area to reach the office. The office personnel are very professional in providing you all the details regarding costs, list of activities, directions, logistics, stay and more.

As soon as you walk in, you go to the walk in counter where you can get your permit and book your date and time slot. In line with the permit, you get one hour of run time in the underground river. All you need to show is your passport or valid identity card for them to give you the permit. The cost of this permit is 250 PHP, which you are supposed to pay at the cashier counter and then the final sign is provided for at the next counter.

The walk-in counter is also the place where you can find jeepney and van running schedule and costs, maps of the underground river and the Palawan island (Puerto Princesa, El Nido and Coron) and logistic options and schedule from Sabang (where the entry to the underground river is) to El Nido.

The entire process is a breeze and I ended up booking my permit in less than 20 minutes, which was because of all my questions. The office is open from 9 AM to 3 PM from Monday through Friday. In case the trip gets cancelled due to heavy current in the river, you can either change your permit’s schedule or get your money refunded at either Sabang or Puerto Princesa.

Note: One needs to be at the boat counter one hour before the actual time with the permit in original and your passport/valid identity.There are additional costs involved: 40 PHP/person towards an environmental fee and 700 PHP for a boat that can be shared by 6 people.

It was very easy to get my permits done. Now, I am very eagerly looking forward to seeing this natural wonder up live.

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