Port Barton is a peaceful local town which is located in the Northerpart of Palawan. Lots of tourist visits this place all year round. Beautiful white beaches and islands.
But…
What’s the catch in this small town?
To be honest, I first heard of Port Barton from other foreign nationals who were talking together with the owners who owned the place where my friend and I was staying. We were really intrigued as to why it was so known to tourist. Like… what’s in that town? Besides the beaches and islands?
So, to answer the ambiguous secret. We went there for a day and figure it out ourselves!
Trip going Port Barton from Puerto Princesa as I remember correctly only lasted for 4 hours and some minutes, which I don’t remember how many exactly. The day we left the hostel was 25th of February 2020 at 9am and arrived in Port Barton around 1pm. We stayed there for a day before moving out to our next destination.
What to see in Port Barton
There were only a few places to explore within the area. One of those includes the waterfalls, however, the falls wasn’t really eye catching for me. Though I still find it beautiful, of course.
Pamuayan Waterfalls
I bet if it was a rainy season it’s a magnificent site to behold and see the waterfalls. But at that time… it wasn’t. And there’s an entrance fee. It’s not really a fee but more like donation. Technically, it is a donation. So, you guys can give any amount you like and then write your names in a log book as always before entering.
We also visited a beach. The first beach we saw was Coconut beach, though we didn’t really visit and stepped foot because we just passed by. We were driving a motorbike which was not a good idea. I tell you! DON’T drive a motorbike. The road is awful, just my opinion haha. It’s better to walk than to actually drive. The struggle was real. I had to get off of the motorbike a couple of times. Especially it was going uphill and downhill there were too much huge rocks and gaps in between the road. Not to mention, muddy. Now… that’s DANGEROUS. Sure, I’m exaggerating (a bit?) but this is just my honest opinion of what I have experience.
White Beach
Moving on, we arrived at our destination the “White Beach”. Forgot to say, we skipped the first beach because we had no time. It was getting pretty late. The target was the White Beach! 😉
At long last, we arrived after a challenging road trip 😀
There was an entrance fee to be paid before going in. If I can recall correctly the price would be between 50 or 60 pesos and you write your name in a log book. And you are good to go and savour the beach to your hearts content haha
The beach was really beautiful guys!! Like… to the point that I want to use profound words to express how amazing and stunning it was! Just… ASTONISHING!
The sand was sooooo soft and sooooo fine! I can still remember how it feels in my feet! It was such a good feeling. Absolutely different from the beaches I have visited. I highly recommend 👍
The best cheapest restaurant
The next day, we only have morning to go around and see the town. Since, we were going to leave at noon to El Nido. First things first, breakfast. The popular restaurant and the cheapest, as one of the locals said who manages the place we stayed and recommended us is called GACAYAN RESTAURANT.
This place is perpetually packed with tourists. So… to say… extremely busy staffs.
This is plainly a very honest opinion coming from me in regards about food. For the certain food that I have ONLY tried.
Chocolate Pancake for 100 pesos? Not worth it. I don’t recommend their pancakes. It was too dry and too thick. It’s was more like of a bread, seriously. I think the thickness was near to 2 inches. And the taste was too bland for me. There was no syrup even added to the pancake. It’s just the pancake itself.
I have tried their burger and it was okay. It cost around more than a hundred pesos. The chicken curry was also good. I just hope that the restaurant will improve more, regarding about their dishes as to what’s it lacking 🙂
Let’s talk about…
Drum rolls, please 😀
How good is the WIFI
Let’s not forget about WIFI. The one, that we can’t live without especially when travelling. The essential part of how we need it.
If you get lost, who do you ask? Google! But how can you ask Google for help when there’s no WIFI nor signal?
Obvious answer, a person! (Of course, haha)
And what if that person you ask wants to help but can’t help because you guys can’t understand each other?
We go back to WIFI and go to Google and so on and so forth.
Very long introduction ain’t it? Bear with me and read ma story 😀
So… the thing is or the strangest thing is that…
There’s a signal at the waterfalls, kinda strong connection for WIFI/Data, in fact. Also, at Port Barton Beach. Strange ain’t it?
Because when I was in the heart of the town, I swear guys, I wanna flip. It was that bad. Like, there was none at all. But at Gacayan Restaurant when I stayed there, the signal is good which is even utterly strange for me. It’s not just me but my friend also experienced the same.
I am not sure with other tourist if they had the same experience. This is based on ours, so who knows, really?
However, all in all, connection was bad.
Let’s reveal the secret of Port Barton
To end this story, Port Barton has something that other cities or towns don’t have. This small town was able to preserve itself as a local town. Meaning you can still feel the vibe of the localness of the place, the people and the culture. Not only that! The place is peaceful at night, awesomely peaceful. I’ve quite much enjoyed the quietness of the town and how relaxing it was. Blissful!
Now, I understood why tourists comes and visit the place! 🙂
