Palawan tourist transport and Tour services - Joseph Ednalino

Palawan tourist transport and Tour services - Joseph Ednalino

we availed of island hopping tour and van transfer from PP - El Nido RT with kuya Joseph Ednalino of Palawan tourist transport and Tour services (found reviews of him in some blogs and fb). bale 9 pax kami so nakatawad kami kahit paano. 

Sa totoo lang, hindi ako mahilig sa package tours. Usually, I book the tours, hotels and transfers separately to get the best services and rates available sa iba ibang guides/hotels. Pero with Kuya Joseph, he offered me the best rates sa lahat ng nakausap ko na tour guides in El Nido and Puerto Princesa. 

Supposedly, either siya or sa Northern Hope Tours sana ako kukuha ng Island Hopping and Transfers pero the deal breaker is libre na ang CITY TOUR kay kuya Joseph if sa kanya ako kukuha ng Van Transfers TO & FROM and El Nido-PP. Yes, you read that right, LIBRE and CITY TOUR. I don't know if that's usually his package or its just because lean season when we went, pero WALA kami binayaran for the CITY TOUR. So for the Van Transfers costing P10,000 balikan (PP-El NIdo-PP), sobrang sulit na kasi same price lang din ang quote sa amin for van transfers ng Northen Hope and Eulen Joy (transport company). Tapos libre pa ang city tour kay Kuya Joseph (which costs 600/pax standard rate if van ang gamit) so kung tutuusin nakatipid kami ng husto dito.

**city tour covered these spots:

plaza cuartel, church, croc farm, binauatan, kasoy factory, bakers hill and souvenir shop

for the island hopping naman, bigay niya sa amin na rates is TOUR A is 900/pax while TOUR C is 1000 per pax. private boat na yun with lunch, tour guides, vests etc.. snorkles and mask were rented sa puerto princesa for 150/pax for 2 days use na. 

overall, ok ang service ni kuya joseph. mabait and madaling kausap. customized tour siya usually but kung island hopping lang ang avail niyo puwede naman siguro. text or call him na lang. he's based in Puerto Princesa pero if may guests siya in el nido, sumasama siya sa tours para maasikaso niya yun guests niya. 

Joseph Ednalino (FB page : Palawan tourist transport and Tour services)

- 09997093300; 09162380040 

Bakers' Hill Pasalubong shopping and Palo Alto PUerto Princesa

Bakers' Hill Pasalubong shopping and Palo Alto PUerto Princesa

Van ride to Puerto Princesa

Again, we woke up early for breakfast and our trip back to Puerto Princesa.

last breakfast at casa cecilia

By 7:30am, Kuya Joseph and the van was already waiting outside of the hotel. Kuya though would not be able to accompany us back to Puerto Princesa kasi may other guests siyang kadarating lang din sa El Nido. Anyway, mabait ang driver na kinuha ni Kuya for us and safe naman magmaneho.

Stopped at roadside, for last picture taking of El Nido islets.

we'll be back!

2015. Be back next year? let's see...

Had an early lunch at the resto AFTER "half way resto", better food and service. Then after 5 hours of driving, we are finally back in Puerto Princesa. Returned our snorkling gears and camera case to Ken's and went straight to BAKER'S HILL.

Tourists flock baker's hill for their goodies like hopia, bread, casuy which are sealed and good for pasalubong. They are cheap but taste good. Saktong pangpasalubong. Aside from that, people are free to roam around their garden and have pics with the characters there. See some of our pics below.

I've found LOVE in palawan!

We then went to a souvenir shop before checking in for PALO ALTO. Medyo mahal yun ibang items so di kami masyado namili dito. Won't mention the shop and place anymore but this is just 1-2 blocks away from MCA pasalubong Center which is where the cheaper pasalubong items can be bought. Yun mga printed shirts dito rin mas marami mabibili so if your guide suggests for another place, just tell him to go to MCA dahil mas mura talaga dito. Did not have much time anymore so decided to go there the next day na lang.

PALO ALTO BED AND BREAKFAST

Already advised them in advance that we'll be checking in late. Arrived there at 4pm na. Check in was fast, they gave out welcome drinks and assisted us with our luggage. We booked 2 deluxe rooms with loft, again 1 for 4pax and the other for 5pax. 

They have a pool (located at the other side of the compound) and a resto. The place is very clean and quiet, has a relaxing vibe and if you really want to be with nature, then this is the place to be. Though its a bit far from the city center, need to take a trike ride (around 5 mins) just to go to the main road.

They do have a shuttle service available, however these are scheduled and you are about to go outside of their schedule, you'd need to pay 300 per ride (for the whole group) to the city center and then another 300 back to the hotel. If you have cash to spare then that's ok but if its a budgeted trip, then you'd probably think that it'll be cheaper if you just go by trike ride.

reception area

reception area

resto

pool area

now for the rooms.

loft with double bed

balcony with tables and chairs

We had a great sleep in this room. The bed and pillows are soft, good quality linen. Place is very quiet and sleep quality is great! Towels are clean and soft, water pressure is good. Electronics are all working well. Aircon is cold and enough to cool the room.

Got the rooms for around 5k per deluxe room with addt'l 750 for addt'l pax, for the quality that we get, ok na ok na siya. Cons lang talaga is medyo malayo siya sa city center pero that's what you get if you really want a good sleep. Medyo maingay kasi pag near the main road kumuha ng hotel.

after fixing our things, got into our swimsuit and checked out their pool. Sayang ang oras, need sulitin ang bayad. LOL

When it got dark, nag-ahunan na and showered. Needed to be ready for our 8pm dinner at Ka Lui.

A tour of Puerto Princesa and a Glimpse of what awaits in El Nido

A tour of Puerto Princesa and a Glimpse of what awaits in El Nido

Our flight is scheduled at 5:20AM of Oct. 9, 2015 so by 2:30 AM of the same day, we were already awake and preparing our luggage. We were driven to the airport by my brother along with my 2 officemates. Arrived at NAIA terminal 3 around 3:30AM, checked in at the PAL counter. Since we're a bit early, we decided to have breakfast at McDo at the 2nd floor (left-most side near Wendy's ----- while  Jollibee, Pancake House and Mini Stop is on the right-most side for reference) of the departure area. Ordered the "Chicken Fillet rice meal" for breakfast. 55 pesos lang, busog ka na. Ayos!

breakfast at McDo NAIA3

After a quick breakfast, went straight for the boarding. Had to pass another baggage scanning here, buti wala nakitang kahit ano. (Di pa nauso ang laglag-bala at the time, pagkauwi namin galing Palawan tsaka lang namin nabalitaan na meron palang ganun scam sa NAIA.) Met Jen's family there (5 pax sila), they took their breakfast while waiting for "gate opening" (nagpabili rin sila sa McDo kasi dumiretso na sila sa boarding gate after check in).

At around 5AM, nagpapasok na ang ground crew ng mga pasahero.

Boarding Na!

Some pics before take-off.

with my Mom

Pabebe muna

And... we're up! flight departed on time. 

flying to Puerto Princesa

PAL crew distributed free snacks and drinks while the flight is underway

sandwich and coffee

At Last! Hello Puerto Princesa!

Just Arrived.

Went immediately to the baggage claim area to pick up our luggage while the others went to the washroom to freshen up. Make up ng konti para maganda sa pics di ba? =)

Met Kuya Joseph Ednalino of Palawan Tourist Transport and Tour Services (our tour guide) sa arrivals area. We used a Toyota Hi Ace Van for the City Tour and going to El Nido. SAkto lang siya for the 9pax. Aircon was good, di naman kami pinagpawisan sa loob. Anyway, Kuya promised na Grandia na yun van namin pabalik ng PP for more space. 

For the City Tour, our first Stop is the PLAZA CUARTEL. 

The plaza has a bronze marker that contains the name of eleven prisoners of war (POW) who managed to survive the horrible massacre that happened in the place. The bronze marker is placed above the area where main underground bunkers existed. These bunkers became the cage for the unfortunate prisoners. The words engraved on the bronze marker are:

"Sa pook na ito na dating tanggulang militar noong Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig naganap ang pagsunog ng mga sundalong hapon sa humigit kumulang 150 Amerikanong bihag ng digma noong 14 Disyembre 1944. Ilang nakaligtas ay lumangoy sa dagat patungong Iwahig. Ang mga labi ng nasawi ay dinala at inilibing sa St. Louis County sa isang panlahatang libingan sa Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri, United States, 1952."

Entrance and enjoying the scenery of the Plaza is free of cost. It now serves as a leisure park.

Adjacent to Plaza Cuartel stands the Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

Wala pang Mass when we went, siguro kasi maaga pa masyado. Just said a prayer for our group and took some pics.

Immaculate Conception Cathedral

Inside the Church

3rd Stop is the BAYWALK. We did not alight the van here as we only did a driving tour of the place. As per Kuya Joseph, the Baywalk is now a popular place to stroll, bike (available for rent), and to try street food while enjoying the view of Puerto Princesa Bay. Sometimes, meron din mga event dito like yun lighting of the City's Xmas Tree and small concerts funded by the city Government. 

**Puwede lakarin ang Baywalk from the Church/Plaza Cuartel, around 3-4 blocks away lang naman siya

We then went to Binuatan Creations. 

Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Similar methods are knitting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling.

selfie with mom

try ko rin pero bat may C2 diyan te?

I'm in BAG HEAVEN!

Bought some weaved place mats, souvenirs and organic produce here. Ang sarap mamili dito. Lots of little trinkets na puwedeng pangsalubong.

Next Up, Crocodile Farm.

sige hawak, ito lang ang crocodile na puwede mo mayakap dito  ^__^

remains of the second biggest crocodile caught in PH next to Lolong

picture taking while waiting for our turn with the baby croc

lakad lakad sa zoo part ng croc farm

masakit mauntog dito. ingat ingat hehe (speaking from experience)

emotera

After Croc farm, went to Ken's to rent Snorkle and Mask for our Island Hopping tour. rental is 150 good for the duration of the El Nido trip. Another rented underwater case for their camera worth 250. 

Advise ko lang, if possible bili na kayo sa Manila ng underwater case. Yun kasi ni-rent namin, 500 lang yun sa manila brand new pa. Sayang, if we only knew na ganun kamahal sa Manila na lang kami bumili, magagamit pa namin sa mga susunod na lakad namin.

After getting the gears needed, drove on to El Nido na, passed by a Viewing Deck for CR time. kakaiba ang CR dito kasi, may window and kitang kita mo ang view ng dagat. So while you're doing your business, nakakapagrelax ka dahil ang ganda ng view. 

ang layo ng tingin

Pahinga sandali and biyahe ulit. Dumaan din kami sa pagawaan ng Kasoy. Mas mura daw kasi dun as per Kuya Joseph kesa bibili sa mga souvenir shops sa city. Which is true naman kasi yun nabili naming 130 sa factory, 180 na ang benta pagdating sa City nung nag ikot ikot kami on our last day in PP.

CASHEW PRODUCTS

binabalatan pa lang ang kasoy

End Product

masarap yun kasoy na nabili namin dito. maayos ang pagkakaluto. As per ate na may-ari, umaabot pala ng 6mos - 1 year ang kasoy nang di nasisira, as long as maayos ang pagkakaluto nito. And mabibili na rin daw ito sa Manila, Store is at Eastwood, sa kanila humahango yun nagbebenta sa Manila.

Biyahe ulit. We stopped by "HALF WAY RESTAURANT" for lunch. around 1 and a half hour away from EL NIDO. Food was.... uhmm.. not exactly bad but not good either. Enough lang para mabusog ka. If you have a choice, take your lunch sa resto BEFORE this one. meron isang kainan around 5-10mins away lang, newly built, same style ng "half way" but better ang food. Dun kami kumain nung pabalik na kami ng PP kaya nasabi namin mas OK siya. Wasn't able to get the name though pero "half way" and yun lang naman ang nakita naming kainan dun sa stretch na yun.

haggardness. need mag-sunglass para di halata hehe

After 1 hr of driving, sa wakas, malapit na kami. We stopped by the EL NIDO VIEWING DECK muna for some picture taking. 180 degree view of the EL NIDO islets ang nandito. A glimpse of what we will be enjoying for the next few days...

After reaching El Nido Town Proper, we were dropped off at our Hotel, CASA CECILIA. Paid for the rest of our stay and checked in. Kuya Joseph suggested that we have dinner at his friends' resto BULALO PLAZA. Apparently, bestseller nila ang BULALO (obvious ba?) and Crispy Kare Kare. Agreed and he arranged a trike driver to pick us up at 7pm and then drive us back to CASA CECILIA. Trike is 100 pesos balikan.

Next post. BULALO PLAZA and CASA CECILIA, El Nido