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In this article, we’re going to help you decide whether to visit Palawan or Cebu in the Philippines. Early in the planning phase, it is important to decide which destination you wish to visit. The Philippines has so much to offer, and both Palawan and Cebu are beautiful islands in the Philippines. Trying to work out which islands to visit can be challenging. We have written this article to help you make an informed and objective decision. We are basing this article on our own first-hand experience, having visited the Philippines several times and travelled around both Palawan and Cebu. As a full-time travel family, we spend a lot of time researching destinations and deciding which places to visit. We are very excited to share our knowledge, skills, and experience to help you make your own decision and plan an amazing trip to the Philippines.
Palawan or Cebu? – Some perspective
Before you read on, it is important to recognize that both Palawan and Cebu have a lot to offer. The decision between visiting Palawan or Cebu really is a win-win choice. If you love natural beauty, jungle, the oceans, and new cultures, you will enjoy both of these destinations. However, Palawan and Cebu are quite different, and they do have different things to offer. In this article, we will help you work out which of these two destinations is best for your trip.
Things to consider when you are deciding between Palawan or Cebu
There are a range of different factors that you will need to consider when you are making a division between Palawan or Cebu. The relative importance of different factors depends on your own personal needs, goals, and priorities. Here are a few things that we recommend you consider when you’re trying to weigh up Palawan vs. Cebu:
- Your preferred activities and itinerary
- Journey time and the cost of flights
- Availability of accommodation in Palawan and Cebu
- The type of trip you are hoping for (adventurous trip or a relaxing holiday)
- The amount of time you have available for your trip
Activities in Palawan and activities in Cebu
If you’re traveling all of the way to the Philippines, activities should be high up on your list. We recommend putting a lot of weight on your desired activities when you are trying to decide between Palawan and Cebu.
1 Scuba diving
If you are hoping to visit the Philippines to get into some beautiful crystal-clear water and experience the incredible marine life and biodiversity, then we recommend a visit to Cebu. In fact, Cebu is arguably one of the best destinations in the Philippines for diving. If you are interested in diving, we particularly recommend a visit to Moalboal, which is situated on the west coast of Cebu.
Diving is a relatively affordable and extremely impressive in this area of Cebu (1,200 peso or £16 or $20 for a short dive assuming you are a qualified open water diver). It is possible to walk straight out from the beach to reach clear, deep, and beautiful water. There are plenty of diving schools situated in the Moalboal area where you can arrange discovery dives, refresher dives, open water dives and open water courses. The sardine run is genuinely incredible – a scuba dive is an amazing way to immerse yourself in this beautiful environment. There are a few diving schools situated around Palawan – especially in El Nido – but the diving is not as impressive or affordable as Cebu.
FULL GUIDE – Everything you need to know about diving in Cebu
2 Snorkelling & Free diving
Cebu is also amazing for snorkelling and freediving. In Moalboal the coral reef drop-off is situated around 100 metres from the beach (a short and easy swim). Throughout the day (and especially in the morning), you can see the sardine run. This is a genuinely magnificent spectacle: swirls of sardines. You can also swim with wild sea turtles in Cebu. If you are interested in deeper diving, you can easily reach depths of 30 or 40m a short swim from the coast. Remember never freedive on your own! Check out Moalboal Freediving (next to Tipolo Beach Resort). You can get a dive buddy or do an intro to freediving for around 700 – 2,000pesos (£10 – £30 or $12 – $35).
In Cebu you can also swim with whale sharks. To do this, you will need to make sure you visit Oslob. Although this is a very busy and intense activity, it is extremely impressive and worthwhile. It costs 500 peso for around 30 minutes (this is roughly £7 or $10). Reserve for free on their official facebook page and get a time slot to avoid a very long queue and a super early start (4am). You need to reserve early morning one day before you would like to visit. Keep an eye on your messages as the slots fill up fast.
It is still possible to do some fantastic diving, snorkeling, and free diving in the waters around Palawan. However, it is not as impressive as Cebu. There are not any destinations that rival Moalboal, where you can paddle directly out into stunning coral reef and deep clear water. If you want to enjoy snorkeling around Palawan, you will generally need to take a boat trip to get to some of the beautiful islands or rent a kayak.
2 Stunning lagoons
If it’s lagoons that you’re looking for, then we recommend Palawan. The Philippines has a reputation for beautiful panoramic lagoons; however, there are not any lagoons in Cebu. Therefore, if you want to experience some of the Philippines’ beautiful wild lagoons, we recommend taking a visit to Palawan. One way to see some beautiful lagoons is to head up to the El Nido beach area, or you can take an island hopping trip that includes a visit to some very impressive and beautiful lagoons. Trips range between 1,200 – 1,400 pesos and there are plenty of tour operators in the area (this is around £16 – £20 or $20 – $25).
3 City Life and culture
If you are interested in exploring Filipino culture and spending some time in a city, then we recommend Cebu over Palawan. The main town in Palawan is called Puerto Princesa. This is a relatively small town and, to be frank, there is not a lot to see and do here. You can experience some nice food; however, we don’t recommend spending a lot of time in Puerto Princesa.
On the other hand, the main city in Cebu is called Cebu City. Cebu City is a very large city with a lot of culture, shopping malls, markets, and plenty of things to see and do. Cebu City itself is not a particularly attractive city, so we don’t recommend spending too much time on your itinerary, but it is definitely worth exploring. We particularly enjoyed exploring the hills surrounding Cebu City, where you can find stunning viewpoints. As a larger city, Cebu City does offer plenty of opportunities to immerse yourself in Filipino culture, experience authentic Filipino street food, and connect with local life in the Philippines.
4 Waterfalls and canyoning
If you are interested in seeing some impressive waterfalls or you are interested in a canyoning adventure, then it has to be Cebu. Cebu is one of the best destinations in the Philippines for canyoning and visiting stunning waterfalls. There are plenty of waterfalls to visit, and there are also several places where you can try canyoning. This is an activity where you work your way down a river and waterfalls with cliff jumps and natural water slides. So, if you are looking for a unique wild jungle adventure, then we recommend Cebu.
Just like whale shark watching, canyoning is a popular activity in Cebu, so don’t expect to have the experience to yourself. Kawasan Falls is the main destination for canyoning in Cebu (1,900 peso or £26 or $30 for a tour booked in Moalboal). In order to go canyoning here, you will need to book a guided trip, which typically starts at around. If you love a good adrenaline rush, you can do an impressive zipline at Kawasan Falls. Palawan also has a very impressive zipline. You can take a zipline to a small island off the coast of Palawan (Las Cabanas beach near El Nido). This costs 600pesos (around £8 or $10) and it is a very impressive and exhilarating experience.
5 Beautiful beaches
You can find beautiful beaches in both Cebu and Palawan; however, in our opinion, Palawan has the upper hand in this respect. Although Cebu has very beautiful beaches (We were particularly impressed with White Beach in Moalboal.) The beaches in Palawan are more beautiful and impressive, and the beaches in Palawan are beautifully framed by steep, jungle-covered hills and peaks.
Which Destination is Cheaper: Palawan or Cebu?
Palawan and Cebu are relatively similar in terms of prices. The main difference is that Palawan is slightly more popular and touristy. This means that it can be more difficult to find affordable local food, especially around tourist hotspots in Palawan. For example, if you are visiting Puerto Princesa or El Nido, you may find it difficult to find cheap local street food compared to finding local food in Cebu.
Because Cebu is a larger island, there is a greater range of affordable street food available, so overall, Cebu is likely to be slightly cheaper, especially when it comes to food. Accommodation prices are relatively similar in both Palawan and Cebu. In our opinion, accommodation in the Philippines is expensive and not great value for money; you do not get a lot for your money in the Philippines when it comes to accommodation. It is slightly more challenging to find affordable accommodation in Palawan.
Again, Palawan is a popular, touristy destination, and therefore accommodation prices are slightly higher on average. There is, however, not a big difference between accommodation prices in Cebu and Palawan. If you’re looking for affordable accommodation, we recommend that you book early and that you are open-minded in terms of the space, facilities, and location of your guest house. If you are flying to the Philippines from another country, you will probably need to fly through Manila. On average, you are slightly more likely to find affordable flights between Manila and Cebu compared to Manila and Palawan. Again, Cebu may be cheaper in terms of flights; however, you can always find great deals, especially if you are looking early and you’re willing to travel on a budget carrier such as Cebu Pacific Airlines or AirAsia.
Challenges of Traveling in Palawan and Cebu
The Philippines is genuinely a challenging country to travel in. Despite these challenges, we really do think that it is worth visiting the Philippines. Cebu City is slightly more developed than Puerto Princesa, which is the main city in Palawan. So, if you’re looking for somewhere that offers convenience and comfort, you may want to spend some time in Cebu City.
The challenges are very similar in Palawan and Cebu. For example, both destinations experience regular power cuts. The power cuts in Palawan were particularly bad during our visit. Many other travelers find Palawan particularly bad for power cuts. Both Cebu and Palawan can experience intense monsoons, especially during the monsoon season (May – October). Cebu is relatively sheltered by the other islands, which means that the monsoons may be less intense in Cebu.
