Planning the Puerto Princesa Trip

Several months ago, I had this idea to take my mom out-of-town. I felt like we needed it because our bickerings were becoming frequent. I initially thought of Davao, a couple of days there then we'll proceed to our town in Surigao del Sur in time for the 1st death anniversary of my aunt. However, due to matters that I'd rather not discuss, it seemed it was a bad idea to go there. Mama often mentioned that she wanted to see the subterranean river ever since it was included in that Wonders of the World poll, so I went with my second option: Puerto Princesa.

I began by researching on the Internet about hotels, restaurants, and places to go to (special thanks to Ivan Henares for answering my queries). I canvassed which airline can offer me the cheapest airfare, and I also got in touch with travel agencies for travel package quotations. I then learned it's cheaper to book everything yourself. Un lang it will take so much of your time. By the end of my research phase, I was leaning towards Cebu Pacific's Fun Tours (flight + hotel + tours), but was hesitant on the activities/ tours portion. Baka makamura pa eh.

I sent an SMS to Tita Fae, the President of SWAPI - Palawan Chapter and a good friend of my mom, and asked for help regarding budget-friendly tour rates. I told her it was a surprise for Mama and she gladly helped. She told me about Gabay sa Turismo vans in Palawan. If I remember correctly it was P1,500 for City Tour and P3,000 for Underground River, maximum of 10pax (I didn't include the Honda Bay and Dos Palmas tour since my mother would not appreciate it, mapapagod lang siya). I realized it was cheap for group tours. And because there's only two of us, it wouldn't be practical. After a few days, Tita got in touch with me and told me not to worry about the van rental. They'll come with us and pay for their share so that we will no longer require the services of a tour guide. Talk about lucky!

So by April, I booked online with Cebu Pacific and Ardent Suites Hotel & Spa via Cebu Pacific Fun Tours. It's in their website so it's quite easy to book. I didn't tell Mama about it at first. I told her during Mother's Day by writing it on a card. Sweet, eh? Sadly, she didn't think so. She didn't even believed me and when she finally did, she did not want to go, which led to problems before our departure. Anyway, I'll be posting a separate blog post about the trip. Soon, I hope.