Tiny Sabang has a long expanse of beach and is famed for the navigable Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (admission P200), which winds through a spectacular cave before emptying into the sea. Tourist paddle boats are allowed to go 1.5km upstream into the cave (45 minutes return); in the June to November low season you can proceed 4.3km upstream (three hours return), but only with a separate permit from the Underground River Booking Office in Puerto Princesa. From the beach in Sabang it’s a thrilling 5km walk through the jungle to the mouth of the river, or you can book a boat (P700 for up to six people, 15 minutes) through the Tourist Information & Assistance Center at the pier.
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The bustling capital of Palawan is generally regarded as little more than a jumping-off point for excursions elsewhere on the island. Often overlooked as an attraction in its own right, this underrated town has some decent hotels and good restaurants, and is an excellent base from which to explore central and southern Palawan. ‘Puerto’, as the locals call it, is certainly clean and relaxed in comparison to Manila, but tricycle jams on Rizal Ave, the main street, go pretty far toward shattering any illusions of a tropical paradise. 
On the west coast, the refreshingly quiet town of Port Barton is a low-key tourist haunt. The town itself is on an attractive beach with colourful sunsets. Even better beaches can be found on the islands scattered throughout the sheltered bay, and up the coast at Long Beach (both are accessible by boat from Port Barton and make good day trips). Quite a few travellers show up here and find the mix of laid-back travel scene and local colour enough reason to stay for a few days. It’s certainly more relaxing than El Nido town to the north, and is a good place for families as the beach is sheltered and peaceful. 
Palawan is one of the real treasures of the Philippines. Stretching from the Mindoro Strait down to the tip of Borneo, it is a magnificent, coral-fringed range of jungle-clad mountainous islands jutting up dramatically from the Sulu Sea. The flora and fauna in Palawan is quite unique to the island, and is said to have more in common with that of Borneo than with the rest of the Philippines. Due in equal parts to its rugged topography, its small population and its distance from other islands in the archipelago, Palawan has managed to stay largely pristine. 
El Nido is the gateway to Palawan’s greatest natural treasure: the Bacuit Archipelago. El Nido itself commands a stunning location, sandwiched between towering limestone karst cliffs and Bacuit Bay, with the fantastic contours of Cadlao Island looming right offshore.