24 Hours in San Vicente, Palawan

What I learned fairly quickly while traveling in the Philippines is that some of the best experiences come from spontaneity.

In fact, all of my favorite moments from my trip didn’t come from my perfectly outlined itinerary or the must-see sights that the islands are known for, they were instead the recommendations that were given to us through fellow travelers and locals, or even places that we happened to stumble upon by complete accident.

Some days we would just look at our map, find a waterfall or secluded beach and just drive. I think there is something beautiful in being in a foreign country and exploring something completely unknown, without knowing if the payout will be worth it in the end.

However, now that I’ve experienced this type of freedom while traveling, I can say that every foreign venture we committed to was completely worth it, in fact, those were the experiences that made my trip so memorable.

One of my favorite spots we got to visit was the town of San Vicente on Palawan island. San Vicente, Palawan was never a spot we planned on visiting in the Philippines, but it ended up being the best decision we made all trip.

Visiting Palawan in the Philippines

The reason we initially visited the island of Palawan was for the town of El Nido, one of the most famous places in the entire world for its island hopping and scuba diving.

We had initially set aside about five or six days (almost half of our trip) for El Nido, given its high reputation. I was more than happy to stay put in one spot for a few days, especially since I assumed El Nido would be my favorite among all the places I visited in the Philippines.

However, after our first day in El Nido, we realized this may have been a mistake. Now, this isn’t because we didn’t like it or we ran out of things to do. In fact, El Nido offers some of the best water activities and beaches in all of the Philippines.

But like I said, none of these were the issue. The reason we decided to pack up and leave early was because of the number of crowds we found in El Nido.

Now I know it should be expected that such a beautiful place would attract so many visitors, however, El Nido was by far the most touristy place we encountered during our entire two-week stretch.

While the surrounding white-sand beaches, soaring limestone cliffs, and majestic jungles were indescribably beautiful on their own, everything became slightly tainted by the hordes of tourists that congested the streets, beaches, and restaurants.

For me, the number of tourists made it hard to fully appreciate the natural beauty of the turquoise lagoons and the secluded coves. It seemed as if every stop we made along our island hopping excursion was met by bobbing tourists in florescent-colored life vests. Not exactly what you want while trying to experience a new culture.

While I understand this is unavoidable, it just wasn’t the Philippines I was after. I was chasing the authentic side of this rugged country, and for some reason, I felt that the authenticity and character were harder to find in El Nido compared to other places I had previously been to on my trip.

Now I don’t want to take away from El Nido’s beauty in the slightest. It does offer some of the most breathtaking landscapes I’ve ever laid eyes on, however as I said, it’s hard to value it at its purest form when you have to share it with hundreds of other people.

So with that being said, my travel partner Maca and I decided to pack up our bags and pursue a different path for our final 24 hours in the Philippines. All we had was just a single recommendation from a Portuguese couple to go visit Long Beach in San Vicente. But they also mentioned that the beach was free of tourists, which was enough for us to take the risk.

Within a few short hours of making our decision, we had booked accommodations for that night, found a bus to get us there, and made our way to San Vicente.

First Impressions of San Vicente, Palawan

After a bumpy 4-hour car ride from El Nido to San Vicente, we had finally made it to our final destination. We quickly dropped off our bags at where we were staying and then headed straight for the beach.

As we walked on a narrow dirt road, we were surrounded by a field of swaying palm trees with the afternoon sun peaking through the fronds. As the dirt changed to sand and the trees began to clear, the scenery opened up to an isolated beach that stretched for miles on end.

At first glance, all we could see were two people laying out, and a line of fishing boats dotting the sand.

The main beach in San Vicente that we happened to stumble upon was called Long Beach, which is the longest white-sand beach in all of the Philippines (8.7 miles).

Since we had no actual agenda or any plans, we spent the next few hours walking on the beach, collecting sea shells, and swimming in the crystal blue waters. It was already around 5 or 6 in the afternoon at this point, making it the perfect time of day for a stroll on the beach. Although we didn’t have too much time to explore, we continued walking until we almost reached the farthest end.

As the sun started to set above the horizon, we decided to sit down and relax for 15 minutes or so to take in our final afternoon.

Within a few minutes of laying down our towels, three local children came running over to talk to us. Shortly after, their parents even came over to join in on the conversation and ask us questions about ourselves and our travels.

This was probably the best part of the Philippines, the people. Everywhere we went, locals would always come up to us and just start asking us questions. The kids especially had so much curiosity and a complete lack of fear. To them, we were something foreign and interesting, and all they wanted was to get to know us even if it was only for a short moment.

Once the family of five piled on their four-wheeler and headed back through the jungle, we decided to finish our trek down the beach. At this point, the sun was descending rapidly and we knew we only had about 30 more minutes of light for our hour and a half walk.

However, this part of the day was one of the most memorable experiences of the entire trip for me. Maca and I walked in silence as we watched the sky’s color gradient flow from orange and yellow hues to deep blues and purples.

As we made our way in the direction of the final daylight, we watched the silhouettes of local fishermen bringing in their catch with shallow nets right off the shore. Although it was a simple sight, it’s one of those memories that I think will be ingrained in my mind for a lifetime.

When the last light left the sky and darkness took its place, our contentment turned into subtle fear. Since there were only a few hotels along the 8-mile stretch and not a single light to guide the way, all we had to depend on was the light from our cell phones, which both were hanging on a 5% battery.

We eventually found a path that led to the main road, which we knew we could follow and eventually make it back to our accommodations. However, even the road was pitch-black and all that surrounded it was dense jungle.

As we walked in fear, all we could hear were the chirping, buzzing, and squawking noises of the unknown animals beyond the pavement. To keep myself distracted, I just stared at the sky above, which was painted with a million stars and constellations.

After about 20 minutes, we finally came across a fork in the road that led us right back to our little bungalow. After such a long travel day, all we wanted to do was have a nice warm meal and head straight to bed.

Day Two in San Vicente, Palawan

Since we would be leaving later that day, we knew we had to get an early start. As soon as we had breakfast, we rented a motorbike and hit the road. Like I said previously, we didn’t have any itinerary or really any idea of what to do here, so what we did was look at a map and chose a beach that was right outside of town.

Our first destination was New Capari Beach, which was only about a 20-minute ride from where we were staying. As we drove past the closest village, we were guided up into a hill through a canopy of trees. Soon later, our paved road turned to a rocky dirt trail that spiraled it’s way up higher and higher.

The scenery here was something else. As we drove we passed open rice fields and small bungalows tucked away at the base of the surrounding mountains – Something you don’t get to see when you stay hiding in the main towns and popular beaches. Finally, as the path began to widen, the trees began to clear, and the dense forest turned into an open area with palm trees, we had finally made it.

The secluded cove was positioned perfectly between two lush mountains and had a clear view of the nearby islands. Although it may have been a bit difficult to get to, it was definitely one of my favorite beaches we came across in all of the Philippines.

And the best part, we had the entire beach completely to ourselves. The only people we ever saw in this area were a couple of local farmers. After spending about an hour reading, swimming, and lounging in the sun, we decided to hit one more stop before we had to head on home.

With just a quick search online, I found a viewpoint somewhere in San Vicente, however, this spot didn’t have a legitimate name or address, it was just a mountain top. Since we had no idea which mountain top it actually was, we decided to ask some locals for directions at a nearby shop.

They told us to head in the direction of Alimanguan Beach and to ask again once we were closer. Once we reached this town, the road turned into a dead end which led straight to another beach. Once again, this beach was completely secluded and was one of the most picturesque spots we had come across all trip.

Although we could have stayed there for hours, we still had not made it to our final destination. As we were coming up with a game plan, we found a local man playing with his kids and decided to show him a picture of where we were trying to go. He knew right away where the viewpoint was and offered to lead us on his motorcycle. Since we had no other way of finding the path, we decided to just go with it.

Of course, we were only about a 5-minute drive away from where we wanted to be. After making a steep incline up a sketchy dirt hill, we finally came across a wooden hut right on the top of a mountain. That’s when we knew we had finally made it.

Once we parked our bike, we found the “main entrance”, which was just a small gate made of wooden sticks held together with rope. Beyond the gate, we were rewarded by breathtaking views of all of San Vicente. We just stood there in awe, gazing at the miles of white-sand beaches that stretched below us.

That’s exactly when we knew that this was the best place we had seen in all of the Philippines. There were no people, it wasn’t something we found from a travel guide, and it was completely random that we even made it here in the first place.

As we explored the surrounding area, I couldn’t stop thinking about how fortunate I felt to be able to see such beautiful places in this world, and I know Maca felt the same. We spent about half an hour just sitting there and staring into the open view, feeling beyond thankful to be living in that exact moment. Although I could have sat in that spot for hours, we knew we couldn’t stay much longer for our time was finally up.

San Vicente, Philippines was the perfect way to end our trip. What those last 24 hours taught me was that it’s okay to not have a plan while traveling. In fact, those moments of uncertainty are usually where the most beautiful experiences develop.