If you decide to travel to Palawan you would prefer to enjoy islands with very nice weather rather than under the rain. Who will choose the best time to visit Palawan? For that the best would be definitely to schedule your trip in Palawan at the right season. Will try to give you some tips to know the best time to visit Palawan.

Palawan is known as one of the best places in the Philippines, especially El Nido, often ranked as one of the most beautiful beaches of the word. El Nido is located at the northern part of Palawan and always considered an ultimate tropical paradise: crystal water, dark cliffs surrounding lagoon, white sand beaches. A few hours away there is Coron island which is known to be one of the best spots of the Philippines for diving, since it has several shipwrecks and crystal clear lakes.

Most of the activities of Palawan are depending on the weather since most of them are all water related or outdoor. When travelers are reaching Palawan, their favorite activities will be diving, island hopping, kayaking, sun bathing, village walks, boat trips, water falls. You better enjoy all of that under the sun. If so, the best time to visit Palawan is during the dry season. When the rainy season reaches Palawan the islands become really wet and make all outdoor activities a big struggle. This type of destination is not known for indoor things to do since it has limited infrastructures.

The best time to visit Palawan is generally during the dry season. If you take the risk to travel in the rainy season you might encounter a lot of rain as well as the tours which could be canceled due to bad sea conditions.

A tropical country such as the Philippines is having several seasons all over the year. It might affect your trip for good or in bad terms, unless for you that the best time to travel to Palawan is during low season.   Truly the planning of the best timing when you want to travel to Palawan can save your vacation.

Weather Overview: When should I go to Palawan?

For most travelers the best time to visit Palawan is during the dry season, which is from November to May. The summer in the Philippines is from March to April. That is also the peak season in terms of tourism. If you like hotness, that is the best time to travel to Palawan. Temperature at that time can be up to 35 degrees, which is pretty warm. For cooler temperatures that will be from December to February since the wind can bring a nice breeze around 25 degrees: that is the best time to visit Palawan if you want to escape from the heat. During the summer time the rain is very rare and the climate is dry compared to the rest of the year. The wind is also very low from March / April to May compared to December. That is the best time to visit Palawan if you are planning to have many transportation using boats.  When the wind is a bit strong it will be nice to experience activities such as surfing but it can make island hopping trips hard.

The rainy season is from July to September. September can be a wet month. Rainy season doesn’t mean that it rains all day long, but it can be more frequent than the rest of the year. This period is most likely a bit hard to predict.  Wet season is the best time to visit Palawan during low season and escape from the crowd.

Rainy Season: what are the rainy months in Palawan?

Traveling during the rainy season can also be the best time to travel to Palawan for some travelers. In fact, if people are not so used to the hot climate of tropical countries, the rainy season offers the advantage of being chiller. The summer season can also give some challenges for the body of some travelers in order to adjust.

It is also the best time to visit Palawan for those who want to escape from the crowd. Few tourists mean that you can enjoy many attractions just for yourself without the business of high season.

Another advantage is to be able to enjoy low prices. In fact, the best time to visit Palawan if you are on a budget is definitely the rainy season from July to September. Many accommodations are offering low season promo; Many hotels are almost empty so you will be able to enjoy the entire infrastructure almost for yourself. The staff is also not so busy meaning they will have plenty of time to give you in case you need. They will also bewell rested meaning the atmosphere will be chilled.

That is the same story for airfare. When the peak season is on, the price of airplane tickets can be very high. The best time to travel to Palawan if you want to save on your transportation is, for sure, the rainy season. So the rainy season is definitely the best time to visit Palawan if you are on a short budget.

If you are also a slow traveler and not in the rush to discover many places, the rainy season is the best time to travel to Palawan since you will always have some time during your trip to enjoy beaches and the serenity of the place.

Dry Season

Dry season will be the best time to travel in Palawan for those who want to be sure to avoid the rain. First of all, traveling at summer time will mean that all the attractions will be available. There is less risk of having storms as well, which brings wavy sea and makes some tours not allowed by coast guards. The land will be dry so it will be easier to go trekking. Since the Philippines is often experiencing flooding issues, the best time to travel to Palawan to avoid that will be during summer time; During dry season there are also a lot of event which will make you trip different, you can experience Christmas under the tropic, Easter as well which a very important even for Filipino people. That will be the best time to visit Palawan if you want to experience local tradition.

Special Considerations to visit Palawan

The best time to visit Palawan is if you wish to see green jungle and flower blooming. It will definitely be the rainy season. If photography is important the wet season also brings fantastic and colorful sunsets. At that time most of the beaches are empty so you can get a very nice shot. The best time to visit Palawan for nature lovers will definitely be the rainy season.

On the other hand if you want to enjoy water activities such as snorkeling and diving the best time to visit Palawan will be during summer time since the visibility will be very good. Activities that may use a boat are always easier to realize in summer while It can often be canceled during the rainy season due to the bad sea conditions.

Travel Tips

If the best time to visit Palawan for you is during the rainy season the best will be to bring waterproofing equipment such as raincoat, waterproofing bag and water protection for your camera. Do not forget mosquito repellant since they love this season. You won’t need to book all the accommodation in advance unless you want particular places. Since most of the hotels are not full at that time. Booking the flight in advance can be useful in order to get a cheap rate but you better make sure of the cancellation policy if you need to reschedule your trip due to heavy rain in the island you were supposed to go. The best time to visit Palawan for those who don’t like to organize all in advance and which to go with the flow is rainy season;

If for you the best time to visit Palawan is the dry season you better pack all the sun protection as you could such as hat, rash guard, sunscreen (local sunscreens often have whitener on it). The best would be to make all your booking in advance: hotel, flight ticket, boat expedition… If you want to make sure everything is still available.

You can have a look at Nativ’ Exploration Palawan which runs boat expeditions from El Nido to Coron all the year round. In the dry season you will enjoy the true tropical hits while in the rainy season you will have the islands almost only for yourself: here . Nativ’ Exploration can also advise you on which moment is the best time to visit Palawan according to what you would like to do.