Boracay vs Palawan: Which Island Should You Choose?

If you ever follow some of the top travel publications, you’re likely familiar with the islands of Boracay and Palawan. Both are located in the Philippines and are frequently named as having some of the top beaches in the world. Choosing between Boracay vs Palawan can be pretty difficult as they are both incredibly stunning.

The Philippines was at the top of my list of places to visit when I decided to travel solo around Southeast Asia. Which says a lot because there are so many beautiful places in Southeast Asia to see. I ended up staying 2-weeks in the Philippines (a week on both islands) because I had the time. But if you only have time to visit one or want to know which one you should spend more time on, hopefully this will help you choose!

Where are Boracay and Palawan?

Boracay and Palawan are both islands in the Philippines and are located near Indonesia and China. Because of its proximity to China where I currently was (and because I had one hell of a year there and was desperate for a tropical escape), the Philippines was the first place I decided to go to.

Luckily for me, the flight from Shanghai to Manila was only about 4 hours. If you’re coming from the US or anywhere else, you might be in for a long haul.

Boracay and Palawan are both located on the west side of the island chain, though you can’t even see Boracay on this map because of its size. Boracay is a pretty small island in comparison to Palawan. Palawan is long and skinny and the most beautiful part happens to be at the far northern tip. 

Boracay vs Palawan

When I was first planning my trip and trying to figure out where to go in the Philippines, I thought I might be able to easily go from one island to the other since they don’t seem to be too far away. That’s not the case though.

I ended up having to fly back to Manila to go between the two. So I flew to Manila, to Boracay, to Manila, to Palawan, to Manila again to fly back out. Domestic flights are super cheap but it’s not the most convenient.

There are other factors to take into account when planning your trip. If you only have time to visit one, you’ll want to figure out which island is more your style.

Both islands are incredibly laid back with beautiful beaches and landscape, but there are definitely some key differences.

For Palawan, the most famous place to visit is El Nido, so that’s where I’ll be focusing on when comparing places.

Getting There

Both islands are south of Manila and pretty equal in cost and flight time from Manila. I ended up just booking to Manila and booking a separate flight to the islands the next day (could be cheaper, could not be).

However, there are some travel logistics to consider. For Boracay, there’s no airport on the the island so you’ll fly into Caticlan Airport. From there, you’ll take a tricycle to the Jetty so you can take a ferry over to Boracay island. The ferry is only about a 15 minute boat ride. Getting to Boracay Island is fairly easy though it is a few steps.

Once you reach the island, you can either grab local transportation or make arrangements with your hotel for transfer to your place. 

For Palawan, most people head to El Nido, which is on the northern tip. To visit, you’ll need to fly into Puerto Princesa and then take a private transport to El Nido. However, it’s not the easiest to get to. El Nido is about 6 hours away.

I took a private van transfer but it was pretty brutal. The road to El Nido is notoriously bumpy and lots of people get car sick on the way out there. It’s an undeveloped dirt road and can throw you around quite a bit.

Getting Around

Both Boracay and El Nido have a walkable main town. The difference is of course that Boracay is more developed and more of a tourist hub while El Nido has a very local feel. But it’s easy to get around either town.

Most people stay on White Beach in Boracay which is incredibly easy to explore. There’s one main road that everything is on and you can just walk along the beach to get to where you’re going. I stayed at a hostel just off the beach and it was about a minute and a half to walk to it.

Likewise, El Nido town is very small and you can walk the town very easily. You won’t need to worry about transportation in either places as most everyone walks.

If you want to explore beyond the main areas, you can easily grab a tricycle or rent a scooter to venture out further. You don’t need to plan in advance or anything like that and you won’t find the main rideshare apps like Uber or Grab in either places.

Accommodation + Restaurants

El Nido is a much smaller area and because it’s less touristy, you’ll find a lot less options when it comes to accommodations and restaurants. There’s enough to find something but it’s pretty limited. You’ll find a few resorts in the area and there are a handful of options for hostels here.

Boracay on the other hand has 2.5 miles of restaurants and accommodations just on White Beach alone. And many more options in the other areas off White Beach. You’ll find it easy to find a hotel or resort here but a little less easy to find budget accommodations like hostels. There were only a few options to choose from, but I did find one that was very close to the beach.

Beaches

Boracay Island is mostly known for White Beach, a 2.5 mile long gorgeous beach with white powdery sand and crystal clear water. It’s also pretty shallow for quite a ways so it’s a great beach to wade in and great for kids.

There’s a beach road right off the sand where you can find hotels, restaurants and shops. The beach is also divided into three different stations: 1. for luxury accommodations, 2. for nightlife and 3. for budget options. You can also find all sorts of beach amenities and services like massages or pedicures.

Another popular beach is Puka Beach. I had initially gone here for sunset and was so glad I came back during the day because the beach looked entirely different. It’s a stunning beach as well and a lot of boat tours stop here.

El Nido’s main beach isn’t anything that great, though the scenery is beautiful. There’s also not very wide so water can come up pretty far.

We ended up venturing out to Nacpan Beach too which is a very long beach and pretty secluded but also doesn’t compare to the beaches on Boracay. And another beach nearby (that I can’t remember the name of) that I think would have been much prettier had the weather been better. But it was raining on our way there and pretty stormy the rest of the afternoon.

However, if we’re including the surrounding beaches you’ll see on the boat trips, then we have some serious competition. El Nido’s scenery is some of the most beautiful in the world with karst limestone cliffs and gorgeous beach coves.

Boat Trips

I ended up taking boat trips on both islands while I was there. The boat trip in Boracay took us snorkeling and to a few different spots, namely Puka Beach, which is a gorgeous place to spend the afternoon. I could have stayed at Puka Beach all day and been happy. It’s a popular place for boats to pull up to and for good reason.

However, it’s really hard to compete with the boat trips in El Nido. There are several different tour options which take you to some different locations but the scenery here is completely stunning. The boat trips are the main reason you go to El Nido.

The karst limestone cliffs are very dramatic and the beaches that you visit are incredibly beautiful. Some beaches had rope swings, some had little hidden beach caves…they were so fun to explore and it remains one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited to this day.

Landscape

I’m a big landscape girl and to me, landscape really holds weight on whether or not I want to visit. Boracay has some stunning beaches and it’s not a flat island. It has a mountainous landscape with steep hills in the distance and viewpoints you can go up to.

Both Boracay and Palawan have ended up on lists as being one of the most beautiful places in the world. And it’s why the Philippines was my top choice when I started planning my Southeast Asia trip.

But if I had to choose, El Nido is simply incredible. The limestone cliffs create a dramatic landscape of towering cliffs right on the beaches. It’s a true tropical paradise.

Things to Do

If you’re someone who likes a lot of beach amenities and activities to do, then Boracay will be right up your alley. The beach road is right off the beach so you have access to all sorts of shops, restaurants and rentals. It’s easy to lounge around, grab snacks or anything else you want to do.

You can rent beach loungers, go on sailboats or catamarans, do water sports, get a massage on the beach and even get your nails done (though I couldn’t help but think about the sand getting stuck to your freshly done nails). If you’re someone who likes to spend all day at the beach eating, drinking and relaxing, you’ll love White Beach.

El Nido on the other hand doesn’t have a lot to do off the main town. You can visit some other beaches and hang out at the restaurants that are there, or hike up to a viewpoint. There’s definitely things to go see but you have to venture out a little bit to do them.

You won’t really find the beach lounger experience like you would in Boracay, not to that extent. There’s still several restaurants along the beach and you can eat right on the sand, but El Nido is more off the beaten path and definitely more of a local, rustic experience exploring.

Safety

When I first started researching the Philippines, I did see safety pop up in several forums. There are definitely certain islands that you want to avoid but Boracay and Palawan are two of the more visited places for tourists.

Boracay is definitely a big tourist destinations and pretty safe for visitors since they rely heavily on tourism. It’s very walkable and because it’s heavily trafficked, it’s safe to walk around, even on your own. You’ll just want to be aware of your surroundings (like anywhere) for petty theft and be mindful of walking alone at night off the beaten path.

El Nido was the place I was most worried about as a solo female traveler in the Phillipines. I had read in several forums about incidents happening at night to women (even women who had not been alone and had been walking with a guy). So I was hyper aware at all times, especially at night.

I didn’t end up drinking much in El Nido so that I wouldn’t be more vulnerable. I also made friends at the hostel I was staying at and told the guys to look out for us girls and to make sure they walked with us everywhere at night.

We stayed in a group and never had a problem but it did make me feel a little uneasy in the back of my mind. We did hear some experiences from people we met while we were in the Philippines, so it wasn’t just things I had read online unfortunately. But like I said, take precautions and be smart and you should be fine.

Which Island Should you Choose?

Here’s a recap of some of the main things to consider but it doesn’t necessarily mean I enjoyed one over the other. The two islands are very different and it mostly depends on what you want your vacation to look like.

However, even though Boracay edges out Palawan in most of the topics, I can’t emphasize enough how incredibly gorgeous El Nido is. I loved both of them so much for different reasons. I love a good adventure and going off the beaten path and to me El Nido is such a highlight to visit.

And I don’t necessarily like all the beach amenities and like when things are a bit more secluded and local feeling. So personally, El Nido was a little bit more of my style, but I absolutely loved both places.

Choose Boracay: If you want a beautiful beach right outside your hotel, lots of restaurant options within walking distance and beach amenities readily available.

Choose Palawan: If you want to have more of an adventure visiting beautiful island locations by boat with a town that is a little less developed but walkable.

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