Palawan Hopping Tour: Starfish, Luli & Cowrie
I was waiting anxiously in my hotel room when Robert walked in shouting "Room service!" right before our 9 AM meetup. I don't know about anything else, but I absolutely love the thrill of sneaking around like we're shooting a spy movie. He told us our taxi for the island hopping tour had arrived (technically a tricycle, a unique Southeast Asian vehicle made by adding passenger seats to a motorcycle).
The driver looked a bit intimidating at first, but the seats were so cramped I didn't even have time to worry about it. I thought the ride would only take about ten minutes, but we drove for over half an hour. After enduring 30 minutes of rattling shocks and harsh exhaust fumes in this tiny tricycle, I started to doubt if I had booked this right.
However, the driver turned out to be incredibly kind. Even with the language barrier, he checked our water shoes and goggles to make sure we were set for the tour, and took us to a rental shop for anything we lacked. (Wait, what!?) We came pretty much fully prepared, so there wasn't really anything to rent besides shoes. When we were about to just rent the shoes and leave, everyone aggressively recommended buying bread, acting like they wouldn't take us if we didn't buy it. I was a bit suspicious, but renting shoes and fins for the two of us was only 8,000 KRW, and the bread was about 300 KRW, so I just thought "Why not?" and bought it. Honestly, if it weren't for this bread, the hopping tour would have been so boring. Everywhere we went, I just had to sprinkle some bread and all the neighborhood fish would flock to me, so I didn't even have to chase them around. I could see tourists from other countries looking over with envy, clearly thinking, "Ah, I should have bought one of those too." It was just a single piece of bread, but unlike other towns in the Philippines, the people here seem somewhat pure and genuinely want you to have a great time on your trip.
I thought we could just depart as soon as we arrived at the pier, but the procedure was quite complicated. We had to write down our names and passport numbers, and pay something like an environmental fee before we were assigned a boat. The place where you pay the environmental fee and book the boat is different from where you pay and actually get assigned a boat (even though they are right next to each other), which made me wonder why they do it this way. I think we waited another 10 to 20 minutes to get our boat. And when we finally got it, it was a private boat just for us. I assumed it would be a group boat, but maybe the boats are empty right now because it's the off-season.
The boat captain helped us put on our life jackets and confirmed our destinations. We chose Starfish, Luli, and Cowrie islands. He told us we could play for about an hour at each stop, and if we wanted to stay longer or leave early, we just had to come back to the boat and let him know. It's a pretty cool way of doing business.
We sailed and sailed until we reached our first destination, Starfish Island...
Starfish Island
There was surprisingly little to see on Starfish Island. It felt more like a warm-up spot. Rather than getting in the water to play, it's a place to sip a drink and say, "Ah, this is nice~". There were some characters that kids might like(?), but we just took a few photos and that was it. After looking around briefly for about 30 minutes, we immediately moved on to the next island.
Luli Island
When we arrived at Luli Island, I could see people swimming in the water and, most importantly, "food stalls." The scenery was prettier than Starfish Island, and it was full of energy. I thought to myself that I definitely had to go snorkeling this time, but my stomach was rumbling so loudly for food that we started by eating.
I became the most popular person in the area thanks to the bread, and after jumping off the diving board, I earned a bright red badge of honor on my back. There were fewer fish than I expected, but it was fun because a few big ones were mixed in. Coming to Luli Island finally made playing in the water fun.
After staying for over an hour, it was time to head back to the boat. I asked the boatmen if they had eaten and if I should buy them some food, but they said they already ate and were fine. I still felt a bit concerned, but we only had one island left. Off to our final stop, Cowrie Island.
Cowrie Island
If Starfish is optimized for taking photos and Luli for snorkeling, Cowrie is an island where everything is perfect. There's a bar in the middle of the island, so the drinks are different from the other islands, and the food looks better too. There are spots for snorkeling, but it's also a great beach for families to play in the water. It's the only island that rents out things like kayaks. If I had to pick just one place to go, it would be Cowrie Island.
After touring all the islands, we returned to the pier where we started, and it was 3:30 PM. Our driver had promised to come at 4:00, so we spaced out while waiting and got absolutely devoured by mosquitoes. The total cost for getting around like this was 1,100 PHP, which is about 24,000 KRW in Korean money. It's definitely cheap. The buffet inside was about 6,000 KRW, and drinks like lemonade were around 2,000 KRW. The prices are definitely cheap.
