Let’s get wanderlusted in Qi Palawan!
It is everyone’s dream to come to Palawan island while visiting the Philippines yet most of the people only go to El Nido and Coron, sometimes Puerto Princessa also Port Barton. How about San Fernandes? Ever heard of that? Located in the East side of Palawan, the opposite of El Nido, that’s where San Fernando is. It is a secluded place in El Nido that is worth a visit.
In September 2018, I had the opportunity to stay in a beautiful eco-friendly resort in San Fernando, Palawan island named Qi Palawan. Its location lets you experience the other side of Palawan island also gives you that “ sweet escape” feeling. Since the location is secluded, you will be able to own the beach to yourself and escape from the touristy places around Palawan island. Talking about sweet escape, you may want to click me to go to another sweet escape in Pink Beach, Lombok.
How To Get There?
I personally came to Qi Palawan from El Nido town, so a driver came to pick me up. Qi Palawan has a shuttle service that picks up the guests from El Nido to Qi Palawan in the midday. I was impressed by how friendly the driver was making the 45 minutes journey to Qi Palawan enjoyable. For your information, the free shuttle service is only available for El Nido area, you can click me to find out more if you’re coming from other cities.
You can take a direct flight to El Nido but people usually don’t do that due to the high ticket price. Instead, people usually transit through Puerto Princesa then continue with 5 hours van ride to El Nido. I’ve provided the links below in case you want to book your transportation hassle-free with free cancellation.
CLICK ME | Flight from Manila to El Nido
CLICK ME | Flight from Cebu to El Nido
CLICK ME | Overnight ferry from Manila to Puerto Princesa (Friday only)
CLICK ME | Transfer from Puerto Princesa to El Nido
How Does It Look Like?
The Entrance
Yes, that’s how the entrance aisle looks like. How beautiful that is! Also, you will be greeted by friendly staffs bringing your luggage to your assigned room. As the eco-friendly resort, Qi Palawan grows their own crops also use the solar panel for electricity located around this entrance aisle.
The Restaurant and Bar
This will be your only place for eating (and drinking *wink*) while you’re staying in Qi Palawan due to its remote location. The waiters and waitresses are very friendly and polite. They have various menus here from seafood to pasta, including vegan menus so don’t worry if you’re a dedicated vegan. They also have various foods to choose for your breakfast and your room price includes it.
I’m also impressed by how they handle the complaint. On my last night staying here, I had a Filipino beef dish and the meat was hard to chew and swallow. I’m not really picky about foods, I don’t always eat tender meat that melts in the mouth but that dish I had was not good. I complained to one of the waitresses and she offered to get me another one but I refused, I didn’t wanna eat meat anymore at that time. I was surprised that they didn’t put the Filipino meat dish that I ordered to the overall bill. Anyway, the bad meal only happened once, I liked their other menus especially their beef tapa (in the breakfast menu) and shrimp tempura.
This place also doubles up as the lobby and common room since it has a huge sofa along with a pool table. Upon your arrival, you will be seated in this area to check in and informed about everything in Qi Palawan.
The Bungalow
After checking in, I was escorted to my bungalow where my luggage was already waiting inside. Qi Palawan has the same style bungalow, that tropical exotic look made from native materials. The rooms are different depends on which one you choose. You can get the family room with several beds, the regular room with queen size bed or twin beds, even you can request for the room that’s wheel-chair accessible. Click me to see the rooms.
My favorite part about the room is the outdoor shower. It always makes me excited! Qi Palawan definitely has it and it’s a huge one. The bathroom is filled with toiletries such as shampoo, conditioner, soap, even lotion. My favorite is their homemade soap which smells amazing!
The Swimming Pool
Surrounded by greens, swimming in Qi Palawan’s pool becomes enjoyable. You can even watch the beach from the swimming pool.
The Garden
Qi Palawan has a decent amount of green areas like the entrance area and the garden facing the beach. Here you can find sunbathing lounge chairs and rattan hammocks to enjoy. Most of the rattan hammocks are located closer to the beach area, so you can chill while watching the subtle wave.
The Beach
Walking on the shoreline seems so good here, the beach area is totally stunning especially during the sunrise and sunny day. The wave was not strong when I was there. Yet I saw some stronger ones located miles from the shore. You can find some traditional kayaks here (which you can ride), some sunbathing lounge chairs, and a boat (not sure why it’s there but it gives a nice touch to the beach). Also, the manager said that the beach here can appear differently depends on the tide.
What Activities Can I Do Here?
The answer is many! You can do island hopping, scuba diving, kitesurfing, spa, and many more, just click me for more information. But here are the things I did while staying here:
Watch the Sunrise
Since Qi Palawan is located on the east side of Palawan island, it makes it a good spot to enjoy the sunrise. I woke up at 5 to enjoy the sunrise here and I did not regret it.
Yoga
The yoga class is held every morning at 7.30 and it’s free of charge. You will be taught by Ananda, the yoga instructor, and she is also the manager of Qi Palawan. She’s a very sweet person also a good yoga teacher.
Paddleboard & Kayak
To be honest, this was my first time trying stand-up paddle boarding and it was so fun. It was quite easy since the wave was subtle. I also tried the traditional kayak they have and it was harder than the regular kayak. The paddle was heavy so it became a work-out for me yet it was a fun experience to try. Qi Palawan will provide you with the life-jacket once you inform them that you want to do some water activities. (Too bad, I don’t have my kayaking photo since my assistant/photographer was joining me kayaking)
Enjoy the Beach
I explored the beach, chilled in the sunbathing lounge chair. The next day, I swung on the rattan hammock watching the sun went up. There was nothing better than having the beach all for yourself.
Enjoy the Garden
There are many ways to enjoy the garden but I chose to enjoy it by sitting on their sofa at their restaurant/bar on a rainy day. You can also enjoy the garden using the sunbathing lounge chair both in the garden or your bungalow patio and swing on the hammock.
Swim
Swimming is always a good idea to refresh yourself while working out. I did it in the twilight so I slowly watched the sky turned dark.
Overall, I enjoyed my stay in Qi Palawan as you can see in my Instagram stories here. I love the place, the employees, and the calm vibe. Too bad, I was there during the bad weather (during the typhoon nearby Cebu island) so I only enjoyed the sunny moment for a while. Just imagine yourself being here during the good season, you will be able to enjoy sunny days here and also escape from the crowded tourist places in Palawan. You can visit their website for more information here or you can click me to check their rate in booking.com and get a 10% refund for your first book.
Thank you so much for reading my blog post, I hope you find this helpful. If you’re coming to Boracay as well, please check out my hotel recommendation here.
Hi, I’m Luna. Welcome to my blog! You will find helpful travel guides and tips on my blog posts, all are written by me and based on my experience. I hope you enjoy reading my blog posts!
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