Palawan is really three destinations sharing one long island, and most travellers visit at least two of them. El Nido in the north is the postcard Palawan — limestone karst islets rising out of a turquoise archipelago, reached by motorised banca outriggers on a series of standardised "Tour A, B, C, D" island-hopping circuits. Coron, four hours by ferry to the north on a separate island group, is the wreck-diving capital of the Philippines and has its own equally beautiful (and quieter) lagoons. Puerto Princesa in the south is the capital, the main entry airport, and the base for the UNESCO-listed Underground River, Honda Bay and the central jungle.
Between these are quieter spots: Port Barton, halfway up the west coast, is the laid-back backpacker antidote to El Nido. Sabang and San Vicente have some of the longest empty beaches in the Philippines. Calauit in the far north is a strange Cold-War-era safari island stocked with African game.