Cheap Flights Manila to
Puerto Princesa 🌊
Piso fare deals, seat sales, and cheapest prices on MNL → Puerto Princesa. Cebu Pacific, PAL & AirAsia Philippines — tracked 24/7, updated daily.
Manila → Puerto Princesa, Philippines
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Ferry alternative: Manila → Puerto Princesa by sea
Not flying? 2GO Travel runs a weekly ferry from Manila's North Harbor (Pier 4) to Puerto Princesa City, aboard vessels like the St. Augustine of Hippo. The voyage takes approximately 24–29 hours depending on weather — this is a once-a-week sailing, not a daily service, so it only works if your dates are flexible. An economy bunk (Tourist/Super Value Class) starts around ₱1,350–₱1,900; cabin upgrades run ₱3,000+. The 50 kg baggage allowance is the real draw — far more than any airline gives you — which is why it's popular with Palaweños moving house or hauling pasalubong, not typical weekend tourists. Book via 2go.com.ph.
MNL → Puerto Princesa flight deals today
Cheapest one-way fares from Manila Ninoy Aquino (MNL) to Puerto Princesa International (PPS) · Prices in PHP
📅 MNL → Puerto Princesa Price Calendar
See the cheapest days to fly — click any date to book at that price.
Best time to fly MNL → Puerto Princesa
Month-by-month price guide for Manila to Puerto Princesa flights
Real costs for Manila travellers
Here's what ₱4,500 vs ₱13,000 all-in actually gets you in Puerto Princesa for a long weekend — flight included
Things Manileños always get wrong about Puerto Princesa
Five mistakes first-time Manila-to-Puerto Princesa travellers consistently make
Unlike most Philippine destinations, Puerto Princesa International Airport sits inside the city — about 2 km from the Baywalk and Rizal Avenue. A tricycle to almost any hotel in the city proper takes 10–15 minutes and costs ₱50–₱150 (fixed "airport tricycle" rate; regular street tricycles charge locals as little as ₱12–₱15 for the same distance). Paying ₱500+ for a pre-booked private transfer you arranged from Manila is money wasted on this specific route — just walk past the terminal gate and flag one down.
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park runs on a strict daily visitor quota with timed boat slots, and it's a 1.5–2 hour van ride from the city to Sabang wharf just to find out you don't have one. Book your permit and boat slot through an accredited tour operator or the city tourism office at least 2–3 days ahead in low season, 1–2 weeks ahead during Holy Week, summer (Mar–May), or the Baragatan Festival window in June. Walk-in slots exist but are never guaranteed.
El Nido is 5–6 hours from Puerto Princesa City by public van (Cherry, Roro Bus) or private transfer; Coron isn't reachable by land at all — it's a separate flight or a multi-hour boat trip. Manila travellers who fly into PPS assuming they can "pop over" to El Nido for the day end up burning their whole trip on the road. If El Nido is the real destination, either fly directly into El Nido's own airstrip (weather-dependent, pricier) or plan Puerto Princesa and El Nido as two distinct legs, not a day trip from one to the other.
Puerto Princesa City proper has plenty of ATMs (BDO, BPI, Landbank, Metrobank along Rizal Avenue and inside the malls) and GCash is widely accepted. The moment you head to Sabang, Honda Bay's island stops, or any barangay outside the city, that disappears — it's cash-only, and the nearest reliable ATM may be back in the city. Withdraw enough cash for your entire Underground River and Honda Bay day before you leave the city that morning.
Most Manila travellers know to avoid Holy Week and Christmas, but the Baragatan Festival — Palawan's province-wide founding anniversary celebration, running roughly early-to-late June with the biggest crowds around the third week — quietly pushes MNL–PPS fares and city hotel rates up for the whole month, since it draws visitors from every municipality in Palawan into Puerto Princesa itself. If your dates are flexible, July through early October (rainy season, fewer crowds) is consistently cheaper on both flights and rooms, even if you have to build in a rain-day buffer for boat tours.
Airlines flying MNL → Puerto Princesa
Three carriers operate direct — Cebu Pacific and AirAsia handle most of the daily volume
💡 Baggage tip: Cebu Pacific and AirAsia sell 7 kg cabin-only fares as the base price. Add checked baggage at booking, not at the airport — it's ₱400–₱600 cheaper. Philippine Airlines' Economy fares usually include 20–23 kg checked baggage, which can make it the better all-in deal once you're checking a bag.
Puerto Princesa travel guide for Manila visitors
Everything you need to know before you fly from MNL to PPS
🚢 Ferry & sea alternatives
- 2GO Travel: Manila North Harbor → Puerto Princesa City, ~24–29 hours, once weekly
- Economy bunk from ₱1,350; cabin upgrades from ₱3,000+
- Best for: budget travellers with 50 kg of luggage, not anyone on a fixed schedule
- Book at 2go.com.ph — the once-a-week sailing sells out around Baragatan and Christmas
- From Puerto Princesa, onward island-hopping (Honda Bay, Port Barton) is by van and outrigger boat, not ferry
🛺 Getting around Puerto Princesa
- Airport is inside the city — a tricycle to most hotels is 10–15 minutes and ₱50–₱150
- Grab is available in the city proper; airport pickups run ₱150–₱300 depending on traffic
- Tricycles are the default for everything in-city; a chartered half-day tricycle city tour runs around ₱600–₱1,200
- El Nido and Port Barton are 5–6 hours and 3–4 hours away respectively by public van (Cherry Bus, Roro Bus) or private transfer — not day trips
- For Underground River, Honda Bay, and the Iwahig firefly tour, book through a registered tour operator; DIY is possible but the permit system makes a guide simpler
💰 Budget in Puerto Princesa
- Budget: ₱1,000–₱1,800/day covers accommodation, meals, and local transport in the city
- Mid-range: ₱2,500–₱4,500/day for a 3-star hotel and sit-down restaurants
- Local carinderia meals run ₱80–₱150; fresh seafood by the kilo at the public market is the best-value dinner in the city
- Puerto Princesa is cheaper than El Nido or Coron for food and lodging — the "expensive Palawan" reputation mostly applies to those two, not here
- No foreign currency exchange needed — all Philippine peso (PHP) throughout
🏝️ Where to go from Puerto Princesa
- Puerto Princesa Underground River — UNESCO-listed subterranean river; ~1.5–2h to Sabang, permit and boat slot required
- Honda Bay — island-hopping, snorkeling; ~30–40 min from the city, easy half-day trip
- Iwahig Firefly Watching — evening river cruise; ~20–30 min from the city
- El Nido — limestone lagoons and island-hopping; 5–6 hours by van, best treated as its own multi-day leg
- Port Barton — quieter, less-developed beach town; ~3–4 hours by van, a calmer alternative to El Nido
🏨 Where to stay in Puerto Princesa
- City proper (Rizal Avenue / Baywalk): best for restaurants, nightlife, walkable to the airport (₱1,200–₱3,500/night)
- San Jose / airport-adjacent area: quieter, still close to everything, popular with families (₱1,500–₱4,500/night)
- Sabang: only worth it if you want two nights near the Underground River itself, otherwise stay in the city and day-trip it
- Book ahead during Holy Week, the Baragatan Festival window in June, and Christmas–New Year
- Outside those windows, Puerto Princesa rarely sells out — 3–5 days' notice is usually fine
🍽️ Must-eat in Puerto Princesa
- Tamilok — woodworm ceviche, a genuine Palawan specialty; try it once at the public market or a specialty restaurant
- Crocodile sisig — a Puerto Princesa novelty dish, widely available given the city's crocodile farm heritage
- Fresh seafood by the kilo — the public market (Bagong Silang) lets you pick your catch and have a nearby stall cook it for a small fee
- Kinilaw — Filipino-style ceviche, usually tuna or tanigue, found at almost any seafood restaurant
- Cashew products — Palawan is the country's cashew capital; polvoron and tarts made from local cashews are the pasalubong of choice, not dried mango
Puerto Princesa trip budget from Manila
Typical costs for a 3-night Puerto Princesa trip — all amounts in Philippine Peso (PHP)
| Item | Budget | Mid-range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✈ Flight (one-way) | ₱599–1,299 | ₱1,800–3,200 | Seat sale vs regular; baggage add-on extra on 5J/Z2 |
| 🏨 Hotel (per night) | ₱600–1,200 | ₱2,500–5,500 | Budget guesthouse vs 3-star near the Baywalk or Rizal Ave |
| 🍽️ Meals (per day) | ₱350–600 | ₱900–1,800 | Public market carinderia vs sit-down seafood restaurant |
| 🛺 Local transport/day | ₱100–200 | ₱500–1,000 | Tricycle vs Grab / chartered tricycle tour |
| 🕳️ Activities | ₱800–1,500 | ₱2,500–4,500 | Honda Bay island-hop vs Underground River tour + Honda Bay combined |
| 🎁 Pasalubong / shopping | ₱200–500 | ₱800–2,000 | Cashew products and pearl jewelry at the public market are cheapest |
| 📊 Total (3 nights) | ~₱3,900–6,600 | ~₱10,000–19,000 | Excludes flights. Doesn't include an El Nido or Coron side trip. |
7 tips to get the cheapest MNL→Puerto Princesa flights
Three carriers, real seat sales, and a few Palawan-specific quirks — use these to cut the fare even further
Subscribe to piso fare alerts
Cebu Pacific runs MNL–PPS piso fares multiple times a year. Base fares can drop to ₱99–₱499. These last 24–72 hours max. Subscribe to piso-fare.com alerts and be first to know.
Book 3–6 weeks ahead
MNL–PPS has enough daily frequency that you can often score good fares 3 weeks out. But for Holy Week, the Baragatan Festival window in June, and Christmas, book 6–8 weeks ahead instead.
Compare Cebu Pacific vs AirAsia base fares directly
Both are budget carriers on this route with similar 7 kg cabin-only base fares, but sale timing rarely lines up — one is often ₱200–₱500 cheaper on any given week. Check both before booking either.
Fly Tuesday or Wednesday
Friday and Sunday are the two priciest days on MNL–PPS. Shifting to Tuesday or Wednesday can save 20–30% on regular fares, sometimes more. The flight time is identical.
Add baggage at booking, not at the airport
Cebu Pacific and AirAsia charge ₱400–₱600 extra for baggage added at check-in vs. at booking. Decide before you book — it's the same leg room either way.
September is the single cheapest month
Rainy season plus low tourist demand means ₱1,200–₱1,299 one-way fares are common in September even without a seat sale. Combine with a midweek departure for the lowest fares of the year — just plan a buffer day in case a boat tour gets postponed for weather.
Check the all-in price before committing
A ₱599 base fare with 20 kg baggage, seat selection, and a meal becomes ₱2,200+. Compare Cebu Pacific's or AirAsia's all-in vs PAL's fare (which usually already includes 20–23 kg baggage) before assuming the budget carrier is cheaper.
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Cheap flights Manila to Puerto Princesa — what we've learned tracking this route
We track the MNL to Puerto Princesa piso fare because it's one of the few domestic routes where the destination genuinely changes what you should pack, not just what you should wear. Puerto Princesa is a working city and a UNESCO gateway at once — it's where OFW families fly home to, where dive shops restock, and where every El Nido or Coron itinerary secretly starts, whether the traveller admits it or not. Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, and AirAsia Philippines all fly it direct, in roughly 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 minutes, and between the three of them there's enough daily frequency that this never feels like a route you have to plan around.
The cheapest time to book this route
Our honest opinion, based on the fares we've logged: book for September if your dates are flexible at all. It's deep in rainy season, it's the quietest month for tourist arrivals, and both Cebu Pacific and AirAsia discount harder here than in any other month to keep planes full. We've seen MNL–PPS all-in fares hit ₱599 one-way during Cebu Pacific piso fare pushes — usually timed around a payday weekend in that August–September window. What most Manila travellers don't factor in is that the same rainy season that lowers fares can occasionally bump a Sabang boat tour by a day, so we'd rather you fly cheap and build in one buffer day than pay peak-season prices for a guaranteed clear sky.
What Puerto Princesa actually costs a Manila traveller
Puerto Princesa City itself is cheap by Philippine beach-destination standards — cheaper than El Nido, cheaper than Coron, and closer to what you'd pay in a regional capital than a resort town. The mistake we see constantly is travellers pricing their whole Palawan trip off Puerto Princesa hotel and food rates, then getting blindsided when they add three days in El Nido at nearly double the daily spend. If Puerto Princesa is the whole trip — Underground River, Honda Bay, maybe Iwahig fireflies — ₱5,000–₱7,000 all-in for three days including the flight is a realistic tipid budget.
The Baragatan Festival fare spike nobody warns you about
Every guide mentions Holy Week and Christmas. Fewer mention that Palawan's biggest cultural event, the Baragatan Festival, runs through most of June and pulls delegations from every municipality in the province into Puerto Princesa City itself — which means the fare and hotel spike hits the city, not some outlying town you can avoid. We watch MNL–PPS fares climb noticeably for the whole month, with the sharpest jump around the festival's peak week in mid-to-late June. If a June trip is unavoidable, book 6–8 weeks out rather than the usual 3–6 weeks we'd recommend for a quieter month.
How piso-fare.com tracks this route
The fares on this page are pulled from live search data, refreshed regularly, so what you see above reflects real bookable prices, not a rate card. We compare the current lowest fare against the 90-day average to flag when a listed price is an actual piso fare event versus a normal Tuesday. If you're not ready to book today, the one concrete move worth making is subscribing to our MNL–PPS alert below — Cebu Pacific and AirAsia both run flash sales on this route with little warning, and a 24–72 hour piso fare window is easy to miss if nobody tells you it started.
Frequently asked questions — MNL to Puerto Princesa flights
Content reviewed 2026-07-30 · Prices update automatically every day
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