My wife and I had booked a ten-week trip, covering 11 countries, for our 40th anniversary. Part of the trip included a 17 day tour of Vietnam and Cambodia and, even though that was the highlight of the entire trip, we knew we would need some relaxation time immediately after such a hectic tour. I had worked with guys from the Philippines and they had told me I should visit Palawan if I ever got the chance, so I selected it for a week of relaxation and we were not disappointed.
Apulit Island is very small and the resort is the only occupied part, meaning it was extremely peaceful and just what we were looking for. There are only 50 cottages in total and, of these, 30 are Water Cottages which can only accommodate two people, while the other 20 are Loft Water Cottages and can accommodate four people. The Loft Water Cottages are to the West of the main buildings, which include reception, bar and dining area, and are built on two levels with direct ladder access to the sea. The Water Cottages, to the East of the main buildings, do not have direct access to the sea, but this isn’t an issue, given the very short distance to the pool and beach areas.
After checking on Trip Advisor, I noted that only the Water Cottages to the East offer a view of the sunset, so we chose one of those and I’m glad we did. The reviewer I contacted told me that, even though he had paid extra for a Loft Water Cottage, he had asked to be ‘downgraded’ to the Water Cottages simply to have the benefit of the sunset each evening. We were in Number 46 and I’d highly recommend that one or any other close by.
There is a laundry service available and it was excellent, with a price list in the room detailing the charges for individual items. The laundry bags were picked up from the room and dropped back there on the following day.
Safes can be put into the rooms on request, but are not fixed to the walls. This is not really important, given that only residents or staff could possibly get into the rooms. The room had excellent air conditioning, plus a ceiling fan. There was a large television, which was handy for catching up on news or chilling out if we wanted and early night.
The staff were excellent and very friendly and a large group of them are on the jetty waiting to greet you upon arrival. They are also there to bid you farewell when it is time to leave. They also provide any entertainment at night, such as local songs and dances. The food was excellent and plentiful and, once again, the staff provide excellent table service for drinks.
Even tough this is a tiny island, there is plenty to do if you don’t like the idea of spending all day, every day, lounging by the pool or on the beach. They have a Dive Shack and the prices for Scuba Diving were very reasonable. You can also take a kayak out into the sea for a trip around the bay. For the more adventurous, there is a 60 metre high limestone cliff at the east end of the island and, with a guide, you can climb it in the evening and rappel / abseil back down to the sea level. There are opportunities to do this every day. In addition, you can explore the island’s caves, if that takes your fancy. There are also organised trips off of the island and the Guest Activities Co-ordinators will arrange any of them for you. The pool is an infinity pool and, though not huge, it was seldom very busy hen we were there. That seemed to be mainly because many of the other guests were Chinese and they are not big on sunbathing, or even being exposed to the sun. The beach was also very quiet and getting a sun-lounger there was never a problem.
The bar is small, but friendly, and is open-air, with a selection of games available such a darts, table tennis and pool. Drinks were reasonably priced, but remember to let the bartender know if you’re taking drinks to the pool or the beach, as they will be brought to you and will be in plastic tumblers. One thing to note is that “Happy Hour” is from 5pm – 7 pm and we made use of this to order drinks for taking to our Cottage to watch the sunset from our veranda.
One other thing worth mentioning is that getting to Apulit is not a short journey. As we had flown in directly from our tour of Vietnam and Cambodia, we stayed overnight in a hotel near to Manilla Airport (The Belmont), and in the morning we took the Air Swift flight to El Nido, which was followed by a 90 minute drive in a van to Taytay, and then a further 1 hour in an outrigger boat to reach Apulit. The outrigger trip was enjoyable, but the 90 minute drive was our least favourite part of the journey. Obviously, the same journey is required when travelling back to Manilla at the end of the stay.
All-in-all, it was a great place for us to relax and unwind, before we continued our trip by travelling onwards to Tokyo. The sunset views make it worthwhile selecting a Water Cottage, if there are only two of you, and I’ll upload several photos to show what I mean.
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