You might be wondering what are the best things do in Sibaltan because, despite being just under an hour from one of the most touristy places in the Philippines (El Nido), the truth is you hardly hear about this destination. However, we fell head over heels for its charms and we’re sure that before long it will be part of many travel itineraries around the country, just like the neighboring island of Darocotan, which barely appeared on social media and blogs until 2022.
Sibaltan is a small town on the eastern coast of Palawan. It used to be known only to kitesurfing lovers, since from November to March the wind blows quite strongly, making it an ideal destination for them. However, nowadays we think it’s a perfect place for those who want to get off the beaten path, do lesser-known island hopping, and also dive with the world’s second-largest species of manta ray, the manta alfredi, which can reach 5.5 meters.
If all this sounds good or has piqued your curiosity, keep reading—we’re bringing you a complete guide to Sibaltan, one more little corner to see in Palawan.
Where is Sibaltan?
If you take a look at the map, you’ll see that Sibaltan is about 45 kilometers from El Nido, on the east coast of Palawan. As we’ll tell you in the transport section, it’s relatively accessible from El Nido in roughly an hour. You can choose between hopping in one of the shared vans, renting a motorbike, or negotiating a tricycle.
The nearest airport is El Nido’s, but you can also arrive from Puerto Princesa.
What to expect from Sibaltan and why go
Let’s start with the obvious: Sibaltan is still a destination with few comforts. There’s no good internet, electricity is only available at night (some hotels have generators), and accommodation or restaurants aren’t plentiful either. The beach is by no means spectacular, especially if you compare it with those in El Nido or Darocotan. At this point, you’re probably wondering why we went and why we recommend it.
For context, we love exploring new places. We return again and again to tourist spots like Coron or El Nido to update our guides, discover new little corners, and because we genuinely find them incredible. But it’s true that we believe there’s much more to the Philippines beyond the usual hits, and we like to go off the beaten path. Sometimes we get it wrong and other times, as in the case of Sibaltan, we nail it and leave smitten.
Sibaltan is a cool destination if you want to complement your visit to El Nido with something different and far less developed and/or if you’re passionate about diving and long to see mantas. The island hopping we did to the islands opposite won us over, as we hardly found anyone and didn’t expect it. We saw deserted beaches, turtles, endless palm groves, sandbars… It’s not comparable to what you’ll see on the El Nido island hopping tours, since there aren’t limestone cliffs here, but it’s an ideal complement to this Palawan adventure.
We went to Sibaltan from Darocotan and think combining both destinations in this area of Palawan is a fantastic plan.
Streets of Sibaltan
How many days to spend in Sibaltan and suggested route
The truth is that Sibaltan still isn’t a well-known base, and many travelers just come for the day from El Nido. We stayed 4 nights because we travel quite slowly, but, as a guideline, we’d say you should devote at least 2 full days (not counting arrival and departure). It will all depend on your plans in this part of the Philippines.
That is, if you dive and don’t want to miss manta diving, you’ll need to devote a day to it. As you’ll be back around midday, you can spend it strolling through town, enjoying the beach, and watching the sunset.
In our opinion, you should devote another day to island hopping. Although the landscapes obviously can’t be compared with those in El Nido, we’re absolutely sure you’ll enjoy it a lot.
If you have more time, you can explore Bulang Beach and Santa Monica Beach or kayak to Bubog Island. It’s even feasible to explore the mangroves around Dewil or take a tour to Imorigue Island, where there are caves. Of course, if you kitesurf or want to learn, don’t miss the chance to practice the sport here.
What to see and do in Sibaltan
After such a long intro, let’s get down to business and tell you what to see and do in Sibaltan:
1. Enjoy Sibaltan’s beaches
As we already mentioned above, Sibaltan’s beaches aren’t comparable with the beaches of El Nido. They don’t have such blond sand and at low tide it’s tricky to swim without walking quite a bit, but they really have the charm of being virgin beaches where you’ll hardly see anyone. Plus, they’re long and perfect for walking, with plenty of vegetation to give you shade when you want it.
To be honest, since we were feeling lazy, we stayed on Sibaltan’s main beach, where the hotels and restaurants are. It’s a pretty beach that’s easy to walk along and where you can snoop around the abandoned resorts or a few still under construction.
It’s not very deep, so at low tide swimming is a bit of a slog, but because there’s plenty of seaweed or seagrass, you can spot the heads of turtles popping up right from the shore. Seriously, look closely—they’re there. Another thing is whether you can see them while snorkeling… We tried, but they’re quite fast and skittish in this area, so we didn’t manage to see any up close.
If you’re up for exploring more beaches, there are also Santa Monica Beach and Bulang Beach further north, two twin beaches separated by a point called Toratod Point. The most convenient way to explore them is by motorbike, but since we couldn’t find anywhere to rent one here—unless you’ve come from El Nido with your own—you’ll have to negotiate a tricycle, which aren’t abundant either.
If you’re not spending several days in Sibaltan and are only coming on a day trip from El Nido, we recommend checking the tide table to see whether your visit will coincide with high tide, when the beaches look their best.
Sibaltan Beach
2. Kitesurfing in Sibaltan (in season)
The star activity and the main reason many people come here is kitesurfing. When the amihan, or northeast monsoon, arrives, businesses and lovers of the sport rub their hands. It usually dominates from November to March/April each year and brings Sibaltan winds of 15 to 25 knots almost every day. In addition, the Philippine Kiteboarding Association usually organizes a championship around here in January.
We’re not experts on the matter, but it seems to be an ideal place even to learn because the water usually doesn’t have much swell and you can practice even when the tide is low. You can check current conditions here.
On Sibaltan’s beach there’s a place offering lessons and board rental in case you’re not traveling with your gear: Sibaltan El Nido Kiteboarding
By the way, if you like kitesurfing, other places in the Philippines to practice it are Boracay, Bantayan, and Cagbalete.
3. Island hopping in Sibaltan, a TOP experience
If you read our article on island hopping in the Philippines, you’ll realize we’ve done loads. We’d read very little about island hopping in Sibaltan and, when we finished, we couldn’t believe the beauties we visited. Seriously, we loved the route—perhaps also because we didn’t expect it to be so beautiful and because of the feeling of being a bit of “discoverers”. In fact, we both ended up saying: “this is the kind of experience people go crazy for.”
But enough introductions. Island hopping in Sibaltan is a bit à la carte. Forget the set tours in El Nido like A, B, C, and D. We put ourselves in our guide’s hands and he was the one who advised us on the spots to visit. The truth is that we were very lucky, since Jhong was born here and is an expert in the area, so he gave us little details that won us over.
Usually, these places are visited:
Salvame Beach or Villagracia Beach
On Binulbulan Island. Spectacular uninhabited beach full of palm trees. We searched for turtles here, as they’re often around.
Snorkel Point
We don’t know the name of the specific spot, but on the map at the end of this guide we’ve marked the exact point. We really liked it—quite a lively reef. We jumped in without many expectations and what we saw blew us away.
Palma Beach
On the opposite side of Salvame Beach, on Binulbulan, you’ll quickly understand why it’s called Palma. It’s a sublime palm grove. Plus, in this little bay that forms, we saw 4–5 turtles from the boat. They’re skittish, so it was pretty quick, but it truly was a magical moment. Our guide told us dugongs can also be seen around here.
Salvame on the left and Palma in the center and right.
Maosonon Island
It’s now private, so you can’t go ashore. However, you’ll sail past it and its spectacular sandbar. Seriously, it’s gorgeous.
Mangransing Island or Little Maosonon
Along with Palma Beach, the best of the tour. A spectacular island of fine white sand with a very long sandbar at the end. That’s why it’s better to visit when the tide is low. This is where lunch is usually had.
Pical Island
As we saw a little “storm” coming, we only went to a colorful viewpoint on this island. We were told there are also several cool beaches here (Paduldolan Beach looked the nicest) and that you can also stroll through the main village if you want to ask around.
Paduldolan Beach
If you have more time and want to go further, you can ask about island hopping to Imorigue Island, the large island you’ll see if you stand on Sibaltan Beach facing the sea and look to the right. This imposing karst island has some caves and spots for cliff jumping. We don’t know how it is or what this tour includes, but we were told it was interesting.
By the way, these islands belong to the Linapacan group, which we also visited during our Coron–El Nido Expedition, and we’re sure you’ll love it if Sibaltan is “your thing”.
How much does island hopping in Sibaltan cost and how to organize it
The thing is that the range of places to organize tours in Sibaltan is super limited. Usually, it’s the hotels themselves that do it, so you have to cover the price of the whole boat. In other words, it’s not like in El Nido where there are agencies and you can join other people.
In our case, since there were only 2 of us, paying the 6,000–7,000 pesos we were quoted blew our budget a bit. So we asked about the possibility of going on a small boat and got it for 3,500 pesos including lunch. That said, as you’ll see, the boat was tiny and literally only fit the two of us plus the guide and the captain in the back. Comfortable it wasn’t, but we did have fun.
Nowadays, the price for a more suitable boat to do this tour is around 9,500–15,000 for the whole boat of up to 10 people and 1,800 per person with a minimum of 8 people. The price includes lunch; no need to pay extra fees. It’s not exactly cheap, but we think it’s worth it if a few people get together.
Had we not gotten that price, our plan was to go to the pier in town and look for someone there who could offer us something more competitive.
In any case, if you’re interested in our contact, we can share it without any problem if you leave us a comment.
4. Dive with mantas in Sibaltan
Another excuse to visit Sibaltan is diving with manta rays, specifically reef mantas or manta alfredi, a species in the mobula family. As we mentioned above, it’s the 2nd largest manta species in the world, reaching up to 5.5 meters. Even so, it’s most common to find them at around 3–3.5 meters.
A few years ago, several cleaning stations for these mantas were discovered very close to Binulbulan Island which, unlike those at Manta Bowl (near Ticao Island), are about 14 meters deep and 15 minutes’ navigation from Sibaltan, making this a very tempting place for lovers of “big animals” in scuba diving and for those looking for something different in diving in the Philippines. We were told that, for now, mantas are seen year-round, although you know this is nature—sightings aren’t 100% guaranteed.
The couple of dive schools in Sibaltan that exist today and the LAMAVE foundation team are trying to regulate the activity somehow to prevent mantas from being affected by the expected growth in tourism.
The dive at Saan Ka (in Tagalog, “where are you?”) is quite simple. The dive masters usually check for mantas and, if present, you jump in to slowly circle around the 4 cleaning stations and enjoy the mantas “flying”. It’s not unusual to also come across a green turtle.
Usually 2 dives are done at the cleaning stations and, if you’re up for another, at some nearby reef. We were told there are some pretty interesting dives, even night dives.
As these dives aren’t very deep, you can do them with just an Open Water certification, but bear in mind that if the mantas are here it’s because it’s a current-prone area and therefore rich in nutrients, which can mean visibility isn’t great and the dive may not be comfortable. For this reason, we recommend you have a minimum of diving experience.
Prices are around 4,000 pesos for 2 dives (including gear rental) and 5,000 for 3 dives. From 3 dives they also include lunch, which is usually had on a beach on Binulbulan Island.
5. More things to do in Sibaltan
We’ve already told you the basics things to do in Sibaltan: beaches, island hopping, kiteboarding, and diving; but if you have more time or want to go further, here are a few things we were told you can also do:
- Ille Cave + mangrove tour: about 30 minutes from Sibaltan is this curious cave which, besides being very interesting from a natural perspective (yes, bats are guaranteed), has a small museum with archaeological remains proving this area was inhabited more than 12,000 years ago. If you’re keen on some exercise, you can also hike to the top of the mountain. It’s 350 pesos for the guide (whole group) and 150 pesos extra if you want to go up.
- Mangrove tour: very close by, next to the village of New Ibajay, you can also take a route through the mangroves out to the sea.
- Kayak to Bubog Island: if you look out to sea from Sibaltan Beach, you’ll see a tiny island you can reach by kayak. While we were there, we saw some locals heading out for the day.
- Sibaltan Heritage Center: unfortunately it was closed when we went, but if you have the chance it seems like an interesting visit. Sibaltan has a bit of an archaeological reputation, as 19th-century inhabitants used to bury their valuables.
Practical information about Sibaltan
Now that you know what to do in Sibaltan, we’ll complete the guide with some practical data.
Where to stay in Sibaltan
Compared with El Nido, Sibaltan is still light-years behind, especially if you visit in low season as we did. At that time, every place but two was closed, so we didn’t have much room for choice.
Accommodation in Sibaltan is strung along the beach at varying distances from the village. You can easily walk to all of them, and in fact at low tide motorbikes ride along the beach. Here are the places open today where to stay in Sibaltan:
- Ursula Beach Club: this is where we stayed and it was a great choice. Run by a lovely family, they currently (while expanding) have 3 rooms, 2 beachfront and one cabin on the hill with amazing views (ours). They have a generator and the internet works decently. It isn’t cheap, but it’s a cool place and the service is 10/10. By the way, they have some adorable dogs. Book here.
- Erlittop Garden Eco Lodge: when we were there they were under construction, but a traveler told us she stayed recently and loved it. The cabins look great and prices are affordable. Book here.
- Carmelita Homestay: it’s the first place in the main stretch of Sibaltan Beach. The grounds are charming, but we snooped around the rooms and they left us a bit cold. They’re quite basic for the price and, with no generator, you’re without power until night. We ruled it out because we needed electricity to work. Book here.
- Floresita’s Beach Resort: it was also completely closed when we were around, but it seems they’re operating again with cabins and camping tents. Book here.
We don’t know how long Sibaltan will keep this “rural vibe” because we were told Chinese investors are already buying beachfront plots and we saw some movement. It may be that in the future there will be many more resorts.
Ursula Beach in Club Sibaltan
How to get to Sibaltan
If you’re not in Palawan yet, the first thing you need to do is search for flights to Puerto Princesa or to El Nido, or book the Coron–El Nido ferry. El Nido airport is the closest if you want to take the least possible time.
Now we’ll explain how to get to Sibaltan from Puerto Princesa and El Nido, the two most common destinations, but you should know that we went from Darocotan. In Teneguiban port, the tricycle driver who had taken us from El Nido a few days earlier was waiting and dropped us in Sibaltan again for 700 pesos. If you want, we can also give you his contact—just leave us a comment.
How to get to Sibaltan from Puerto Princesa
If you’re in Puerto Princesa, you have 2 alternatives:
- Take a van (4–5 hours) or bus to El Nido and then connect with another to Sibaltan (1–2 hours).
- Take a direct van to Sibaltan (7–8 hours/800 pesos).
The only company that offers the Puerto–Sibaltan and El Nido–Sibaltan route is called Katar Van Transport, and to be honest, figuring out the schedules is a bit crazy. They depart two or three times a day from Irawan terminal (about 12 km from Puerto). The best thing is to call or send an SMS while in the Philippines to one of the following numbers: 09066484602, 09054325019, or 09777183502
Another way is to contact your accommodation once you’ve booked, as they handle this well and can reserve your seat, which is important if you’re going from El Nido to Sibaltan, since these are the same vans that run from Puerto Princesa and they may be full.
Bear in mind that the vans make tons of stops, picking up and dropping off people, which is why they’re so slow. In our case, getting back to El Nido took more than 2 hours for a journey that normally takes 1 hour.
* Discover how to get to Puerto Princesa
How to get from El Nido to Sibaltan
This is possibly the route you’ll take. In this case, you have 3 options:
- Rent a motorbike: the road is cool, and there’s even a raised section with good views. The price is usually around 500 pesos per day. If you want a contact who’ll give it to you a bit cheaper, leave us a comment.
- Negotiate a tricycle: expect to pay between 800 and 1,000 pesos, depending on your bargaining skills.
- Take one of the Katar Van vans: the best thing here is to contact the company at the numbers we gave you above because the El Nido terminal is rather chaotic. You can also ask at your accommodation. The price is 300 pesos per person. If you want, you can also rent a whole one for 2,500 pesos.
If you landed directly at El Nido airport, you can negotiate a tricycle to Sibaltan (it should cost the same as from El Nido Town) or ask them to take you to the terminal (250 pesos). Another idea is to try to time it with the vans going to Sibaltan, but with so few schedules, it seems tricky unless you contact them in advance and wait for them on the road.
* Discover how to get to El Nido
Where to eat in Sibaltan
We can’t really make an extensive guide to restaurants in Sibaltan because there are barely any… As of today, these are basically the ones:
- Ursula Beach Club: most of our lunches/dinners were here. Prices are on the pricey side, but average for Palawan (still a bit cheaper than El Nido). They have all kinds of dishes, including pretty good pasta. Presentation is 10/10, especially at dinner, when they take care with every detail—and you can tell they’ve worked at the most luxurious resorts in the Philippines.
- Sibaltan El Nido Kiteboarding: when we went it was closed (off-season), but we saw this place had a little bar and restaurant with reasonably priced food.
- Carinderias: in town there are a couple of carinderias or eateries, one in front of the basketball court (Ran-Chel Canteen) and another we’ve also marked on the map below. The variety wasn’t great and after 1 pm there was little left. We don’t know what it’s like at night… We wouldn’t bet much on it.
In Sibaltan you’ll find a few small shops to buy snacks and pastries, as well as drinks. Plus, almost all accommodations also serve food, so you can drop by there too.
Tips for visiting Sibaltan
Here are a few tips for visiting Sibaltan that we gleaned from our experience:
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- The best time to visit Sibaltan is roughly March to June, when it’s the dry season and the wind doesn’t blow as hard. Remember it’s a place beloved by kitesurfers and, although it doesn’t rain as much, the wind blows hard from November to March. That said, we visited Sibaltan in August and had a great time.
- Bring cash. We saw a Euronet ATM in town, but it was off. You’ll need to rely on cash there.
- When we were there they were doing works to improve the internet, so it’s possible the connection has improved quite a bit. In certain spots you could get a good SMART signal.
- Assume it’s possible you won’t be able to use electricity during the day and only at night. Even so, places like Ursula have a generator and it’s 24 hours.
- If you have a fairly fixed itinerary, it’s better to contact accommodations in advance so they can reserve seats in the vans and give you the schedules. To avoid depending on this, the best option would be to rent a motorbike in El Nido and ask your accommodation there to store your big luggage.
- Don’t forget your dry bag. On the way back, an amazing storm rolled in and we ended up completely soaked. This will save your valuables.
- We strongly recommend taking motion sickness pill (bonamine in the Philippines) if you get motion sick in cars, as the vans drive like crazy and there are curves.
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- In a serious emergency you’ll need to be transferred to Puerto Princesa. If it’s something less serious, you can go to El Nido Community Hospital, which is new. Either way, you’ll have to pay for treatment. Therefore (and, unfortunately, from much experience), we recommend taking out travel insurance for the Philippines. With this link you get a 5% discount, which has saved us many times.
Map of Sibaltan
To complete this guide to Sibaltan, we’ve made a map marking the main points of interest:
We hope we’ve helped you discover this little corner of the Philippines and encouraged you to explore it. If you like quiet, lesser-known destinations, we’re sure you’ll enjoy it a lot.
If you have any questions or want to tell us about your experience, we’d love to read you in the comments.
