Manila & Puerto Princesa, 5 Nights

Met on arrival at Manila's main airport and driven into the city, which in rush hour can take longer than the distance suggests. Rooms are generally available from the middle of the afternoon. With the rest of the day to yourselves, the big air-conditioned malls near most hotels are the easiest way to find dinner, currency exchange and a local SIM card before the island part of the trip begins.

A morning through four centuries. Start among the rows of crosses at the Manila American Cemetery, the largest burial ground for American dead of the Second World War, then Rizal Park and its memorial to José Rizal. Intramuros is the old Spanish core: Fort Santiago on the Pasig river, Manila Cathedral, and San Agustin church with its museum of religious art. On the way back the car loops past the Cultural Center and the bayfront at Pasay. The rest of the day is free.

The morning domestic flight crosses to Palawan (the fare is not in the package; we book it for you). Puerto Princesa is a green, easy-going town where tricycles outnumber cars. After check-in, a gentle afternoon: Plaza Cuartel, a small park on the site of a wartime garrison, and the twin-spired Immaculate Conception Cathedral beside the bay. Dinner is a chance to try the town's own dishes, from grilled seafood on the Baywalk to a bowl of chao long.

An early start north across the island to Sabang, about two hours by road, then a short boat ride along the coast to the park beach. From there a paddle boat takes you into the mouth of the cave. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River runs for over eight kilometres under the limestone before reaching the sea; visitors see the first stretch, by lamp, among huge chambers, stalactites and the rustle of bats and swiftlets overhead. It was inscribed by UNESCO in 1999. Daily permits are capped, which is why we book ahead. Lunch at Sabang, then the drive back.

A shorter day on calm water. From the wharf north of town the boat crosses Honda Bay to its scatter of small islands. Luli takes its name from a local phrase for sinking and rising, since much of it disappears at high tide. Starfish island has shallow sandy water where the name explains itself, and Cowrie island has shade, hammocks and a reef off the beach. Lunch is a picnic on the sand, and there is time to snorkel between stops. Back at the hotel by late afternoon.

Breakfast, then the short transfer to the airport, which sits right on the edge of town, for the flight to Manila and your connection home. If the flight leaves after lunch, there is time to buy cashews, a Palawan speciality, or dried fish from the market for anyone who likes them.