Astoria Palawan

Last month, my friends and I flew to Puerto Princesa for a delayed celebration of our little side hustle surviving its first year — which honestly deserves at least one beach trip and several “we did it” moments. It was also my second time in Palawan, but this time I got to experience it with my closest friends, which automatically made everything more fun. 

Traveling with friends in your late twenties is funny because half the trip is healing your inner child while the other half is complaining about back pain, heat, and how expensive everything has become.

We arrived at the airport pretty early for our flight, so naturally we spent our time the way all emotionally exhausted adults do: eating and doom scrolling. I also brought my kindle with me to feel productive and mysterious, but realistically I only read a few pages before getting distracted by snacks and people-watching.

We stayed at Astoria Palawan, around an hour and a half away from the city. Since our stay was short, we rented a car so we could move around on our own schedule instead of relying on transfers and strict pickup times. Very responsible adult behavior, if you ask me.

The room was decent enough for four people whose main purpose was just to shower, sleep, and watch movies. Most of the time, we were outside anyway — either at the beach, walking around the resort, or trying to survive the heat without melting completely.

The beach was genuinely beautiful though. Calm, peaceful, and exactly the kind of view that makes you briefly think maybe you should quit everything and move somewhere like this. 

The only problem? It was jellyfish season. Thankfully, the resort had a designated swimming area because I personally did not want our vacation to suddenly become a medical emergency. The water was weirdly warm too, until we realized that apparently jellyfish enjoy warm water. Love that for them. Not so much for us.

Since the resort was huge, there were plenty of activities around, including their waterpark, which immediately healed at least forty percent of my adult stress.

But honestly, most of our itinerary revolved around resting under trees, talking about life, and pretending none of us had responsibilities waiting back home.

I think that’s what I loved most about this trip. It wasn’t packed with a super strict itinerary or pressure to constantly do something exciting. We just allowed ourselves to slow down a little. And as someone whose brain is usually running at full speed twenty-four seven, that felt nice.

Also yes, I vlogged the whole trip because apparently my coping mechanism is documenting everything like I’m filming a coming-of-age movie nobody asked for.