The Puerto Princesa rules that catch people out
This city legislates its environmentalism, and the single-use plastics ban has teeth. City Ordinance No. 993 has been enforced with fines since 16 April 2024 — bags, cups, straws, cutlery, stirrers and styrofoam, at ₱1,000 rising to ₱3,000 then ₱5,000 plus loss of business permit. Nobody will hand you a plastic bag, so bring a tote and a refillable bottle. The others: no food or visible plastic bags on the Underground River boardwalk, because the macaques take them; drones are effectively banned over most of downtown and require park permission at the river; and the ₱150 environmental fee is charged once and covers both the river and Honda Bay.
Nine rules, in the order they will affect you
The first one is law with real penalties. The rest range from enforced convention to ordinary decency, and the page says which is which rather than presenting them all as regulations.
City Ordinance No. 993, enforced with fines since 16 April 2024 after a one-year transition. It covers plastic bags, cups, straws, cutlery, stirrers and styrofoam citywide. Nobody will offer you a sando bag at a market stall or a straw with a drink — this is not a sign on a wall, it is how shopping here works now. Bring a tote and a refillable bottle; tap water is not potable but refill stations are everywhere and cost a few pesos. Nine community-based tourism sites additionally ban single-use plastics on site.
₱1,000 → ₱3,000 → ₱5,000 + business permit cancelledAt the Underground River, the short jungle boardwalk between the beach landing and the cave mouth runs through macaque territory, and the monkeys have learned exactly what a rustling bag means. They will take it out of your hand. Keep food inside a closed daypack, keep bags out of sight, and do not feed them for a photograph — that is what taught them this in the first place. Monitor lizards patrol the same beach and are entirely harmless if left alone.
Two separate restrictions overlap here. The Underground River park is a protected area and flying requires prior permission from park management, so the practical answer for a casual flyer is no — the specific written rule could not be verified, so ask the PPSRNP office rather than trusting a forum post. Separately, civil aviation rules bar flying within 4 nautical miles of the runway, and because the airport sits on Rizal Avenue inside the city, that circle covers most of downtown, the Baywalk and the cathedral. Assume you are not flying in this city.
Confiscation and civil aviation penaltiesThe rule at Starfish Island is now briefed on most boats and enforced unevenly: keep the sea stars in the water, never lift one out for a photograph, and do not touch the underside. Lifting them out is what emptied the landing area.
Adults ₱150, ages 3–20 ₱120, cash, and the receipt is valid about a year. Critically, it covers both the Underground River and Honda Bay — pay it on one and show the receipt at the other. Keep it in your wallet rather than your hotel room. Some listings quote ₱200; ₱150 is what was collected at the gate through the 2026 checks. There is no general city-wide tourist fee here unlike El Nido's ₱400, though that absence is unverified against new ordinances.
Operators on Honda Bay and at Sabang request reef-safe sunscreen and some will say so on the boat. There is no verified city-wide ordinance requiring it, and this site is not going to invent one. Oxybenzone-free is the responsible default and it costs you nothing — buy it before you fly, because the choice at a Puerto Princesa pharmacy is thin.
Palawan has its own pangolin — the Palawan pangolin, endemic, and part of the most trafficked mammal family on earth. An estimated 26,800 are illegally hunted a year in the province, and seizures rose ninefold in 2018–19 against the prior two decades. Most visitors do not know Palawan has its own species, which is exactly why it is worth saying. Do not buy scales, shell, coral, turtle products or anything you cannot identify, and report offers. This is a criminal matter, not an etiquette one.
Criminal penalties under Philippine wildlife lawParticularly at the Butterfly Garden's Palaw'an demonstrations, at Iwahig where inmates perform for tips, and at the roadside Batak craft stops on the road north. These are living communities, not exhibits. Ask, buy the crafts at community-run counters, and skip anything that sits wrong with you — Binuatan Creations is the anti-fake-souvenir stop if you want provenance you can watch being made.
Separate from the airport circle and worth stating on its own. Flying over villages, over the Batak communities in the foothills, or over any indigenous settlement is not a grey area. The ethical baseline for Palawan is simple: ask before photographing people, buy at community-run counters, and do not fly over anyone's home.
What it changes day to day
Puerto Princesa's single-use plastics ban has been enforced with fines since 16 April 2024 — bags, cups, straws, cutlery, stirrers and styrofoam, ₱1,000 rising to ₱5,000 and loss of business permit. Nobody will hand you a plastic bag. Bring a tote and a refillable bottle; the tap water is not drinkable but refill stations are everywhere.
In practice this is the most visible rule of the nine, and it is almost entirely painless. Market stalls wrap in paper or banana leaf. Cafés serve without straws. The malls sell reusable bags at the till. Nobody will fine you for carrying a plastic bag you brought from home, because the penalties fall on businesses — but you will look like the only person in the city with one.
The penalty ladder is real: ₱1,000 for a first offence, ₱3,000 for a second, ₱5,000 and cancellation of the business permit for a third. That last clause is why compliance is near-total. This is not a soft ordinance with a sign on the wall.
Bring: a tote, a refillable bottle, and a reusable coffee cup if you drink a lot of it. Refill stations are everywhere and cost a few pesos, tap water is not potable, and buying bottled water twice a day for four days is both expensive and slightly ridiculous in a city that legislated against exactly that.
Which of these are actually rules
The honest categorisation. Two of these carry real penalties, two are enforced conventions, and the rest are the difference between a good visitor and a bad one.
| The rule | Status | Consequence | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-use plastics ban City Ordinance No. 993 | Law, enforced since 16 April 2024 | ₱1,000, then ₱3,000, then ₱5,000 and loss of business permit | WORTH IT |
| Buying wildlife products | Law, national | Criminal penalties. The Palawan pangolin is the flagship and it is genuinely endangered | WORTH IT |
| Drones near the airport | Law, civil aviation — no flying within 4 nautical miles of the runway | That circle covers most of downtown. Confiscation and penalties | WORTH IT |
| Drones at the Underground River | Protected area — prior park permission required, exact written rule unverified | Refusal at the gate. Ask the PPSRNP office rather than assuming | DEPENDS |
| The ₱150 environmental fee | Charge, collected at the gate in cash | No fee, no entry. Keep the receipt — it covers the river and Honda Bay both | WORTH IT |
| No food on the river boardwalk | Enforced convention, briefed by guides | A macaque takes your lunch. Nobody fines you | WORTH IT |
| Not lifting the starfish | Convention, briefed on most boats, enforced unevenly | Lifting them is what emptied the landing area at Starfish Island | WORTH IT |
| Reef-safe sunscreen | Requested by operators — no verified ordinance | Nothing formal. Oxybenzone-free is the responsible default | DEPENDS |
| Asking before photographing people | Decency | Nothing, and it is still the rule | WORTH IT |
Where a rule could not be confirmed in writing — the drone policy at the park, any reef-safe sunscreen ordinance, any new city environmental fee — this page says so instead of inventing a number. Ask at the park office or your hotel desk.
Thirty years of enforced environmentalism
The rules make more sense once you know that this city has been running an environmental identity since 1992, and has the awards and the ordinances to show for it.
A city clean-up programme launched in 1992 with anti-littering enforcement and mass tree planting. The city then won the national Cleanest and Greenest Component City title in 1994, 1995 and 1996 — three straight wins, Hall of Fame status, and retirement from the competition — followed by ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City awards in 2008 and 2011 and ASEAN Clean Tourist City in 2020 and 2022.
The accurate framing is a 1990s Hall of Fame awardee that has kept collecting regional awards, not a reigning champion. Say it that way and it becomes credible. The Feast of the Forest, a civic tree-planting holiday running every year since 1991, is the same culture expressed as a party.
The counterweight belongs on this page too, because credibility depends on it. Palawan is the country's nickel frontier and the mines are three to five hours south of here; the Sta. Lourdes landfill has roughly seven years of capacity left; studies have found plastic litter on 17 city beaches; and the city loses around 10 hectares of mangrove a year. Cleanest and greenest is a maintained achievement under real strain, not a solved problem — which is precisely why the plastics ordinance is enforced the way it is.
The practical bit
Where you will actually meet them
Every rule on this page lands on one of two days: the Underground River day or the Honda Bay day. Local walk-up prices are ₱2,200 and ₱1,800 — and the ₱150 fee is cash on the day on both, including on tours advertised as all-inclusive.
Rules questions, answered
Is there really a plastic ban in Puerto Princesa?
Yes, and it has been enforced with fines since 16 April 2024 under City Ordinance No. 993. Bags, cups, straws, cutlery, stirrers and styrofoam are banned citywide, with penalties running ₱1,000, then ₱3,000, then ₱5,000 and loss of business permit.
Can I fly a drone in Puerto Princesa?
Effectively no. Civil aviation rules bar flying within 4 nautical miles of the runway and the airport sits on Rizal Avenue inside the city, so that circle covers most of downtown. At the Underground River you need prior park permission — the written rule is unverified, so ask the park office.
Do I pay the ₱150 environmental fee twice?
No. It is ₱150 for adults and ₱120 for ages 3 to 20, charged once, in cash, and the receipt is valid about a year and covers both the Underground River and Honda Bay. Keep it in your wallet and show it at the second gate.
Can you hold the starfish at Starfish Island?
No. Keep all 5 arms in the water, never lift a sea star out for a photograph and do not touch the underside. Lifting them out is exactly what pushed the sea stars away from the landing area, which is why Starfish Island without starfish is now a recurring review title.
Is reef-safe sunscreen required in Puerto Princesa?
It is requested by operators rather than required by any verified city ordinance — unlike the plastics ban, which carries ₱1,000–5,000 fines. Oxybenzone-free is the responsible default; buy it before you fly, because the selection at a local pharmacy is thin.
Why can't I bring food on the Underground River boardwalk?
Macaques. The 5-minute jungle boardwalk between the beach landing and the cave mouth runs through their territory and they have learned what a rustling bag means. Keep food in a closed daypack, keep bags out of sight, and do not feed them for a photograph.
Is there a tourist tax in Puerto Princesa?
There is no general city-wide tourist environmental fee as of the August 2026 check, unlike El Nido's ₱400. That absence is unverified against new ordinances — this city legislates on environmental matters often — so ask at your hotel desk when you arrive.
What should I not buy as a souvenir?
Anything from a wild animal. The Palawan pangolin is endemic and an estimated 26,800 are illegally hunted a year in the province, with seizures up ninefold in 2018-19. Buy woven crafts at community-run counters like Binuatan Creations instead.