Palawan

Palawan in the Philippines is where postcards become real — if you're after that "edge of the world" feeling, where nature still wins and the sea looks like a palette someone went mad with in turquoise and deep blue, this is your destination. Palawan is huge, so don't try to see it all: most people land in Puerto Princesa, but focus on El Nido in the north — home to the famous lagoons and cliffs — and if you have time, carry on to Coron, a paradise for divers and snorkellers with wartime shipwrecks resting on the seabed. The heart of the holiday is island hopping: you climb aboard a local bangka boat (the ones with bamboo "wings") and the captain takes you to hidden islands, lagoons tucked between towering limestone cliffs, and beaches of flour-white sand — and don't just take the tour everyone takes; hire a private boat for a day with another couple of friends. It costs a little more, but you reach the islands before the big boats arrive, and that makes all the difference. In Palawan the clock runs differently — sometimes the power cuts out, sometimes the internet takes a rest, and that's exactly the point: put the phone aside, take a fresh coconut in hand, and learn to value the quiet. The food, too — don't look for fancy chef restaurants; eat at the local beachfront tavernas, order fish caught that morning off the grill, and try the local chicharon, food so simple and fresh you'll be shocked that this is all it takes to be happy. Most important: don't arrive with a rigid plan — schedule only the first days and leave room to change, because someone at the bar one evening will tell you about a little island you have to see, and it usually becomes the highlight of the trip. This is an island that asks just one thing of you: come with an open mind and agree to drift.

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