Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan
Island provinces stretching from Mindoro's beaches, half a day from Manila, to Palawan's world-famous dive sites — Coron shipwrecks, Puerto Galera reefs, and island life at every pace.
MIMAROPA — Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan, formally the Southwestern Tagalog Region under Republic Act No. 10879 of 2016 — is the island region off Luzon's southwest. It runs from Puerto Galera's reefs, about 4–6 hours door to door from Manila, to Coron's wreck dives and the lagoons of Palawan, with quieter Romblon and San Jose, on Mindoro's west coast, in between.
Mindoro is the one part you can reach by road and sea: a bus to Batangas, then a fast craft of about 1–1.5 hours to Puerto Galera (around 2 hours by RoRo). Everywhere else is mostly a flight — Busuanga's airport for Coron, about 22 km and 30–45 minutes by van from town; Tugdan airport on Tablas Island for Romblon, with a ferry on to Romblon Island; San Jose's small airport, with limited flights that may be seasonal or suspended; and Puerto Princesa and El Nido for Palawan. Check which airport your flight leaves from: Cebgo and Philippine Airlines moved their turboprop flights from Manila's NAIA to Clark, about 80 km north, in March 2026, and listings checked in October 2026 showed Busuanga and El Nido served from Clark and Cebu, Tablas from Clark only, and Puerto Princesa still from Manila; San Jose's one listed route, Cebgo from Clark, was shown ending October 24, 2026, with no flights listed after that date (checked October 25, 2026). By sea, a 2026 ferry listing shows 2GO sailing from Manila to Coron once a week, about 13 hours.
The tourist side of the region has a sharp dry season. PAGASA's San Jose and Coron stations log only 2–4 rainy days a month from January to April, against 19–21 at Coron in July and August. Puerto Princesa is drier over the year, at about 1,555 mm, but its wet months run from June to December, with October and November the wettest. Calapan, on Mindoro's east coast, spreads its rain more evenly, with the most rainy days in November and December. Our month-by-month guide has the national picture.
Climate: PAGASA climatological normals 1991–2020, San Jose, Coron, Puerto Princesa and Calapan stations. Region name: Republic Act No. 10879. Flight and ferry listings were checked in October 2026; other travel details come from our destination guides, where each is dated.
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