Welcome to Greenviews Resort – Port Barton
- GREENVIEWS RESORT – PORT BARTON
- Tel: 0916 403 7788 or 0929 268 5333
Greenviews Resort at Port Barton.
Port Barton is a small, friendly community in the picturesque Pagdanan Bay, NW Palawan, about 150 km north of Puerto Princesa. At the northern end of a long stretch of beach is Greenviews Resort.
Lonely Planet 2012 web site Review.
“The number one cottages in Port Barton. No flimsy bamboo or tacky decor here, Greenview has solid hardwood bungalows with simple, well-made furnishings and modern bathrooms.”
we will ensure our high standards are maintained and improved. Newly trained staff and substantial additional expenditure on beautiful restaurant furniture along with improvements (including substantial orchid additions) to the already best stocked garden in Port Barton will be evidence of this.
The Philippine Government recognised the special qualities of the resort by awarding it the title of ‘Resort of the Year’ in 2003 and chose it, alongside the neighbouring resort, for its own conference venue.
Accommodation and Facilities.
Port Barton Rebuilding
Greenviews Port barton reopened 3 December 2013 and now has a magnificent restaurant on the 2nd floor at the front overlooking the beach with superb views of the sea and surrounding coastline. We have now purchased the adjoining property and have a wonderful opportunity to expand the facillities we can offer. Already we have made an enchanting eating and music area in a beach and woodland setting. In November 2016 we strated live acoustic music shows each evening from 6.30pm to 11pm. We had tried a live band earlier in the year but have discontinued it as the music was too loud for the nearby cottages. The more gentle acoustic music will be 40m from the nearest cottage with the sound muffled by trees and shrubs so that guests should no longer be disturbed by the noise.
The cottages have had new bathroom suites including hot showers , new bigger windows and refurbished to a high standard.
In 2017 solar power was installed in all cottages to provide lights and fan from midnight and throughout the night. Port Barton town electricity is only 5.30pm-midnights but Greenviews puts its own generator on 12 noon -3pm to heat the hot showers and refresh the fridges and freezers and again 5.30p-midnight after which solar power takes over in the cottages.
The native style cottages set in a large and well maintained garden allows sea breezes to cool the temperature. During January & February with some guests asking for extra sheets to keep warm even though the actual temperature has not fallen below 20 C.
The restaurant is beautifully designed and has wonderful wooden furniture , which makes it a pleasure to relax in and enjoy the best food in Port Barton. The kitchen staff have been trained by Tina, who has years of experience working in the UK for extremely rich employers who demanded a very standard of service and both Philippine and international food are on offer. Backing up the well trained staff is a kitchen, which is always clean & tidy no matter how busy and guests are welcome to pop their head into it to see for themselves although we do not allow guests to cook in our kitchens.
The original 13 cottages have been increased in size so can accommodate at least 4 in each cottage with the family cottage able to take 6 people.
All cottages have their own bathroom with flush toilet and hot showers.
Greenviews has the biggest white beach in Port Barton but the water is shallow, which is ideal for those with young children. For those wishing to snorkel or swim its necessary to go island hopping but that is easy to arrange.
There are some beautiful islands fairly close by with good snorkelling and there are also some wonderful dive sites too.
Greenviews has by far the best garden in Port Barton with an abundance of flowers, shrubs and trees, some of which have been especially planted to attract birds and butterflies into the garden.
That is why you can often see two species of birdwing butterflies endemic to Palawan, Trogonoptera trojana & Troides platinii are breeding in the garden.
Trogonoptera trojana, with its 7 inch wingspan in colours of green, black and blue is a magnificent sight and even the female often makes an appearance something Dave and many others have not seen outside of the garden.
As well as birds such as the delightful sunbirds the garden attracts other animals including flying lizards and ,behind the restaurant in the back garden, terrapins.
At Port Barton the resort goes back 197m and the last 3rd is still semi-wild. Frequent guests to this back 'garden' are the endemic Palawan Hornbill and a small 'alarm bird' a name I use as its incredibly like a fire alarm at about 6am and it has certainly fooled me on at least one occasion! Another bird worth seeing is a Kingfisher feeding on fish in a small brook running through that patch of land, the same brook which many terrapins use and which come to be fed most evenings. As well as the Kingfisher at the back we have one which perches on the electricity line at the front of the beach which catches fish in a small lagoon protruding into our beach near the front of restaurant and has also been seen to eat crabs from the beach.
At night, the romantic scenery is backed up by wonderful displays of stars made possible by the lack of light polution.
Greenviews Resorts is the perfect locations for honeymoons. The often deserted islands will make the honeymoon a wonderful and unforgetable experience. The guests too will find the long journey well worth the effort!
Activities
Local boats offer island hopping to see beautiful coral, deserted islands and wonderful snorkelling.
The short trip to the Mangrove River is a special treat and guests can see a unique habitat which has been destroyed in so many other places.
As well as giant colourful kingfishers, crabs etc., visitors can see the orange and black banded mangrove snake sleeping in the canopy...
We no longer recommend travelling to/from the Underground River from/to Port barton directly owing to the unhelpful restrictions imposed by the Underground Authorities but instead we suggest that guests consider taking a day trip from Puerto Princesa and getting the hotel in Puerto Princesa to get the necessary Underground Permit.
For those who enjoy walking there is plenty on offer. Either a short trip to explore Port Barton and its surroundings or further afield along the coast or to the waterfalls.
For those interested in flowers or butterflies a walk round the garden will be very rewarding. There are also many paths around Greenviews where more butterflies and wildlife can be seen. About 100m away you can see wild pitcher plants growing, always a fascinating sight.
At the resort itself, various games are available such as chess, cards, badminton, boules, volleyball.
Greenviews has its own guides whose willingness to assist guests in countless tasks, and always with a cheerful smile, ensures a rewarding holiday for all concerned. This backed with their keen eyesight never ceases to amaze visiting birdwatchers and insect enthusiasts.
A relaxing massage can be arranged at about £7 for an hour – that's a bargain not to be missed if you have a wreck of a body like Dave!
Location and Getting There
Guests arriving from Puerto Princesa can do so by bus (about 3-4 hours) or can hire a private van (just under 3 hours)
The public bus departs before most planes arrive, therefore, if travelling on public transport, an overnight stay in Puerto Princesa may be necessary.
Much of the road from the main highway to Port Barton has now been cemented but work is still continuing and hopefully it will be finished in 2016.
Ricardo shuttle vans leave PPC for Port Barton several times each day up to 4pm and a new van company SBE Transport has started a similar service. Greenviews can book these vans if required.
If you are adventurous you can also take any van or jeepney going to San Vicente or Roxas which will drop you off at the Port Barton junction 125 km from PPC and go on the back of a motor bike as motor bike riders are normally hanging around that junction.
There are also tricycles offering to get to Port Barton at that junction when the road is dry but in my opinion that is far too dangerous as there are a few downhill sections where any brake failure could be extremely hazardous as two of my guests discovered to their cost. If you do decide to take a tricycle then I suggest you get off and walk the steep downhill sections as a precaution.
If going by road from El Nido to Port Barton you can change at Roxas and take the daily Roxas to Port Barton jeepney but that assumes you catch a shuttle van by 7am or the RORO bus by 6am .
A shuttle van takes about 2 hrs 15 mins from El Nido to Roxas but as they may be late starting its best to take the 7am shuttle van but be prepared for a longer wait at Roxas terminal if the 11am jeepney to Port Barton does not go until 12 noon as often happens.
Its best to check the time of the Roxas/Port Barton jeepney as the time of departure keeps changing.
If wanting to arrive by boat from Sabang (about 3 hours) or El Nido (4hrs 30mins to 5 hours if sea conditions are reasonable) public boats are sometimes available. In the case of Sabang a daily (except Sunday) early morning service has started in 2012 but will cancel if not enough passengers. If no public service available then guests can charter their own or possibly join a boat chartered by someone else. If requesting a pick-up from Sabang by a boat from Port Barton this must be paid in advance. (P4500 March 2014 but may be higher in future if gasoline increases).