Underground River updates

What changed at the Underground River in 2026?

The wharf, mostly. The park started a dry run of a new guest-handling process at Sabang Wharf on 7 February 2026, while the permit rules, the daily limit and the tour hours stayed as they were.

The year began with the park reposting its core rules on 9 January 2026. Its Notice to the Public and Travel Advisory repeat the same three points: 900 visitors a day, a strictly enforced no permit, no entry policy, and cave tours scheduled from 08:00 to 16:00 so the bats and swiftlets are not disturbed as they leave and return. The Manila Times said the same in June 2026: the city still limits visitors to 900 a day.

Around that steady core, three things moved. The guest-handling dry run at the wharf. A design for a new Sabang wharf. And a busy November, with the Subaraw Biodiversity Festival around Underground River Day. The table puts it in order.

The most booked day: hotel pickup, the Buenavista viewpoint over Ulugan Bay, the boat from Sabang, the paddle boat into the river and lunch by the sea.

★ 4.5 · 8 to 10 hours · from $45

Explore the full-day trip with lunch → Tour details

What is the new guest-handling process at Sabang Wharf?

A new way of checking guests in and moving them to the boats, tested since 7 February 2026. On a tour, your guide takes you through it.

The park announced it in a Public Advisory dated 9 February 2026: a dry run of the new process at Sabang Wharf starting 7 February, with a request that everyone review the instructions and follow the new procedure. The step-by-step instructions are posted with the advisory on the park's site as images, so the wording is theirs to keep current, not ours.

For you, the day looks the same. Your van drops you at the wharf, the guide handles the papers, and you board an outrigger boat for the ride of about 20 minutes along the coast to the cave beach. The zipline day's listing puts it simply: on arrival at the wharf, the tour guide arranges the paperwork to access the cave. Bring a valid ID. The park asks every visitor to register individually, and the zipline listing accepts a copy.

Did the Underground River permit rules change in 2026?

No. The limit is still 900 visitors a day, a Visitor Entry Permit is still required before you go, and staying in Sabang still does not guarantee one.

The park is blunt about the last point. Its notice warns visitors not to believe claims online that going straight to the park or staying overnight in Sabang guarantees a permit: the park denies any such policy. Independent travelers secure the Visitor Entry Permit at the Underground River Booking Office before heading north. The park's travel advisory places the office at Mendoza Park, Barangay Model, about 10 minutes from the airport.

Every tour on this site arranges the permit for you, which is the simplest way through. The permit guide walks through both routes, the documents and the booking timeline.

Did the Underground River fees change in 2026?

Not the one you pay yourself. The environmental fee is PHP 150 per person in cash, and one listing gives PHP 120 for people 18 and under and senior citizens.

Most tours leave the environmental fee out of the price and you pay it on the day, at the wharf. Bring small notes. Only the tour with fees included has it built in, together with the entrance fee. Everything else, from the boats to the audio device, is in your tour price, and what each tour covers is in the table below.

We checked the Philippine press for 2026 news of a new entrance or environmental fee and found none by 15 November 2026. The full breakdown, with lunch and the optional extras, is in our tour cost guide.

The day with nothing to pay at the wharf: entrance and environmental fees included, a shared motorized boat, an English-speaking guide and lunch with water.

★ 4.6 · 8 hours · from $60

Explore the tour with fees included → Tour details

Was the Underground River closed in 2026?

Not for any long stretch in the park's 2026 notices. Tours run daily, and the park pauses them during extreme weather, as it always has.

The park's points of interest page says it in one line: tours are scheduled daily except during extreme weather conditions. The boat from Sabang crosses open sea, so big waves decide. In a past case PTV News reported tours halted on advice from the Philippine Coast Guard, to resume once the waves eased. If the weather turns, your operator will be in touch, and every tour here cancels free up to 24 hours before.

One part of the park is closed for now: the 5.3 km jungle trail from Sabang to the river entrance, temporarily closed for renovation according to the park. The boat is the way in. Seasons and the wetter months are in our best-time guide.

What else is new around Sabang in 2026?

Plans for a new wharf, a record year for cruise ships and the Subaraw Biodiversity Festival in November.

On 4 February 2026 the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) presented the design of the Sabang Integrated Wharf to Mayor Lucilo R. Bayron, the city reported. The review covered climate resiliency, maintenance, foot traffic and room for fish landing and boat docking. Park Superintendent Atty. Christine N. Longno asked for a wharf the whole community can use. No construction dates were published.

The ships keep coming. The city counted 20 cruise ship calls in 2025, its highest yet, with 27,023 passengers, and named the Underground River as popular with cruise guests. On these listings cruise passengers book the private option, since they cannot join shared tours: the private tour takes up to 4 people in their own van. In November the city holds the Subaraw Biodiversity Festival around 11 November, which Proclamation No. 816 made Puerto Princesa Underground River Day, PTV News reported. The name joins suba, river, and taraw, limestone cliff. The city called the 2026 edition a great success, and it will host the Subaraw National Music Championship in 2027.

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