A Travel Price Comparison for Families, Couples, and Backpackers Palawan vs. Newcastle for Vacations, Tours, and Honeymoons

Should you visit Palawan or Newcastle?

Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?

Should I visit Palawan or Newcastle? This is a common question asked by many travelers. By figuring out which city has activities that align with your interests along with knowing which is more affordable, you'll understand where you can get more bang for your buck. So, let's dive into the details and the data, which all comes from actual travelers.

Where Should I go: Palawan or Newcastle?

Palawan

Palawan is an archipelagic province of the Philippines, named for its largest island which measures about 450 kilometers (or 280 miles) long. The island is known as an ecological frontier with plenty of beaches and resorts as well as opportunities to see a diverse array of wildlife and their habitats on land and sea.

Newcastle

Newcastle is 150 kilometers north of Sydney in New South Wales. It is also the second largest city in the state, and serves as a central point to explore the area's beaches, wineries, and beautiful natural landscape. North of the city is Stockton beach, which has many miles of isolated, beautiful beaches, stretching all the way up to Nelson Bay. The wineries are inland to the west and have some of Australia's finest wine which you can taste. If you want to see rainforests, you can head northwest to Barrington Tops National Park, which has great rainforests and freshwater streams. You may even get to see a platypus. The city also has the country's oldest sea port. In the past the city's economy was centered around the steel industry, but today the University of Newcastle is one of the area's most important employers.

For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best One Week (7-Day) Tours in Philippines, The Best 2-Week Tours in Philippines, The Best 4-Week (1-Month) Tours in Australia, and The Best Budget Tours to Australia.


Which place is cheaper, Newcastle or Palawan?

These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations. These travel costs come from the actual spending of real travelers.

The average daily cost (per person) in Palawan is $43, while the average daily cost in Newcastle is $117. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each destination. What follows is a categorical breakdown of travel costs for Palawan and Newcastle in more detail.



Accommodation
  • Accommodation Hotel or hostel for one person
    Palawan $13
    Newcastle $45
  • Accommodation Typical double-occupancy room
    Palawan $26
    Newcastle $90
Compare Hotels in Palawan and Newcastle

Looking for a hotel in Palawan or Newcastle? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options and compare which is best for your budget and travel style.

Hotels in Palawan


Hotels in Newcastle


Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world. Compare prices for multiple destinations when planning your next trip.


Our Analysis
We've analyzed the average and typical hotel prices based on guest reviews, star ratings, and hotel amenities here: Palawan Hotel Prices and Newcastle Hotel Prices.

Local Transportation
  • Local Transportation Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.
    Palawan $16
    Newcastle $8.41

Hired Cars and Shuttles in Palawan

Also for Palawan, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:

  • Shared Busuanga Airport to Coron Hotel Transfer: $10
  • Coron Airport Shared Hotel Transfers: $10
  • Airport Transfers airport to city center hotel and cruise port: $20
  • El Nido Tour with Lunch and Transfers: $44
  • El Nido Tour C with Lunch and Transfers: $44
  • Coron Ultimate Tour: 7 Destinations with Lunch and Transfer: $47
  • Private Van Transfers: Busuanga Airport to Coron Hotel Vice Versa: $48
  • El Nido (Lio) Airport Transfers: $50
  • PrivateTransfer from Puerto Princesa Port to Puerto Princesa city: $60
  • Private Busuanga Airport to Coron Hotel Transfer: $79
  • Busuanga Palawan Private Airport Transfer to Coron Town: $90
  • Private for your group - transfers Puerto princesa to elnido : $100

Hired Cars and Shuttles in Newcastle

Some specific examples of transportation prices in Newcastle:

  • Private Transfer from Newcastle Port to Newcastle city hotels: $80
  • Private Transfer from Newcastle Port to Newcastle Airport (NTL): $82
  • Private Transfer from Newcastle Cruise Port to Sydney City Hotels: $251
  • Private Transfer from Newcastle City Hotels to Newcastle Port: $80
  • Private Transfer from Newcastle Airport (NTL) to Newcastle Port: $83
  • Newcastle to Newcastle Airport (NTL) - Departure Private Transfer: $74
  • Newcastle Airport to Newcastle - Round-Trip Private Transfer: $148
  • Newcastle Airport (NTL) to Newcastle - Arrival Private Transfer: $74

Is it cheaper to fly into Palawan or Newcastle?

Prices for flights to both Newcastle and Palawan change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.





Food
  • Food Meals for one day
    Palawan $19
    Newcastle $61

Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Newcastle

Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Newcastle.

  • Harbour Dinner Cruise with Live Music: $69
  • Newcastle Harbour Dinner Cruise with Buffet and Live Music: $71
  • Earp Distilling Co: Date Night with Blending Class & Dinner: $73
  • Cooking Classes at the Yellow Door Kitchen: $96
  • Date Night with Blending Class and Dinner: $149

Entertainment
  • Entertainment Entrance tickets, shows, etc.
    Palawan $5.21
    Newcastle $15

Tours and Activities in Palawan

For Palawan, here are a few prices for actual activities, tours, and tickets provided by various companies:

  • Half-day Puerto Princesa City Tour: $15
  • Coron Town Tour with Maquinit Hot Spring: $19
  • City tour of Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines : $20
  • Coron Island Hopping Tour A with Kayangan Lake: $25
  • 2in1 City tour and museum with pick up at hotel or cruise port: $25
  • Half-Day City Tour from Puerto Princesa: $27
  • Coron Island Hopping Tour B with Skeleton Wreck & Barracuda Lake: $32
  • Fullday Coron Island Hopping Tour : $34
  • City Tour of Puerto Princesa sightseeing excursion: $35
  • Coron Island Tour A (Shared Tour): $37
  • Joiners Honda Bay Island Hopping Tour: $38
  • Puerto Princesa: Honda Bay Tour with Lunch: $38

Tours and Activities in Newcastle

Some specific costs of activities, tours, and entrance tickets for Newcastle are as follows:

  • 3- Hour Wine and Harvest the Hunter Horse Tour in Pokolbin: $93
  • Shared Newcastle Harbor Cruise: $43
  • 3-Hour Hunter Valley Scenic Helicopter Tour Including 3-Course Lunch from Cessnock: $272
  • Audrey Wilkinson Vineyard - Sweet Indulgence Experience: $40
  • Audrey Wilkinson Vineyard: Fromage and Fortified Wine Experience: $54
  • Award Winning Full Day Wine and Food Experience: $151
  • Christmas Lunch Cruise on Newcastle Harbour: $57
  • Coastal 2.5-hour Adventure Boat Tour from Newcastle: $83
  • Family Pass Fighter World Museum Admission Ticket: $32
  • From Hunter Valley Beer & Wine Group Tour: $165
  • From Sydney: Tandem Skydive Experience over Newcastle Beach: $266
  • From Sydney: Tandem Skydive Experience over Newcastle Beach: $264

Alcohol
  • Alcohol Drinks for one day
    Palawan $7.44
    Newcastle $10

Sample the Local Flavors in Newcastle

Here are a few nightlife and alcohol tours and activities from local tour providers in Newcastle:

  • Cael’s Gate Wine Tasting in Hunter Valley: $6.66
  • Ivanhoe Wines: Trip Advisor Seated Wine Tasting : $10
  • Boutique Wine Tasting Experience in Pokolbin: $11
  • Newcastle Bar Crawl Experience: $15
  • Cael's Gate Reserve Wine Tasting in Hunter Valley: $17
  • Premiere Wine Tasting Experience : $20
  • Tulloch Wines - Wine Tasting paired with Local Handmade Chocolates: $23
  • Cheese and Wine Tasting Experience in Pokolbin: $26
  • Wonnarua Sparkling Wine Tasting: $30
  • Ivanhoe Wines: Trip Advisor Premium Wine Tasting: $30
  • Tintilla Estate: Wine Tasting with a Meat and Cheese Platter: $33
  • Tulloch Wines Hunter Heroes Wine Tasting with Local Cheese & Charcuterie Board: $35


When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Palawan and Newcastle, we can see that Newcastle is more expensive. And not only is Palawan much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Palawan is in Asia and Newcastle is in Pacific, this is one of the main reasons why the costs are so different, as different regions of the world tend to have overall different travel costs. So, traveling to Palawan would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Palawan and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Newcastle would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Newcastle than you might in Palawan.

If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Palawan Expensive? and Is Newcastle Expensive?.