Photos: Puerto Princesa by Ray in Manila, CC BY 2.0, cropped; Punta del Este by Marcelo Campi, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped.
Puerto Princesa or Punta del Este?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Puerto Princesa for
- prices
- nature and the outdoors
- wellness
What lies behind each score is written up on Puerto Princesa’s own page.
Choose Punta del Este for
- nightlife
- day trips
- shopping
What lies behind each score is written up on Punta del Este’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Puerto Princesa and Punta del Este.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on prices and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.
Wins on nightlife and day trips with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Puerto Princesa in July
Punta del Este in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Puerto Princesa has no weather station within reach, so its figures come from a gridded climate model rather than a measured record, and read a broad area rather than the city itself.
Punta del Este's temperatures are measured 79 km from the centre, at Rocha.
Punta del Este has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Puerto Princesa: 2001-2020 normals, NASA POWER reanalysis grid, no weather station within 90 km. Punta del Este: 1991-2020 normals, Rocha (78.5 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Puerto Princesa | Punta del Este |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | English, Filipino, Taglish | - |
| Currency | Philippine Peso (PHP) | Peso Uruguayo (UYU) |
| Sockets | ABC220 V, 60 Hz | CFIL230 V, 50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+8 | UTC-3 |
| Emergency number | 911 | 911 |
| Elevation | 98 m | 11 m |
| Main airport | Puerto Princesa International Airport / PAF Antonio Bautista Air Base (PPS)2 km from centre5 non-stop destinations | Capitan Corbeta CA Curbelo International Airport (PDP)18 km from centre6 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 18 days | 15 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Puerto Princesa | Punta del Este |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 316,384 | 9,277 |
| People per km² | 133 | 455 |
| Museums within 10 km | 1 | 5 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 | 0 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 12 months | 3 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Puerto Princesa or Punta del Este somewhere new.