palawandays.com Arvostelua 

Palawan Days offers the possibility to hand over your passport or 500 $ in cash as a "security deposit" to rent a motorbike.

First, you should never give away your passport to a private company on Palawan. Given the tense security situation on Palawan, there are frequent police controls on all main roads. You will run into deep problems, if you can not identify yourself in such a situation.

Second, a deposit of 500 $ in cash is quite unusual for Palawan. If there is a minor damage on your bike, your money can be withdrawn. You will need a lawyer and a lot of time to get it back.

I can confirm that this travel agency demands a handing over of passports in during the rental period. We accepted their demand, but felt quite uncomfortable, even so we had rented the scooters for three days only. We also had great difficulties in finding "Palawan Days". There is no visible company sign on the street. Its just an open door leading to a backyard. We had to phone several times to find the place. However the scooters, we rented, were quite new and in a good shape. We later discovered that there are also a couple of rental agencies with lower prices in Puerto Princesa.

"Palawan Days" demands from all of its clients to hand over their passports (inclusive visa) as collateral for the bikes. "Palawan Days" then keeps these papers during the rental period. This deprives the clients of their legal documents. They are not able to prove their identity in case of a police control or accident. This can lead to severe legal problems during your holidays! Therefore: Never ever give a rental agency your passport as a deposit! If they insist and demand it from you, it is very likely, they are engaged in something illegal.

I must warn urgently about "Palawan Days"! The owner does not appear to be a Filipino. He speaks English with a strong Russian accent. He behaves very strangely. He tries to impress and intimidate. He actually demands that you hand over your passport and visa as "deposit". He then wants to keep these for the entire rental period. So you have to make your tour on Palwan without papers (without a visa!!!). If you get stopped by the police or have an accident, you cannot identify yourself! You could even end up in a jail, because it is your legal obligation to carry your passport with you. The owner claims that there are no police checks on Palawan. Which is simply nonsense. I have observed a two-sided police control on "Puerto Princesa North Road" on Saturday night. Meanwhile, I have ased my embassy, wether it is common practive on the Philippines to leave the passport at a rental agency. They denied and strictly recomment to keep the passport! I offered the owner of "Palawan Days" a reasonable deposit in money as security. He did not accept. To me the only explanation is: he wants to keep your passport for a longer time period to make an detailed copy of it. There are scanners, which can be used to do so, if you have enough time. My strict recommendation: Do not rent a bike at "Palawan Days"!