Kim Kardashian marked her birthday on Pamalican Island, home of Amanpulo. What the resort is, what a casita costs, and what her visit means for Palawan.
On October 16, Kim Kardashian posted an Instagram carousel she captioned “Philippines Birthday Adventures.” It showed a sunset on a white beach, a dive alongside sea turtles, a single candle on a small cake, and fireworks over an outdoor dinner. She turns 46 on October 21.
She didn’t name the place. ElysPlanet can confirm it was Amanpulo, the private-island resort on Pamalican in the Cuyo Archipelago of northern Palawan. Kardashian has since confirmed the trip herself, saying she had just come back from celebrating her birthday in the Philippines, and joking to ABS-CBN News that she saw “Nemo” on her dives.
An Island With One Resort on It
Pamalican is about 5.5 kilometers long, and Amanpulo is the only thing on it. The resort opened in December 1993 as Aman Resorts’ first property in the Philippines. It came out of a partnership between Aman founder Adrian Zecha and the Soriano family’s A. Soriano Corporation (ANSCOR), whose members had come across the island while sailing the Sulu Sea in the early 1980s. Seven Seas Resorts and Leisure, Inc. operates it. The name joins aman, Sanskrit for peace, with pulo, the Filipino word for island.
The late Filipino architect Francisco Mañosa modeled the casitas on the bahay kubo, the steep-roofed rural house built from bamboo, cane and coconut. Guests arrive by private plane, a flight of a little over an hour from Manila that lands on the island’s own airstrip. Green and hawksbill sea turtles nest on Pamalican’s beaches, and they are likely the turtles Kardashian swam with.
What a Stay Costs
Amanpulo doesn’t publish one fixed rate. Prices move with the season and with the casita’s type and position, from treetop and hillside units to the ones on the beach. On booking sites, a standard casita starts above ₱100,000 a night, and listed rates for the same category run to about ₱290,000. The one- to four-bedroom villas, which come with a pool and staff, cost several times more.
The room is only part of the bill. The flight from Manila is charged per person and booked through the resort. Most meals, drinks, spa treatments, diving and boat trips are billed on top.
A Long Guest List
Kardashian is the latest name on it. Mariah Carey, Brad Pitt, Madonna, Beyoncé and Bill Gates have long been counted among Amanpulo’s past guests. A private island with its own airstrip keeps photographers out, so guests decide what the public sees. Kardashian’s carousel showed the water, the sky and the cake, and nothing that named the place.
What It Does for Palawan
Palawan recorded 2.13 million visitor arrivals in 2025 and an estimated ₱65.51 billion in tourism receipts and visitor spending, according to provincial tourism data. Foreign travelers made up 48 percent of those arrivals. The province takes its pitch to Cebu next, at the Palawan World’s Best Island Travel and Trade Expo at Ayala Center Cebu from October 23 to 25.
A post seen by Kardashian’s followers is the kind of exposure a provincial tourism office can’t buy. Turning it into bookings is harder to measure. Few people who watched her turtle video will pay for a casita on Pamalican. The ones who come to Palawan because of it are more likely to land in El Nido, Coron or Puerto Princesa, where a night costs a fraction of that.
Amanpulo’s own money reaches mostly one neighbor. In 2018, for the resort’s 25th anniversary, Aman said more than 85 percent of the Amanpulo team was recruited from Manamoc, the island next door. Before the resort opened, Manamoc lived mainly on fishing and seaweed farming, and some staff have been with Amanpulo since its first day.
Kardashian’s birthday is on October 21. Two days later, Palawan’s tourism officials open their expo in Cebu.
Field Notes
Where: Amanpulo, Pamalican Island, Cuyo Archipelago, Palawan.
Getting there: Private flight from Manila, a little over an hour, booked through the resort and charged per person. The island has its own airstrip, and there is no public ferry.
When to go: November to May is the drier stretch, with December to February the busiest and priciest.
Budget (PHP)
- Standard casita, per night: from about ₱100,000, shared by two
- Flight from Manila: per person, quoted by the resort at booking
- Meals, spa, diving and boat trips: billed separately