Hi Liz. The Philippines is a tropical country. We only have 2 seasons here. summer and rainy. August-October is when it really pours here so not much beach action. But for the rest of the year, the suns comes out long enough for you to enjoy the beaches. For us here, december is a bit cold but if your coming from a colder region, our december is like probably like your spring-summer. Christmas is a big thing here, so it is a must to see. and yes, beaches would be pack. Is boracay better than palawan? definitely not. Boracay could be compared to florida on a spring break. long stretches of white sandy beach and lots of parties while palawan is a quiet tranquil place that is big on conservation. If your planning to go to palawan, i would suggest el nido. They have chartered planes going directly there. You will then be met by resort staff and escorted to the resort. And though you wouldn’t see them, security is tight. try getting your hands on a lonely planet book. even though i’m from here, i find the book really informative and i bring it around with me whenever i island hop. also, try reading my friend’s blog: http://anton.blogs.com/awesome/2006/05/elnido_palawan1.html
he wrote a couple of articles about our trip to elnido. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a great help to you. And lastly, try not worry about security here, they sound worse than what they really are on the news. Just like in every situation, just be vigilant and be careful.
hope this helps….