El Nido. One of the premier destinations and the most sought out place in the Philippines. It is home to several pristine beaches and is well known for marvelous limestone formations that make up most of the islands.
Located at the Northern part of Palawan, north of Puerto Princesa and past Roxas and Taytay Palawan, El Nido’s picturesque view is what attracts tourists the most. It’s sudden boom was brought about by the resurgence of a concrete highway that bridges it to and from Puerto Princesa. Tours would include several beaaches, lagoons, long sandbars, waterfalls, and limestone cliffs! It’s good to take em all if it’s your first time, then request special tours to places you wish to revisit. There is a lot more to say about it but we’ll leave that to your own rediscovering!
HOW TO GET HERE
1. Travel to Puerto Princesa Palawan airport via plane.
2. From the airport, take a tricycle to Puerto Princesa Terminal (your tours may have prepared vans to pick you up and bring you here as well).
3. Find a bus or van going to El Nido at the terminal. This will bring you straight to El Nido’s main district. This will take approximately 5-6 hours before reaching El Nido. There will be two stop-overs. One at Roxas Palawan, another at Taytay Palawan.
WHERE TO STAY
There are lots of hotels to choose from. You could start looking at hotels/resorts near the beach whichever suits your taste and budget. Better yet reserve online especially on peak seasons. We stayed at Marina Garden Beach Resort (check website here) – one of the oldest resorts at El Nido, and is just opposite of a police station. You could also find more rooms or accommodations in the middle of town. Price ranges from 1000php and up depending on its proximity and view of the beach. Anyway it won’t matter much as almost anywhere is walking distance.
If you are already a repeater at El Nido or just wanted to try something different, you could camp out an island (Paradise Island) for 2 or 3 nights. Just look around the town for agencies that offer them. Do not worry, it’s a small town which you could probably memorize in half an hour. Another variation would be to try out the floating hotels (boats) in which you would spend your days and nights at sea.
For inquiries on these camping and floating hotels we have one contact below (but you could find a lot on town – it’s good to walk around and flex those muscles anyway).
- Seahorse Travel & Tours:
- FB: Gabinete Jazmin El Nido, Paradise
- Email: JasminSayang@gmail.com
- Phone: 09101473628/09771600145
THE BUDGET
Note that below expenses do not include food and other miscellaneous expenses like souvenirs etc. Also, rates below are for 2 people only and are based on our itinerary. Your expense could be way lesser if travelling by group.
- Transportation from Puerto Princesa terminal to El Nido terminal via Van: 700php ea
- Private Tours (for 2 pax only – rates depends the number of persons or how you haggle)
- Midnight Sun Tours (check website here or call their alternate contact: 09165480544)
- Tour A & C: 5800php
- Tour B: 4400php
- Tour D: 4400php
- Inland Tours: 1500php (normal rate)
- Midnight Sun Tours (check website here or call their alternate contact: 09165480544)
- Taraw Cliff Climbing: 500php ea
- Public Tours (joiners/in a group – min. 6 pax, lunch included)
- Tour A (7 Commando, Simizu Island, Big Lagoon, Small Lagoon, Secret Lagoon): 1200php ea
- Tour B (Snake Island, Entalula Island, Pinagbuyatan Island, Cadugnon Cave, Cathedral): 1300php ea
- Tour C (Matinloc Shrine, Hidden Beach, Secret Beach, Talisay Beach, Helicopter Island): 1400php ea
- Tour D (Cadlao Lagoon, Bukal Beach, Nat-Nat Beach, Paradise Beach, Pasandigan Beach): 1200php ea
- Accomodation @ Marina Garden Beach Resort
- Townside: 1750php per night
- Beachside: 3000php + per night
KEEP IN MIND..
- Bring extra cash. There is only 1 ATM at El Nido and you won’t know when it’s gonna break so better be sure. We hear a lot of foreigners who had this problem and have to go back to Puerto Princesa City.
- If you are interested in climbing Taraw Cliff, though optional, better have your rubber shoes and gloves.
Island hopping is one of the major activities at El Nido as this will be your gateway to the mayhem of wonders you could discover here. From beaches, sandbars, to hidden beaches, to lagoons! The list goes on and on… Some places you may also visit which are not included in the tours (depends on your convincing power to boatmen and if you’re on a private tour) Below are some of the tours you may visit. Not all are included of course! (don’t get spoiled).
7 Commandos
Let’s start by strolling at 7 Commandos beach!
Big Lagoon
Then enter thru these gigantic lime stones to the Big Lagoon!
Entering the Big Lagoon
Inside the Big Lagoon!
Small Lagoon
Kayak your way inside the small lagoon!
Just stroll around inside the lagoon and swim to your heart’s content.
Even here at Small Lagoon’s boat parking area is already a good place to swim.
These waters are really irresistible to jump into.
Secret Beach
Entrance to the Secret Beach!
Non-stop freediving!
The Secret Beach (I know it’s blurry with alot of water droplets, but hell yeah just try and imagine the beach.lol)
A little free dive challenge under large corals at the Secret Beach! (Be careful not to get stuck!)
Snake Island
A scenic landscape of sandbars connecting two islands.
A cool place to dip in even at noon time..
Taken from Snake Islands’ view deck.
Hidden Beach
Walk in between these giant lime stones to reach the hidden beach!
This beautiful beach literally hidden from view due to all surrounding lime stone walls.
Secret Lagoon
Walking towards the Secret Lagoon’s entrance.
Then we crawl in!
Welcome to the Secret Lagoon!
Cathedral
Just an unique and weird island.
So that’s why it’s called ‘The Cathedral’.
Cadugnon Cave
Well, who would have thought this is inside an island!
Now, if you opt not to do island hopping, then how about having a joy ride around El Nido! As a Filipino, I’m not really impressed much by beaches since we have many, but Nacpan Twin Beach is really a MUST try for all the beach lovers out there. And I’ll assure you that it’s really really frickin’ awesome! Good to surf or skim board on as well. And for those who thrive on death-defying climbs – the MOST thrilling adventure here is taking on the Taraw Cliff!
Nacpan Twin Beach
A very beautiful long beach on both sides of the island.
An excellent time to sunbathe or just dangle on hammocks.
And having lunch on this beautiful beach is probably the most sumptuous meal to have.
Taraw Cliff
It will be one hell of a climb early in the morning to reach the top and see the whole town of El Nido. Unlike normal hiking, you would need a little bit of rock climbing shenanigans to take this on. For starters, I suggest you bring your gloves and wear rubber shoes. Well for us (who did not heed the guide’s advice the previous day) took this on like the locals – no gloves, slippers, t-shirts, and a whole bunch of selfie gadgets.lol.
It’s just 231 meters above ground so no worries! haha
A scenic view of El Nido!
Waterfalls
And if you have time to spare and wanted to cool down by trekking for a while and dip in the cold waters of ”, then you probably want to go here. It’s not a large falls, neither it being tall – but I guess the fun part was the trekking, the waterfalls was just a stop over. 🙂
The Town
Just some shots to get you acquainted on how the town looks like.
St. Francis Church with a spectacular backdrop!
There are like more foreigners than locals. 🙂
El Nido’s Municipal Hall with an elegant backdrop of limestone cliffs as well.
Well, all I could say is that you won’t get hungry at El Nido! Enjoy fresh catches everyday from lobsters, snappers, sea basses, crabs, etc.
You could find so many restaurants swarming the area, but the best places are near the beach (IMO). Also try “Art Cafe” at El Nido (pretty popular). We don’t usually memorize those names of restaurants so our advice is get out on the beach and walk your way thru all the restaurants. You could choose from loud and noisy ones to the romantic and nostalgic types. In any case, food here is great!
Tiger and Rock Lobsters are available!
Look at that 2 foot Lapu-lapu and those gigantic Sea Bass!
And enjoy eating them here by the beach…
Yuhhmmy! Not sure about the dishes but I could care less as long as its great!
Recent Comments