With EL NIDO having beautiful white sandy beaches, towering limestone cliffs, crystal clear blue water and unspoiled nature it’s easy to see why Palawan is becoming known as THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND IN THE WORLD!   Making El Nido arguably one of the hottest places to visit in 2018.

Getting There 

The Province Palawan is a group of small Island in the west of the. Philippines.  Once you fly to Manila  there are two options to get to El Nido.  Firstly you can either fly to Puerto Princessa and get a bus/van to El Nido (cheaper option).  Or you can fly directly to El Nido from Manilla.  The airline we used was CEBU PACIFIC.  We paid a little more to fly directly to El Nido but because of our tight schedule this was the fastest option.  We spoke to several people who we met and some did not even know you could fly direct.  They assumed flying to Puerto Princessa was the only route.

Now if you do decide to fly to Puerto Princessa and see the caves be prepared for the long (5 hours+) bumpy ride in a tight little van.   Among other tourists, their bags together with tropical humidity and if your lucky the air-conditioning might slightly work.  This was the feedback we received from several people who had travelled to El Nido this way.

 

 

 

Once you land

Flying over the waters of Palawan and into El Nido was absolutely breathtaking.  You could see how clear the water was even from high in the sky.  Once you embarked off the small plane at El Nido airport you question if you are at the right place?  The airport consisted of a little tin shed.  From the runway you then hop into a Jeepney which is a small filipino bus and head to the “arrival area”.    Here you are greeted with a welcome juice as you wait for your bags.   From here depending on your accomodation you will either get transfered by a van to your hotel or if you stay in cheaper accomodation you will have to make your own way into town in a “Tricycle”.   The Filipino equivilant to what is a Tuk Tuk in Thailand.

 

 

 

 

 

Where to Stay

We stayed at  El Nido Beach Hotel.  Click HERE to check availability.  It was so amazing to wake up every morning to beautiful ocean views.  The hotel was right on the beach and our balcony literally overlooked the ocean.  Usually a hotel room with a view like this in other parts of the world would cost some serious money.  Here was a great example of how Raw El Nido was and how unspoilt it was tourists.  It was also our first experience of being in a place so beautiful yet very affordable.

Once you arrive in the Philippines you notice instantaneously how friendly and humble the people are.  The happiness and smiles of the locals is so infectuous that it is almost impossible not to fall in love with this place. The hustle and bustle of the materialistic world that you have left behind,  is put into perspective.

Witnessing the Filipinos living and being so happy with considerably less,  really hits home.  The realisation that it’s the most simple things in life such as friends and family that truely make us happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

El Nido Island Tours

There are four boat tours you can choose to do in El Nido.  Tour A, Tour B, Tour C, Tour D.  We recommend doing Tour A and Tour C.

Cost

Tours cost between 1400 to 1700 Pesos and can be purchased through booking agents all over town.  Our guide picked us up from our hotel at 8:00am.  We then walked to the main beach where all boats departed from.  You have the option to get a snorkel and fins.  We did as there were so many snorkelling locations on the way.  We also purchased a waterproof bag which we kept our camera equipment in because there was wind spray from the waves.  The regulations from the coast guard is lifejackets have to be worn when leaving El Nido.   If you are a confident swimmer you can then take it off after leaving the harbour.

Tour A and C

The first day we did tour A which had 12 people tightly squeezed onto the boat.  The second day we chose to do Tour C and paid extra for a private boat.  If you want to spend the extra money we recommend this option.  You could also find some friends and split the costs or just do it on your own.  We chose to do a private tour with just the two of us.

The benefits of this were we could do the stops in any order.  Most tours do the same routes which therefore means most stops are busy with tourists.  We did the stops in our own order avoiding crowds and were able to get some great shots and fly our drone.  Another benefit was we could spend longer at a particular place if we liked, giving us more flexibility to take photos and videos without people in them.

 

 

 

 

Tips

• Pick a popular and well rated tour company, we recommend booking the tours from Art Cafe.
• Ask to do the tour in reverse to beat the crowds.
• Find a boat that leaves earlier then the rest.
• Rent a Snorkel and flippers.
• Rent a water proof water bag for your camera gear.  50 pesos
• Bring shoes that you can wear in the water.
• Private tour with private smaller boat. 6000 pesos/ $160 aus.  Choose your own route, stay at the places you like longer, uninterrupted photos, avoid the crowded stops and your guide can also be your own personal photographer.

 

Tour A

• Small Lagoon
• Big Lagoon
• Secret Lagoon
• Shimizu Island
• 7 Commandos Beach

 

 

 

 

Tour B

• Cathedral Cave
• Cudugnon Beach
• Entalula Beach
• Pinagbuyutan Island

 Tour C

• Hidden Beach
• Secret Beach
• Manitowoc Shrine
• Helicopter island
• Tapuitan Beach

 

 

 

Tour D

• Ipil Beach
• Cadlao Lagoon
• Paradise beach
• Pasandigan Beach
• Natnat Beach
• Bukal Beach

 

Other things to do in El Nido

 

Happiness Beach Bar

You cannot miss this place walking pass as the wooden swings hanging down from the ceiling grab you attention instantly.  The cafe serves great mediterranean cuisine and makes a good breakfast and coffee.  They were honestly not the most practical seats for eating off however they did make for a great photo opportunity.

 

 

 

 

Republica Sunset Bar

If seeing the most amazing sunsets are your thing then be sure to check this place out.  Situated on top of the cliff over looking the horizon.  Be sure to go early and secure your front row spot over looking the ocean. The sunset we witnessed here was still to this day the most breathtaking sunset we have ever seen.  In fact the sunsets in the Philippines almost every afternoon were amazing.  Republica do great cocktails and they also do amazing tapas.

 

 

 

 

 

Corong Corong beach

When you arrive down the beach the first thing you see as a beach bar that serves cheap cocktails directly at the bottom of the stairs.  If you keep walking left down the beach you pass many amazing restaurants where you can find your spot on the sand and watch the sun go down.

 

 

 

 

Las Cabanas Beach

Located at the end of your walk down Corong Corong beach is a beautiful restaurant with panoramic views of the ocean and islands  called Las Cabanas Beach resort.  We ate here on our last night, be sure to get a table in front of the sunset and be sure to have views of the many tourists taking selfies.  Check out our Las Cabanas sunset time-lapse HERE at 6:30 into the video.

 

 

 

 

Napcan Beach

This is truly one of the most beautiful beaches of El Nido.  You can get here by motorbike or bus with tour company.  The were told that the drive is very bumpy and dangerous to go by bike.  Once again because we had all our camera gear and drone bag the safest and most convenient option was definitely by a van.  On the way to Napcan beach we passed a motorbike accident where a couple had come off at one of the wooden bridges and crashed into the bushes 2-3 metres below.  Another reason to go by car if you are not very experienced on a scooter.  However if going on a nice ride is your thing then by all means go for it.  Ensure you do a pre start check on your bike so everything is in good working order.  Check out the cinematic montage footage we shot from our drone HERE at 4:04.

 

 

 

SURPRISE!

And to top off the most perfect holiday in El Nido, I got asked to marry the man of my dreams.  To my surprise Max had organised with the tour guide on our private tour C that he was going to propose.  Max got down on one knee at this beautiful Hidden Beach.  The chef on our boat went out of his way to even decorate the food which was a great conclusion to this memorable holiday.  Watch below to see the secret proposal video that Max put together.  Starting off when he is back in Australia and just gets off the phone to my Dad.

 

 

 

Our Verdict

Affordability⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

In terms of accomodation, food and transport cost it was very cheap.  Not quite as cheap as Cambodia however for a place so amazing with natural beauty you definitly get the best bang for your buck.

 

Daily Activities ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

There is Plenty of things to do from Island tours, Beaches, Waterfalls, Bars, Restaurants and even a Zip Line.

 

Nightlife ⭐⭐⭐

If you want Island life with Bars and clubs pumping all night try Borocay Island.

 

Cleanliness ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Compared to somewhere like Singapore or The Maldives It was very clean.  Much cleaner than Bali.

 

Natural beauty ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

On par with Thailand however less tourists, less crowded and cleaner.  In my opinion El Nido ranks higher than Thailand for Natural beauty.

 

Friendliness of the locals ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

You will not find friendlier people than the Filipino people.  Also their English is exceptional well spoken and easy to understand.

Thank You and we hope you enjoyed reading our guide to El Nido in the Phillipines. We also have a free guide about Coronados Island that you might want to check out here.