El Nido, Philippines

Jan 30 - Feb 6, 2020

El Nido, a coastal paradise with breath-taking natural beauty. Island-hopping boat tours are the reason people come here, and the experiences live up to their lofty reputation. Tourism has exploded here over the past decade and the infrastructure has not kept up with the tourism growth; manage your expectations on creature comforts and you’ll learn to enjoy this area for its best offerings — numerous beautiful islands with unique characters.

Voyagers tips: There simply aren’t very many nice hotels in this area, other than the few private-island resorts that cost an exorbitant amount ($500-$2000 a night). Our hotel was one of the highest-rated hotels in El Nido that have rooms for four people, and the rooms are horrendous — one of the worst we’ve experienced, with no chairs to sit on in the room and black moldy grouts in the bathroom. The public areas were quite nice, but the room was probably the worst room we’ve stayed at during our entire world tour. There might be nicer choices if you move farther away from the town center, but choose your hotel carefully.

Tips for the tours: There are four ocean excursion packages available, and all tour operators follow the same routes: A, B, C and D. Tours A and C are the most popular. Wind condition is unpredictable, and the government makes the call each morning on whether it’s safe for the boats to go out, so don’t be surprised if your tour gets cancelled due to weather conditions. Because of this, it’s best to schedule your tours early in your stay at El Nido, so you get a chance to reschedule if necessary. Some tours are more susceptible to wind than others; we had booked Tour C as our second tour but the wind appeared to be strong on that day, so the group decided to do Tour B instead where the destinations are more protected from the wind.

You will walk in water to get to the boat, be prepared. The town center has plenty of vendors selling waterproof bags and waterproof cell phone cases if you need them. Apply sunblock liberally throughout the day, especially if you go in and out of water. These boats are small and can get quite choppy, bring sea-band or sea-sick medicine if you need them. Some tours offer snorkeling gears for borrowing, which is fine if you don’t mind sharing mouth-pieces with countless strangers. For tours A and B, snorkeling was ok but was not the highlights of the tours. Lunch is served during the tour and is quite good. These are fun excursions, the boats are bare-bone and not meant to be luxurious. Keep your expectations in check and you’ll have a blast. Here are the four tour options:

Tour A: Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, Shimizu Island, 7 Commando Beach

Tour B: Snake Island, Pinabutuyan Island, Entalula Beach, Cudugnon Beach, Snorkeling Site

Tour C: Helicopter Island, Matinloc Shrine, Secret Beach, Star Beach, Hidden Beach

Tour D: Ipil Beach, Cadlao Lagoon, Paradise Beach, Pasandigan Beach, Natnat Beach, Bukal Beach

Transportation: Trike (Motorcycle plus a frame with a 3rd wheel) is the main mode of transportation around here and is quite affordable. Ask your hotel for standard rates as they are quite standard and there isn’t much room for haggling.

Getting to El Nido: Most people fly into Puerto Princesa and take a shuttle up to El Nido, it’s much cheaper this way. We did this and enjoyed our stay in Astoria Palawan as a stopping point, but the shuttle ride from Puerto Princesa to El Nido is long (~6 hours) and uncomfortable. We decided to fly out of El Nido instead of going back down through Puerto Princesa. The flights were about $120 per person from El Nido to Manila, but you do save a day of your precious vacation time and probably a night of hotel in Puerto Princesa, so it’s worth it in our opinion. The El Nido airport is small but well organized and the flight was comfortable.

Currency: The currency used is Philippine Pesos (PHP). Street vendors and many shops don’t take credit cards, so take some cash out of ATM when you arrive. We can’t speak to the quality of currency exchange shops, as we find the rates are better with an ATM, especially if you have a debit card where they reimburse you for ATM fees.

Shopping: Having gotten used to price haggling in Laos, Cambodia and even Indonesia, we were expecting to do the same in El Nido. Surprisingly, street vendors in town center are fairly straight forward with their pricing and don’t leave much room for haggling. Unlike other parts of SE Asia, where they first throw out a ridiculous price and haggle down from there, the vendors here either give you an honest pricing up front or allow you to haggle ~10% down from there. The best way to assess the best pricing on an item is to comparison shop across multiple shops. Look for shops in the narrow walkways or farther away from the busiest part of the town center, you’ll likely get better pricing there. Be careful with clothing fit: Ivan bought a rash guard to protect his skin and the materials looked nice, but the cut on the armpit was way too high. These “name-brand” clothes are obviously fake but can be a good deal if you try it on for fit first.

arrival & hotel

Getting to el nido

caalan beach resort

getting to el nido

There was one stop during the 6-hour drive from Puerto Princesa to El Nido - The restrooms here are widely used.

Grabbing a quick bite on the way to El Nido.

Cars aren't allowed into El Nido. We were dropped off at a bus stop outside of town, then took a tuktuk to a gym, then waited at the gym for the tuktuk that takes us to the hotel.

The tuktuk driver was creative in fitting all our luggages.

The gym worker is also the hotel "receptionist", helps call the hotel to send us the tuktuks.

This narrow alley way is barely wide enough for one tuktuk.

This is a massive load for a tuktuk, which is essentially a heavy metal frame clamped onto a motorcycle. We often had to get off and walk when the motor was overwhelmed.

The drive up from Astoria Palawan (north of Puerto Princesa) was long and unpleasant. We had our own private van shuttle and were able to spread out a bit, but the seats were uncomfortable, van suspensions were terrible, and road conditions were poor. This is the first sign that the infrastructure around El Nido has not evolved to support the tourism boom. Most people travel this route to get to El Nido, but we would recommend doing the direct flight from Manila to El Nido if you can afford it ($70-120 USD per flight).

caalan beach resort

Nice hammock outside our room.

Our room was very simple. No tables or chairs, just two beds.

The view from the common areas of the hotel are quite nice.

The dog "Happy" warmed up to the girls right away. The girls aren't dog people but they loved playing with Happy.

Breakfast here is quite simple, with Philippino option or the Western option. This is the western breakfast.

The bathroom was pretty disgusting, with black grouts falling off of the wall and moldy tile floors that get wet all over when showering.

We have mixed feelings around this hotel. We picked it due to its fantastic reviews on Tripadvisor and the fact that it has its own excusions, so you depart on the excursions right from the hotel and don’t have to go through the hassle of finding meeting points in town and walking to your boat. The good: The owner and staff are extremely friendly and helpful, the common areas are clean, the boat excursions are convenient, and the excursion crew is absolutely amazing. The downside: The room itself is probably the worst we’ve seen in our world tour — Just two beds and a night stand, no desks, no chairs. The bathroom was bad, with black molding tile grouts falling out, and shower water runs to the whole bathroom. There were lots of ants also. Breakfast was simple and nice enough for a day or two, but gets very repetitive beyond that. The location is far from city center and the hotel offers two private trikes transportation to take you to town, but the roads to get to town is ridiculously bad and the meeting point in town is in a gym, where you wait for the trikes to pick you up. Overall, it was the rooms that could not be overlooked. We would not recommend this hotel.

Town center

Altrove is the most popular restaurant in El Nido. The pizzas were good, pasta was ok.

Come early if you don't want to wait in crazy lines.

Balut is a Philippino delicacy with unhatched baby chick in the egg. I tried it once, can never do it again.

The town center is a popular hangout and shopping place in the evening.

The gambling section seems to be the most popular part of town center.

Two big blocks fall, you place bets on which colors will show on top.

The El Nido town center is a happening place in the evenings, with plenty of restaurants, shops and street vendors.

Voyagers tips: It pays to comparison-shop here. Rely on TripAdvisor for choosing restaurants. There is a narrow alleyway near the middle of the pedestrian section that’s easy to miss, but those vendors give better deals due to the less-than-ideal locations. Most street vendors sell identical items. The name brand clothes are all fake. Prices are relatively firm here, you may be able to bargain down 10-20% at most, it’s nothing like the other SE Asia countries where you can bargain down 50% or more.

lio beach

Lots of shades, Tree swings, and free lounge chairs and bean bags. What’s not to like?

Does it look like Ashlyn is holding me up?

This is how they buy gas. Pull up to a shop, they give you gasoline in a one liter (?) bottle, you pour it into your tank and return the bottle. Interesting.

We loved Lio Beach. Nacpan Beach is the most popular beach near El Nido, but it’s farther away (45min), requires shuttle reservation in advance, and requires a fee to enter. The hotel staff suggested Lio Beach instead and we were so glad we came. It’s much nicer for families — Very little crowds, several restaurants available, and plenty of natural shades to enjoy away from the harsh sun. We never made it to Nacpan Beach but would highly recommend Lio Beach to anyone.

Voyagers tips: There are a few lounge chairs and beanbags on the beach, but chances are they’d be all taken by the time you get there. Ask the workers on the beach if they have any more chairs or beanbags. When we were there, there were no more chairs but plenty of bean bags available, and they’ll happily go back to grab them for you. They didn’t ask for money, but we were happy to give them a tip for the bean bags. It also helps to bring your own beach towels. The beach is only a 15min tuktuk ride away from town center, costing 300 PHP ($6 USD) per trike.

tour a

First stop on Island Tour A - Big Lagoon. Breathtaking views.

We kayaked in and jump off at various spots for pictures.

The water changes color depending on the location and water depth.

Going back out of the lagoon is against the wind. It was much easier to jump off and walk the shallow part.

The three princesses got to stay in the kayak and be towed. The best kind of kayaking!

Using the loaner snorkels was gross, not sure how many mouths it’s been in. Rinsing the mouth piece with seawater was the best I could do. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?

Next stop - Snorkeling at Shimuzu Island. The snorkeling was decent, not quite amazing.

Entrance to the secret lagoon is a tiny hole you must crawl through.

The secret lagoon is no secret at all, it's the most crowded place on Tour A. It is neat, a body of water not visible from outside.

We got onto this island for lunch.

The girls had fun finding shells while waiting for lunch.

Other travelers started pitching in and looking for cool shells for the girls. It's just a fun exercise though, we didn't take the shells away from the island.

The crew prepared lunch on the tiny boat and brought them on a floating board to the beach.

There are lots of jellyfish here, but they don't sting.

Can you spot the jellyfish?

There's an overlook on this island for a nice view.

There's a rope just begging to be grabbed.

We climbed up the structure to the overlook platform.

Nice view from up here.

Inside Secret Lagoon - El Nido

Bubble Rings Under Water

Floating to the Boat

Snorkeling on El Nido Island Hopping Tour

Snorkeling on El Nido Island Hopping Tour

Tour A and Tour C are the most popular tours. Tour A typically includes Big Lagoon, Small Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, Shimizu Island, and 7 Commando Beach. Big Lagoon is beautiful, Secret Lagoon is very unique, and Shimizu Island is a good spot for snorkeling.

Voyagers tips: For Big Lagoon, due to the waves and wind direction, it’s much easier to kayak into the lagoon than to get out. To get out, it’s easier to just walk and drag the kayaks where the water is shallow. If needed, just float on your back and ask the boat crew to drag you to shore; several ladies and kids on our boat took this option and our crew members were awesome.

tour b

Walking to our boat for Tour B.

First stop - Snorkeling.

Second stop - Snake Island.

The narrow sandy walkway between two islands is a bit curvy and snake-like, hence the name Snake Island.

The narrow sandy path can be easily seen from up high.

Cudugnon Cave has a narrow opening.

Cudugnon Cave was our highlight of the tour.

There are also bats and birds in this cave, but they aren't active and we had to look for them.

The rock formation in this cave was very unique.

Time for lunch!

Water got choppy, we were getting quite wet on the boat.

We couldn't get into the island on our original itinerary, so the crew found us a nearby island to relax for a while.

Ashlyn tried to give Ivan "sand sunblock".

Tour B: Snake Island, Pinabutuyan Island, Entalula Beach, Cudugnon Beach, Snorkeling Site.

Tour B is supposed to be less crowded and less fun than A & C, but we thoroughly enjoyed it, and found it to be quite crowded as well. The weather prevented boats from going out the prior few days, the pent-up demand might explain the crowd. It was a fun day! We thought about going for Tour C the next day if the weather gets better, but the excursion days were actually quite tiring and we decided against a third excursion.

las cabanas beach

On the way to town center, we had to get off and walk this part because the trike can't make it up the hill.

How would you like this job where you carry people's luggage on your head to the beach hotels?

We had dinner at a restaurant called "Local Provisions". The food and service were both great!

Las Cabanas Beach. A great beach about 15-20min trike ride from El Nido. It’s a very commercialized beach, with an outdoor mall on the way to the beach that’s lined with plenty of bars and restaurants. It was beautiful there and there’s even a zip line you can do. We enjoyed this evening getaway after a day of home-schooling.

Voyagers tips: You get dropped off in front of McDonald’s and walk through the outdoor mall to get to the beach. It’s beautiful around sunset time.

manila in transit

We decided to fly from El Nido straight to Manila. The airport was tiny but well organized.

The trike was so over-burdened, I had to get off to run uphill. The motorcycle was designed for two people, not five people with luggage and a full metal cage.

The Hilton Hotel by Manila Airport is right next to a mall with plenty of dining options. Shabu Shabu was a good value.

A small cockroach (see Ashlyn's napkin) was roaming around on our table, I crushed the cockroach with napkins and we continued with our meal. We've adapted to the SE Asia norms.

The mall by the hotel.

The pool at the hotel is very inviting.

We tried McDonald's in the Philippines. They have fried chicken and rice here.

Fried chicken was a bit dry. I’ve had rice all my life, but first time in a burger wrapper. Interesting

Crispy Pata, fried pork knuckle. Been wanting to try this. Crispy skin, tender meat, delicious!

We bought water and coffee after clearing airport security check. Then they made us throw it all away at the "gate" security check. Maren quickly gulps down the water.

Many people wearing masks at the airport. We couldn’t find any in stores because all the effective ones are sold out. Where do these people find the masks?

Pretty much all international flights to and from El Nido go through Manila airport. We had two nights at Hilton Manila Airport, didn’t get to explore Manila too much but it was a nice relaxing day at the hotel.

Voyagers tips: There are several large hotels near the airport. We didn’t book Holiday Inn Express because it was rated with less stars, but it looks just as nice from the outside and is probably a better value.

Important: Hotels don’t have their own airport shuttles; instead, they arrange to have airport buses pick you up. But each terminal is a different bus, and to make matters worse, not every bus stops at every hotel. The hotel staff may tell you to be at the lobby at 5am for the airport shuttle, but that may not be the bus that goes to your terminal. We learned this the hard way and missed our bus to the airport. Do yourself a favor and just call Uber, they’re available even in the wee hours in the morning.

You cannot bring liquid onto the plane, even the water you purchase after clearing security check. That’s because there’s a secondary security check at the specific gate. We got fooled and bought water and coffee literally right next to our gate, only to be told to throw it away.