Trips in El Nido and its surroundings
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The town of El Nido
El Nido, on the island of Palawan, is one of the most touristed destinations in the Philippines. The town is famous mainly thanks to its boat tours to magical surrounding islands, lagoons, and beaches.
The town itself is small, with two or three main streets full of travel agencies, souvenir shops, restaurants, and hotels. The streets are partly undeveloped with few sidewalks.
Among the pedestrians, there is an abundance of motorcycles and tricycles, the most common means of transportation: a three-wheeled motorcycle with five very crowded seats where people travel around town if they want to save money and/or suffer.
El Nido also has a large and vibrant night food market based mostly on seafood, followed by a general market of accessories and clothes.
It's a good thing the town has Italian, Thai, Indian, and American restaurants because the Filipino food didn't excite me (to say the least...).
The town beach is unexciting and subject to major changes due to tides.
Getting to El Nido
Near El Nido is an airport with flights from the following destinations:
From the international airports of: Manila (MNL), Angeles City (CRK) northwest of Manila (95 km), Panglao Island (TAG) near Bohol Island, Caticlan (MPH, near Boracay Island), Cebu City (CEB).
From domestic airports: Busuanga in Coron Island (USU).
Another option, by sea, via a ferry from Coron Island to El Nido on a boat ride lasting between 3.5 and 4.5 hours.
Recommended hotels in the El Nido area
♦ Resort El Nido Resorts Pangulasian Island
One of the highest quality and most luxurious hotels in the Philippines, located on a small island a half-hour speedboat ride from El Nido.
It has only 42 villas and employs over 130 people. Personal attention begins at the reception building near the pier, where guests arrive via a short drive from the nearby airport. Everyone who arrives is welcomed with songs, dances, and of course local snacks and drinks. From there, you ride or walk to the nearby pier and board a speedboat that sails through scenery of cliffs and islands to the hotel, which is situated on a lush tropical island with a long white sand beach and turquoise water.
Immediately upon arrival, you receive drinks again, a local necklace made of coconut leaves, explanations about the resort and its facilities, and you travel to your private villa.
Half of the villas are on the beach, some are located on top of the hill without direct access to the sea and are the cheapest ("only" about $1300 a night for a couple including bed and breakfast), some villas have a private pool, and four villas are in one compound with a shared private pool and a large shared dining room, ideal for an extended family or a group of friends. All the villas are the same size and very similar in content and furniture - a large and spacious room with a seating area, a balcony, and a huge bathroom, the size of a large room, with plenty of treats.
On the island, there is a hiking trail to the top of the mountain where you can see monkeys, birds, and giant lizards (endemic to the area: monitor lizards).
The price includes various guided group tours, including boat tours to nearby lagoons and islands, snorkeling gear, kayaks, and warm and devoted personal attention. For an additional fee, you can go on various private tours, have dinner in a hut on the water, etc. The resort has two restaurants, a bar, a beautiful library, billiards, a beachfront pool, a spa, a gym, and of course small carts used to transport those who have difficulty or are too lazy to walk from place to place. From everywhere, there is a stunning view of the sea, cliffs, and nearby islands. When leaving the island back to civilization, the staff dances and sings goodbye and waves until the boat is far away and they can no longer be seen…
A paradise on earth, especially loved by honeymooners or those celebrating anniversaries.
♦ Hotel The Funny Lion - El Nido
In the town of El Nido: A 4-star level hotel with a pool, bar, and restaurant. Gym, free internet. Excellent service, very good breakfast. The hotel also has a shuttle to a beautiful beach. Central location, near the hotel are a beach, restaurants, shops, and travel agencies.
Boat trips to islands, lagoons, and magical beaches from El Nido
Booking boat tours in El Nido (from Viator site):
From the town of El Nido, boat tours depart to magical surrounding islands, lagoons, and beaches. The duration of the boat ride to the various destinations is between half an hour and an hour and a quarter each way and depends on the type and speed of the boat.
Cruise to the Big Lagoon and beautiful beaches (called Tour A)
The most famous and popular cruise of all, reaching the destinations: Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Simizu Island, Secret Lagoon, Commandos Beach.
The heart of this trip is the Big Lagoon, where you sail in turquoise water in kayaks (you can also swim in it),
to the Small Lagoon and the Secret Lagoon - which you enter through a narrow passage between rocks, and to another two or three beautiful beaches on islands among cliffs.
The boat tours also include a meal, on the boat or on one of the beaches. In addition to the meal, you can buy drinks and food on some of the beaches, and even right during the cruise you meet boats with coconut or ice cream vendors, all at very attractive prices.
It is recommended to take a cruise in a private boat, with a skipper, an assistant, and a dedicated guide where you receive personal and pampering attention, which provides for a small extra payment in price a huge return in enjoyment and flexibility. We determined how long we would stay in each place so we made great use of the time available to us. We booked the boat tours from Ellen’s travel and tours.
Cruise to islands and beaches (Tour B)
Some of the beaches and islands in the El Nido area are very touristed and some less so. When you take a private tour, you can start earlier than others and stay as long as you want and on whichever island you want. A huge difference compared to arriving in large boats with dozens upon dozens of passengers.
Tour B includes the destinations:
Entatula Island, Pinagbuyatan Island, Snake Island, Cadugnon Cave, Cathedral Cave.
During our stay in El Nido, we explored many islands and beaches, but we enjoyed visiting a small sandy island called LZ Sandbar the most, which can only be walked on during low tide, because at high tide it disappears underwater. We felt like Robinson Crusoe - a private island just for the two of us surrounded by turquoise water and we could decide how long we wanted to stay on it.
The surrounding scenery is impressive: soaring cliffs, islands lush with coconut trees, dense vegetation, and islets.
When the first large boat approached "our island" after about 45 minutes, we felt it was a good time to leave it and continue to the next destination, Cathedral Cave, where a boat with dozens of travelers had arrived before us and this time we had to wait a long time because every passenger in the boat stands at the bow alone for photos with the cave.
From there we continued to another beach where there is a cave called Cadugnon Cave. A not-so-large cave with stalagmites and stalactites.
From there we continued to Snake Island where at low tide a snake-shaped sandbar emerges. On this island, you climb up for a nice viewpoint from the top of the mountain.
Cruise to islands and lagoon (Tour D)
A private cruise that reaches a lagoon named: Cadlao Lagoon where you kayak in an impressive landscape of jagged cliffs and tropical vegetation in clear and quiet turquoise water.
And in addition, you reach three small and exotic beaches: Paradise Beach, "Nat Nat" Beach, and "Pasandigan Cove" Beach.
On one of the beaches, they spread a tablecloth on a shaded table and we received a fish and seafood lunch. On the beaches we reached, there was at most one other boat with a few people. A quiet and calm tour. This tour is called Tour D, and we chose it specifically because we were looking for a tour to less crowded destinations.
El Nido loation on map:
