In the late 1990s, El Nido is a well known tourist spot in the Philippines, mostly for the affluent and for those who are willing to spend much for their travel and leisure. The hotels and airline cost those days direct to El Nido are too costly. Nowadays, due to the road pavements from Puerto Princesa to El Nido and the booming business of affordable inns and hotels, every traveler who wants to explore the beauty of the place can go there at a lower travel cost.
Big Lagoon
El Nido is a remote town with the
most beautiful beaches in the Philippines, as I must say. It is like you are in a different country as
most of the tourists are foreigners (around 70-80%). The limestone cliffs and the landscapes are
breathtaking; El Nido is indeed a paradise for beach lovers.
Travel time from Puerto Princesa
to El Nido is around 5 hours (227 kms). It is more advisable to take this land travel
during day time since the roads are narrow and curvy, aside from the fact that
the drivers of the van/SUVs are driving fast.
If you are not a comfortable of long land travel, you may take the direct flight to
El Nido via Air Swift (a charter company for El Nido resorts). In the town of El Nido, there are many
affordable inns and hotels near the coastline where all boats for island
hopping tours are docked.
El Nido Town Coastline
Like the testimonial of other travel blogs, there are 4 tours in El Nido (Tour A,B,C and D) but the highly recommended tours are tour A and C. You will have to allot the entire day to complete one tour and you may finish all of the tours if you stay in El Nido for a week. Lunch buffet (with sea food) is usually part of the island tour package. According to local legends, the Matinloc beach in El Nido (part of Tour C) inspired Alex Garland's novel The Beach, which was written while the author was in El Nido <source: Wikipedia>
Must bring items are your snorkeling gear, beach shoes, SPF lotion, waterproof bag and water proof camera (in case you want to take underwater pictures).
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| Island Hopping |
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| Star Beach |
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| Secret Beach |
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| Big Lagoon |
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| Small Lagoon |
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| Small Lagoon |
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| Small Lagoon |
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| Shimizu Island |
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| Shimizu Island |
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| 7 Commandos |
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| 7 Commandos |
The locals at El Nido are
courteous and most of the tourist guides already knew different types of
languages. There are available
scooters/motorcycles for rent aside from the tricycles or van if you want to
tour the entire town.
Other tourist drop off points in
the mainland are the Las Cabanas beach (15 minutes from the town proper) and
the Nacpan beach in Sitio Calitang (50
minutes away from El Nido town).
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| Nacpan Beach |
The twin beach - Nacpan and Calitang Beach
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| Roadtrip to Nacpan |
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| Las Cabanas |
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| Las Cabanas |
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| Lally and Abet Garden Resort in El Nido |
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