The beautiful beaches and my sons’ love for water activities were the main reasons we chose to travel El Nido, Palawan for our winter vacation this year.
We arrived at Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) very early in the morning so we could take the connecting flight to El Nido Airport (Lio Airport) at the same day (a one and a half hour flight). We didn’t want to stay longer than we needed to in Manila. NAIA was rated the worst airport in Asia in August 2013, but it keeps improving.
There are four terminals at NAIA that occupy separate buildings. Free shuttle buses operate 24 hours. A bus leaves every 30 minutes, but from 23.00 to 05.00 it leaves every 50 minutes. Allow enough time between flights (at least three hours). Depends on the time you travel, there might be long lines at immigration, the shuttle bus might be very crowded, and then there is always the risk of traffic jam. You can also take a taxi which costs around 100-200PHP. Beware of cheating taxi drivers. As soon as you get through immigration, you might want to change your money and buy SIM card for internet. Always ask for smaller changes also - 20, 50,100PHP. Remember that internet connection could be very bad on the road even when you have mobile data.
Another way to reach El Nido is flying first to Puerto Princesa - the capital of Palawan, then take a bus or van to El Nido. It’s cheaper but it takes longer.
Since we were already there, we decided to spend two more days at Sheridan Beach Resort & Spa in Sabang so we could tour the Puerto Princesa Underground River. Unfortunately though, the weather was not in our favor. There was a storm coming in and all tours were cancelled for the two days we were there.
El Nido, Palawan
El Nido, located at the north end of Palawan island is a booming tourist destination as the means to get there became easier just lately.
We stayed three nights at The Resort Bayview Hotel which is a five-minute walk only from Marimegmeg Beach. There are four island-hopping-tour packages in El Nido. The prices include life vests, lunch, drinking water, and snorkeling gears. The prices are the same everywhere you book them from.
Considering our limited time, we took both Tour A and B at the same day but I won’t recommend you to do that because the time you spend at each destination will be much shorter. We took Tour C the next day. Tour starts at nine in the morning and ends at 16.00 (except if you take combo tour like A and B at the same day, the tour will end at 17.00). Tour A and C are the favorites of many. I think each tour has its own best spot you want to visit. You can also book a private tour if you travel with family.
Tour A : 1,200PHP/person - Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, 7th Commando Beach, Shimizu Island.
Tour B : 1,300PHP/person - Snake Island, Pinagbuyutan Island, Entalula Beach, Cudugnon Cave, Snorkeling site.
Tour C : 1,400PHP/person - Helicopter Island, Matinloc Shrine, Secret Beach, Star Beach, Hidden Beach.
Tour D : 1,200PHP/person - Ipil Beach, Cadlao Lagoon, Paradise Beach, Pasandigan Beach, Natnat Beach, Bukal Beach
As someone wise said, “ At the beach, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun.” - expect that they change your destination or cancel the tour due to the big waves. Our guide told us, “Your safety is our main concern.”
Read also: Island Hopping A, El Nido, Philippines
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