EL NIDO TRAVEL GUIDE
WHY EL NIDO?
El Nido is extremely popular and is expanding at a rapid rate. Yet it is still far away and takes a bit of effort to get there. It justifies that effort though, and after long hours of travel you are greeted by some of the best scenery that the Philippines has to offer. Throw in some of the best beaches in the world and you are onto a winner. We just hope the new rules and regulations put in place keep what is special about El Nido alive.
GETTING THERE?
From the Puerto Princesa airport it is about a 5.5 hour mini bus ride to El Nido proper. We don't recommend taking the bus as the price is very similar and you have to go to the bus terminal. The mini buses are definitely the way to go!
WHEN TO GO?
From our experience the best time to visit is January to March as this is when the weather is likely to be the best. It is hot and dry rather than the very hot a few months later and also outside of monsoon season which is from June to October.
WHERE TO STAY?
There are plenty of places to stay and El Nido is constantly under construction with new hotels and homestay being built. It is a bit of a shame as the charm of El Nido is the small back packer feel which it will and has lost to some degree. There are now over 300 hotels and resorts to choose from so you can see the boom that El Nido is having. We stayed at Novie's Tourist Inn, It was clean, quiet and cheap and run by friendly staff. We had one of the rooms situated higher up and had a fantastic view of the bay.
WHERE TO EAT?
El Nido has some fantastic places to eat, a bonus from the on going construction. We had incredible pizza, milkshakes and local food during our time in El Nido. Make sure to check out lots of different places as there is a lot of choice and you will find some hidden gems.
GETTING AROUND?
If you are confident enough the best way to explore El Nido is by hiring a scooter/motorbike. It is cheap and convenient, please be careful though as we had a really sketchy scooter and the break broke on a gravel road causing the front wheel to lock up making us crash. We suffered cuts and bruises and Hannah got a nasty exhaust burn during the crash that took a couple of weeks to heal before we could explore again. It could have been much worse and we consider ourselves lucky. Just be very careful as we did find scooters to be a fun and easy way to get around.
TOP TIPS
Bring extra cash with you as the ATM’s in El Nido quickly run out of cash. Always good to have a bit of extra cash just in cash there is none in town.
Get a sim card when you arrive in the Philippines, the Wifi here just isn’t very good and can be frustrating.
We got violent food poisoning when in El Nido and we have since learned that El Nido does have an on going fresh water problem. We think a drink we ordered used tap water instead of bottled water. Please be careful where you eat and what you drink.
Single use plastic is now banned in El Nido.
What to Do and See
NACPAN BEACH
Regarded as one of the most beautiful beaches in the Philippines, this beautiful arched stretch of golden sand is paradise. You need to get a permit to visit the beach as you won't be allowed past the security station. The major downside now is that this beach is in our opinion being ruined by cheap construction work right on the beach front. Hostels have been built and a party atmosphere is starting to take over the tropical peaceful beach. We felt they could have constructed 500 back from the beach and it would have saved some of its charm. In our experience if you walk further up the beach you can escape the new party culture taking over this incredible island paradise. Nacpan is about a 40 minute drive from El Nido.
DULI BEACH
Duli Beach is very similar to Nacpan just a bit smaller. When we visited there was one small resort built by the beach. Duli very much feels like what Nacpan used to be. Duli is reached by a very bumpy dirt road and does put off a lot of people. The drive to Duli is about 55 minutes from Elnido and 35 minutes from Nacpan because of the dirt road sections. We watched the sunset over Duli and it was one of the best nights we had in the Philippines. It was also the night we crashed the scooter so yeah that's how good the sunset was!
BOAT TOURS
We chose to do Tour A as it was the most popular and recommended tour. We can see why it was a beautiful day out on the ocean. On tour A you will see a small lagoon, big lagoon, secret lagoon, Shimizu Island and 7 commando beach. A BBQ lunch and water is provided in the cost of the tour. Bring your swimwear and lots of sunscreen as you will be in and out of the water all day and the sun is very hot. Kayaks are an additional cost but make it easier and faster to see some of the lagoons. We are fairly strong swimmers and chose to swim instead. At 7 commando beach we were swimming back to our boat just as a guy who's stomach didn't agree with the bobbing of the boat threw up overboard. We managed to avoid it, but something to keep in mind when swimming next to other boats.
You can also take tours B, C, D all of which visit different island and all are very beautiful.
CORONG-CORONG BEACH
We loved walking along this beach in the evenings. It is less busy than El Nido beach and has a very traditional feel about it. We love seeing all the traditional boats anchored up for the night. Its free, relaxing and not far from El Nido proper. You also have incredible views out across the water onto smaller islands.
EL NIDO BEACH
This is a much busier beach and has restaurants, hotels and other buildings built up very close. This is where the majority of the island tour boats leave from. You will wade out a little into the water and climb about your boat. It can get very busy in the morning when the tours are all leaving. It is also fun to chill on the beach and watch people coming and going.
