Another reason for choosing El Nido was because the kids could also see Puerto Princesa since that was going to be our first stop over. I wanted my kids, especially the older one to see the cleanest city in the Philippines. I wanted to impress on her mind how important is a citizen's cooperation in keeping a city or a place clean and beautiful. [Obviously, the city made quite an impression on her but that is another story to write about later.]
July finally came, so to Palawan off we went. Me, my husband and the two children ages 11 and 3 were up so early for our morning flight via Airphil Express. The kids were both elated to be travelling again and they kept babbling and monkeying around tirelessly. Last year, we went to Siargao and they had a good time there. This time, it was Palawan, and the thought of going there excited my eldest no end.
First Stop: Puerto Princesa
Our flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa got delayed for half an hour but still we arrived there at about 9am. The plan was to go straight to El Nido; so upon arrival, we immediately went outside of the airport vicinity (the tricycles within the airport premises charge higher than the those outside) and hailed a tricycle to San Jose Terminal where we were to ride a van. I paid Php 70.00 for the ride.
A day before we left for Palawan, I called Lexus Transport to arrange for our van transportation to El Nido. I paid Php1600.00 for the four of us.
600.00 --per pax (adult)
400.00-- kid (11 years old)
Lexus did not charge us for our 3 year old kid.
Travel from Puerto Princesa to El Nido took about 5 hours. There was about more than 3 hours of smooth driving because the road was already concrete, but about less than two hours before approaching our destination, the ride became quite bumpy due to the unpaved roads. It was under construction, though, so hopefully future visitors would not have to experience this. Anyway, once you reach town, the ride gets smoother again because roads there are already cemented.
Accommodation
I did not book our accommodation prior to our trip because I read in a blog that during low season, it is wiser to just go there and ask around first because you'll find cheaper accommodations that way. Since I was on a budget, that was what I did. However, the hubby was not used to this style, he just wanted to go have a place to stay in pronto so after inquiring from 5 lodgings, we settled on a place walking distance from the beach, the Silverise Pension House. We were not able to get beach front accommodation because we discovered that although it was low season, still most lodgings along the beach were fully booked. Around town, accommodations range from Php 5,000.00 to as low as 450.00 per room depending on the class and type of lodging (aircon/fan room).The high end accommodations are located away from the town, the Lagen Resort and Miniloc Hotel. The accommodation we chose, however, turned out well for us. I have no complains, although it was not at the beach front, the friendliness and very accommodating attitude of the owner and staff more than made up for it.
Food
There are many restaurants in El Nido offering varied cuisines from local to continental. The food are quite pricey. However, there are carinderias or eateries that offer affordable meals.Some accommodations allow their guests to cook, so if you're on a budget you can always go to the market to buy and cook your own meals. There is a bakery where you can buy breads or pandesal for snacks. And some lodgings offer hot water for free so you can have coffee/chocolate drinks.
Island Tours
The town of El Nido was beautiful in itself. The view by the beach was scenic and breathtaking. Limestone cliffs surrounded the place; but, to fully appreciate El Nido, you have to see the islands around it. Although the beach at the town proper was nice, the many boats that lined the shore could spoil the pleasure of swimming there for some. It seemed like the main industry of the people in that town was the motorboat tour on its islands and the visitors' main activity was island hopping. El Nido has about 45 islands surrounding the main island. That is why it was named the Bacuit Archipelago. You can choose from about 5 kinds of tours. The tours are standardized and labelled into Tour A up to Tour E. But, for a certain price, you can customize your tour choosing the islands or places you wish to explore. The night before we were supposed to island hop, we canvassed first. Some operators charge full payment for our two kids. We settled with Arman Tours because he gave the cheapest rate for the four of us. Upon the recommendation of the operator, we chose the basic--tour A. We paid 500.00 each for me and the hubby and 300.00 for my eldest (snorkelling gear included). Kids five years old below is free of charge with Arman Tours.
Before you could set off island hopping, you have to pay the Php 200.00 environmental fee which the local government charged each visitor.
Tour A
The tour started at 9am. We were at the bay 10 minutes before the agreed time. Tour A was composed mainly of visits to Small, Big, and Secret Lagoons in Miniloc Island, lunch at Payong Payong Beach, Shimizu Island and Seven Commandos Beach. It took us all day to finish the said tour.
Small Lagoon
To get to the small lagoon, you have to swim your way into its entrance. A life vest is a must since the water is quite deep and you have to swim about several meters before reaching the opening.Some rented kayaks so they just paddled their way into the opening. The swim was worth it though because it was beautiful inside.
We weren't able to take pictures inside because we did not bring an underwater camera. The same with the Big Lagoon, I didn't take any pictures there.
Secret Lagoon
This was something else, going to the secret lagoon. To get there, we walked towards the small cave-like entrance and climb its opening. The island where the secret lagoon is located was beautiful.
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| the beach outside the secret lagoon |
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| the small entry way to the lagoon |
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| inside the lagoon |
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| This is the view outside the secret lagoon |
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| the "pocket paradise" (just called it that because this place is partly hidden by big limestone formations and it was so postcard perfect) |
Payong Payong Beach
We had our lunch at Payong Payong Beach. It was too bad I was not able to snap some photos of the meal our boatmen, Mang Melchor and John Dave, prepared for us. The meal, composed of grilled fish and pork chop with rice and salad were really mouth-watering. But because by the time they were able to cook the foods, we were really all very hungry, so all thoughts about picture-taking were forgotten.
We had our lunch at Payong Payong Beach. It was too bad I was not able to snap some photos of the meal our boatmen, Mang Melchor and John Dave, prepared for us. The meal, composed of grilled fish and pork chop with rice and salad were really mouth-watering. But because by the time they were able to cook the foods, we were really all very hungry, so all thoughts about picture-taking were forgotten.
Shimizu Island
Second to last stop of our tour is Shimizu Island where the kids and the hubby had fun feeding schools of fishes.
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| The kids, with the hubby. Our two boat companions (forgot their names) from Denmark. |
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| Feeding the fishes |
Seven Commandos Beach
About past 2pm, we set off to our last stop in our itinerary, the Seven Commandos Beach. Like the other beaches we went to earlier in the day, the beach was white, the water was clean, and the place is simply breath taking. The long stretch of beach surrounding the island was pure heavenly. We stayed here up to 4 pm to swim and horse around. Our two female boat companions from Denmark, on the other hand, just lazed around and sun bathed.
About 4:30pm, we were already back at the shore of the town proper. It was quite tiring, but all of us had a a good time.
Thoughts about El Nido
It was during the tour that I truly appreciated El Nido in all its glory and beauty. It was really paradise just like they say it was. I would love to go back there some other time.
El Nido couldn't be compared to Boracay because they are so different( I don't know about Coron but then again, Coron, although, it is similar in topography with El Nido, doesn't have as many islets surrounding it). In Boracay, its main attraction is the long stretch of beach itself. You don't have to go island hopping to fully appreciate it, although there are boat tours to nearby islands that would take your breath away. In El Nido, the beaches are lined with boats specially in the morning, that it would be quite awkward for some to swim in it (although the foreigners sunbathing and swimming on the beach and its waters did not seem to mind). There are other beaches on the main island, though, such as Corong-Corong and Las Cabanas, where you can enjoy white sand beaches and clear blue waters. Unlike the main bay, there are few people swimming and sunbathing in these beaches, although they are equally beautiful, probably because most of the tourists are engrossed in island hopping tours and other activities.
I feel sad, though, for the corals of this archipelago. The island hopping tours might be harming them because each time that a boat drops its anchor in the water near an island where corals abound, it poses harm to them. Eventually, the corals will die if the boatmen are not careful. I hope tourism will not have a damaging effect to Bacuit Bay in the end.
Last Day in El Nido
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| Corong-Corong Beach |
On our 3rd day, we went to Corong-Corong beach planning to go swimming. We rode a tricycle and paid 30 pesos one way. When we got there, the kids did not like it because it looked deserted. We were the only people there. My eldest persuaded us to go back to the beach at the town proper, she said that she preferred swimming there because there are lots of people along the beach and no mosquitoes and other insects to scare her.
And so we went back to the town proper and there, the two kids made friends with some local children and really had fun at the beach.
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