El Nido is a great place to go to especially when you love beaches, swimming, and snorkelling. Here's the summary of our three-day vacation:
Transportation: Airswift
Airswift Airline is the only airline (as far as I know) that offers a flight straight to El Nido, Palawan. Other flights take you to Coron first and then you have to travel via land transportation for five more hours before getting to El Nido. Our flight took one hour only from NAIA Terminal 4. So, advice you to try this airline next time you wish to go to El Nido. :)
Accommodation: Bayview Hotel and Resort
Bayview Hotel and Resort is approximately 20-30 minutes away from the town proper, but nonetheless, this place offers very good service such as buffet for breakfast, fresh and very delicious dishes to choose from, assistance in island tours, transportation services, and private jacuzzi for their guests!
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| El Nido Bayview Hotel and Resort | ig: elnidobayviewresort |
Day 1: Nacpan Beach Resort
After resting a bit, we headed to our first destination of the day. Nacpan Beach Resort is almost an hour drive away by tricycle which originally costs PHP 650 per person from our hotel. But if you bargain with the tricycle drivers enough, they can give you as low as PHP 1000 per tricycle that fits at most 4 people (After taking you to Nacpan Beach, the drivers will wait for you and bring you back to the hotel!).
The ride is long and tedious because most of the roads are not made of concrete, but are clay-ish and bumpy. However, when you get to the place, it will be worth it! The resort has an entrance fee of only 50 pesos which entitles you to a free bottle of beer (YES! Free!).
Since it was too far and we were still tired from the flight, we didn't get to go somewhere else and went back to the hotel after to rest. It wasn't bad for a first day after all.
Day 2: Island Hopping and El Nido at Night
Our hotel offers tour assistance. Generally, El Nido offers five different tours to choose from, and we chose Tour C (costs PHP 1,400) which has the following itinerary:
Helicopter Island
Helicopter Island is basically an island in a shape of helicopter (
no sh*t, Sherlock!). This island is a good snorkelling area because it features beautiful coral reefs, fishes, and deep blue water. Apart from that, the sand in this island is so white and there are different rock formations which provide an opportunity for photo ops (HAHA!).
Star Island
When we arrived in this island, our tour guides surprised us with the food they prepared and cooked for us. It was very thoughtful of them... and the dishes and fruits were all fresh and delicious (grilled chicken, grilled fish, relyeno, liempo, cucumber, pineapple, and may more)! After the wonderful lunch we had, we continued swimming, snorkelling, and enjoying what the island brought us.
Our third spot was the not-so-secret-beach called the Secret Beach (get it? hehehe). This was a very ~dramatic~ moment for all of us since it started raining and there were big waves then, and we needed to snorkel a good distance from our boat to the entrance of the island (which was very narrow btw). It was scary and exciting all at once as we held hands and swam together until we reached the entrance, and alas, what a site that awaited us! IT. WAS. WORTH. IT!
Rumor has it that Mantiloc Shrine was a former hideout of a politician who was running away and being sought by the government. In this place, you will find an abandoned house with its very own elevator, and statues of Mama Mary and late Ferdinand Marcos (a former dictatorial president of the Philippines). You have to pay an outstanding PHP 100 to be able to enter the premises, but you can't really see anything worth looking inside (in my opinion, anyway) apart from the rock that you can climb to be able to take a good look of the vicinity. This was my least favorite stop, not to mention the presence of a certain statue...
However, we just made the most out of the time by snorkelling and swimming instead. It was very tiring but I caught my first starfish! hihi :>
Our last stop for the tour was Hidden Beach. Just like during the trip to Secret Beach, we snorkelled our way into this paradise, but less dramatic this time since the rain was gone and the water was still.
The island and waters of El Nido are indeed breath-catching. There were lots of various fishes and corals to admire, and the place is well-preserved and kept clean. That was the end of tour C, and I loved it!
*El Nido at Night
Since we refused to let the night go to waste, we went food tripping in the town proper and discovered a delightful crepe store. After that, we went to a bar, drank a little, and talked for a while. It was a serene moment for us, friends - which I consider my second family - going out together and having fun. :)
Day 3: El Nido Zipline
Our third and last day in El Nido was as interesting as the other ones. It was my first time to zipline! :D
To be able to go to the zipline area, you have to walk a steep slope up an island for a good, tiring 15-20 minutes. It was an exhilarating experience to finally reach the top and be buckled with the ropes that kept me from falling down the beach while I zip-lined all the way to the other island. Nonetheless, I had so much fun!
I will definitely go back and try out the other tours someday!
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Thank you to my dearest boyfriend who gave this trip to me as a graduation gift and congratulatory gift for being employed. :)
So, to my dearest boyfriend, Vance Anthony. Thank you very much! As always, you are the best. :)
I would also like to thank Vance's siblings (Chynna and Sean) and cousins (Briell and Ate Jan) for accompanying us. Till next time!
