El Nido, Palawan will always be one of the most memorable travel destinations in my life because, man, the lime stones and the clear blue water is incomparable! We were able to spend 3 days in El Nido. Add two days of travelling and we spent a total of five days and four nights for the whole trip.



I wasn't involved in the preparation for this trip. The credit goes to my good friend, Jhoy. From the travel to the accommodation to the itinerary, everything was well planned. In contrast to our Boracay trip where we left the fates to decide what our trip would be like.



Here are the details of our trip:

Day 0
Arrival (Manila - Puerto Princesa - El Nido)	Van from Puerto Princesa to El Nido - php500 Tricycle from van terminal to Tay Miloys - php50/tricycle
Seaslug Restaurant
Day 1
Island Hopping (Tour A & B)	php1000/pax kayak at Small Lagoon - php150/2pax	Whole day We availed the tours from Tay Miloy's
Habibi Resturant
Day 2
Island Hopping (Tour C & D)	php1000/pax	Whole day We availed the tours from Tay Miloy's
Overnight Camping at Papaya Beach	Entrance php -150/pax Dinner - php2000/9pax Boat+guide+tent - php433/pax	Tay Miloy's staff prepared the dinner for us.  We gave them the money and they did everything. They also provided the boat and tents.
Day 3
Papaya Beach		Breakfast is provided by Tay Miloy's. Included in the 2k budget we gave them
Art Cafe		This is also where we went shopping for souvenirs
Twin Beach	Rented Van - php400/pax
Marimeg Beach
Skyline Restaurant	El Nido soup - php200/bowl
Squidos Restaurant
Departure (El Nido to Puerto Princesa)	tricycle to bus terminal - php50/tricycle bus to Puerto Princesa - php450/pax
Day 4
Departure (Puerto Princesa to Manila)	Tricycle from bus terminal to Airport - php70/tricycle	When we arrived at Puerto Princesa in the early hours of the morning, we slept in the parked bus until around 6 am.

Other fees:

• Environmental fee - php200. Paid to Tay Miloy's upon arrival in preparation of the tours
• Snorkeling gear - php100. Rented from Tay Miloy's. 
• Rooms - Contact Tay Miloy's for rates

On our last day at El Nido, we woke up to a very chilly morning at Papaya Beach.

Papaya Beach

The view from Papaya Beach

Most of the island was more forest than beach. But there was a variety of activities you can do. You can play basketball or volleyball or frisbee. No need to to bring your own balls or set up your own nets or basket. They've got it all ready for you on the island.

Welcome humans!

Good morning Papaya Beach

Chilling in a hammock

A hut

the sands are truly powdery

This is the toilet. If you need water (which you probably do), you'll have to get some from the ocean

I never knew Frisbee could be so much fun!

Look  at me go!

Time to get back. Aww...

Our boat guides went back for us in around 11. When we got back to town, we rode a tricycle to our lunch destination, Art Cafe.

Art Cafe

Art Cafe

Welcome to the Art Cafe

It seems a lot of foreign tourists visit this place

The bar

I wonder what the music is like here

They have their own travel agency

Pesto

I forgot was this was called but I think it's potatoes

We also shopped for souvenirs at the Art Cafe.

Second day came and we were all ready for more El Nido!

We got into The Fast and Furious a little earlier than yesterday. This time, we were the only group in the tour.

We meet again, Fast and Furious

First stop, Matinloc Shrine.

Matinloc Shrine

Matinloc Shrine

When we got down the boat, we were led up the ragged cliff. The steps were very narrow and rocks were really spiky so we had to be extra careful.  And man, the view from the top was very rewarding.

Don't you dare make a wrong step

Or you won't be able to enjoy this gorgeous view

The rocks are extra spikey

My stupid finger got in the way of my photosphere

When we got down,  out guide began to tell us the story behind the island of Matinloc. He told us that the island belonged to a local who married a german. From above the island, you can see a heart-shaped portion of the island, which was why they built their mansion there. It was never really clear why it was later abandoned. We didn't get to roam around the mansion more because we spent our time making jump shots by the dock.

Jump shots, baby!

Photosphere shot from the dock

Our next destination was the Secret Beach.

Secret Beach

The Secret Beach

According to our knowledgeable tour guide, this was the beach that inspired Alex Garland to write his novel, The Beach. Which in turn inspired the film adaptation with the same name starring Leonardo Dicaprio. Well, no wonder! The beach was beautiful! I especially loved the entrance to the beach. That part of the beach is really deep and the way the light pierces into the water and reflects the corals underneath is just amazing. I wanted to linger there but a lot of people were passing through and the waves were also quite strong so floating around wasn't really a good idea.

That there's the entrance to the beach

This is what you see underneath when you swim through the entrance. Preeeetty

Them rocks are huge

The powerpuff girls at your service

The beach itself was excellent. It had the same feel as the Secret Lagoon, but I like the Secret Beach better. The water is shallow but you can snorkel around because there are fishies!

You can do some snorkeling

It's very shallow so you have to be careful

When you're trying to get an underwater shot but everyone's legs are in it

Time to head back

When everyone got back to the boat, we headed to Matinloc Cove. 

Matinloc Cove

Matinloc Cove

This was also where we had lunch. While waiting for lunch, we were free to do some snorkeling. I have never seen a reef as big as Matinloc's before! There was just so many corals and fish. My companions were already chilling by the boat but I just had to check out everything. I did not get a Lasik surgery to explore just half of what could be explored.

Corals. Corals, everywhere.

On your left, a reef bursting with corals. On your right, a void made out of the most beautiful shades of blue

White coral!

Pompom coral!

Clownfish coral! I mean... an anemone

Firey coral!

A lump-of-clay-looking coral

While taking a break from diving, I dropped my friend's underwater camera.  I have never been so thankful for my 7 years of hellish swimming training. I swam after that expensive camera for dear life. Thank goodness the corals caught it.

I tied the camera strap to my wrist after that and continued exploring

I scoured every nook and cranny of that reef

I was done with most of it when our boat guides called us for lunch

Having lunch at the beach is such an experience

The next stop was the Hidden Beach. 

Hidden Beach

The Hidden Beach

What I loved it is that the place was sprawling with anemone and clownfish! A couple of friends and I touched the anemone and it sort of had a sticky feeling to it. It was as if we were mildy grounded or something. During that time, the water was only ankle deep so we could look at the anemone and fish so closely. When we got over the cute clownfishies we were led through a different path back to the boat. It was a cave-ish path. When we were out, our tour guide pointed out an old Balinsasayaw nest. The dry white stuff over it was the bird's spit that locals collect for a delicacy called El Nido soup.

There I am at the back looking for anemones and clownfish

They're so cute!

My friend worked so hard for this shot. Clap clap

The way back

We then rode to our next destination, the Star Beach.

Star Beach

Star beach

I loved snorkeling there! The reefs were abundant! And like, really, really abundant! The fishes are plenty. I wasn't holding the camera this time so I spent the time enjoying all the sights. I loved every bit of it! I had to be careful not to get any water in my snorkeling gear because there was nothing to stand on. And even if there was, there's a 99% chance you'll lose your balance and get cut by the corals. 

Fish feeding is prohibited in El Nido because the it makes the fish lazy, causing an imbalance in the ecosystem.

Not the fish from this reef though. All of them are frantically feeding themselves

Do you see those corals? Step on them and you're foot's a goner.

LOL JK. You'd probably just get deep cuts and bleed like crazy

Because that's what happened to my right butt cheek and left knee :|

Besides, you're not supposed to step on corals. That's a big no-no.

The Kadlao Lagoon, the next place on our tour, was a lovely lagoon that you had to swim very far for.

Kadlao Lagoon

Kadlao Lagoon

The boat won't be able to get you to the lagoon itself because of the shallow water. We got down and started swimming towards it. It took longer than expected. I was swimming for a while and I still wasn't there. The fact that the water was getting shallower and there were stuff beneath that I can't really discern made the trip a cautious one. When we finally got there, the lagoon was emerald green. The water was clear and at the bottom there was nothing but sand, which made it easier to walk or swim around. I floated on my back to bask in beauty of the lagoon. And then it was cut short by our tour guide. We need to head back. And the trip back was just as excruciating.

That green water over there is the lagoon

We forgot to bring the camera to the lagoon so our companions who didn't go took the opportunity to take photos of themselves

It was raining a bit when we arrived at the Bucal Beach. 

Bucal Beach

It was the least of my favourites. The sand underwater was not exactly clean. And we spotted some urchins here and there so we didn't stray far from the boat. I was floating around when I saw a hole surrounded by small pebbles (it looked like a well) and guarded by a single small fish. I was looking at it and suddenly, a wild mantis shrimp appeared! It threw out a pebble then went back in then went back out then threw a pebble again and it went on and on. I got so excited that I called some friends and showed it to them.

The next stop was a beach that is a personal favourite of our tour guide. 

Kuya Tour Guide's personal favourite beach

According to him, since the beach is opposite the open sea, getting there becomes a bit of a challenge because of the waves. But on the rare occasion that the waves are tame, they take advantage and go there even if it is not included in the itinerary. I am glad that the waves are on our side that day because that beach was glorious. None of us unfortunately know the name of that beautiful beach so we shall therefore call it Kuya Tour Guide's Personal Favourite Beach. If you do know the name however, I would be grateful to hear from you.

Pretty

And that ended Tour C and D. The day wasn't over yet though. We got back to El Nido Town Proper and got ready for our overnight camp at Papaya Beach. Earlier, Tay Miloy offered to prepare our dinner for us. So we gave them the money and they took care of the rest. Around 7PM, we were back at the docks. We all got in the Fast and Furious and headed straight to Papaya Beach.

Papaya beach

When we arrived, our boat guides prepared our dinner while some of us prepared the tents (rented from Tay Miloy). After dinner, the boat guides went to collect wood for the bonfire. We then enjoyed toasted marshmallows while exchanging stories under the stars. LOL JK. THEY enjoyed toasted marshmallows while exchanging stories under the stars. I unfortunately fell asleep.

And that was Day 2.



El Nido Day 1 : Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, Shimizu, Snake Island, Kudugnon Cave, Seven Commando, Pinagbuyutan, Habibi Restaurant
El Nido Day 3 : Papaya Beach, Art Cafe, Twin Beach, Marimeg Beach
El Nido : 5D4N Travel Expenses

Photo credits: Rem Calumba, Joy Sabal, Troy