Category: Throwback Thursday Trip

Throwback Thursday Treat: Third Time Fun in El Nido

It’s been over a month since my last trip blog post. I am very sorry I haven’t posted anything; I’ve been busy with work & personal stuff. I had several birthday celebrations; I’ve also been just back from a week in Bali & a weekend in my hometown in Albay. I hope everyone is doing well. I promise to keep up with all the content planned for the past weeks.

Anyway, back to business. It’s Thursday, so it’s time for another Throwback Thursday Treat! It’s been a year since my high school friends & I spent a long weekend in El Nido, Palawan (my 3rd time). I think it’s a good time to relive the good times we had in that short weekend trip.

View from El Nido town 😍

Airfare

Philippine Airlines had their annual Christmas sale last December 2015. I was able to book a round-trip ticket to Puerto Princesa City for only ₱1,636. The fare included a 10 kg check-in baggage allowance per way & in-flight snack. Not bad, right?

Screenshot of my ticket to & from Puerto Princesa, Palawan

All the while, the plan was to go to El Nido / Port Barton alone for a weekend, but my high school friends decided to join me on that same weekend. We had plans of going to El Nido but I never thought it will be during this trip that we’ll go there. At least, I didn’t have to enjoy paradise by myself.

Trip to El Nido

2 friends flew to Puerto Princesa days earlier & went around the city for a day & a half. Junelle & I flew on the same afternoon, but with via different airlines. Upon arrival in Puerto Princesa, we immediately went to our friend’s hotel located a few meters from the airport.

Upon arrival at Puerto Princesa International Airport

We had dinner at Kinabuch’s Grill & Bar in Puerto Princesa before heading to the bus terminal to catch the last night bus to El Nido. The air conditioned bus left at 9:00 pm & arrived in El Nido at around 2:30 in the morning. We headed to our respective accommodations & slept for the rest of the morning.

Accommodation

I already booked my accommodation right before my friends booked their flights. I got a dormitory bed in El Nido’s newest (that time) hip hostel – Spin Designer Hostel. I booked via Booking.com; the nightly rate includes a bed in a 4-bed dormitory room with toiletries & breakfast. I paid ₱2,750 for 4 nights.

Each guest is provided a room key card, a spacious bed & locker. Guests have access to common shower & toilet facilities. Wi-Fi is only available in common areas (not sure if they have given access up to the rooms). The hostel also organizes day trips & night activities like acoustic nights, sports nights, barbecue nights, etc. The common areas were well-designed & spacious. The hostel is very social; it’s very easy to meet & connect with new people.

The staff were one of the nicest & the most helpful I’ve met. The hostel is also secured with guards on duty 24/7 on both gates. If you are alone & keen on meeting new people, Spin Designer Hostel is the hostel for you. Make sure to book your stay early as they are usually fully-booked.

Note: My friends stayed in a different accommodation because there were no other beds available in Spin Hostel.

Nacpan Beach Day 1

We hired 2 tricycles for ₱1,200 each for a day trip to Nacpan Beach. We left around 10:00 in the morning & decided to stay there up until 4:00 in the afternoon. It was supposed to be a day of relaxation, but the weather didn’t cooperate. It was raining most of the afternoon. We still had fun in the beach despite the heavy rainfall.

‘Habang umuulan’ photo with Junelle 😂

We headed to Las Cabanas Beach to watch the sunset, but it wasn’t at its best. The sky was cloudy; you could barely see the sunset. We went back to our respective accommodations to freshen up. We met up at 7:00 pm to have dinner at Trattoria Altrove, a known Italian restaurant in town.

Tour A Island Hopping Tour

Tour A is a must when in El Nido. It is my 3rd time to visit this place & I still go back for this tour. For the third time, I took Tour A – an island hopping day tour which goes to different lagoons & beaches in Bacuit Bay.

We booked the tour in the agency partner of our Nacpan tricycle driver. The tour is priced at ₱1,200 but we got ours for ₱1,100 each because we were a group of 4. Our driver picked us up at 8:00 am & we went straight to the beach. We left the town at 8:30 am & enjoyed the tour around the islands until 4:00 pm. Here are the places we visited:

Small Lagoon

Secret Lagoon

Snorkelling somewhere near Miniloc Island

Shimizu Island (also the place where we had lunch)

Big Lagoon

Seven Commando Beach

Nacpan Beach Day 2

We had a little debate whether we’ll take Tour C or go to Nacpan Beach again for our 3rd day. We wanted to relax a bit so we went for the latter. The weather was perfect & the beach was at its best! I’ll let the photos show how relaxing the place was.

Nacpan & Calitang Twin Beach 😍

Last Day

Right before eating lunch in Badjao Seafront Restaurant 

We took the 8:00 am Camarih Transport shuttle back to Puerto Princesa; dropped by the pasalubong center to get some goodies for families & friends back in Manila; ate lunch at Badjao Seafront Restaurant (a must-eat restaurant in Puerto Princesa) & headed to the airport for our flights back to Manila.

It was short but fun weekend trip with my high school friends. We’ve been to different places & countries & I think this El Nido was one of the best trips we had. We don’t have anything planned for our next trip (ehem); I hope we get to decide where we’ll go next & when will that be. I could travel the whole world with these people.

El Nido ’16 crew group photo 😊

If you haven’t read it yet, I already blogged about my past 2 El Nido trips – March 2014 trip & 2014 Birthday Weekend. Have you been to El Nido recently? Any notable changes in infrastructure, island hopping tour costs, etc? Feel free to let me know by putting some comments below. You can also send me an email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. Drop me a message on Facebook, drop a comment on Instagram or send me a tweet on Twitter.

The world-famous Big Lagoon during low tide

Curious how I booked my super duper cheap round-trip ticket to Puerto Princesa? Don’t worry, I got you covered. Head over to this post (and this post too) to know more.

‘Til the next throwback Thursday post! 😉

PS. All photos above were shot using my HTC Re.

Throwback Thursday Treat: Temple Hopping In Siem Reap

For the past few months, I took you to my previous trips in Ho Chi Minh City, Taipei (flying there again tomorrow!), El Nido (twice) & Koh Lipe, Thailand. I’ve been to relatively a lot of places already but I am a bit struggling with the details so I am doing it one at a time.

This Thursday, I’ll take you to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Siem Reap is not the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia (Phnom Penh is) but it is definitely the most famous tourist destination in the country. It is the gateway to Angkor, the seat of the Khmer Kingdom during the 9th-15th centuries. This place caters to all kinds of travelers all year-round – from the backpackers to the luxury vacation goers. The city is more than just ruins & temples, it also boasts super nice & accommodating locals & very rich history & culture.

With Majo, my Siem Reap buddy, in Bakong Temple (1 hr drive from the center)

Last 16-22 February 2015, Majo & I were fortunate to visit this beautiful place for 5 days & 5 nights. We got our round-trip tickets for ₱4,469.50 in one of Cebu Pacific Air‘s low fare sale. We’ve been to a lot (when I say a lot, I mean, that’s about 15 of them) of temples during the trip. I will give more details about the trip below.

Accommodation

Majo & I treated this trip as sort of a relaxing one so we chose a decent & well-reviewed accommodation. We stayed in The Siem Reap Hostel. It is located about 10 minutes walk from the Pub Street. It is located a few meters walk from Hard Rock Cafe Siem Reap. The hostel has both dormitory & private ensuite rooms. [Update – The Siem Reap Hostel has ceased operations.]

Our room for 5 nights in Siem Reap!

We got the private room for 2/3 people. It features 2 spacious beds, private balcony, shower & toilet & a cable television. We paid $30 per night. The rate also includes free airport pick-up, free Wi-Fi access & buffet breakfast for 2. Buffet choices include bread, jam, coffee, tea, milk & fresh fruits. Breakfast is not included for guests staying in dormitory rooms. The guest can pay only $2 to avail the buffet.

The hostel has an on-site restaurant with delicious & reasonably-priced food. They have one of the best chicken rice, pad thai & lok lak I’ve tasted in my whole trip. It also has a bar where they have the 50-cents draft beer during happy hour. It has a spacious common area & a swimming pool on the ground floor, billiards area & cinema room on the 2nd floor & the yoga area on the 3rd floor. Guests are also allowed to use the computers on the ground floor for research & booking tickets / accommodations for upcoming trips.

Hostel’s bar & restaurant beside the swimming pool

The hostel also has a tour desk where guests can inquire about day trips they can take. If you are looking for friends to share tuktuk for the temple tours, you can just write your name & room number on the board & meet them in the lobby the following day for your tour.

What I really like about this hostel is they give back part of the proceeds to the local Khmer community. They help a group of tuktuk drivers by offering fixed-rate temple tours with these drivers readily available outside the hostel. Note that they give the tour fee drivers & they don’t get anything from it. They also help a local Khmer village by giving them livelihood. One staff told me that the hostel pays for their school & their English classes.

With Quentin, a French solo traveler we met in the waterfall tour. He joined us the following day for the Angkor Wat Sunrise / Small Circuit Tour.

I would highly recommend everyone to stay in The Siem Reap Hostel. It’s not just a hostel, it’s a hostel that helps the local Khmers. For updated room rates, check out this link.

Currency

US Dollars ($) are widely accepted all over Siem Reap, or shall I say all over Cambodia. The conversion rate at the time of writing is $1 = KHR 4,075.64. Make sure your US Dollars are new & crispy; some locals do not accept dilapidated notes. Locals normally use their local currency for small changes like 50 cents.

Temple Pass

Each tourist is required to purchase a temple pass for your to gain access to each temple. During our visit, a day pass costs $20, a 3-day pass costs $40 & a 7-day access costs $60. As of 1 February 2017, the government decided to raise the rates of these temple passes. The new rates as are as follows: $37 for 1 day, $62 for 3 days & $72 for 7 days. Expensive, eh?

Our 3-day temple pass worth $40 that time~

Note that these temple passes are non-transferable because it has your photo in it. You don’t need to use the pass for 3 or 7 consecutive days. The pass is valid for 30 days after your first use. Since we were there for 5 full days, Majo & I decided to get the 3-day temple pass worth $40.

Temple Tours & Places To Visit

As mentioned earlier, The Siem Reap Hostel offered temple tours through the group of tuktuk drivers they help. The rates & temples included in every tour are posted on the board at the ground floor at the back of the restaurant / bar area. Majo & I decided to take the following day tours

Note: These temple tours do not include meals. You can either bring your own food or ask the driver to stop by a restaurant along the way. Make sure to bring a big bottle of water, a cap / umbrella & a towel because it can be really hot during the day.

Grand / Big Circuit ($15)

Preah Khan

Neak Pean

Ta Som

East Mebon

Pre Rup

Small Circuit / Angkor Wat Sunrise ($15)

Angkor Wat was the seat of the Khmer Empire. It is considered as the world’s largest religious complex & is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bayon Temple is the central temple of Angkor Thom. It is also known as the temple with smiling Buddha.

Baphuon Temple

Ta Prohm is the famous location used in the movie Tomb Raider.

Banteay Srei, Banteay Samre & Rolous Group ($20)

Banteay Srei & Banteay Samre | Banteay Srei is a temple dedicated to Shiva; a temple made of red sandstone.

Bakong Temple

Lolei  was under renovation when visited the temple grounds.

Preah Ko

Phnom Kulen Waterfall Tour ($32)

Visited the reclining Buddha on top of a hill.

The place where the Buddha is located.

Phnom Kulen Waterfall with the tour group turned good friends. The waterfall is located 2 hours & a few minutes hike from the Siem Reap center.

Another photo of the waterfall – this time without the people 😂

We also went to The River of a Thousand Lingas (no photo). It is a series of sand stone carvings in river beds & banks. It is located in the slopes of Phnom Kulen.

Pub Street & Siem Reap Night Market

Pub Street with the gang! Crazy fun night 🍺

If you are into restaurants & bars, then Pub Street in Siem Reap downtown is the place to be. The place is characterized by affordable to a-bit expensive restaurants (for dinner) & bars (for drinks). This is also where you’ll find most of the backpackers & tourists who are up for some fun night life. Majo & I (plus our new-found friends) went here for a few nights to have dinner & drinks (plus some crazy partying). The parties in the bars extend up to the streets at late night. Good times!

On our last night, Majo & I went to Siem Reap’s night market to buy some goodies for our families & friends here. The night market is a few blocks from the Pub Street. The prices of items were somewhat expensive – touristy I guess.

Majo & I were unable to go to most of the places in downtown (museums, halls, etc) because we concentrated on exploring the temples in Angkor & the nearby towns. It believe it was alright, the temples were really beautiful. Siem Reap is a place one should not miss! 🇰🇭

Pre Rup sunset 😍

Have you been to Siem Reap in the past? What was your favorite temple? Anything or place I missed that you want to suggest to the other readers? Feel free to comment below or send me an email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. You can also send me a message on Facebook, drop a comment on Instagram or send me a tweet on Twitter.

Thank you for reading & have a great day ahead. 😎

PS. All photos above were shot using my HTC One M8 & HTC Re.

Throwback Thursday Treat: 2014 Birthday in El Nido Photoblog

About a month ago, I showed you how my first El Nido trip in 2014 went. My friends & I visited paradise for 4 days & 3 nights – enjoyed the sunset in Las Cabanas, swam in different beaches & lagoons, visited different caves & coves & relaxed in the beautiful & quiet islands in Bacuit Bay.

I had so much fun in El Nido that time up to the point I decided to spend my birthday there. August 2014, I flew to Puerto Princesa with my friend Julie, then took a 5-hour trip to El Nido. We went to Nacpan Beach on our first day, then took Tour A (Lagoons & Beaches) again the following day & Tour B (Caves & Coves) again on our third day.

We stayed in Casa Cecilia & I asked them to arrange all our tours & transfers. I will not talk much in this post (because everything was almost the same as that of the first El Nido trip) but I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Enjoy the photos! 😎

Flying over Metro Manila ✈️

Stopover in Roxas, Palawan

Hello El Nido! 😍

Our first time in Nacpan Beach! 😍

More of Nacpan Beach! We loved how deserted this place when we were there.

El Nido Bay in the morning – before Tour A

Seven Commando Beach – we were the only tour group in the beach that time

The world-famous Big Lagoon in Miniloc Island 😍

Inside Big Lagoon. Such a beautiful place 😍

With my travel buddy / companion – Julie

Perfect weather during my birthday 😍

With our new friend Dianne who also celebrated her birthday that day! 😎

Tour B – Snake Island

View from the other side of Snake Island

Para-paradise 😍 Definitely my favorite island!

Can’t get enough of Pinagbuyutan Island 😍

Goodbye El Nido! Thanks for the fun birthday weekend. 😍

After 2 visits, El Nido easily became one of top 3 places I’ve been to. The beaches & islands are really beautiful. The town is just small but simple & laid back. The people are super duper nice. I’m glad that the place is getting so much attention now but I hope the locals do their best to preserve the cleanliness & the beauty of the place.

Have you been to El Nido? How did you find the town, the beaches & the islands? Is it a place which you’ll recommend to your friends? Do you want to know something about El Nido? Make sure to leave a comment below or send me an email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. You can also send me a message on Facebook, drop a comment on Instagram or send me a tweet on Twitter.

PS. All photos above were shot using my HTC One M8.

Throwback Thursday Treat: KOH LIPE – The Maldives of Thailand

Aaaand it’s Thursday! It only means one thing; it’s time for another Throwback Thursday Treat! For the past posts, I took you to known places like Ho Chi Minh City, Taipei & El Nido, Palawan. Today, I am taking you to a place you might not have heard before – to the Maldives of Thailand, Koh Lipe.

I bet most of you would ask where in Thailand is Koh Lipe or if that place even exists. Fair enough, my friends & I had the same reactions when Carl, the English guy we met at Slumber Party Hostel, Ao Nang in August 2015, told us about this very beautiful island. He advised us not to miss it because it is truly a paradise. I immediately added the island to my place-to-go list.

GoogleMaps screenshot of Koh Lipe – click here to locate the island in the map!

Koh Lipe is a small island in the Andaman Sea. It is one of the southernmost islands of Thailand, already near the Malaysian borders. The island is characterized by crystal clear waters, hard & soft corals & abundant seawater creatures. It was one of the islands that were heavily destructed during the December 2004 tsunami. The island has already recovered from the tragic incident & is now catering to all types of travelers.

Why Koh Lipe?

Let me tell you the story of how I decided (after weeks & months of planning) to visit Koh Lipe. It all started with a cheap round-trip ticket to Kuala Lumpur. Yes, it was so cheap I only used 20 Air Asia Big Points & paid ₱1,345.80. Super duper good deal, right? It’s by far the cheapest international round-trip ticket I’ve booked in my entire life.

The plane ticket that started it all. Hi, Air Asia! 😉

Having a ticket to Kuala Lumpur opened up to a lot of possible onward travel destinations. Initial plans included a trip to the beaches in the Gilis, to the forests of Luang Prabang, to the peaceful beaches of Langkawi, to the beautiful temples & terraces of Bali, to the scenic landscapes of Colombo & to the historic temples of Kathmandu. I immediately added the pristine beaches of Koh Lipe when Carl showed pictures to us. I kept all options open & tracked all possible onward flights up until 3 weeks before the trip.

Prices of onward airfare for all destinations became more expensive except for that of Langkawi. I booked the tickets to Langkawi before prices surge. That narrowed down the options to two – a trip to the peaceful beaches of Langkawi or another boat ride to the pristine beaches of Koh Lipe. I went for the latter option.

How I went to Koh Lipe

It took me 2 flights, 1 taxi ride, 1 short walk & 1 ferry to reach Koh Lipe. I left Manila 1:00 pm on the first day & arrived Kuala Lumpur a little past 4 in the afternoon. I went through the domestic transfer immigration counter & headed to the boarding date for my onward flight to Langkawi International Airport.

At KLIA 2 while waiting for my onward flight to Langkawi ✈️

I arrived the island of Langkawi at around 8:30 pm. I immediately went to the taxi booth to get a coupon taxi to the city. Hostels located in Langkawi city center were fully booked & the other hostels were far so I opted to stay in an affordable accommodation – GeoPark Inn Langkawi – just for the night.

Walked all the way from GeoPark Inn to Kuah Jetty

I woke up the following morning, checked out of the inn & walked my way to the Kuah Jetty Port. I took the morning ferry trip of Tropical Charters Langkawi to Koh Lipe. The ferry ride took 1.5 hours. After arriving on the floating deck near the island, we transferred to the small long tail boats that took us to the shores of the island.

I cleared immigration upon arriving at the island. Since I am a Filipino passport holder & I arrived via ferry, I got a 15-day visa-free stamp. It took me almost 24 hours from Manila to Koh Lipe but, I tell you, the long trip & transfers were super worth it.

View upon arrival in Koh Lipe.. Paradise! 🌴☀️🇹🇭

Accommodation

There aren’t many budget accommodations available in Koh Lipe when I went there last year. Most available places to stay are beach resorts, luxury inns & hotels. I was lucky that A Plus Hotel Lipe opened a few months before my trip.

I booked a bunk bed in a dormitory room for my whole stay in Koh Lipe. The curtained bunk beds included air conditioned room, spacious locker, common bathroom & toilet, towels, free shampoo & soap, free coffee & tea & access to the common lounge area on the ground floor. I paid ฿600 per night stay.

Just before the sun goes out | Sunrise Beach, Koh Lipe

Given the limited choices & high prices in the island, the capsule accommodation I got was all worth it.

What I did in Koh Lipe

I was in Koh Lipe for 3 days & 2 nights; plenty of time in such a small island. I just made sure I enjoyed every minute of my stay. Here are the things that I did during my stay:

Walk, walk & walk

The island is really small, so the best way to explore it is by walking. The island has 3 beach frontages- Pattaya Beach, Sunrise Beach & Sunset Beach. I went to these 3 beaches in the afternoon of my 1st day. You can walk from one beach to the other in less than 30 minutes. You also pass by almost everything (houses, schools, halls, etc) along the way.

Koh Lipe’s one & only meeting point

Make sure to bring a bottle of water while walking around because it is really hot during the day.

Swim, swim & swim

The island has one of the clearest waters I’ve seen in my life so far. The best way to enjoy the place is to swim, basically the story of my stay in Koh Lipe. I had fun swimming with some random seawater creatures.

I only planned to walk along Sunrise beach but I ended up swimming 😂 

Pattaya Beach invites you to swim. Would you dare to say no? 😉

Sunrise & sunset watching

I witnessed amazing sunrises & sunsets on the island. I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Sunrise beach every morning 🌅

View from the sunset beach 🌇

Island Tour

On my 2nd day, I took a tour that went around the nearby islands. The tour left Koh Lipe at 9:00 am & first went snorkeling in Jabang. Then we went to Koh Hin Ngam, the island made of polished black stones.

Koh Hin Ngam – an island full of polished stones

We went snorkeling again in Koh Yang then headed to Koh Rawi for lunch. This island provided some spectacular views. The sands were very fine & the beach had the clearest waters. The photo header of my website was actually taken in Koh Rawi.

View while having lunch in Koh Rawi 😍

Someone had so much fun exploring the pristine beaches of Koh Rawi 😍

We went snorkeling again on the other side of Koh Rawi then went back to Koh Lipe. The island tour was a fun experience! I had too much of snorkeling & sun exposure that day.

The clearest waters of Koh Lipe 😍

Thai Food Indulgence

I ate a lot of Thai food during my stay – pad thai, chicken & pork fried rice, satay, curry, tom yum, etc. I didn’t even bother looking for any other cuisine. Most restaurants can be found along the Walking Street. Ahhhhh, it’s definitely one of my favorite cuisines.

Koh Lipe Walking Street – it’s where you will find everything you need!

Drink Chang.. Lots of Chang!

A trip will never be complete without drinking. Yes, I had drinks with the people I met at the hostel. We had some good times over bottles of Chang beer. At midnight, we transferred from the bar to the shores of Pattaya Beach. We even saw some bio-luminescent plankton in the waters. Good times! Too bad I wasn’t able to take photos because I left both my phone & camera at the hostel.

As mentioned in my 2016 Recap Blog, this was my first solo international trip last year. I’m glad I pushed through with this Koh Lipe trip. I had the most relaxing 3 days of my life there. I enjoyed some quiet time in paradise & got sun-kissed in the scenic beaches.

Koh Lipe is indeed a paradise, it’s a place I will definitely go back to in the future!

Oh Koh Lipe, you are so beautiful. I will be back soon.. I promise!

Kuala Lumpur Stopover

On the same week of my trip, my sister flew to Kuala Lumpur for work. She was assigned there to work for a project for 5 weeks. I had to cut my Koh Lipe trip by 1 day to visit her. I spent the last night of the trip at her place, heard mass the next day & had lunch together in Suria KLCC. We also made a quick visit to the grounds of the Petronas Twin Towers.

Obligatory Petronas Twin Towers photo with my sister

Do you have any questions about Koh Lipe? Is there anything you want to know about the island? Feel free to comment below or send me an email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. You can also send me a message on Facebook, drop a comment on Instagram or send me a tweet on Twitter. Suggestions for future topics are also welcome.

Thank you very much! (ขอบคุณมาก) 🇹🇭 😃

PS. All photos above were shot using my HTC Re & HTC One M8.

Throwback Thursday Treat: They Call It El Nido, I Call It Paradise

In 2014 & 2015, Palawan was voted as the most beautiful island in the world by the Condé Nast Traveler’s Reader Choice Awards. Last year, it slipped down to 2nd place, behind another island gem, Boracay Island. This annual poll is participated by travelers from all over the world. Looks like most foreigners really love going to the Philippines, eh?

Palawan is one of the isolated islands west of the Philippine archipelago. It is not connected to any mainland in Luzon, Visayas or Mindanao. The island can only be reached either by plane or ferry. It has 3 famous cities / towns where most visitors go to – Puerto Princesa, the home of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (locally known as the Puerto Princesa Underground River); Coron, where the famous Kayangan Lake & Twin Lagoon are location & El Nido, where white sand beaches & luxury resorts are found in the very small islands of Bacuit Bay.

One of El Nido’s main attractions – The Big Lagoon in Miniloc Island

Exactly 3 years ago, my friends & I went to explore the not-so-known beauty of El Nido. Not yet famous in the local tourism scene, the town only had a few accommodation choices, a handful of restaurants & limited hours of power supply (only from 2:00 pm to 6:00 am). The town doesn’t have a bank or an automated teller machine. Very few restaurants / establishments accept credit card payments (with surcharges). The locals lived very simple lives & mostly depend on agricultural livelihood & tourism.

Bacuit Bay – View from El Nido town’s beach

Being in El Nido that time felt like being in a different country – with foreign travelers & backpackers everywhere in town.

Manila to El Nido ✈️️🚐

There are two ways to reach El Nido if you are coming from Manila – the expensive & comfortable direct flight & the affordable flight plus tiring land transfer. My friends & I cannot afford the ₱12,000 (estimated) direct round-trip tickets with Air Swift, so we opted to fly with Cebu Pacific Air to Puerto Princesa (for an affordable rate); then took the 6-hour land trip to El Nido. The van transfer costs ₱500-600 per way, depending on your haggling skills. You can also take the bus at a much cheaper rate, but the trip last up to 7 hours due to various stops.

El Nido 2014 crew @ Cudugnon Cave

Back in 2014, the last 2 hours of the 6-hour land trip were purely through rough roads. With the recent improvements in road infrastructure, the trip can be shortened to 5 hours through paved roads. There were only 3 van operators in 2014 – Lexxus, Eulen Joy & DayTripper Palawan. Apart from DayTripper Palawan, I would also recommend taking the recent addition to the van operators – Camarih Transport. My friends and I had a very safe trip last year (blogpost for the 2016 El Nido trip to follow!)

Where We Stayed

There were only a few accommodation choices in El Nido that time. My friends & I stayed in Casa Cecilia for 4 days & 3 nights. We got the deluxe room for ₱2,500* per night. The room rate includes 2 double beds, private toilet & shower (with toiletries), air conditioning, free Wi-Fi in the reception area & 4 breakfast meals per day.

The property staff were one of the nicest people I met in El Nido. They helped us arrange everything (van transfers, tours, etc) during our stay. We also met the owner who was also super nice.

When you & your tour group are the only visitors of the island 😉

*As per the Casa Cecilia website, the rate of the deluxe room has increased from ₱2,500 to ₱3,000 per night. I think it’s still affordable for 4 people, right?

El Nido Eco-Tourism Development Fee

The local government of El Nido collects an eco-tourism development fee of ₱200 (valid for 10 days) from each person taking the island tours. You can pay this fee in your hostel, hotel or the travel agency where you availed the tours. Back in 2014, they only give you a receipt; but from what I heard, they now issue small green environmental cards which you present to the boat captain every time you take the island tour.

Snake Island is connected to mainland Palawan through this sand bar

What We Did During Our Stay

We only had a few days in El Nido & we wanted to do + see as much as we can. There are 4 island tour options being offered in town – Tour A (Lagoons & Beaches), Tour B (Caves & Coves), Tour C (Hidden Beaches & Shrines) & Tour D (Island Beaches. Tours A & C are the popular ones but we took Tours A & B.

Note: These are group tours; you or your group will be combined with other people in a boat. You can go for a private boat tour but it would cost you more that the usual rate.

Tour A (Lagoons & Beaches) – A MUST IN EL NIDO!

View of Big Lagoon from our tour boat 😍

This tour costs ₱1,200 per person. The rate includes pick-up from your hotel/ hostel accommodation, motorized boat transfers to & from the islands, picnic lunch, life jacket & English-speaking boatmen. Always ask your guide if the snorkeling gear is for free or is for rent (we got ours for free!). Tour starts at 9:00 am & ends at around 4:00 pm.

Route: Seven Commando Beach -> Big Lagoon -> Shimizu Island (for lunch) -> Secret Lagoon -> Small Lagoon

PS. We enjoyed our time there we forgot to take photos of the places we visited. I’ll make it up in the next El Nido blogs. 😉

Tour B (Caves & Coves)

My favorite view from Pinagbuyutan Island!

This tour costs ₱1,300 per person. The tour has same inclusions & tour duration as that of Tour A’s.

Route: Entalula Island -> Snake Island (for lunch) -> Cudugnon Cave -> Cathedral Cave -> Pinagbuyutan Island

Crew jump shot at Entalula Island taken from the coconut tree~

We met some awesome people (both foreigners & fellow Filipinos) in these tours. We all ended up hanging out after the tour/s – had some good laughs over food & alcohol.

Las Cabanas Beach & Sunset

Aside from the island tours, there are also other spots you can visit like the Las Cabanas Beach, Nacpan Beach, Nagkalit-Kalit Falls & Duli Beach. We didn’t have enough time to go the last 3 so we only visited the Las Cabanas Beach (10-minute ride from town proper).

Back to when Las Cabanas Beach was almost empty

We rented a tricycle for ₱150. The driver waited for us up until we finished walking around the beach. Back then, there were only a handful of accommodations & restaurants in the area. It was so quiet & beautiful. It also offered one of the most beautiful sunsets by the beach I’ve witnessed in my entire life.

Las Cabanas sunset 😍

El Nido has its own charm. It is truly a paradise where you will always want to go back. It instantly became one my favorite places in the Philippines. I fell in love with the place I actually went back twice in the last 3 years (separate blogs to follow!)

I’ve heard from people I met in my recent trips that El Nido has gained attention in the local tourism scene. There are so many people visiting the place compared to the numbers 3 years ago. I strongly suggest that you visit El Nido as soon as possible before it becomes full of tourists.

Have you been to El Nido in the last 3-6 months? Can you tell me & the other readers how is the island hopping experience lately? Is the town already full of tourists? Feel free to comment below or send me an email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. You can also send me a message on Facebook, drop a comment on Instagram or send me a tweet on Twitter.

Until the next blog post. Thank you for reading! 🤠

PS. Thanks to my good friend Rodel for allowing me for allowing me to use some of his photos.