August is not a common month for vacations in the Philippines. It’s the rainy season and prone to cancellations, delays, and bad weather.
But with the country experiencing sunny days year-round, it’s also the best time to visit pristine beaches minus the crowds.
So, we decided to take the risk. We booked a trip to El Nido Philippines in the middle of August.
From sunny to dull, the weather can change drastically at sea. Photo taken during our Aug 2017 El Nido trip.
And despite the typhoon that ravaged the country in July, we were blessed with sunny and beautiful weather.
Beautiful sunny weather in El Nido (be careful, you can get sunburned!)
Read about our itinerary, what to expect, and how much to prepare.
Getting to El Nido
El Nido is located in the North-Western Part of Palawan and is a 1 and ½ hour flight from Metro Manila if you are taking a direct flight to Lio Airport.
However, those flights are expensive. So to save some money, we opted for a promo flight through Cebu Pacific from NAIA 3 to Puerto Princesa International Airport. This is a 1 hour and 15 minutes flight.
To reach El Nido, you must board a van and endure five to six hours of land travel through winding roads – but mostly beautiful countryside views.
You can choose from private or shared van transfers. Private vans cost around 6,000 one way. Shared vans cost about 600 per person but are available for a fixed time only. Your hotel accommodation can help book these vans.
Our plane arrived at Puerto Princesa around 7 pm. Based on prior research, we knew that public vans are available only until 5 pm so we had the hotel arrange the van pickup for us.
However, since there are a lot of late-night flights to Puerto Princesa, there are still private vans waiting for their passengers to El Nido up until the last flight arrives. If you’re traveling solo, you can opt to share a ride with these vans.
I recommend working with your accommodation as they can give you the best deals on van transfers and give you peace of mind that you’re going directly to your hotel.
Vans have a halfway stopover, around 3 hours after you leave your pick-up point. This is the spot where you can eat lunch or dinner. This is also the only stopover for CR breaks.
Our accommodations at El Nido for 3 nights
Where to Stay in El Nido
There are many accommodation options around El Nido. You can choose from beachfront resorts, pension houses, hostels, and luxurious staycations.
To choose the best accommodation, determine your activities and priorities.
For our group, we opted for the cheapest hotel we can find in El Nido proper since our main activities were island hopping tours.
This allowed us to save on our accommodation (so we can splurge on a 4-star staycation at the end of the trip).
Choosing a hotel in El Nido proper also allowed us to walk towards the port for our island-hopping boat, and explore the town proper at night.
Read about my honest review of our hotel, Cliffside Resort here. You can also check out their rates via Agoda.
For our last day, we wanted to splurge and relax. It was a tiring but fun two days of island hopping and we wanted a day to recoup our energy before heading back.
We opted to stay in Isla Amara and enjoy the beauty of Lio Beach.
Isla Amara Boutique Resort at Lio, El Nido
When traveling, always take advantage of booking sites like Agoda. We found a really nice deal for Isla Amara on their site. You can read my honest review of Isla Amara here.
When we visited El Nido in 2017, we were a group of 12 and decided it’d be better to stay at an Airbnb Villa. We booked El Nido Full House Villa which was in the middle of El Nido proper and Corong-Corong beach.
Getting Around El Nido
The main transportation around El Nido is tricycles. They are huge and spacious and can comfortably seat four average-sized persons inside plus one more person behind the driver.
El Nido Tricycles, circa 2017
From El Nido Proper to Vanilla Beach, the fare is 150 per tricycle. El Nido Proper to Lio Beach is P300 per tricycle.
Tricycle drivers are also knowledgeable about places to go and will gladly offer their services to bring you to other land-based attractions like falls and beaches.
Another recommended way to explore El Nido is by renting a motorcycle. You need your driving license and knowledge of road safety rules though.
Motorcycle rentals start at P500 per day. There are plenty of motorcycle rental shops around El Nido proper.
If you’re a big group, you can also get a car rental. Most shops that offer motorcycle rentals also have car rentals. Just ask for the rates.
Take note that gas prices in El Nido are +10-20Php from the usual prices in Metro Manila. And with locations far from each other, you can find yourself paying more for gas than you intended to.
I’d say, it’s still best to rent a tricycle, especially with the good weather on the island.
What to Do in El Nido
El Nido is a paradise. You can spend your days hopping from one activity to another. Or you can opt to lounge by the beach or the resort’s infinity pool and just soak in the views.
Either way, you will definitely enjoy your stay.
With that said, here are the most common activities around El Nido:
- Island hopping – choose from 4 preset tours or book a private tour
- Beach hopping – explore 3 white sand beaches through land travel (Los Cabanas Beach, Nacpan Beach, Lio Beach)
- Trekking and Canopy Walk to reach Taraw’s peak
- Visit several waterfalls – sometimes combined with beach hopping
- Snorkeling
- Kayaking
- Exploring the Nightlife
Island Hopping in El Nido
There are 45 islands in El Nido and they’ve organized 4 tours – Tour A, B, C and D to help you explore some of these islands.
Tour A – Lagoon Tours (Most Popular Tour)
Cost: P1,200 per pax
Tour A is the most popular tour because of the big lagoon. A lot of people who post photos and videos of their El Nido tour took the footage from Tour A.
Places to visit:
- 7 Commandos Beach
- Shimizu Island
- Payong-Payong Beach
- Secret Lagoon
- Big Lagoon
7 Commandos Beach
This beach is still connected to the main Palawan Island but is accessible only by boat. It’s one of the many smaller beaches along the coast of El Nido offering white sands and turquoise waters.
It’s the first stop for all Tour A tours, so expect lots of boats and tourists stopping to pose for photos and swim. There are many other better and less crowded beaches during the tour, so if you can, ask the tour guide not to stay too long at this stop.
Our group posing at 7 Commando’s Beach
Snorkeling Area
In between islands, your tour guide will bring you to spots in the ocean where you can snorkel. There are lots of snorkeling areas within El Nido so this is one of the must-do activities.
Snorkeling in El Nido, circa 2017
Admittedly, there are better snorkeling spots in the country, and most of the spots we went to had very few fish or live corals. It’s a pity really. But if this is your first time snorkeling, or you simply like the experience, then you’d enjoy the really clear waters.
Tip: You can rent snorkeling gear from your hotel or vendors by the seashore for P100 per day. However, if you’re island hopping for several days, it’d be more economical to purchase a snorkeling set.
Shimizu Island
Shimizu Island
For Tour A, this is your lunch area. It’s another nice beach with white sand and clear water. Your tour guide will prepare the lunch area here.
In the past, the boatmen also doubled as chefs and will prepare a buffet lunch consisting of grilled seafood and meat, freshly prepared vegetables, and exquisitely carved fruits.
Photo at Shimizu Island
Sadly, as of July 2023, El Nido released an ordinance prohibiting meal preparation at the islands or on boats by tour operators. You can only get packed lunch from accredited restaurants which will be served during your tour.
In our case, our tour operator – Cliffside Travel and Tours, partnered with Sagwan Resto to provide us with set lunches. Here are their menu choices:
Lunch options
Our tour group with our packed lunch
I’ve been to El Nido in 2017 and the packed lunch are a far cry from the experience of a buffet lunch by the island. I’m not sure if they allow private tours to still prepare their own meals on board. You can ask your tour operator.
Our buffet lunch during our 2017 El Nido Trip. On some days, there were crabs and mussels too. All freshly prepared.
We saw another boat that had a buffet lunch in their boat. They looked like one big family so maybe, the buffet meals are allowed only if you are one big group and not a joiner tour.
Payong-Payong Beach
The beach’s name comes from the limestone formations that looked like umbrellas. It’s not the most impressive white sand beach in El Nido, but you can still enjoy your time swimming and taking photos here.
Chilling at Payong-Payong Beach
Secret Lagoon
According to the published Tour set, this was one of the stops. For some reason, our guide didn’t bring us here. I think he was helping us avoid the crowds and the overrated spots.
Based on Google Reviews, the place may be a hit or miss depending on what you like to do. The lagoon itself requires that you climb through a small rock which can be difficult if the waves are strong.
Inside, there’s no dry area. You are only standing in shallow waters surrounded by limestones. It’s also pretty small so it can get crowded when there are too many tourists.
The nearby beach is beautiful though.
Big Lagoon
This is the highlight of Tour A. Most of El Nido’s popular photos and videos come from the kayaking experience in this area.
Fortunately, this was our last stop and when we arrived, there were only a few groups.
We almost had the entire lagoon to ourselves.
Kayaking at Big Lagoon
Renting a kayak is P350 for the big one (seats 3 people) and P300 for the small one (seats 2 people).
You can also rent a crystal kayak but our boatman discouraged it. He said that it’s easier to use the plastic kayaks as floaters in case it capsizes. But the risks are low, so if you’d like to use these popular kayaks, they’d cost P500 good for 2 people.
You’d row from the open sea towards the entrance of the lagoon which is a long stretch of shallow water. I recommend walking and pulling the kayak during this part if you want to save your strength for the bigger and deeper lagoon later on.
You can also take lots of beautiful photos here.
My friend posing at Big Lagoon
After this entrance, you can navigate to the deep side of the lagoon. It’s a wide lagoon of deep green waters surrounded by tall karst limestones. Because there were few other kayaks, we had fun racing with each other and exploring every nook and cranny of the lagoon.
Taking a photo in the middle of the Big Lagoon
During peak season, the Big Lagoon will be full of guests and according to one local, you’d have to wait for your turn to rent a kayak. Even during August, you’d still see a lot of tourists in this area.
Last 2017, our guide brought us to the nearby Small Lagoon (part of Tour D) since there were too many tourists at the Big Lagoon. It was equally breathtaking.
The Small Lagoon, circa 2017.
Once headed back to the boat, our tour guide offered to tie all the kayaks together and pull them towards the boat. This was a welcome treat because you can just lie down and not worry about paddling against the waves.
Our friends decided to paddle back and had to battle against strong waves. They made it back to the boat though after several tries.
Tour C – White Beach Tours (second popular tour)
Cost: 1,400 per pax
Another popular tour is Tour C, which mostly consists of white sand beaches. Although, our tour guide switched the places a bit and inserted Cadlao Lagoon (normally part of tour D) since we weren’t able to visit the Secret Beach.
Also, instead of Matinloc Shrine, he gave us extra time to snorkel in another snorkeling spot. In some tours, they don’t have a stop at Matinloc Shrine. Instead, they’d let you stop at Star Beach.
All of these stops are near each other (except for Helicopter Island).
Places to Visit:
- Hidden Beach
- Helicopter Island
- Secret Beach
- Matinloc Shrine / Star Beach
- Talisay Beach
Hidden Beach
This was the first stop of our tour. According to our tour guide, we will do the tour in reverse to avoid the crowds and had to start with the furthest points. The boat ride took over 45 minutes.
Once we arrived at the beach, we saw a monitor lizard excavating a hole. The tour guide shouted at the lizard and shooed it away. He said the lizard was going to eat the eggs of a sea turtle and pointed out the trail marks of a turtle.
Our guide hurried to the site and before he can reach it, two smaller monitor lizards emerged and scrambled off. He dug the hole and after several minutes, reached a nest of sea turtle eggs.
Sea turtles are protected animals in El Nido and they take great efforts to preserve them. Unfortunately, monitor lizards tend to scavenge their eggs so our guide ensured the eggs were securely covered deep in the ground to prevent another attack.
From this incident, we explored the hidden beach and marveled at the beauty of the limestone formations surrounding the beach. The only reason this beach is hidden is because you’d have to walk across shallow but rocky waters to reach it. Your boat will park on the other side.
Hidden beach. The beach is on the other side of the limestone formation.
Hidden Beach from the air. Named as the world’s 3rd best beach (Source)
Obscured by towering limestones, Hidden Beach produces beautiful photos that you’d cherish for a lifetime. You can also swim in the crystal waters and like any other spot in El Nido, snorkel to see the marine life.
Family photo at Hidden Beach circa 2017
Photo with friends at Hidden Beach, circa 2023
Matinloc Shrine / Star Beach / Snorkeling Spot
According to our tour coordinator, we were supposed to prepare P200 as entrance fee to Matinloc Shrine. But after reading this Google Review, I wasn’t too keen on visiting the place.
Of course, if you opt not to climb, you can do snorkeling for the allotted time instead. Coincidentally, this spot is also near Star Beach, which is a private beach but has great snorkeling spots.
Since we were doing the tours in reverse, this will be our 2nd stop. Normally, this is the final stop for tours.
Our guide opted to give all of us a snorkeling spot and didn’t bother asking us if we wanted to visit Matinloc Shrine. I guess he overheard me telling the others about what to expect there.
Secret Beach
When I visited El Nido last August 2017, this was the highlight of my trip. It’s a secret beach area surrounded by tall limestone formations. It’s so pristine inside that you’d feel transported to a different location.
The catch is: you have to swim through a small hole to access the secret beach.
You have to jump from your boat to deep waters, then swim until you’re able to enter the hole and the shallow waters of the beach inside.
When we visited in 2017, the waves were rough and although I was scared, I jumped and swam. The beauty inside was worth it.
Unfortunately, this experience is not without its risks. You can bump your head or scratch your knees on the rocks as the waves pummel you inside.
And true enough, there have been too many accidents especially when waves are rough that guides have stopped bringing guests to this beach if they perceive that the risks are great (and perhaps if the tourists are not great swimmers).
Talisay Beach
This was our third stop where we had lunch. Talisay Beach has its own charm and is just as beautiful as the other beaches of El Nido.
You can take your time swimming in the waves and be inspired by the towering lush vegetation. You can even see monkeys in the trees if you look closely enough.
Talisay Beach
Helicopter Island
If there’s a beach where you should spend more time swimming, lying in the sand and snorkeling, then this is the beach to go to.
It doesn’t have the same impressive limestone formations as the other beaches, but it has a long stretch of powdery white sand and turquoise blue waters. There are enough shaded areas where you can put a beach mat and lie down.
There’s also enough shallow beach area to swim around. Venture a bit further and there are shallow areas to snorkel and see fishes.
We were sorry to go when the guide called us back. If there’s another chance to go to El Nido, we’d want to stay longer on this island.
Helicopter Island (Source)
It’s called Helicopter Island because of the shape, but kids see a chicken drumstick as they look at the island.
Cadlao Lagoon
This is the additional item in Tour C. Originally, Cadlao Lagoon is part of Tour D. However because we didn’t see Secret Beach, our guide brought us here instead. It’s also relatively near Helicopter Island.
Cadlao Lagoon is also called Blue Lagoon because of the clear blue waters. It’s a smaller lagoon than Big Lagoon and that gives you enough time to take photos, explore, and have fun with your friends.
We took lots of photos in this place and had ample time to admire the majestic karst limestone enveloping the entire lagoon.
Photo at Cadlao Lagoon
My set of friends who explored and conquered El Nido
Cadlao Lagoon is part of Tour D, which is a tour featuring islets in El Nido but I’m glad our tour guide brought us here. It was our last stop, and just like the previous day, there weren’t a lot of tourists in the area.
Other Island Hopping Tours in El Nido
Tour A and C are the most popular and recommended tours in El Nido. But that doesn’t mean that other tours are not worth your money.
Tour B – Sandbar Tour Cost: P1,300 per pax
During our 2017 trip, we also took Tour B and had the pleasure to see Snake Island. The place doesn’t have snakes, but it has a snake-like sandbar that you can see after a short hike to an overlooking hill.
Family Photo at Snake Island Viewpoint, circa 2017
The sandbar at Snake Island, Photo of our friend, circa 2017
Other places to visit are:
- Pinagbuyatan Island
- Entalula Island
- Cathedral Cave
- Cudugnon Cave
Photo at Pinagbuyatan Island, circa 2017
Tour D – Islet Tours Cost: P1,200 per pax
This is the only tour I haven’t done in El Nido. But after seeing Cadlao Lagoon, I believe this is also a must-do tour. Besides, this is not as popular as the other tours so expect that there’d be fewer tourists on the beaches you’d visit.
Inclusions:
- Cadlao Lagoon
- Small Lagoon
- Paradise Beach
- Bukal Beach
- Pasandigan Beach
Tour Notes:
- All tour prices are inclusive of P200 environmental fee. The environmental fee is good for one week so if you’re doing the tours within the same week, they’d waive the environmental fee on the other tours.
- Depending on your tour operator, set lunch may be included in the package. In the past, buffet lunch was always included but now, there are some tour operators who will charge the same price but not include lunch.
- Kayak rentals are charged separately. You’d pay them at the lagoon areas. Be ready with exact cash.
- Tours start at 9AM and end at 4PM.
Our tour operator for this tour was Cliffside Travel and Tours. For 2017, our tour operator was Northern Hope Tours. Both provided great service and are highly recommended!
4 Days El Nido Itinerary and Budget
Notes about this itinerary:
- We took a late flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa on the 1st day and decided to go straight to El Nido.
- We spent our last day beach bumming at a 4-star hotel in Lio Beach.
Day 1:
- Departure from Manila (5PM)
- Arrival at Puerto Princesa Airport (7PM)
- Travel to El Nido (5-6 hours)
Day 2:
- Arrival at Hotel in El Nido (1AM)
- Hotel Check-in
- Island Hopping Tour (9AM to 4PM)
- Optional: Explore El Nido Town Proper
Day 3:
- Island Hopping Tour (9am to 4PM)
- Optional: Explore nearby Vanilla Beach
Day 4:
- Check out at Hotel
- Travel to Lio Beach
- Check in at Isla Amara Boutique Hotel(2pm)
- Beach Bumming
Day 5:
- Check out at Isla Amara
- Travel to Puerto Princessa
- Souvenir Shopping
- Flight to Manila
Budget (Per Person):
- Budget hotels in El Nido range from 1,200 to 1,800 inclusive of breakfast. These are AC rooms. Cliffside Cottages offers fan rooms for 700Php per night, good for 2 persons. Read my review here.
- Food in El Nido is expensive. Average meal prices range from 250 to 300 depending on the restaurant. Our dinner budget also included drinks.
- We also had to buy bottled water because friends have advised us that there’s a current bad water situation at El Nido and you need to secure yourself by drinking only bottled water.
Some Tipid Tips:
- If you’re a large group, you can book an Airbnb and cook your own meals. El Nido has a Wet Market with affordable fresh seafood so you can prepare your own dinner and breakfast. During our 2017 trip, we stayed at Full House Villa and bought fresh seafood from El Nido’s Pamilihang Bayan.
Wrapping Up
When my friend first offered a seat sale to El Nido, I was skeptical. I have been there and wasn’t keen on repeating the experience.
But since hubby hasn’t been to El Nido, I decided to give it another shot.
I’m glad I did.
El Nido is a paradise – before and now. I realized that even though I went to the same beaches twice, the experience was still amazing and left me awestruck.
I’d be dreaming of El Nido and asking when I can return once again.
First time at El Nido, circa 2017 (Photo taken by the entrance of the Big Lagoon)
Watch my full vlog about our El Nido Trip here.
Read the rest of my El Nido adventure series:
