Balance Beach Life and Adventure in El Nido
Adventure Meets a Strong Local Town Economy
El Nido is a town on the northern tip of Palawan in the Philippines - and is probably the most famous vacation destination on the island. Known for its sand white beaches, dramatic cliffs, and lagoons, the scenic island escape is buttressed by a beach town economy. Think western restaurants, clothing boutiques and bars to come back to after your day at sea.
Take a Boat Tour
To me, the only must do in El Nido is to take a boat tour to see the nearby attractions at sea. If you’re a diver, you can go to one of the local scuba shops to schedule dives. For everyone else, the most popular tours are Tour A (a kayaking heavy tour that hits El Nido’s principal attraction - The Big Lagoon), or Tour C (a snorkeling heavy tour). You’ll spend all day out at sea and the tour includes a buffet lunch of traditional Filipino dishes.
In both Coron and El Nido, the tours are pre-packaged in a consistent way across businesses (Tours A, B, C, D). Pretty much anyone you talk to, the options will be the same. In El Nido, you will have to pay an environment fee of $4 when you go on a tour. It’s good for ten days and covers all the tours, scuba diving trips, and expeditions to Coron. So, if you’re doing more than one tour, make sure you get your certificate on your first one.
If your vacation is a bit longer and you are also going to Coron, there are three and six night island hopping expeditions from El Nido to Coron. You’ll stay in island huts along the way. I didn’t have the time to do one but I heard only incredible things - including that it is the best adventure in the Philippines.
Head to the Beach
About an hour north (driving) from El Nido, Nacpan beach offers an expansive stretch of white sand and pristine blue waters. The local shuttles are quite expensive (like $14 round trip), so it will likely be cheaper for you to rent a motorbike for the day to make your way there. I didn’t go because I decided to spend my remaining budget on a massage instead (which is the same price as the shuttle) - but my friends who did said it was worth the trip.
Catch a Sunset
The sunsets around El Nido are incredible and worth staking out a spot for. I decided to catch mine at Republica Sunset Bar over a beer. Its terrace offered sweeping views of the sea and islands. (To really make the night relaxing, we stopped on Blue Sea Spa along the way and got really nice shiatsu massages)
Both of the most famous beaches (Las Cabanas and Nacpan) are also supposed to have incredible sunsets.
