sharing my latest trip ko sa El Nido last November 30 - December 4 (my second visit).
We got a package from Hanny of Hadefe (sobrang bait and madaling kausap). Inclusions : van from airport to underground river to el nido to puerto princesa with city tour and island hopping tours
We are a group of 7pax and meron kaming nakasabay na couple (the girl is a pinay with her canadian bf) so naging 9pax kami...
November 30 - Underground River Tour
- from the airport we went directly to Underground River, almost 2hours ang travel
- we had buffet lunch upon arrival at Sabang that is around 12nn (the food is simple - grilled liempo/tuna, adobong kangkong, adobong pork)
- around 1pm we rode a boat to the Underground River Beach the maximum capacity of the boat is 8pax including the boatman and his assistant
- we registered our names sa log book and walked along the path leading to the mouth of the river...got to see monkey's ang dami nila naglalakad lakad lang all over the place
- we got our hard hats and life jackets... and meeeeen grabe ang bahooooo ng life jackets swear kaya lang no choice hindi puwedeng mg inarte kaya ngtawanan na lang kami ng mga friends ko kasi pare pareho naman kaming mababaho after eh hehe...
- the whole tour is fun, ang kukulit ng mga paddlers/boatman, love ko boatman namin sobrang kulit and since may kasama kaming foreigner english talaga ang mga kuwento ni kuya hehe...
- kakatakot sa loob ng Underground River parang may something sa loob, creepy siya...
- after our tour we travelled again by almost 5hours to El Nido and arrived around 8pm...
- the road to El Nido is way better than my 1st visit there last June 2010, parang 80% concrete na ang mga daan and around 1hour and 30minutes na lang yun rocky part ng road...
- we stayed in Hadefe's Cottages for 2 nights, it's a 20mins walk away from the town. The cottages are nice and cozy plus the place is so relaxing, yung walk lang ang and dadaaan ka sa cemetery ang cons kasi malayo siya sa town....
- nagpaluto na kami ng food sa Hadefe - inihaw na liempo and fish sinigang plus rice = Php350 plus paluto php100 = php450 only divide by 7, laking tipid hehe...
December 1 - Island Hopping Tour (Combined Tours A & B)
- had our breakfast under the trees, breakfast included sa rate ng cottage
- spots visited:
Small Lagoon
Big Lagoon - low tide kaya hindi nakapasok yung boat and naglakad na lang lang kami para masilip yung lagoon, sa 1st visit ko nakita ko yung platform doon and learned that some weddings are held there and games from the past edition of Survivor France, it is owned by the El Nido Resorts
Lunch at Entalula Island - love the white sand here, its so fine parang milk
Shimizu Island - fish feeding
Cadugnon Cave - you need to get into the hole para makapasok at nagkasya ako sa hole hehe
Snake Island - to see the great view of the SNAKE hehe kelangan mg-trek paakyat ng cliff
7 Commandos Beach - bumili kami ng buko, they are selling 1 buko for php30 and meron din sari-sari store
- we had our dinner at Squidos, sobrang tagal 45minutes bago dumating order namin...mahal ng food, we paid php280 per pax for our food
- videoke (located in front of Squido's) after dinner c/o our foreigner friend Bahtiyor... nakakatuwa kasi parang mgkakakilala kaming lahat sa videoke bar, kahit ibang table (mga locals) sumasabay at pumapalakpak sa mga kumakanta... 12midnight na kami natapos tapos pgkatayo namin yung mga tao ng-goodbye sa min nakakatuwa ang saya lang parang super close kaming lahat...
December 2 - Island Hopping Tour (Combined Tours C & D)
- breakfast again under the trees and packed our things kasi we will be transferring to Rico's Cottages in El Nido Town (yung staff na ng Hadefe ang ngdala ng things namin sa Rico's Cottage's after our island hopping tumuloy na kami sa Rico's)
- spots visited:
Secret Beach
Matinloc Shrine
Star Beach - snorkeling
Lunch at Matinloc Island
Hidden Beach - I enjoyed our stay here, our boat docked in the rocky side of the beach, naka life jacket kami kasi malalaki alon pgdating namin sa Hidden Beach walang waves, the water is soooo calm ang sarap mgfloat, nakakatuwa lang
Helicopter Island
Cadlao Lagoon - yung mga friends ko nakakita ng pawikan dito... maganda sana yung mga corals kaya lang madami ng dead corals, sadness....
*** all this places are snorkelling sites
- we had our dinner at El Nido Corner Restaurant, sobrang expensive ng food, the servers will say that the servings is good for 1pax only BUT it's not, sobrang big ng servings it is good for 3pax...
December 3 - Nacpan/Calitan Beach
- breakfast at El Nido Skyline Grill (na-miss namin ang silog hehe Php125 inclusive of coffee or hot choco/rice/corned beef/egg/fruit)
- road to Nacpan/Calitang is bumpy, rough, rocky and is 20kms away from El Nido Town... travel time is more or less 1hour
- the beach is not usually visited by tourists and is not yet commercialized... it has clear aquamarine water and white sand and is good for beach bumming... there is nothing much to do in this place except swimming...
- when we went there the waves are huge, kaya hindi ako masyadong nkpgswim... after lunch we walked to the northern side of the beach at doon ako umitim...
- I learned from our guide that when island hopping is cancelled due to bad weather, they bring their guests here
- since I included this in our package we rode a van going here, another option is to hire a motorbike or tricycle (around php500 - haggled price)
- it is the longest strip of beach in El Nido, and is longer than the white sand beach in Boracay which is 4kms.
- dinner at Seaslugs, pasta marinara is two thumbs up...
December 4 - Travel back to Puerto Princesa City and to Manila
- woke up around 4am nagising ako sa lakas ng ulan and sa hampas ng alon (Rico's Beach Cottages is located in the town and is beach front)
- travelled back to puerto princesa around 7am sobrang lakas ng ulan that time, arrived in Puerto Princesa 12noon
- sa city tour napuntahan lang namin Baker's Hill, Immaculate Conception Church, and yung place for pasalubong shopping. Palawan Crocodile Park is closed even Mitra's Ranch.
- we had our lunch in Balinsasayaw Restaurant, loved their kinilaw and their balinsasayaw rice
- checked in around 4pm for our 7pm flight... delayed ang Cebu Pacific ng 30minutes
we'll be back again june next year... I so love El Nido, I want it to be my next home
