El Nido Thread 4

[Girltalker2]

New thread na. 31 pagea na yung thread 3.

link of thread 3:
http://www.femalenetwork.com/girltalk/index.php/topic,247490.0.html

[Girltalker2]

just got back from pangulasian and miniloc. ganda sa pangulasian, tahimik. parang two seasons coron ang peg. may trekking site din. although the beach and villa is better in two seasons. btw, the iti direct flight to el nido now is atr  na. parang yung sa caticlan. amanpulo na lang gumagamit ng dornier na plane. miniloc is rustic naman. walang tv sa garden cottage

sis, is pangalusian worth it?  parang sobrang mahal kasi ng rates nya, comparable na sya to maldives. ano ang kakaiba sa pangalusian compared to miniloc/lagen.

[unwantedP]

Booked na kami sa Ipil Lodge and tours! Sana lang talaga hindi ma-delay yung flight kasi medyo tight ang sched.

May 23 6:30pm ETA PPS, taxi to San Jose Terminal to buy tickets sa RORO bus going to El Nido (10pm, hindi pa nagrereply yung sa reservation ng bus ticket )

May 24 4am arrival in El Nido, Tour A + C

May 25 Nacpan beach

May 26 back to PPS

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Mga sis mas okay ba ang Fort Wally than Lexus? We plan to take van na lang pabalik ng PPS eh. Tatluhan lang naman sa likod ng driver diba? So mas okay dun than sa harap?

Sabi ng nakausap ko sa Fort Wally recommended niya 7am than 5am i-book ko. 1:45pm kasi flight namin PPS to MNL. Parang tight ata ng 7am. Sa RORO bus kasi 6am ang alis, pero hindi macontact for reservation. Mahirap na.

[matetreyes]

^^sis ok naman sa Pangalusian if you're into something like "art of doing nothing". relax kasi ang peg dun. beach bumming, pool and island hopping lang. maganda ang beach although hindi masyadong fine. kaya mas bet ko pa din ang Two Seasons in Coron kasi mas  fine ang sand dun and mas madaming pwedeng gawin like underwater scooter, snorkeling sa giant clams sanctuary, spa and island hopping. mas nagagandahan ako sa beach ng Two Seasons.

sa Miniloc kasi medyo rustic na sya  especially the garden cottages. Eto kasi ang pinaka-unang resort ng El Nido Resorts since 1980's so ramdam mo yung kalumaan nya. yung beach dito waley talaga in terms of sand pero ang daming isda! at ang lalaki ng mga isda. nasa likod lang din nito ang big and small lagoon so pwede ka mag-kayak papunta dun.

sa Lagen medyo luma na din and I heard from one of my friends who did an event there last week medyo hindi nila feel yung service.

Overall, if I have the money, i won't choose Pangalusian. I'm just lucky I was there for work. Pero kung ako siguro ang magbabayad, mag-stay na lang ako sa town and then island hopping galore.

[supladitang cute]

^ Just got back yesterday. Sinulit lang ang 3-day long weekend. hehe
Some notes:
1. Delayed ang zest air by 20 mins pero yung pilot parang ang bilis niya pinalipad kaya from 45 mins mga 20 mins lang kaya lang hindi na kami nakaabot sa 2pm sched ng bus/lexus. haay.. instead na 8pm kami nakarating ng el nido 1130pm na.
2. Ok ang lexus vans - you should consider this girls ha.. kasi nung papunta namin since may mga road na one way lang. may nasiraan na truck so ang mga roro bus hindi na makakadaan. ang kinagandahan ng vans kaya niya lumusot. Original plan is to take the roro bus pero buti na lang nagvan kami. We paid 1400 sa van for two people kasi travel agency pero sa travel agency na kami sinundo near airport no need for you to go to san jose terminal. Ang advise sa amin ng driver pwede ka magpareserve pero mas inuuna ata ang mga travel agency na katie up so mas maganda ang seat na naallocate sa kanila. kami late na nakapagpareserve pero we were provided yung seat na gusto namin.

Si bf parang hindi masyado nagenjoy sa underwater sights ng el nido, mas gusto niya sa honda bay which i agree pero kasi tours A and C naman ang kinuha namin so mostly lagoons. Sabi ni kuya boatman parang ibang tours dapat pag gusto namin underwater. Anyway, at least nakapunta na kami ng el nido. Mind you guys, umuulan ha pero nothing to worry, yung nakuha naming boatman through ate nerizza, ok kasi may kakilala sila sa may island na super ganda dun kami naglunch and may kubo yun. Perfect kahit umuulan! ang sarap kumain - crabs, fresh fish (one of the freshest fishes na nakain ko), ensalada, grilled chicken and pork and mangoes. Then may mirienda pa kami after snorkelling the boatmen prepared watermelon for us.. then pauwi we had buko. Winner ang tour!

To be continued na lang... hehe

[soontobe]

^sis malaki ba yung bangka nila ate Neriza na gamit nyo sa tour?

[supladitang cute]

^ Big for us kasi two lang kami. Kasya siguro kahit 4 or 5. Hindi ka na matatakot sa boat kasi yun din worry ko baka maliit kasi nung sa hundred islands, super liit. Ok yung boatmen namin eh bakasyonistang bakasyonista ang peg namin. They know when to serve the food and kumuha ng photos. Tagadala ko pa si kuya ng camera ko. hehe Siya rin ang photographer. Cool!  Pm me na lang for the details na gusto nyo itanong. Try ko sagutin. 

[soontobe]

^sis anong tours yung in-avail nyo? magkano yung tour if 2 lang kayo sa bangka? kasi i'm thinking if magsasarili kami ng boat or magjo-join kami sa ibang groups. TIA.

[unwantedP]

^^sis yung Lexus ba na seats is like this:
http://www.gopalawan.travel/Puerto_Princesa_to_El_Nido

tatluhan lang din gitna? which is more comfy, sa harap or gitna? Considering one of us will be carrying a luggage. Nakatawag na ako sa Lexus pero dun na daw babayaran eh. He also didn't ask for my name, ako na lang nagsabi so medyo kabado ako kung naka-reserve nga. 1:45pm pa naman yung flight namin so we can't afford mawalan ng seat sa 5:00 nila or 5:30 ng Fort Wally. hehe

[supladitang cute]

^ Yung toyota tatluhan from el nido to pp, accdg to kuya driver they use grandia for the last trip which is apatan and mas comfy. There are two stops sa roxas and taytay ba yun. hehe better eat na in roxas when going to el nido kasi sa next stop hindi ok. In fairness, masarap naman yung adobo sa fort wally stop (pero dito rin nagstop ang lexus).

^soontobe - we got tours A & C in one day. biglaan kasi. wednesday lang ako nagbook then saturday 12noon ang flight so we just had 1 whole saturday to spend in el nido hence decided to get the private tour which we did not regret, kasi ang hirap din may mga islands na yung iba gusto magtatagal eh parang wala naman masyadong snorkelling sights so the private tour is just perfect din for us though we visited every island, dun na lang kami nagtagal sa gusto namin. You can ask Ate Nerizza for the rate andito ata contact number niya but ask for discounts.

[+arte20+]

^sis pashare din ng rates kung private tour. I inquired na din kasi sa kanya pero group tour promo this month daw is 1k per head for Tour A & C pero 1st week pa naman kasi kami ng December pero pag nagbook na kami 1k pa din rate namin. Compare ko lang kung ano mas ok since honeymoon trip na din. Kasama din ba yung lunch sa package ni Ate Neriza?

[supladitang cute]

Girls, I'll try to answer as much queries as I can pero suggestion lang if pwede let's practice posting trip reports when we get back parang sa kabilang forum para everyone will be informed sa mga susunod na magtatravel. Sa ibang thread kasi parang ang konti ng info puro refer to my blog eh buti if very informative ang blog, ang konti naman ng laman. Pero i have nothing against bloggers ha actually all the info I got pag tamad na magbackread, i am relying lang on blogs.

[unwantedP]

^thank you sis! may nacontact ako http://www.gopalawan.travel/Puerto_Princesa_to_El_Nido Php 820 lang sa kanila, mukhang maganda yun van and at least sure kasi may reservation. Up to PP city nga lang unlike sa Lexus sabi pwede daw airport tapos Php 700. Kinakabahan lang baka makalimutan ni kuya may reservation kami haha!

Si Sai naman contact ko sa Tours, 1k lang din bigay niya sakin Tour A & C, basta referred by lakas.com.ph, 1k lang talaga anytime yung private tour naman may nahanap ako 3k. 1k na lang idadagdag. pero sa boat lang private eh, sulit na ba yun? pagdating kasi island ganun padin.

[supladitang cute]

^ You're welcome.    Parang ang mahal ng P820? When you get to El Nido pala pareserve ka na if sa Lexus pag ganon, kahit di ka na kumuha sa travel agency, Php500 ang charge nila and they welcome yung seat reservation kung saan mo gusto umupo pasabi ka na lang. May mga numbers naman ang lexus dito. Sa lexus si kuya driver may seating arrangement pa eh so alam niya saan ilalagay ang passengers.  Mga ganyan din yung individual tour ni Nerizza pero yung private tour mura na yan, kasama na ba ang food jan?

Enjoy El Nido sis! Try mo pala yung Crepe sa may malapit sa may trike terminal parang it's close to the real thing kasi French yung owners very thin ang crepe and they have a custom-made pan where they cook it. Masarap naman yung mango nutella!

[hisana]

Gusto ko rin yung private boat na lang. Do all the tour operators offer this, or a few lang? And tama ba yung intindi ko, the going rate is about 3k for the entire group na yun (we are 4 or 5) for the entire day with lunch na? Tour A only lang naman. 

[unwantedP]

^^ganon ba sis, sige sa Lexus na lang kami yung private tour i happened to read lang sa one of the blogs, hindi ko na ni-note down eh since hindi kami mag-private tour. but most likely kasama yung lunch since lahat naman ng island hopping tours nila inclusive of buffet lunch.

^yung nabasa kong blog sis 2pax lang sila (couple) so im not sure if iba rate sa 3 or more pax. ask ko when i get there next week

[riandrew]

yes, go for the private tour! hawak nyo oras nyo. walang iinit na ulo in case di kayo magkasundo ng mga kasama mong strangers sa tour. hehe

and i strongly suggest to allot a day just to enjoy the beachfront and do nothing. yun yung best part ng el nido trip namin.

[diwata]

Booked for El Nido with 4 of my friends on February 18-22, 2014

[tinapay]

sis matetreyes: plane derecho sa El Nido yung ginawa mo? so parang not worth it to stay either Miniloc, Lagen and/or Pangalusian? gusto ko naman sana by next year, luxurious El Nido ang trip ko...

[matetreyes]

^yes sis, direct flight kami. ok na sya now kasi ATR na din sya hindi na sya 19-seater na plane. and awe-inspiring ang view lalo na kapag pa-land or pa-take-off na. as in nganga ako sis!

if Miniloc or Lagen, feeling ko not worth it. Imagine, the cheapest room there is the Garden Cottage (which is what we had). The rack rate is Php 17500++ per night good for 3 pax. The room is rustic, and made of local, old , indigenous materials. walang TV. walang tub. maliit lang yung room. even the shower looks old na din. at eto pa, ang ibang bathroom amenities (like toothbrush, drinking water) kailangan mong irequest. hindi sya automatic na nasa room mo. although the good side is fullboard buffet meals na with standard island hopping activities. still, for that amount, mahal yan for me. for that amount you should have at least a decent tub in your spacious room with a veranda and a nice beach.

if Pangulasian, the 24000++ room is sulit albeit mahal pa din sya kung tutuusin. maganda naman ang rooms. may espresso machine pa, nice veranda, canopy bed, cookies, cashew nuts, spacious bathroom na pwede ka tumambling sa loob, may pool pa! at lahat na yata ng size ng straw hat meron sa room! LOL may wi-fi din and cable tv. plus rainshower enclosed in glass which can double as steam bath.