My Guide for El Nido

Palawan Island – One of the most beautiful islands in the world!

El Nido is a city in the north of the Philippine island of Palawan. But at the same time, the whole northern district of the Palawan Island is also called El Nido.

El Nido is mainly known as the departure point to the Bacuit Archipelago. This is a group of islands with steep rocks. These rise impressively in the middle of the sea. Something that I `ve wanted to see for a long time. In January 2019, this dream finally came true for me!

Besides, the island Miniloc is famous for the crystal clear water of its two lagoons Small Lagoon and Big Lagoon. But also the Cadlao Lagoon is an absolute highlight!

El Nido in travel magazines…

At the latest since Palawan Island was named the most beautiful island in the world by the American magazine Travel+Leisure in 2013, Palawan Island has made a name for itself in the world of travel!

El Nido also appears in the list of the “20 most beautiful beaches in the world” published by the travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler (CN Traveler).

… and on Social Media

Since El Nido appears everywhere on Social Media channels such as Instagram and Pinterest, the name El Nido has become a well-known name.

The port of El Nido Town – Starting point of the tours to the lagoons and rocks

That’s why most people come to El Nido.

But the area around El Nido has a lot more to offer than the practical location for these tours!

Here are my personal Highlights of El Nido:

(in the order in which we experienced them):

1. A domestic flight with a propeller plane and arrival at El Nido airport

The flight from Caticlan to El Nido itself was a highlight for us. We`ve never flown with a propeller plane before. Funny how you can see them rotating when you look out of the window. Also the airport El Nido`s a special airport. Here everything`s a little bit different. We already knew the unusual baggage reclaim from the airport Caticlan. Here it was similarly uncomplicated.

I also liked the fact that as soon as the arrival area is deserted, one is immediately in the nature.

2. Nacpan Beach and the Seaside Hue Resort

We liked Nacpan Beach much better than the White Beach on Boracay. The same fine and white icing sugar sand, crystal clear water and, in contrast to Boracay, almost no people! Moreover, Nacpan Beach is much wider than the White Beach.

The sunsets here (and at the neighbouring Twin Beach) were breathtakingly beautiful.

We also liked very much that there were a couple of cosy restaurants here. If you want a little more action, you can also spend some time in the Mad Monkey Hostel. There they have music, game nights and good burgers.

We spent our first 3 nights on Palawan at Seaside Hue Resort.

A real stroke of luck I made with this booking! This resort definitely belongs to my top 5 hotels we stayed so far! Small, on a dream beach and a not really touristic area.

The colourful design of the resort and the many funny details put us in a good mood right away.

We had one half of the house (the yellow, orange on the left side) just for us, the shower and toilet was also in it. It was two-storied, upstairs there was another double bed and a bathroom (I think at least there was another bathroom, we only used the room on the ground floor, as we had booked for 2 persons only).

That means it would also be perfect for a family or a group of friends.

The cottages in the area most apart from the beach had a shared toilet and shower, as we were told. But they are definitely (even) cheaper.

What we also liked very a lot was that you could really experience the life of the Filipinos here. Children playing, beautiful bancas everywhere and dogs just running around. But these dogs were completely harmless and there was no excrement from them anywhere on the beach. Even though many of the dogs are strays, they`re somehow educated by the inhabitants. They also get the leftovers of the food from the restaurants.

Tip:

• You must stay overnight at the Seaside Hue Resort. We had a great time there and the prices are more than reasonable.
• Bring time and patience for breakfast. Every morning it went on for quite a long time, just enjoy the great view in the meantime. Who`s still stressed out there.;-)

• It`s essential to bring a thin cloth for the face if you want to sunbathe here. The sand`s so fine, when it’s windy you`ll have it in your eyes for a long time. I also recommend some sun cream that doesn`t leave any sticky residues, as otherwise the sand would immediately adhere to it.

How to get to the resort:

• The Nacpan Shuttle Service departs at certain times from El Nido from the office of the tourist operator Discover El Nido (Calle Amboy, Barangay Buena Suerte, El Nido) to the next restaurant, Nacpan Beach Sunmai, and back. At the airport we took a tricycle to this tour operator in El Nido and from there the shuttle bus. A direct ride with the tricycle to the resort is not recommended, because it`s a pretty long distance (17,1 km) and large parts of the access road are not well asphalted (which can be a problem especially in rainy weather). The hotel could also arrange a shuttle service to pick you up.

3. Enjoy the sunset from Outpost Hostel (or an other resort nearby)

That we could see more of the north of Palawan, I booked our last 2 nights in the Outpost Hostel. The hostel`s very hip, many (supposedly) cool backpackers stay here. Since we didn’t feel like having a dorm with a common bathroom, we booked a double room with its own shower and toilet.

This room was (apart from the family room on Boracay on New Year’s Day) the most expensive of our whole trip, which one would not expect at all, as the mixed dormitories are very cheap.

We liked the furnishing of the hostel a lot.

Also the terrace, from where you have a perfect view to the sunset, was special.

We`ve never stayed in a hostel before and quickly realized that this is more for single travellers or a group of friends, not for a couple (it depends on the couple, of course). But we personally felt a bit out of place. So we only had our first dinner here. But the food was good and the staff was very friendly.

We had the other dinner at Buko Beach Resort. Here we liked the atmosphere very much, nice and quiet. Also the layout`s really nice. If it was in our price range, I would have booked here…

… or at the Panorama Resort (which is located between the Outpost Hostel and the Buko Beach Resort). 😉

Since both accommodations are so to speak at the Outpost Hostel (1 min. walk), you have the same spectacular sunsets from these accommodations

Tip:

• The Outpost Hostel`s right by the sea (like the Buko Beach Resort and the Panorama Resort too), but there`s actually no real beach (I never saw people in the water there either). That’s why I recommend this area only as a place to stay overnight and to explore the island by day. Unless you like to lie by the pool the hole day (the Outpost Hostel has none).
• We rented a scooter from the neighbor shop for the whole time we were there. Everything worked out perfectly.

4. Day trip with a private banca to the rocks and lagoons

“Yes, yes, such a cliché,” some will think. No matter, because this day was by far our absolute highlight of the whole 3-weeks we spent in the Philippines (spread over 6 islands). Ever since the Palawan Island was voted the most beautiful island in the world by the American magazine Travel+Leisure in 2013 and has been appearing everywhere on social media like Instagram and Pinterest afterwards, many people know El Nido.

Here are a few photos. For more details about our day trip check out my separate entry about it.

5. Explore the island

• An afternoon at Maremegmeg Beach

The beautiful Maremegmeg Beach is located 1.7 km from the Outpost Hostel and is easy to reach by scooter, you just have to park it at the car park by the road (near Mc Donald`s) and then walk down (through Vanilla Beach Mall). Vanilla Beach Mall is a complex with nice shops and cafés.

Marimegmeg Beach has a very relaxed atmosphere, also thanks to the surfer-style restaurants and bars.

• A meal or (if you`re lucky and it`s not fully booked already) an overnight stay at The Birdhouse

The Birdhouse is a restaurant with a truly spectacularly beautiful view!

I rarely use this description, but when I do, it’s 100% true.

After we climbed the numerous stairs that lead up the hill from the back part of the beach, we were speechless. Not only the view itself was something we hadn’t expected, but also the extremely extraordinary interior. You immediately notice that the wife of the owner couple has learned interior designer.

• Round trip with a scooter

We drove from the Outpost Hostel to Duli Beach and back again with a side trip over Lio Beach.

There are not many roads, so you can’t get lost easily. But we managed it anyway. We chose a wrong turnoff road once and so we ended up at a swampy harbour. We turned around and it went on. What the heck, that’s what exploring`s all about. The drive there and back was very interesting as the children had just finished school. They waved at us, sang, did high five with me. These kids were really cute.

The landscape was very varied. We saw many green hills and rice fields, …

nice trees …

… and and the first Carabaos (domestic swamp-type water buffalos and the national animal of the Philippines) we ever saw.

• Spend time at the almost abandoned Duli Beach

Tip:

• You`re not permitted to park directly at the beach.
• However, shortly after turning from the main road to the beach, there`s a large car park where cars and scooters can be parked.
• Here, you also have to register on a list of the authorities, so that they know who`s staying at this (rather deserted) beach.

The employee of the government authorities patiently explained us the way to the beach (on foot it takes about 10-15 minutes) and that we shouldn’t be pushed by anybody to pay anything.

In the middle of the path there suddenly was a barrier and a sign saying that the land was personal property.

Don`t let yourselves be pushed into paying “entrance fees”!

A really aggressive middle-aged woman came rushing towards us and gave us a list. We had to register and pay, she said. Well, the man who (really) worked for the authorities had prepared us for this and told us that we had to refuse payment at all costs as it was officially a public beach.

Other tourists had turned back a long time ago. Luckily not us, otherwise we would have missed this almost lonely and very beautiful beach. But in our whole time in the Philippines this was the only encounter with an unfriendly person. This behaviour is not typical at all for the Filipinos!

No public restrooms on the beach. This way you can still use a toilet:

There are no public toilets at the beach and at the restaurant. But for a small fee you can use those of the residents.

When I was standing in front of one of the houses, an older man, blind in one eye, came and asked me if he could help me. I explained to him that I only had a note for his WC cash box, but no coins. No, he didn’t want that, it was far too much money. Thereupon he asked all the neighbours for change. I was not feeling comfortable with this as the note had “only” a value of about 3 to max. 5 Euro. But I didn`t mean to hurt his pride.

This is what it looks like in a very modest Philippine cottage

That was the first time I saw such a little house from the inside. There were no walls between the rooms, as room dividers (also between the living room and the toilet) cloths were stretched. The toilet was flushed with water from a bucket (but I already knew this from other toilets in the Philippines).

What Duli beach offers

Right next to the “entrance” of the beach there`s a restaurant and on the left side at the surfboard rental there are massages offered. It was great to get a massage directly at the beach and it was also very pleasing.

• Discover local art at Kalye Artisano

The Kalye Artisano is located at the access road to Lio Beach. It consists of a few houses where local artists sell their work. Interesting to see.

• Sundown and dinner at Lio Beach

The way from Kalye Artisano to Lio Beach itself was very unusual. Already in the forefront, the beach is announced with colourful letters at different places and shortly before the beach, one drives over a hearty wooden path.

We extremely liked Lio Beach, the restaurants, bars and shops located there.

There are also some hotels. The proximity to the airport and the great restaurants right next to the resorts are ideal if you want to go to El Nido, but don’t have that much time.

To see the beautiful sunset from the jetty and to watch the passing airplanes was a nice program and then a vegan burger, yes VEGAN burger at the restaurant Shaka (we had enough of always meat with rice, chicken with rice and fish with rice) as dinner. This is how a great day ends!

By the way, the burger was amazingly good for being completely vegan. 😉

6. Chill out in El Nido Town

El Nido is a really cute little town with many good restaurants and bars and hip shops. There`s a certain chill vibe here, which we liked a lot.

My conclusion about El Nido and Palawan Island:

Palawan Island is rightfully one of the most beautiful islands in the world! It offers a lot of variety and absolute dream beaches! In my opinion an absolute must see!

If you`re interested in info about a tour to the lagoons and rocks around El Nido you can check out my separate post about the tour.

Tips for good restaurants:

• Café Athena, Serena Street, right by the harbor. I liked the Café Athena very much for its direct location to the sea (and the delicious Mango Cheesecake ;-)). From here you can comfortably watch the happening of the harbour.

• Happiness Bar. The blue, white chairs on the picture still belong to the Café Athena, the Happiness Bar`s just opposite. Their interior was exactly my style. We didn’t eat here, we just had a drink. But I’m sure the food`s good too. It got 4.4 points on Google and almost 470 almost throughout positive ratings.

• Taste. The Vegan Cafe, 528 Rizal Street. Finally healthy and really delicious smoothie bowls again! And it was very cosy upstairs.

• Holy Smoke Falafel, Calle Hama. Take away. One of the only possibilities for a very early breakfast (or a very late dinner), as they are open 24/7. We treated ourselves to a breakfast falafel here at about half past six on the day of our boat trip. Huge portion, very decent price and insanely delicious! Yummy! According to the internet some people didn`t find it, maybe they`re not open in bad weather or they were temporarily renovating. Just ask the locals or in the shops, everybody knows this take away and if it was actually closed in the meantime, the locals probably know best.

Shops I liked:

• A little corner of paradise, is located on the street between the Happiness Bar and the Falafel Stand. Various cool souvenirs.
• Fisheye the shop, around the corner of the falafel stand. Small shop, with selected and partly handmade souvenirs.