Benj Tupas

Benj Tupas

πŸ‡΅πŸ‡­

Philippines

El Nido Travel Guide

Hi there! πŸ‘‹ I’m Benj Tupas and welcome to another Philippines Travel Guide where I write DIY and budget-friendly guides on how to travel to all 82 provinces of the Philippines!

For today’s guide, let’s explore El Nido in the province of Palawan!

If you have any questions, you may message me on Facebook. 😍



Monetize Your Travels with Happy.com.ph


Bestsellers:


Outfit:


Essentials:


πŸ›–

Hotels: Agoda and Booking

🎟️

Activities: Klook (Promo Code: BENJKLOOK)

Summary

Day 1:

✈️ Flight to Puerto Princesa

🚐 Van to El Nido

πŸ₯„ Femssan Restaurant

πŸ›– Amos Pili Tree Inn

🚢 C Hama and Rizal Street

πŸ₯„ Wilnags Resto

🍨 Gusto Gelato

Sosyal accommodations I'll try on my next visit:

πŸ›– Lime Resort

πŸ›– Dolarog Beach Resort (See Day 3)


Use my 5% Promo Code on Klook: BENJKLOOK


Day 2: Tour A

🚣 Big Lagoon (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

🏝️ Shimizu Island (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

⛰️ Secret Lagoon (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

🀿 Snorkel (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

🏝️ 7 Commandos Beach (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

πŸ₯„ The Food Truck


Day 3: Land Tour

β˜•οΈ Centrale

🏝️ Vanilla Beach (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

🏝️ Dolarog Beach Resort (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

πŸ₯„ Mcdo

πŸ„β€β™‚οΈ Duli Beach (πŸŽ₯ Episode)


Day 4: Tour D

β˜•οΈ Taste Cafe

πŸŠβ€β™‚οΈ Bukal Island (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

🏝️ Paradise Island (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

🏝️ Pasandigan Cove (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

🏝️ Cadlao Lagoon (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

🏝️ Small Lagoon

πŸ₯„ Mazabor

🍦 Spinner Ice Cream


Day 5: Nacpan Beach

β˜•οΈ Maremegmeg Beach Club (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

πŸ›– Angkla Beach Resort (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

🏝️ Nacpan Beach (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

πŸ₯„ Portos Fiesta


Day 6: Lio Beach

πŸ›΅ Lio Beach (πŸŽ₯ Episode)

β˜•οΈ PLNT + HRVST

πŸ— 11:11 Cafe x Bistro

🚐 Van Transfer to Puerto Princesa (Book Here)

πŸ₯„ Femssan Restaurant

✈️ Flight back home



Please consider Athena Cafe and Art Cafe (This should be the final foodtrip but the weather didn't permit)



✈️ P2,516 - Round trip tickets with Cebu Pacific Super Pass

πŸ›– P3,539 - Amos Pili Tree Inn (P7,078.05 for 2 pax. Book Here)

Day 1: P1,719

P189 - Breakfast at Mcdo

P650 - Van Transfer (Book Here)

P180 - Femssan Restaurant

P100 - Tricycle to Amos Pili Tree Inn

P350 - Wilnags Resto

P200 - Gusto Gelato

Day 2: P2,530

P50 - Coffee and bread

P1,200 - Tour A (Book Here)

P200 - Environmental Fee

P200 - Entrance Fee on Big Lagoon

P300 - Kayak in Big Lagoon

P580 - Dinner

Day 3: P1,057

P250 - Motorcycle (P500 / 2)

P100 - Gas (P200 / 2)

P410 - Centrale

P177 - Mcdo

P120 - Dinner

Day 4: P2,000

P390 - Taste Cafe

P1,400 - Tour

P180 - Mazabor

P30 - Spinner Ice Cream

Day 5: P2,195

P250 - Motorcycle (P500 / 2)

P70 - Gas (P140 / 2)

P550 - Maremegmeg Beach Club

P1,000 - Angkla Beach Resort

P325 - Portos Fiesta

Day 6: P1,740

P250 - Motorcycle (P500 / 2)

P70 - Gas (P140 / 2)

P570 - PLNT + HRVST

P50 - Tricycle

P600 - Van Transfer (Book Here)

P200 - Femssan



Monetize Your Travels with Happy.com.ph


Bestsellers:


Outfit:


Essentials:


πŸ›–

Hotels: Agoda and Booking

🎟️

Activities: Klook (Promo Code: BENJKLOOK)

Day 1: Travel to El Nido and Foodtrip

✈️ 05:30AM - Flight via Cebu Pacific to Puerto Princesa

Cebu Pacific is now practicing 100% fully automated check-in from printing of boarding pass to dropping luggages. Really cool!

You can eat breakfast at the airport mall after checking in β˜•


✈️ 07:30AM - Arrival at Puerto Princesa International Airport

There's a car rental and sim card for foreigners on the arrival area


🚐 08:30AM - Ride the van to El Nido

- Just walk outside of the arrival area and you'll see the van terminal immediately.

- Our driver's van has a Katana shifter. 😍

Duration: 6 hours

- 10:30AM - First stop over (sari-sari stores and restroom)

- 11:30AM - Second stop over (lunch)

You'll eat lunch at Femssan Restaurant, a home-cooked Filipino food and garden restaurant.

P180 for chicken inasal with rice.

- 01:30PM - Third stop (sari-sari stores and restroom)

- 02:30PM - Arrival

Fare: P650 (Book Here)


πŸ›΅ Motorcycle to Amos Pili Tree Inn

- All tricycles in Puerto Princesa and El Nido look like sports cars

- Good leg room and height for foreigners

Luggage-friendly

This should be the benchmark in our country

Fare: P100

I also see solar farms at their terminals and schools. They should start planning to go 100% electric vehicles for public transport.


πŸ›– Check-in at Amos Pili Tree Inn (Book Here)

Why here?

An aesthetic hotel in the heart of El Nido proper

Rooms are well-designed and clean. Free shampoo + conditioner that smells really good, soap, and tissue papers.

Beautiful view of El Nido limestone at the window

Cute dog that wants to be scratched all the time


🚢 Walk around the city proper

- My favorite areas: docking area and streets of Hama, Rizal, and Serena.

- You'll see coffeeshops, restaurants, bars, pasalubong centers, and island hopping agencies.

Here are the highlights per street:

- Hama Street: restaurants, bars, El Nido branded clothes, pasalubong centers, tour agencies, and convenience stores. (Find the "Boyfriend's Waiting Area")

- Rizal Street: cafes, restaurants, and tour agencies

- Serena Street: restaurants and tour agencies

- Docking area: beach and limestone views, restaurants and bars

We will review coffeeshops and restaurants in this area as you continue reading the guide.


πŸ₯„ Dinner at Wilnags Resto

Sample order: stuffed squid with rice (P350)


🍨 Gusto Gelato

Sample order: Arabeschi Pistachio and Hazelnut (P200 for 2 scoops. P120 for one)


πŸͺ Buy Water and Snacks

From Wilnags Resto to Gusto Gelato, just continue walking forward, there's a convenient store on the right. You can buy water and snacks for the tour.


πŸŽ’ Ready your tour essentials


😴 Sleep early so you'll have energy for Tour A



Monetize Your Travels with Happy.com.ph


Bestsellers:


Outfit:


Essentials:


πŸ›–

Hotels: Agoda and Booking

🎟️

Activities: Klook (Promo Code: BENJKLOOK)

Day 2: Tour A

β˜• 06:00AM - Breakfast, Prepare, and Tour Registration

🚢 Walk around Hama and Rizal streets to find breakfast:

- The Amos Pili Tree Inn's breakfast and all coffeeshops in the area open at 7AM

- Fortunately, there’s a 24/7 bakery called Kierstine Bakeshop located at Amboy corner G Del Pilar street.

- From Amos Pili Tree Inn, just walk to the street on the left side.

- Total cost of the bread and 3-in-1 coffee is at around P50 or less.

- Just bring the food back to the hotel.

✍️ Tour Registration (Seashore Inn):

- You can book Tour A for only P1,200 or P950 if promo. Book Here

- Most tours start at 9AM

- Mandatory fees:

P200 - Environmental Fee (Please keep the receipt of the Environmental Fee for future tours)

P200 - Entrance Fee on Big Lagoon

- Optional fees:

P100 - aqua shoes rental

P100 - snorkel rental

P300 - kayak

⛰️ Take photos at their beautiful docking area


⛡️ 09:00AM - Boat ride to Big Lagoon


🚣 09:30AM - Kayak Ride in Big Lagoon

- The place offers beautiful limestone cliffs surrounded by turquoise blue water.

- You can navigate through the lagoon using a kayak you can rent for P300.


πŸ₯„ 11:30AM - Lunch at Shimizu Island

- Despite the gloomy weather, just look at how clear and blue the water is.

- This is where we ate lunch. Boodle fight in El Nido is no longer allowed for hygiene purposes and to avoid food poisoning according to the tour guide.

- I saw 3 huge and harmless komodo dragons.


⛰️ 12:30PM - Secret Lagoon

- Located just beside of Shimizu Island.

- You need to enter a small hole to see the Secret Lagoon.

- There are rock formations shaped like a dragon glass (Game of Thrones reference) surrounding the lagoon


🀿 01:30PM - Snorkel beside Secret Lagoon

- You can rent snorkel + googles for P100 and aqua shoes for P100 at the docking station.

- Renting aqua shoes is optional but recommended coz the stones in El Nido are sharp.


🏝️ 03:00PM - 7 Commando Beach

😎 The perfect day ender for Tour A.

🏐 You can play volleyball with fellow joiners or strangers on the island. The guides will initiate the play to entertain the guests.

πŸ₯€ There’s a store where you can buy shakes, beers, and snacks

🀿 Swim and snorkel on the turquoise blue water that’s so inviting.


⛡️ 05:00PM - Go back to accommodation, rest, and change clothes


πŸ₯„ 06:30PM The Food Truck

- It's a jeepney turned food truck that serves Thai food

- Sample order: 6 pcs Gyoza (P240) and Pad Thai with Seafood (P340)

- The serving is large so assume that both are good for 2


πŸŽ’ Go back to accommodation and ready your tour essentials.


😴 Sleep early so you'll have energy for tomorrow's tour.



Monetize Your Travels with Happy.com.ph


Bestsellers:


Outfit:


Essentials:


πŸ›–

Hotels: Agoda and Booking

🎟️

Activities: Klook (Promo Code: BENJKLOOK)

Day 3: Land Tour

πŸ›΅ Rent a Scooter

- Rent with Amos Pili Tree Inn

- There are also a lot of rentals in Hama and Rizal streets

- Standard rate is P500. I already asked everywhere.

- There's Caltex on the way to Vanilla Beach if you're collecting GoRewards points

- P220 - Gas for 3 liters


β˜•οΈ Breakfast at Centrale

- All day breakfast and bar

- Sample order: pancake (P220) and iced latte (P190)


🏝️ Vanilla Beach

🌊 A beach you can easily access for free

🏬 There are restaurants, bars, coffeeshops, gym, apparel stores, etc.

β˜• I highly recommend eating breakfast at Maremegmeg Beach Bar (More on Day 5)

🏞️ Their restaurant has a beautiful beachfront view

πŸ›₯️ You can rent a speedboat for P3,500 per head with a 6-person minimum

πŸ¦… You can also ride the zipline from P600 to P1,200 depending on your combination


🏝️ Dolarog Beach Resort

- You can access this beautiful place for FREE as long as the resort doesn’t have many guests.

- How to get here? Upon reaching Maremegmeg Beach, just turn left and walk on the beach for around 10 minutes until you see this wooden bridge.


πŸ₯„ Mcdo

Sample order: Cheese burger with medium fries and medium coke (P177)


πŸ„β€β™‚οΈ Duli Beach

🌊 The surfing spot of El Nido.

πŸ›΅ To get here, you need to rent a scooter and easily pin the location on Google Maps. It’s around 45 minutes of travel time from the city proper.

🐢 Hangout with chill and happy doggos

πŸ™ Just be careful during rainy days. The road is really slippery.


πŸ₯„ First Karinderya

- After the crazy drive from Duli Beach, we were too lazy to find a good place to eat.

- There's a karinderya in-front of Kierstine Bakeshop located at Amboy corner G Del Pilar street.

- Sample order: lechon paksiw with rice (P120)


πŸŽ’ Go back to accommodation and ready your tour essentials.


😴 Sleep early so you'll have energy for tomorrow's tour.



Monetize Your Travels with Happy.com.ph


Bestsellers:


Outfit:


Essentials:


πŸ›–

Hotels: Agoda and Booking

🎟️

Activities: Klook (Promo Code: BENJKLOOK)

Day 4: Tour D

β˜•οΈ 07:00AM - Breakfast at Taste Cafe

- Aesthetic vegan cafe

- They have board games you can play with friends

- Sample Order: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich (P200) and Iced Latte (P190)


✍️ 09:00AM - Registration with Travconn at Docking Area


πŸŠβ€β™‚οΈ Bukal Island

- First destination of this tour

- Perfect for people who prefer a beach that’s not crowded


🏝️ Paradise Island

The name perfectly describes this beach. Just look at the crystal clear blue water. πŸ’™


🏝️ Pasandigan Cove

🌊 My favorite beach of Tour D and my entire El Nido trip.

πŸ₯„ This is where you'll eat lunch

🀿 You can snorkel here


🏝️ Cadlao Lagoon

🚣 You can explore the place by renting a kayak for P300.


🏝️ Small Lagoon

⛰️ Small Lagoon is the smaller version of Big Lagoon. Both are beside each other.

🚣 You can explore the place by renting a kayak for P300. But I decided to skip kayaking here since I already enjoyed both times at Big Lagoon and Cadlao Lagoon.

🀿 This is where I found around 4 Nemos.


πŸ₯„ Mazabor

- You can eat at their balcony and enjoy seeing people pass by as you eat.

- This is located beside Gusto Gelato

- Sample order: Sizzling Beef Pares (P180)


🍦 Spinner Ice Cream for Dessert (P30)

Just walk a few steps from Mazabor


πŸŽ’ Go back to accommodation and ready your tour essentials.


😴 Sleep early so you'll have energy for tomorrow's tour.



Monetize Your Travels with Happy.com.ph


Bestsellers:


Outfit:


Essentials:


πŸ›–

Hotels: Agoda and Booking

🎟️

Activities: Klook (Promo Code: BENJKLOOK)

Day 5: Nacpan Beach

It will take you around 40 minutes from the town proper to reach this beautiful place.


πŸ›΅ Rent a scooter

- Rent with Amos Pili Tree Inn

- There are also a lot of rentals in Hama and Rizal streets

- Standard rate is P500. I already asked everywhere.

- There's Caltex on the way to Vanilla Beach if you're collecting GoRewards points

- P140 - Gas for 2 liters


πŸ›– Breakfast at Maremegmeg Beach Club

Their hotel, restaurant, and bar are located on the beach front.

Sample order: Filipino breakfast with your choice of meat plus coffee plus fruits (P550)


πŸ›– Angkla Beach Resort

- A popular beach resort in Nacpan visited by big celebrities like Anne Curtis, Kathryn Bernardo, Yassi Pressman, Liza Soberano, Catriona Gray, Mimiyuuh, Dominique Roque, Kylie Versoza, and Belle Mariano

- There’s a P1,000 consumable entrance fee which is very sulit for the place. Better if you stay there for the whole day to maximize the resort.

- Sample orders: Tinola (P650), Mango Shake (P250), Rice (P500), Chocolate Cake (P360), Summertime Magic smoothie bowl (P550).


🏝️ Nacpan Beach

- A very long beach with 4KM of sand.

- You can access the beach for free but better if stay at a resort like Angkla

- Drive back to city proper


πŸ₯„ Portos Fiesta

Sample Order: Sizzling Pork Sisig (P295) + Rice (P30)


🧺 Laundry shop near Centrale

At this point, you'll have a lot of wet clothes. I don't want to bring home wet clothes so I decided to wash my clothes at a laundry shop near Centrale the night before.

P100 per kilo with discount if wet. Quite expensive but worth it.

You can pick it up tomorrow morning.



Monetize Your Travels with Happy.com.ph


Bestsellers:


Outfit:


Essentials:


πŸ›–

Hotels: Agoda and Booking

🎟️

Activities: Klook (Promo Code: BENJKLOOK)

Day 6: Lio Beach

πŸŽ’ Get Laundry and Pack Things


πŸ›΅ Ride to Lio Beach

πŸ–οΈ Another beautiful beach you can easily access for free

✈️ This is located beside Lio Airport

πŸ›΅ Just 15 to 20 minutes away from the town proper


β˜•οΈ Breakfast at PLNT + HRVST

- Another delicious and Instagrammable vegan cafe

- Sample order: Sausilog (Sausage with egg, rice, and water melon) at P380 and Iced Latte with Soy Milk at P190


πŸ›– Checkout at Amos Pili Tree Inn


πŸ— Lunch at 11:11 Cafe x Bistro

- The initial plan was to visit Art Cafe but it was raining

- In front of El Nido Central School

- Sample order: chicken inasal with unli rice (P199)


πŸ‘‹ Go Home

To go home, just reverse the process going here:

πŸ›΅ Ride a tricycle going to the van terminal (P50 per head)

🚐 Ride a van going to Puerto Princesa (Book Here)

πŸ₯„ Dinner at Femssan (sample order: fried chicken + chopseuy + 1 rice for P200)

Duration: 6 hours

✈️ Flight to Metro Manila



Monetize Your Travels with Happy.com.ph


Bestsellers:


Outfit:


Essentials:


πŸ›–

Hotels: Agoda and Booking

🎟️

Activities: Klook (Promo Code: BENJKLOOK)

Thanks for reaching this far!

πŸ‘‹

Say hi on Facebook if you have any questions about the guide

πŸ—“οΈ

Travel dates: October 11 to 16, 2023