El Nido, Palawan
March 22 to 26, 2014
Day 1
✿ Manila to Puerto Princesa via Cebupac, 615pm. Medyo magulo sa counter as Cebupac now requires self check-in. The plane though left on time and we landed in Puerto Princesa 15min earlier than scheduled
✿ Puerto Princesa airport to El Nido
▪ Tric from airport to multicab terminal @P8 each
▪ Multicab going to San Jose terminal, fare @P13 per person
▪ Roro bus @P380 per person, make sure to reserve early by calling them up, last trip to El Nido is 10pm. when the seats were all taken, we were surprised to find people willing to stand for the whole 6hour trip
Day 2
✿ Arrived in El Nido a few minutes past 4am, tric to the town @P50 per tric
✿ Checked-in at the Alternative Inn, wisdom room originally at P1,600 per night was given to us for P1k only. Fan room, with 2 beds, beach front. We also considered Rosanna’s Cottages and Marina Garden Resort but they have no more rooms available. Glad that we stayed at the Alternative though for its location, uber friendly staff, and discounts on permit and island hopping tours. we paid P100 instead of P200 for the permit, and we were given P200 discount per person per tour, snorkeling gears and lunch already included
✿ Tour A
▪ 9am-4pm, orig price P1,200 per person. We were a group of 9 – us, family of 5, and a couple from Madrid na sinundo namin as they were staying in the island also owned by the Alternative Inn, plus 3: the boatman, tour guide and cook
▪ Small lagoon – effort lumangoy buti na lang they have a life ring and if you get tired, magpahila ka na lang hehe
▪ Big lagoon – super clear and shallow waters. We did not get off the boat to swim, picture lang
▪ Hidden lagoon – meron small opening to get into the lagoon. Timing lang para walang alon before you enter. Wow sa loob, about waist deep ang water, not much tourists here. We also had our lunch dito, they cooked all the food on the spot. seafood paella, chicken barbeque, squid inihaw, potato salad, green salad, ensalada talong, sarisari fish inihaw, and fruits with matching chef like presentation pa
▪ Shimizu – snorkeling, dami fishies
▪ Snake island – this was not really part of tour a but when I told the guide that we want to go there, he agreed instead magpunta kami sa 7 commandos. It was high tide though kaya di masyado kita and sandbar but you can still cross the channel through knee deep water
✿ Went back to the resort at around 430 pm. Ligo then we went to Calaan beach where Makulay Lodge is. We also considered staying here but changed our minds kasi medyo malayo from town, about 10-15 min walk.. very nice view. Almost no boats docked here which gives you a clear shot at the picturesque island sitting on the opposite shore. We walked around town for food and madami naman carinderia and resto with reasonable prices
Day 3
✿ Breakfast, then we prepared na for our next island hopping tour
✿ Tour C
▪ 9am-4pm, orig price @P1,400 per person. We were a group of 9 uli – us, 5 sisters from batangas, and a couple from germany. Edward from the inn also joined as additional tourguide
▪ Helicopter island – got its name from the shape ng island. Meron din monkeys sa mga puno along the cliff making sounds as if they were laughing
▪ Hidden beach – nagamit na naman ang swimming skills ko, este ni kuya pala kakahila sa min via the life ring haha, lakas kasi ng current parang ilog lang. Wow uli when we reached the beach. ganda, shallow water uli
▪ Star beach – medyo strong ang waves papunta dito, but the beach itself was calm and mababaw lang. Snorkelled a bit while waiting for lunch, dami din fishies, we enjoyed the school of baby fishies swimming around habang binabantayan ng mother fish. We had our lunch here included again in the tour. as usual busog na naman kami
▪ Secret beach – this is the highlight for me of the whole tour. Ang lalim ng water outside, we had to go through the small opening, and the waves almost fill it up. Timing uli to get through. Nginig tuhod but awesome as in WOW once we were inside. Amazing walls of rock, super clear waters, dami din fishies. Pictures don’t do the place justice, you really have to be there 🙂
▪ Matinloc Shrine – this was once a seminary daw. We climbed the secret stairs ala Frodo to get fantastic view. Picture galore before we headed back to the inn
✿ We were back to the inn around 430pm uli, ligo, then tambay sa nest for drinks. The Alternative Inn btw is famous for its floating nests that you most likely need to reserve well ahead of time especially at night
Day 4
✿ After breakfast, we went for a walk again along the beach, taking pictures of the resorts along the way. We went farther Calaan beach then decided to rent a motorbike to spend our afternoon somewhere else
✿ We ate lunch, then checked out at 12 noon, but we left our bags in the inn
✿ Motorbike rental usually ranges from P700-800 for the whole day, but we found one who agreed for P500. we picked it up at around 1230pm, then headed to Nacpan beach
✿ Nacpan beach – approx 45min to an hour ride, mostly rough road. Bob’s the driver, and ako ang navigator kaya ayun lumagpas kami ng about 2-3 kms … sorry naman di ko nakita yung sign e 😀
▪ Nice long and wide stretch of fine sand, a little like Baler waves, several duyan along the coconut trees. We climbed a not so high hill for a better view of the twin beach. We spent some time swimming then left at around 4pm
✿ We went back to the inn, took a shower, tambay, dinner, repacked our bags, then left at around 745pm for our trip back to Puerto Princesa
✿ El Nido to Puerto Princesa
▪ Instead of Roro bus, we booked 9pm seats at Cherry bus, fare from El Nido to Puerto Princesa @P370. We prefer Cherry bus as the seats are more comfortable, the travel was slower but the ride was smoother kaya siguro mas mahimbing ang tulog namin. We were in Puerto Princesa by 3am
▪ Fare from bus terminal to airport @P150 per tric. We waited a bit before going to the airport as it opens by 4am pa
✿ Checked in at the airport for our 625am flight back to Manila via Cebupac uli. Terminal fee @P100 per person. We were boarded early and arrived at NAIA 35min earlier than scheduled. Wow! Improving ang Cebupac 🙂
There are two stops during the six-hour bus trip, Roxas and Taytay. No ATMs in El Nido, while electricity runs from 2pm to 6am only.
Contact Numbers:
The Alternative Inn: 0926.702.9530
Roro Bus: 0908.920.2568, 0917.597.1189
Cherry Bus: 0946.115-3917
