Blogs from Palawan, Philippines, Asia - page 3

El Nido from bucket list to reality… So a few years ago I saw a photo taken by a professional, of this place I had never heard of, called El Nido. I had to look up where it was and then it was added to the bucket list. I’ll be honest, I was put off for a while because the transport links weren’t great, having to take two flights and a six hour drive. I recently learnt that it’s now just two flights – one to Manilla and one to El Nido, and pretty quickly I had my trip booked! Being in Asia already made it quite accessible for me. The “airport” in El Nido is awesome. It’s hardly an airport to be honest! One runway and a small shack where we were greeted by singers ... read more

While the surrounding limestone karst cliffs are undeniably stunning, we were not overly impressed with El Nido town and beach. Scott was shocked and saddened by the changes he'd seen over the last eight years. The sleepy quiet town he'd known had become a loud and noisy place, a smaller version of Hat Rin in Thailand. Whereas you'd walk down the street and see a foreigner or two, now you are brushing past dozens at a time. Instead of having to actively seek out a tricycle to get to another beach, now you spend your whole time trying not to get run over by one, especially problematic when traveling with young children. Whereas island boat trips had once been about three tourists on a boat, there were now boats all over the place all packed with ... read more

After the hustle and bustle of El Nido we travelled south again and stopped off at a little place called Terublian. Way off the beaten track so when we got dropped off at the junction from the minivan the only way to get down the 22km road to the beach was by motorbike...so we both sat on the back of little 2 stroke bikes and had a great little adventure. The roads were very steep. Terublian is run by a charming man called Alex who has set himself up in his own little paradise. The place is very, very basic but super cute as well and the beach is long and secluded. We had the best meals of the whole trip at this little place...to get to our rooms we had to be pulled across by ... read more

El Nido is stunningly beautiful because of the islands all around but be warned...don't stay there! Not even for a night. It's not particularly nice compared to the beauty all around. But island hopping is an essential must-do. We did Tour A which was superb..good boat trip, amazing lagoons and beaches and yummy lunch. Pictures say it best.... read more

Herve made a very wise decision of getting accomodation just before (rather than in) El Nido. El Nido is the final destination for many tourists and the place from which many island hopping tours depart. It is a noisy, crowded place and our experience for one night was just plain hideous (noise, dog gangs, bad food, karaoke and discos...and drunk tourists. Kind of a Filipino Kuta). But Corong Corong is great...we had serene sunsets and good accomodation (both at Desert Rose Hotel and later at Avelina cabins). We met interesting people and most importantly we went on 2 magnificent canoe rides...our own little island hopping but away from the crowds. We had secluded sandy white beaches all to ourselves and the water was the clearest, most aqua blue water. We swam at Los Cabanas which would ... read more