My verdict: I loved it! It has that combination of the night life of Boracay and the snorkeling tours of Coron, Palawan, Philippines, that despite the fact that it takes you 5 to 6 hours by land trip to get there from the airport, it is just so worth it!
Hey I am not the type who would recommend long road trips (I love long road trips with friends sure, but I do not recommend them for other people because the liking varies). I like places that are easily accessible from the airports, at a maximum of 2 hours drive (this is why Coron is very famous, you can get there in an hour and comfortably!). My van ride from Puerto Princesa airport to El Nido was comfortable, don't get me wrong, but it almost takes forever to get there...
I booked my flight in February, a promo flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa. A couple of days before my flight in 10 July 2014, I booked a van who will pick me up from Puerto Princesa Airport (Fortwally Shuttle: Evelyn +639172762875 or email fortwallytransport@yahoo.com, PhP500 if you book directly with Evelyn). I connected with them by email first and I got the mobile number in response. The van was quick to pick me up from the airport, however, the promised 10AM departure became 11:30AM, so expect delays. Internet searches will tell you their departure is indeed scheduled at 11AM, yet during the phone conversation before leaving Manila, Evelyn told me that the van will leave puerto princesa by 10AM. I was so glad to know that because I was arriving at 9:30AM in Puerto Princesa, and a 30-minute wait for my luggage is more than enough. I expected an early arrival to El Nido, but I was wrong. As mentioned, delays delays delays - be prepared for them.
I arrived approximately 5PM in El Nido. I was able to get a very cheap room in a place called Arkitel (Carissa +639351575943, this girl is very accommodating and very very nice). This is a newly built, 2 month-old dorm-type place, with shared bathroom --which I totally did not mind because it was low season. Apart from the place itself being clean, the bed is also new and I never suffered any bedbug bites at all. The room was airconditioned and has ample closet space for your stuff. The only problem could be that the windows are not fully sealed so the airconditioning does not reach a good cold temperature. Also, the door can only be locked by the knob - not too secure. In any case, I never left any valuables in the room. I always brought my snorkel gear, my camera, my phone, and all my cash with me. They charge PhP 700 per night --I have no complaints!
Speaking of cash, make no mistake: bring as much as you can. While El Nido is a tourist area, it does not have automatic teller machines, and credit cards are rarely accepted. I had to make sure I paid everything in advance or else I will run out of cash for the more important things!
What are the important things for me?
Snorkel Tours - I don't really go for beach tours because my intention was to snorkel
Dinner - A high-activity day deserves a full dinner!
Breakfast - Start your day right!
Room Payment - I wouldn't want to be sleeping in the beach
Drinks at night - Why not?
If you take any tours, just bring a small bottle of water. The tour guides will be feeding you with some awesome lunch anyways and they also bring (safe) drinking water. No need to bring snacks or any type of food.
After I have checked in at Arkitel, I quickly found nice places to check out. Arkitel is just a 3-minute walk to the beach shore, and upon seeing a deck, I quickly pulled out my camera and took a photo of the water.. Unfortunately, there are no sunset views in El Nido beach during that month. I also heard that if ever there would be sunset views, it will be during summer (April-May) and you have to visit a different beach resort to see it. Anyways, here is the view on my first night:
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| View from the Mezzanine Restaurant, El Nido Beach mezzanine.elnido@fac mezzanineelnido@yaho |
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| Thai Chicken at the Mezzanine Restaurant and Bar |
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| Night life at the beach front |
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| Awesome margarita served at Og's Resto Bar along the beach front |
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| Okay who would say a glass of red wine along the beach front is not awesome? This shot was taken at Atmosphere Bar along the El Nido beach front. |
Carissa of Arkitel arranged for my Tour A (PhP1,200) the following day. This is a snorkel tour with the final island being a beach. I still snorkeled in that beach though :-P Check out the lunch spread that was served for us!
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| LUNCH!!!! |
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| Hello lover! Final destination for Tour A: Seven Commando Beach |
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| Not a beer drinker but the beach is just the best place to drink beer... |
So since the Mezzanine offers a very relaxing ambience and the view of the beach is also perfect, I came back here for dinner. I was rushing so I can take advantage of their happy hour which runs from 4PM-6PM. During this period, the cocktails are offered at buy 1 take 1 for PhP200. Awesome! I tried many combinations!
The following day, I did Tour C (PhP1,400), and the views were even more awesome!!!
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| Helicopter Island, I love this shot. No filter, no special effects. Just my Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 |
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| Docking at the Helicopter Island |
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| Lunch!!! |
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| Probably the best view in the tours: Matinloc Shrine |
You guessed it! Drinks again before the happy hour ends at the Mezzanine!
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| Try the PhP99 choco banana crepes near the beach front of El Nido. |
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| Also, try the PhP 99 breakfast buffet at Austria's Place. Pancakes all you can. No complaints for that price! |
The following day was a very early shuttle ride back to Puerto Princesa. This time I took the van services of Eulen Joy. Arkitel arranged it for me for PhP600. Now I do not know if they are indeed more on time than FortWally because I mentioned with the Eulen Joy driver that I am timing them. We left at PhP530AM, even if I arrived at 4:45AM, again delays are normal in this part of the world.
I arrived at Puerto Princesa by 11AM. The drop off point is at the airport but since I checked googlemaps and I saw that Tres Pension House is very near the North Road, I asked to be dropped off at an ATM station along North Road. Yes, running outta cash! From there, the tricycle ride to Tres Pension, aided by google maps, is only PhP30 maximum. Check in time at Tres Pension is at 12noon so I left my stufdf and had lunch at Robinsons Mall first.
Tres Pension House is a really nice place. It was pretty rainy in El Nido so I thought of taking a much cheaper fan room from Tres Pension (PhP800 per night) than an aircon room (PhP1,200/night) and see for myself if the fan room is acceptable. Yes it was! I took photos of the place because not only is it affordable, the rooms are spacious and clean, has its own bathroom, the place has its own restaurant, serves breakfast, and also has its own bar. Done and done!
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| This is where they served my breakfast before I left Puerto Princesa. Tres Pension offers free transportation going to Puerto Princesa Airport. |
Here's my half day city tour of Puerto Princesa:
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| Cotton Candies... |
Definitely going back to Puerto Princesa to try their own snorkel tour! In my experience, the underwater colors in Coron were more vibrant, but there is just something with El Nido's happy night life that charms me! Coron was pretty much silent come night time...but more accessible from the airport. In the end, it is all about how willing you are to travel by land and how much time you have for the trip. I will always find time for a snorkel tour, and if that is the only intention, easy peasy decision will be to visit Coron. But if I have the luxury of time and I want the chance to be able to have fun after the day tours, I will visit El Nido of course.
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