Exploring El Nido: Indulging for 6 Days at Only 12 Million Dong

While Boracay attracts tourists with its long stretches of white sand beaches, perfect for leisure and honeymoon travel, El Nido offers a different experience, that of exploration.

Exploring El Nido: Indulging for 6 Days at Only 12 Million Dong

Join Mytour as we follow Mai Quoc Viet's footsteps to discover El Nido for 6 days, indulging to the fullest with just 12 million Dong.

Duration: From the evening of April 30th, 2016, to the early morning of May 6th, 2016, including 2 nights spent on the airplane.

Airline Tickets

Firstly, hunt for cheap flight tickets. According to Mai Quoc Viet's advice, it's best to book flights about 2 months in advance to secure the best prices.

Round-trip tickets from Hanoi to Manila: Opt for Cebu Pacific Air with a cost of around 135 USD (3,090,000 dong).

Domestic round-trip from Manila to Puerto Princesa: Choose Air Asia flights with a cost of approximately 109 USD (2,490,000 dong).

Note that Palawan is one of the longest island chains in the Philippines, and El Nido is located in the northern part of Palawan, about 270km from Puerto Princesa International Airport, which takes about 4 hours and 30 minutes by car. There's a more time-saving alternative, which is a direct flight from Manila to El Nido by Air-Swift, although it's a propeller plane, regular tickets are quite expensive, around 6 million dong for a round-trip ticket. However, if you can snag cheap tickets from this airline, it's worth considering.

Things to prepare before the trip

Passport, flight tickets: It's advisable to print out the tickets if traveling in a group and booked with different codes.

Money: It's advisable to exchange USD beforehand and then convert it to peso at Manila airport for better rates. Exchange rate: 100 USD = 4,680 peso.

Personal belongings, T-shirt (or dress, bikini for ladies), hat/cap, sunglasses, swim goggles, shoes, sunscreen, mosquito repellent...

Phone and accessories (headphones, charger, power bank, selfie stick, waterproof bag...).

Camera/camcorder (if available), consider investing in or renting underwater cameras like Gopro, Sjcam for capturing beautiful underwater scenes like fish, corals... However, waterproof phone cases/bags are never too old to compare.

Detailed itinerary

April 30, 2016 evening: At 10:30 PM, depart to Noi Bai Airport – Terminal 2. You can choose Noibaiconnect taxi, our group of 4 paid around 270,000 dong. Arrive at the airport around 11 PM, check-in, complete the departure procedures, which takes until around 12 PM.

Day 1 (5/1/2016)

From Hanoi to Manila, with a 1-hour time zone difference, the flight takes about 3 hours and 30 minutes, so you'll arrive at Naia – Manila International Airport around 6 in the morning, Terminal 3. Go through immigration, you can also exchange currency at the airport. Then proceed to the Terminal Transfer counter to register for the free shuttle bus to Domestic Terminal (Terminal 4).

At 7:00 AM, check-in and print your ticket at the self-service kiosk (if you don't have checked luggage). After that, you can grab breakfast or have a meal right in the terminal. You can choose from fast food options, ranging from 50-120 peso per person. Note that it's not recommended to buy a SIM card at the airport because the 3G network in the Philippines is quite slow. Our group bought some but hardly used them.

At 9:35 AM, fly from Manila to Puerto Princesa (Palawan), arriving around 11 AM. You can find a place to have lunch right next to the airport if you're hungry, or you can take a car to El Nido and have lunch along the way. As you exit the airport, you'll find many people offering their taxi services, around 450 peso per person (12-seater van). With good bargaining, you can bring it down to 400 peso per person (equivalent to 200,000 dong) for the 260km journey. Since our group consisted of 7 people, we rented the entire 12-seater van for about 4,000 peso (around 570 peso per person, a bit pricey but since it was just our group, everyone preferred it).

Between 4:30 – 5:00 PM, arrive at El Nido, our group booked a room at Spin Designer. This hotel is located in downtown El Nido, just a few hundred meters walk to the beach where there are many restaurants, services, and boats for island hopping, so it's quite convenient. The room rate is 960,000 dong per person for 2 nights. Here, the Mixed dorm room has only 4 beds (2 bunk beds), the room is spacious, clean, and airy. Especially, the common area is extremely spacious, with unique architecture and very stylish, with a reading lounge, games, dining table, kitchen, bar/pub, and strong wifi.

After checking in, resting, and freshening up, we went to the bar counter for a few bottles of San Miguel beer (55 peso per bottle) and explored around the hotel.

By evening, we strolled down to the beach, and we stumbled upon a place called Angel Wish. However, Filipino cuisine didn't quite match our Vietnamese taste buds. They had a variety of dishes like clams, squid, fish, beef, pork, shrimp, but the flavors weren't quite what we expected. With 7 of us, each dinner cost us around 2,100-2,500 peso (approximately 150-180,000 dong per person).

After dinner, we booked an island tour for the next day right at the counter outside the restaurant. The prices for the tours were as follows: Tour A: 1,200 peso per person, Tour B: 1,300 peso per person, Tour C: 1,400 peso per person, Tour D: 1,200 peso per person. These are the standard rates for individual customers. However, since we were a group of 7 and skilled at bargaining, we managed to book Tour A for just 6,000 peso for a private tour (for all 7 of us, instead of sharing a boat with 10-20 people). We also tipped an additional 600 peso to the three crew members. Additionally, there's an environmental fee of about 200 peso per person (paid once and covers all tours), which is not included in the tour price mentioned above.

Among the four tours, many people recommended Tour A and Tour C as the best options. So, our group decided to go for these two. They also offer an overnight camping tour A+C (priced around 3,500 peso per person), which is a great option for those interested in camping on the island. After finalizing the tour arrangements, we returned to the hotel, had some beer, listened to music, and rested to prepare for the adventurous day ahead.

Day 2 (5/2/2016)

At 7:30 AM, we had complimentary breakfast at the hotel, mostly Western dishes.

At 8:30 AM, the whole group headed to the port as scheduled. Since we had a private tour, we could depart whenever we wanted, but for shared tours, departure time is usually 9:30 AM.

Tour A includes the following destinations: Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, Shimizu Island, 7 Commando Beach. Tour A is perfect for activities like kayaking, swimming, and snorkeling.

Small Lagoon boasts emerald green waters, and you can rent a kayak for 300 peso per boat, accommodating up to 3 people. Paddling about 200m from the main boat, you'll enter the lagoon, surrounded by rocky cliffs, resembling a pristine lake.

After Small Lagoon, we boarded the boat and headed to Big Lagoon. This time, we had to pull the boat through a shallow area (you can walk or swim) to access a beautiful, crystal-clear lagoon. Here, some Western tourists even climbed the cliffs and dove headfirst for fun.

Next, we moved to Secret Lagoon, where a small lagoon nestled among the rocks requires squeezing through a small hole to enter. However, there wasn't much to see inside, just a crowd of people.

According to the schedule, we had lunch here. Lunch included grilled fish, chicken, meat, rice, and a huge platter of fruits. This lunch was all-inclusive as part of the tour package.

After lunch, we continued our journey to explore Shimizu Island, known for its exceptionally clear and blue water. There were plenty of fish swimming around, and just a bit of bread thrown into the water would attract schools of fish right up to the surface.

The final stop on the Tour A itinerary is 7 Commando Beach. Here, there are seats and mattresses for resting, and you can try the specialty, Halo Halo (a mixed fruit dessert), priced at 100 peso per cup. After concluding Tour A, we returned to the hotel, relaxed, played a few rounds of pingpong, and then uploaded photos to Facebook.

In the evening, we strolled along the beachside streets to find a place for dinner. Eventually, we found a decent restaurant called ArtCafe, which includes a restaurant, pub/cafe, and souvenir shop.

Before heading out, we only booked 2 nights at Spin Designer because we wanted to explore El Nido and see if there were better hotels available. So, after dinner on the second night, we searched for accommodation for the remaining 2 nights and finally settled on Ipil Suites, located near ArtCafe and close to the beach (about 30m away).

The room rate at this hotel was a bit pricey, 3,800 peso per night for a Premium Deluxe room. After bargaining, we managed to get a 10% discount, bringing it down to 3,420 peso per night. Fortunately, the room had an extra bed option for about 500 peso per person per night, which helped us save some money. Overall, compared to Boracay, hotel prices in El Nido are quite high. For the same price, you could book a sparkling resort in Boracay.

Day 3 (5/3/2016)

On the third day, our group decided to take a break from tours and rented motorbikes to explore the island on our own. We rented the bikes right where we booked the tour (next to Angel Wish) for 500 peso per bike (fuel costs about 38 peso per liter for the highest quality fuel), renting them for the whole day until 9 pm.

Moving along the provincial road about 25km to the north is Nacpan Beach, which is still quite pristine, with clear, turquoise waters and very few waves. The sand here is golden, so it's not as eye-catching as White Beach in Boracay. Along the beach, there are only about a dozen food stalls. If you enjoy tranquility, this is the place to be, suitable for team-building activities, kayaking.

This is the perfect spot for swimming, relaxing, and taking photos or selfies. By noon, you can dine and rest in the leaf-roofed huts along the beach.

From 3pm to 4pm, we returned to downtown El Nido and headed about 5km south to Las Cabanas Beach. This beach is closer to the center, so it's quite crowded with tourists and has more service stalls, including resorts, restaurants, bars, pubs, massages, and zip lines.

Here, besides swimming, you can also try the zip line from the mountain to the island, priced at 500 peso per ride. It takes 15-20 minutes to climb the mountain but only 1 minute to slide to the other side, where there will be a photographer ready to take your picture. Upon arrival, you'll be invited to purchase printed photos on the spot for 200 peso each (10x15cm).

In the evening, you can sit by the beach enjoying beer or smoothies while admiring the sunset.

After returning to the hotel in the evening, we went back to the beach to eat. After dinner, we rested and recharged for the Tour C the next day. The listed price for Tour C is 1,400 peso per person (shared boat), but because we negotiated well, we only paid 7,000 peso for a private boat, allowing us to enjoy our time and space without any disturbances. Additionally, we tipped an extra 600 peso for the 3 crew members.

Day 4 (05/04/2016)

After breakfast at 8 am, around 8:30 we headed to the port to prepare for Tour C, which includes stops at Helicopter Island, Hidden Beach, Star Beach, Secret Beach, and Mantiloc Island. This entire tour is perfect for snorkeling and admiring the coral reefs.

We started at Helicopter Island with its crystal-clear beach. However, there are many large jellyfish hiding under the coral, so be careful not to touch them while snorkeling.

Next is Hidden Beach, nestled behind rows of rocky mountains. Surrounded by fish and coral, the shallow water here allows for easy swimming and snorkeling.

But the most impressive spot is Star Beach. The special feature here is the water, transitioning from emerald green to deep blue. While snorkeling, you'll be amazed as the coral reef near the shore suddenly drops almost vertically, deep into the abyss. This is also where we stopped for lunch during the Tour C journey.

The next destination is Secret Beach, a small beach surrounded by cliffs. You have to swim or dive through a small cave to get inside (there's no walking path). Our boat anchored about 100m from the cave entrance, and we all took turns swimming to get inside. The excitement lies in the swim to Secret Beach, not just the moment inside, as it's quite crowded there.

Ending our journey is Mantiloc Island, which charges a fee of 100 pesos per person. Stepping onto the island, you'll find stone steps to climb up to the summit for a panoramic view of the area. At first glance, the island seems small, but you'll be surprised when you dive below the water's surface. If you look down, you'll see a faint line near the shore where you can see the bottom, then the water abruptly changes to deep purple. That's the edge of the sheer cliff similar to what I described at Star Beach.

But the cliff here is even more beautiful and has more coral and vegetation clinging to the steep walls, with many fish swimming in long lines along the vertical face. Especially, at the dock, there's a bamboo raft floating, where young people can climb down to take plenty of photos.

Parting ways with Mantiloc Island, we ended our journey back at the hotel with a sense of regret as we were about to bid farewell to this beautiful island. Back at the hotel, after a few exhausting days of sightseeing, we booked a room massage service for 500 pesos/hour, tipping an additional 100 pesos.

Day 5 (05/05/2016)

After packing up and having breakfast, we took a car to Puerto Princesa Airport to fly back to Manila. Unfortunately, due to the overcrowded Manila airport, many flights couldn't land to unload passengers, and the departing flights had to queue up, so our flight was delayed by 2 hours. That left us with not enough time to explore Manila, so we headed straight to the International Terminal to head back.

Arriving at Naia International Airport, everyone seized the opportunity to buy souvenirs, have dinner at the airport, and then boarded the plane to Hanoi for a good sleep.

Day 6 (06/05/2016)

Around 1 AM, we arrived at Noi Bai Airport after nearly 4 hours of sleep on the plane, concluding our journey filled with exciting and successful experiences.

Travel Expenses

The total cost of the trip was about 12 million VND, including: 5,600,000 VND for 4 round-trip air tickets, 2,200,000 VND for 4 nights' hotel stay, 200,000 VND for airport taxi, 1,100,000 VND for booking Tours A + C, and 2,900,000 VND for food, entertainment, etc.

By Mai Quoc Viet

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Reference: Travel Guide by Mytour