i'd rather be in el nido


during my asia adventure my friend stephen joined me in singapore for 8 days. stephen had been traveling around asia for the last 6 months (now almost a year) so i was privy to getting tips from him about my leisure traveling during my work time in asia. he recommended me to go to penang (which i loved), so i was highly considering the philippines when he said it was his favorite place so far.

during my time in singapore i was also reading the crazy rich asian series, which is fun and light but was proving to be very educational for my time in singapore. at the end of the three book series one of the character is in palawan, and the description captured and confirmed i was going there.

i was able to convince my friends matt and sabrina (who went with me to penang) to come along, meeting in el nido, on the island of palawan.

there's a few ways to get to palawan, i flew into manila and then took a small airline called airswift, which is the only airline that flies in/out of el nido. they are awesome, it's just a bit expensive. you can also get to palawan by boat (a lot of people start in palawan and go to coron, but i wanted to stay put), but it takes a LONG time. if you have the money, i recommend flying.

i wanted to use this vacation to relax before heading back to the US, so i spent a week in el nido, which was the perfect amount of time for what i wanted. i spent most of my days on the beach, which was nearly empty since most people who go to el nido go out to the islands by boat. for me, i wanted to wake up late, relax, read and enjoy the quiet.

el nido is "touristic" but it's much less touristy than many other asian beach towns i've been to. it's still not super built out, it's not completely raided with backpackers and there is a special intertwining with the local culture (although it's a bit hard to find local food). this place is very special and i highly recommend it.


where to stay: 
  • el nido is a pretty small city and the biggest in palawan. i stayed a bit out of "town" (pukka beach hotel or panorama), which i preferred. it only takes about 10 min to get to town and i really liked this location, especially to watch the sunset. 
  • i didn't stay here but it was recommended to me: the birdhouse
what to do: 
  • get a private boat (speed boat) instead of the normal a, b, c, d tours; they're more expensive but you'll get to see more and be with less tourists. ask them to do the tour backwards so you are opposite of everyone else. if you go to the small lagoon, fork over money for kayak to small lagoon. tour b is cool because you get to see some cool caves.
  • rent a kayak from la plage at around noon and head to papaya beach and 7 commandos, you'll likely have the beach to yourself
  • go to lio beach; it's a bit more local and super quiet! i had the entire beach to myself
  • hang out at las cabanas beach for sunset
  • where to watch sunsets: panorama, beach club (but don’t eat there), la plage 
  • get a very inexpensive massage at asian massage 
  • go to nacpan beach. i recommend a shuttle (google it) or you can rent a motorcycle and drive yourself, but i suggest only doing it if you're a really advance cyclist
where/what to eat: 
  • go get seafood at the sea in town along the beach; you get to pick your seafood and they'll cook it for you with a sauce of your choice 
  • gusto gelato 
  • breakfast at art cafe 
  • spanish food at panaroma
  • drink all the shakes (tip: ask for little/less sugar)
  • get a halo halo drink on seven commandos beach
other things to note:
  • palawan is a cash based place; things are pretty cheap but you will need money for boat tours, food and goods; i suggest getting money before you come at the airport but there are a couple ATMs in el nido (not many though)
  • there are lots of transportation options in el nido. i mostly used tricycles, these little tuk-tuk things that are built around a motorcycle. i didn't plan well, so i took tricycle from airport. if you feel comfortable, you can rent a motorbike very cheaply, but the roads aren't great, so be careful (especially if you go to nacpan)
  • tao expeditions was recommended to me by a few people, but check these out for dates and location since they don't go in/out of el nido. 
BE CAREFUL ABOUT FOOD POISONING: 
i got food poisoning, so did sabrina and a lot of people i spoke with. be careful with ice from local restaurants. don't drink the water and definitely don’t brush your teeth with tap water. the good news was the food poisoning passed quickly, but it did kind of suck.


some other resources i reviewed: 

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