Big Lagoon, Miniloc Island
El Nido is simply the best beach place in the Philippines! The beaches are so pristine and the limestone rocks feel like entering Jurassic Park. After 30 years of my existence, this is the first time that I was able to witness the grand beauty of this place. There are two ways to visit El Nido, either you get sent by your company on an official business, or you save up for it. I took the later route, and after saving for almost two years, we were able to visit last May 1 weekend. I was literally flabbergasted by its magnificent beauty and all of you who have been to El Nido can testify to this.
The place is the most photogenic beach I’ve seen and hopefully, I will be able to share with you the beauty of this place in this El Nido series. I’ve been looking for an experiential account on El nido in the web but found none. This attempt to document our 4 days/ 3 nights experience intends to showcase how to take advantage of the “El Nido escape” and give you the secrets to having a fantastic time in this paradise.
For people who will be visiting El nido soon, here are my top 10 tips for an awesome El Nido experience:
1). Go to Miniloc for that rustic vibrant vibe. Go to Lagen for that sophisticated charm. Miniloc is my favorite of the two because it is near the Big/Small Lagoons plus there are live corals/fishes right in front of Miniloc!
2). Before going to your trip, pre-arrange a private lunch at Entalula Island! This is the best island in Bacuit Bay 🙂
3). Don’t forget to bring enough sun block lotion, Kodak underwater camera, waterproof bag, and life jacket (if you have your own).
4). Watch the sunset at Pangalusian Island sunset lookout point. The 20 minutes hike was well worth it!
5). Kayaking to the small and big lagoons is a must! I fell in love with this place and ensure that you have enough time to explore this. Bring your camera on the Kayak and this is where the waterproof bag will be helpful.
6). If you are going over a weekend and wouldn’t want to miss the Sunday mass, you can insist on the resort to do either of the two options. Bring the priest into the resort or most likely, they would give you a ride to the El Nido town to attend the 7am mass. Please wake up early.
7). The Mangroves are very nice at dawn but you have to wake up at 4.30am in the morning to be able to catch the birds wake up and leave. Alternatively, you can go to the Mangroves at sunset and turn this into unforgettable bird watching activity for you and your family.
8). Go to Shimizu Island for snorkeling and this is the best photo spot. You can do your FHM fantasy poses here if you like. With its clean white beaches, crystal clear water, black rugged rocks, and clear blue sky as a background you have picture perfect memories.
9). Dive. Dive. Dive. The rich bio diversity in El nido is a must see specially if you are a diver 🙂 And if you are not yet a diver and you plan to get a certification, I suggest you take advantage of the package the resort is offering on this since it is a lot cheaper to take your certification together with your El Nido trip vs. taking it separately.
10). The activity planners are very helpful in executing your planned experience. Although, with the high turn over rate of activity planners, they are not very reliable in designing the best experience for you. So, you have to take it upon yourself to do your own research on the activities and conceptualize your own unique beach experience.
- TAO PHILIPPINES (A Review): Coron to El Nido 5 Days 4 Nights TaO Expedition @TaoPhilippines
- TAO EXPEDITION: Coron to El Nido Expedition Pre-Departure (A Photo Essay)
- TAO EXPEDITION Day 1: From Coron to Patcy (A Photo Essay)
- TAO EXPEDITION Day 2: Patcy Breakfast, Maltayok Beach & Buluang Karaoke! (A Photo Essay)
- TAO EXPEDITION Day 3: Cliff Jumping & Guinto Basecamp (A Photo Essay)
- TAO EXPEDITION Day 4: Linapacan Clear Waters, Tao Farm & Tao Village (A Photo Essay)
- TAO EXPEDITION Day 5: Bacuit Bay, Small and Big Lagoon, El Nido Town (A Photo Essay) @TaoPhilippines
Apulit Island Resort Experience (2011):
- Apulit Island Resort Experience (formerly Club Noah) [1of3]
- Apulit Island Resort: What to Do and Eat in Apulit? [2of3]
- Apulit Island Resort: How to Get There? [3of3]
Coron, Busuanga Experience (2008):
- Coron, Palawan – 8 Awesome Experiences in Coron, Palawan
- Caluit, Palawan – My Childish Dream Come True
- Club Paradise, Coron, Palawan
- El Rio Y Mar – 10 Reasons Why I Prefer El Rio over Club Paradise
El Nido Palawan Adventure (2006):
What a breathtaking view! Thanks for sharing this picture and for featuring the true beauty of the Philippines.
Cheers,
Ann
grabe! by the looks of it, the trip doesn’t come cheap.
and, my company DOESN’T set official trips to places like these. sigh.
so, how much? 🙁
Good thing you weren’t caught in the middle of the storm. =) I’ve heard nothing but good things about El Nido — am planning to make a visit there one of these days once I’ve found the time to do so.
Picture perfect scenes indeed!
El Nido looks sooo fancy…hehe
i agree with you. between miniloc and lagen, i liked miniloc better. i’ve been recommending it to my friends, too. but the best beach in the philippines? wait until you see amanpulo!
el nido the best honey place. hehehe…miniloc is so much enjoyable than lagen..although if you have kids lagen is much convenient.
thank you so much for this post. i too have been looking on the net for in-depth details and description of these beaches and at last we have one.
so you saved for it for two years–wow. a well-deserved vacation indeed. may i know how much you had to spend for this?
Whew! What a site. It really did take my breath away. Very nice pics and comments. WOuld you mind sharing a few site/contact numbers that I can call for the diving lesson and tour package.. Thanks…
hi, your review was great… where did you stay there? im planning to stay in elnido town proper… there are a lot of budget accomodations there… 🙂
if you have time i’d like to ask more info bout this trip of yours… my email ad is cHeLLe28@vtmail.com
ei my comment didnt show up… 🙁 hoping to get more info bout your el nido trip… my email ad is cHeLLe28@vtmail.com
been planning to go there…
hi anton, just found ur site while looking for palawan tours. i do wanna visit el nido and ur post is perfect! nice photos as well!
oh and the suggestions were very helpful. question for you, how do you call the cottage that is in the water like it is on the website of el nido resorts? and would u recommend it? what type of accomodation did u have and how was it?any suggestion on the cottages will be greatly appreciated as i am traveling back to the phils next week with my husband. a brit who hates the beach but i wanna convert him to be a beach boy *-* and el nido would be a perfect place! keep up the good works!
hi yah! we’re planning to visit el nido at sometime this october, with the weather conditions, fingers crossed it will be clear, calm waters. yeah, the place is sooo fab! i was searching for the right place in palawan and through photos i found el nido truly amazing and gorgeous. i can’t really wait to be there on october. will be the 3-day stay enough for sightseeing, water activities, hiking and sunset/sunrise photo taking (bought SLR cam with very good lens,so it would look really professional) and i’d love to do diving but i’m not a good swimmer at all. i’m thinking of getting swimming lessons probably. what other romantic/pampering lunch/dinner meals can you suggest that miniloc offers?, i just feel like a newly wed. hahahaha. as you mentioned lagen is much convenient for those with kids, budget wise i can only do miniloc. hehehe. would it really matter, i just have one tot with me. hope you could share some more pics and suggestions of your el nido escapade.
it’s a place to unwind and fell in love with…
many thanks =)
very nice shots! i was also in El Nido last April and yes, the place is really awesome and the views are truly breathtaking. it’s worth your hard-earned money and you would surely promise to yourself to go back there. 🙂
cheers anton for some info. I’m flying to Cebu next week for a 10 day holiday.
I was going to stay on cebu itself, but other people’s recommendations and your blog
has made me want to get to palawan and el nido. How do i get there from cebu……..?
Wow! Very very nice photo taken! Thank you for sharing so much information about El Nido.
What’s the best place in Palawan which is ideal for kids since they don’t know how to dive yet. We plan to go to Palawan next summer. What’s a not so expensive resort but nice and with aircon?
i’m an avid reader of your blog and this is my first time to post a comment.. =) would you mind sharing your IT (w/ costs preferable) for el nido trip with me. appreciate it.. im planning to go there next month..
Your article is much more informatics for all of the visitor. I am very happy to read it. This is really very nice. Thank you for it.
hi anton:) My fiance and i are looking for a honeymoon destination. We are thinking if we’ll try out Misibis Bay, Bella rocca or El Nido. We want a place that’s quite, a superb accomodation (nice hotel, clean) and good food, plus alot of activities to choose from. What do you recommend?
Budget wise, we’re willing to spend less than 60k. Where do you suggest?
EL NIDO is the place to be 🙂 You can setup intimate private meals in Entalula Island 🙂
EL NIDO is the place to be 🙂 You can setup intimate private meals in Entalula Island 🙂
Dive and island hop in El Nido! Dive with PLANKTON DIVERS. see our website planktondivers.com… or email us at mariacoruna2010@gmail.com… Add us on Facebook: Plankton Divers… or text us at 0949-449-5399…. let’s make your experience unforgettable!
Hi Anton we are planning to go to El Nido January 2014. I know that The El nido resorts which includes lagen, minoloc ,pagulasian,apulit are expensive. Did you stay in one of these resorts? Can you suggest resorts in El nido that are not too expensive but still have a nice and relaxing vacation. Also How can we set up a private lunch in Entalula island?
Thanks!
Hi Ian,
You can stay in El Nido town and there are a couple resorts there. Check out the one named Entalula resort.
As for Entalula island, a big portion of the island is only exclusive to El Nido Resorts. There's a small portion where visitors can visit only.
Anton