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Rachel and I casually met for dinner one Sunday last June just because we haven’t seen each other for months. Next thing we knew, we’re scheduled to fly to Palawan by the end of that month. And for our chosen destination— the archipelago of El Nido.

Since we didn’t have enough time to financially prepare for this trip, we made sure to get the best rates possible for our accommodation and activities. Well, turns out we did. Here’s what we spent all in all:

Php 7,120.88     –     Roundtrip MNL-PPS Airfare (Cebu Pacific Air)

Php 7,900.00    –     El Nido Tour Package* (Northern Hope Tours)

Php 4,320.00    –     5D/4N El Nido Accommodation (Airbnb)

Php 400.00       –     Puerto Princesa Domestic Terminal Fee

Php 3,000.00   –     Meals, Extra Activities, and Souvenirs

*inclusive of van transfers (sharing) and ecotourism development fee

TOTAL: Php 22,740.88 for 2 persons (Php 11.4k/person)

As you may have already inferred, we spent the first and last days of our trip solely for travel— flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa (almost 1.5 hours), then van transfer from Puerto Princesa to El Nido (almost 6 hours), and vice versa. Here’s how we spent the remaining three full days:

Day 1 (Island Hopping Tour C)

In the Philippines, the rainy season starts in June, so we really didn’t expect to see clear skies during our trip. Nonetheless, we still hoped for a dry and tolerable weather.

But nope, El Nido welcomed us with dark skies and heavy rains. Who wouldn’t get discouraged? We even thought our tour for that day would get cancelled. Anyway, we still pushed through despite the probability of getting sick in the next few days. Lol.

For our first stop— Helicopter Island. From far behind, it really does look like a helicopter, hence its name. Luckily (?) as we arrived, the rain was starting to subside, so we were able to take a few photos, pretending we’re not disheartened by the very gloomy weather.

Helicopter Island

Bumped into an old friend (Jayson) at Helicopter Island

Next up, Hidden Beach, which had clear waters surrounded by beautiful rock formations; then Talisay Beach, which showed off its pearl white sand. Although both beaches were stunning, we were able to appreciate the latter better because we were able to stay there longer (we stayed there for lunch).

Hidden Beach

Lunch (part of the island hopping tour package)

Talisay Beach

Boats docked at Talisay Beach

We then headed over to Secret Beach, which was accessible only by swimming through the crevice. We didn’t go near the shore because it was kinda crowded, but it looked beautiful from afar. The water, though, wasn’t crystal clear. Overall, the swim was 80% worth it. Haha.

Secret Beach

To end Tour C, we went to Matinloc Shrine. Although it seemed fun to hike and see the view, we chose to snorkel instead. According to our boatman, it’s definitely infested with mosquitoes because it had just rained. Oh well. Anyway, we still enjoyed snorkeling and getting sight of the picturesque limestone formations in the area.

Matinloc Shrine

Docked at Matinloc

In the evening, we went out for dinner at Artcafé with Jayson. They had a wide variety of dishes, but we only tried their Italian specialties. We definitely enjoyed the good food and atmosphere!

Pasta Carbonara and Artcafé Pizza

Day 2 (Nacpan & Maremegmeg Beaches)

This wasn’t really a guided tour— we only had a whole-day tricycle rental for our trip to Nacpan and Maremegmeg. Hence, we just relaxed the whole day. Haha.

From El Nido town proper, it took us almost one hour to get to Nacpan Beach. While we were on our way, it was raining hard again, but it gradually subsided as we approached our destination. Yay. Aaand as it turned out, the long, bumpy, and rainy tricycle ride worth it. The four-kilometer stretch of fine sand + calm waves was so beautiful, and it felt like we had the beach to ourselves.

Nacpan Beach

We then went to Maremegmeg (Las Cabañas) to have lunch and chill (again) by the beach. Lol. It’s only around 15 minutes from El Nido town proper, so from Nacpan, it took us a little over an hour to get there. We had lunch at The Beach Shack, then had a few drinks at Maremegmeg Beach Bar. Unlike Nacpan, Maremegmeg was a little crowded and busy because of the establishments.

Maremegmeg Beach

Chorizo Burger from Beach Shack

The Beach Shack

Banana Daiquiri from Maremegmeg Beach Bar

Before it got dark, we went back to our accommodation (which was located at the town proper) to take a short rest. Come dinnertime, we went to Happiness Beach Bar for some yummy Mediterranean food.

Happiness Bar

Day 3 (Island Hopping Tour A)

Apparently, as we approached the end of our trip, the weather got better and better. Hence, this day/tour turned out to be our favorite. Lol. To start off, we went to Seven Commandos, where we marveled at its white beach and coconut trees.

Seven Commandos Beach

After which, we went to the Small Lagoon. We thought we’d get bored if we went kayaking, but since there wasn’t anything else to do in the area…

Small Lagoon

Small Lagoon

Then, we went to another “secret” place that is the Secret Lagoon. Like in Secret Beach, we had to swim and go through a narrow opening— but this time, the opening was above sea level. And again, as in Secret Beach, the waters weren’t super clear. Nonetheless, the swimming and penetration (lolz) activities were kinda exciting.

Secret Lagoon Entrance

We went to Shimizu Island afterwards for lunch, then went snorkeling. As compared to our encounter in Matinloc Shrine, we got to see more sea creatures and beautiful corals here. And for our very last activity, we went kayaking in the Big Lagoon, which was really big. Lol. This place is definitely unforgettable because we didn’t just go around the lagoon and admire the majestic rock formations— we also went on a spontaneous rock climbing + cliff diving activity, thanks to Kuya (one of our boatmen for the island hopping tour) who kayaked for us.

Shimizu Island

Big Lagoon

Kayaking with Kuya

Impromptu cliff diving at Big Lagoon

We were able to finish the tour quite early, so we had the time to go back to Maremegmeg Beach for the sunset. But unfortunately, it was too cloudy for us to see the sun set beautifully. Oh well…we still enjoyed our wings and drinks by the beach. Lol.

Wings from Maremegmeg Beach Bar

Aaand that’s it! It was definitely a fun and long trip despite the gloomy weather, as you’ll observe in the video below. Lolz. To more spontaneous trips!