El Nido - An Introduction

The rain has stopped and the sun’s back!  Great news for tourists and travelers who are in town and wanting to enjoy sun, sands and the beach.  I’ve never gone beach-ing since I arrived last month.  I’m not in a hurry though as I’ll be staying for, maybe, quite a while.  In the plans though is an El Nido escapade by next month, just waiting for my sister to come.

So what’s the deal with El Nido?  Huge! 

The beautiful El Nido landed on the number slot in CNN Go's list of the “Best Beaches and Islands destination in the Philippines”

Here's a trivia: the end scene of the 2012 installment of the movie Bourne (Legacy) was shot in El Nido, and it's a pit stop of the reality tv show The Amazing Race (Season 5).

Whereas, in one of its 2007 issue of the National Geographic Traveler’s magazine, Palawan (where El Nido is one of its municipality) was chosen as one of the best travel destinations in the world. If that isn't enough reasons to pack your swimwear and sunscreens and head to El Nido, I don't know what else.

White stretches of sands and beaches, marble cliffs - similar to Vietnam’s Halong Bay – lush forest, waterfalls,  clear blue water lagoons, rich marine life and lots of activities awaits the most discerning beach-loving  visitor.  The views are simply breath-taking!

El Nido is about 240 kilometres northeast of Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan. 

It is the most exciting place to see and have a marvelous vacation in the Philippines.  If relax and adventure is your cup of tea, this place will never fail your expectations.

It has the most diverse ecosystem both marine and land area.  It is dotted with several islands which can be navigated by boat where you can swim in clear blue waters or take a dive and swim with the dugongs  or sea cow, dolphins, mantra rays, turtles, and various other species of marine life.

There are a lot of activities that includes bird watching, El Nido is home to swiflets (where the town’s name El Nido is derived from its nests) that nestles among the limestone cliffs.  Its nest is the main component of the expensive “nido” soup.  There are also other birds like hornbills, owls, the colouful peacocks.

Kayaking is also a favorite activity, hiking along some nature trails, bring a basket of foodstuff and have a picnic.

There are literally countless activities that will occupy your time in a paradise place like El Nido.  One last word of advise - bring a nice camera or videocam, the place is a photographer’s haven.

El Nido is composed of several islands and islets and some of them are inhabited.  The way to navigate these beautiful islands is by renting a boat or joining a group sailing tour.  Depending on the type of tour which grouped together islands where the boat stop over, you get to pay from as little as 700 pesos.  

Tours are offered by your hotel or guesthouse, or you can avail a package from any tour operators in Puerto Princesa city that includes your accommodation and the tours.

You can reach El Nido by land.  Get to San Jose bus terminal (beside the New Market, multicabs with the “San Jose” sign will drop you there) and you can either take a van or the more comfortable RORO bus, airconditioned or non.

Travel from the terminal to El Nido will take about 5 hours.  I know, it's that long, but believe me, it's all worth the effort and time, it's a vacation paradise, blame me later on if you did not find it that way, but I'll bet my (fill in the blank) on it.

I’ll be doing a trip report after my visit to El Nido next month.