Island Hopping – The El Nido Edition

When you land in the Philippines and tell people you are going to Palawan, everyone will ask you the same thing - ‘are you going to El Nido?’ Situated to the north west of the island, the town is about a 6 – 8 hour drive from PPC (depending on whether you’re in a bus or a car). It is renowned as the most beautiful part of Palawan and is popular with Filipino holidaymakers as well as backpackers and those in search of white sand, picture perfect South East Asian beaches.

We decided to take the local advice and head up there, ending up on our way at about 2:30am. After our experiences on South American roads and having read some other accounts we were braced for a terrible and scary ride. However, despite the driver seriously putting his foot down, the roads were actually relatively well maintained and wide, meaning they felt decidedly less death defying than some others we have been on. However this doesn’t mean that everything was totally plain sailing. Local dogs (pets and strays) spend their nights asleep on the tarmac of the road as it is warmed during the day, and this led to a particularly unpleasant accident about 3 hours into the journey when a dog was hit by a car travelling in the other direction. With Joe blissfully asleep I alone witnessed the whole thing and combined with the twisting, turning roads meant I had to promptly stop the car to lose the contents of my stomach.

Arriving in El Nido at about 7:30am, we had a bit of time to wander down the beach and grab a coffee before setting out on probably the main thing to do in the area- island hopping! The routes are given letters (A – D) and involve a variety of stops for swimming and snorkelling. The price we paid included our transport as well as a lunch and snorkel/mask rental. Our stops were the Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon (which involved a slightly tricky squeeze through a cave mouth), 7 Commando Beach and what was supposed to be Shimizu Island but we ended up at a different snorkelling spot because it was very busy (not fun trying snorkel between 30 boats all jostling for space). This was Tour A, the most popular route for tourists so definitely a little busy, but once we reached the lagoons we were able to hire kayaks and explore on our own which was pretty great.

he lunch we had included a really tasted BBQ fish option which we both enjoyed, but Joe was not a fan of sitting at the table laden with fish faces and muscles. The day was quite long (lasting from 9:30am to about 4:30pm) but we really felt it was worth it. The added snorkel hire meant we were able to explore the coral reefs away from the main bulk of our boat party (most of whom seemed unable to swim) and was nice addition to the day. Like all things held up for tourists to enjoy, you need to be prepared to adjust some expectations – there are many many people, lots of boats with chugging engines and BBQ’s blazing and even once you kayak away, many inept people crashing into you and shrieking. However, if you go in with an understanding that these pristine beaches are no longer quiet secluded places (mainly because of people like you!) you can overlook the crowds and enjoy the splendour of the landscape, which remains dramatic and beautiful no matter how many people happen to be enjoying it with you on the day. Recommended!