Catching a short flight from Cebu, we arrived late evening into Puerto Princesa, the coastal town in Palawan. We had booked to stay one night in a hostel close to the centre before heading north to El Nido.
Travelling via a shuttle bus which takes between 6 to 7 hours we passed lush scenary along the way which distracts you from the bumpy roads which has made people motion sick.
El Nido is coastal settlement, with pristine water, coral reefs and limstone cliffs, it truely is a photographers dream.
Arriving late afternoon, we actually managed to book ourselves one night in a guest house situated along Corong beach. The place was actually a disapointment, as the pictures didnt match the real place. With limited electricity, space and a bathroom with a broken door and a rattling ceiling fan it made our stay quite unbearlable.
We decided the following morning to wander around the town of El Nido and try our chances by going door to door. To our luck we discovered a lovely, quiet and clean guest house very quickly. We decided to stay there for 5 nights. With our own ensuite, teas, coffees, aircon and laundry service I couldnt of felt happier.
El Nido is definately a gem of this world, with endless things to do and explore. We hired a kayak for one day and decided to spend it on a beautiful island, which for quite some time we had to ourselves.
The island hopping is one of the most popular things to do in El Nido. The tours are A, B, C and D and offer you a choice of places to visit.
We opted to do tour A, where we enjoyed exploring the small lagoon, big lagoon, secret beach, Shimizu beach where we ate our lunch buffet consisting of fresh grilled fish, rice meat salad and a beautiful carved fruit platter. The last stop was 7 Commando beach, named after the Japanese commandos who were hiding there where we did some great snorkling in crystal clear water.
It was a full day tour, which was actually a great way to see parts of what I would describe as heaven on earth.
We also found hiring a motorbike was a great way to explore more of palawan. A short drive away we visited Nacpan beach, with a small entrance fee you enjoy the beautiful sandy beach and also have a dip in the ocean if they waves allow it as they can get quite big and take you to the ocean.
We decided to explore down a sandy track passing huts and farm animals which led us to another beautiful beach, that we had to ourselves.
After a lovely week spent in El nido, we headed south to Puerto Princesa, where we decided to spend our last few days in the philipines.
Wandering around the costal town, I could see the strong spanish influence it has. One lovely place which stood out was the “Our Lady of Immaculate Conception”. A very magnificant church that is decorated in blue and white.
We also found hiring a motorbike, was a great way to escape the town and explore the surrounding area, such as Honda bay, which consists of many islets of beautiful beaches. The croc farm, baker hill and some lovely beaches were also great places to spend a morning or afteroon at.
My heart of wanderlust 