Hello loves! So it was my husband's birthday and I booked a trip to Palawan about a year ahead of time to take advantage of the airfare promo. This time we are headed to El Nido as we have been to Puerto Princesa twice already. And to save us money we went to Puerto Princesa and travel by land for less than 5 hours to get to El Nido rather than going through a straight private charter flight.
We checked in at Tandikan Beach Cottages. It is just one of the many resorts along the beach-line of El Nido proper. It is a simple resort yet it is definitely affordable compared to its competitors. We had our room for only Php 800.00/day (fan room) and we had the chance to stay in the room just beside the balcony. The rate was good for two (2) person already. You have an option to use their aircon for an additional fee but it wasn't so hot at night and we are out the whole day for the island hopping so we find a fan room more practical.
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| View at the left side |
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| View at the right side |
So here is the view from the balcony. You can even hear the waves at night and the breeze together with just one fan is enough to relax our tired body from our long road trip. The following morning we are ready for the first day of our island tour. We booked our tour packages with Ms, Wella, the owner of Tandikan ahead of time right even before we went to El Nido.
El Nido's tour packages are all organized and are with fix price to make tour and travel agencies and business fair and competitive. Tour packages range from Php 1200.00 to Php 1400.00 per pax which includes visiting 4-5 islands per day, use of life jacket and a good buffet lunch. Googles and kayaks can be rented out for a reasonable price. I would suggest you be ready with a good footwear as there are a lot of corals almost all over your destinations.
DAY ONE
Another tip for you guys is to be ready with your underwater cameras not only because El Nido has a rich marine life but because you will have to swim and get wet most of the time before reach your destination. So to be able to take photos, your cameras, if not waterproof should be protected from water during your swim. We only found out on our 2nd-day tour that our tourist guides have a waterproof bag where we can put our phones and cameras, and they will swim and give our gadgets once we're in our destination. That is why we were not able to take many photos during our Tour A.
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| Enjoying the shade under the tree. Nevertheless, there's no reason to feel sad because sometimes, the scenes and moments that haven't been captured on a camera last longer as it stayed not just in our eyes but in our hearts. |
After our visit to Small and Big Lagoon without photos, we then grab our chance to take a lot of photos on our 3rd stop while the crews were preparing for our lunch. I can't remember which island it was. We walk around and took these very picturesque shots.
We had this view to enjoy while waiting for our lunch to be served.
Here was our buffet lunch. We were a group of 14 adults and 2 kids on our first tour. This doesn't look much because we were all hungry but it was really more than enough. Most foods were grilled because we were on an island is grilling is the most convenient way to do it and since the food was fresh, it was really delicious. We had big grilled fishes, grilled chicken, pork and squid, eggplant and cucumber salad (ensaladang talong at pipino) with all these tropical fruits.
Our 4th stop was the Secret Lagoon for a short snorkeling activity.
Our last stop was the 7 Commando Beach which has cottages and bar where you can buy some drinks. Since we don't know that there was something like this on our destination, we didn't think of bringing cash and decided to just dip again in the water.
Back in our room we had a short break, took a shower and walk along the shore to find something to eat. There were plenty of options but we tried the Seafood Pizza of Coco Bar for only Php 325 for their family size. It was really yummy! With my mango shake and him his beer, we ended our day with new memories to treasure.
DAY TWO
We were so ready for our 2nd day. Though my husband's feet was still aching because of the scratches he got from the corals on our first day he was still up and about because it is his birthday (November 14th) and we are celebrating it in this paradise.
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| Helicopter Island |
Tour C was awesome as we didn't have many coral issues. Our first stop I think was the Helicopter Island for a short snorkeling activity.
Then we headed to Matinloc Island where the abandoned chapel and mansion/villa was located. This time, the destination was accessible that we don't have to swim just to get there.
We enjoyed our climb to the peak of those rocks where we took these photos. Stunning! Isn't it?
Excuse my face as I looked really scared in here. I thought putting it on the post will make it entertaining. Lol...
Our third stop was for our lunch but I can't remember which island it was. While waiting for our lunch to be served we snorkeled a lot. We were mesmerized by the abundant sea life of El Nido that we can't feel the burning heat of the sun. We then walk around to take some photos and this is one of my favorite shot by my husband.
Before we had our lunch, the crews and the other tourists we're with sang a birthday song to by husband.
Our 4th stop was the Secret Beach. We had to swim and go through a small hole as you can see in this photo to get to this destination. The water outside was really deep and wavy and inside was shallow but there were no coral reefs.
Our last stop and I think my favorite destination was the Hidden Beach. We had to swim carefully against the wavy sea to get here but it was all worth it. It has a fine white sand to just sit down and relax, a calm water where you can just lie and float, look at the sky and take a deep breath, there were big rocks all over to give us shade from the sun, and abundant sea life that you can feel the fishes tickling your feet while just standing or just snorkel without going too deep. I don't know what more can I ask for.
I guess it is to be back in here someday with my whole family!
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