Puerto Princesa International Airport
El Nido is a small town located at the northern tip of Palawan. It is one of the top island, beach destinations in the Philippines for both local and foreign tourists. El Nido is known for its remote islands, pristine beaches and limestone cliff formations.
El Nido
Cloudy day at the main beach of El Nido
Going to El Nido from Cebu
The main entry point to El Nido is through Puerto Princesa City, Palawan's capital. Puerto Princesa City is approximately 45 minutes to an hour by plane from Cebu. We arrived at Puerto Princesa City around 4:00PM and waited for our contacted transport van at the airport. From the airport, we were shuttled to the terminal where we transferred to another van bound for El Nido. The scheduled departure was at 5:30PM although we got delayed to 6:00PM. Travel time is approximately five hours.
Where we stayed in El Nido
For our four nights in El Nido, we stayed at the Lualhati Cottages (contact no. 0999-994-1195). Since we were tight on the pocket, we opted to go for an accommodations away from the beach which are way more cheaper. From Lualhati, the main beach is just a 5 minute stroll away where most of the establishments (restaurants) are located.
Tips
- There are no ATM's in El Nido. You need to bring enough cash to sustain your entire trip. If you ran out of cash, like the couple we encountered, you need to travel 5 hours back to Puerto Princesa to get your cash.
- Schedule your trip on dry season (January to May) or when there is no threat of typhoon. When we arrived at El Nido, the island hopping tours were already suspended for two days due to a typhoon far from the island.
- Restaurants in El Nido are darn expensive due to the influx of tourists. Prepare your wallet accordingly.
- You can rent motorcycles to tour the town (going to Nacpan beach) to save up on costs.
