And so my friends and I braved through our busy, non-matching schedules, and gone with this awesome El Nido Trip! We finally booked our flights from March 26-29, 2015.
A bit of history:
My friend, Lala, volunteered to teach in El Nido High School (ENHS) for two months (I think July-August) sometime last year along with her new found friend and the founder of the volunteer program, Bash. Upon hearing this, I greatly discouraged Lala because it would be a big step, and a risky thing to do since she will live, all by herself, in a different island!! I know we must take risks but I’m not a great implementer of that. Haha! But knowing Lala, of course she’ll go given that she’s a lover of adventure, spontaneity, and public service. Fast-forward to August 2014, upon returning home, she can’t stop talking about all of El Nido!!! So she pursued us to come with her when she returns; and of course I agreed!!
Getting there: (by plane + land)
We booked our flights via AirAsia, being known as an agency offering low airfares. Unfortunately, we crammed with our airfares and booked flights without promo offers! It was still relatively cheap, about 4,200 per person for a roundtrip ticket, but could have saved more if we grabbed the promo. Anywaaaays, after arriving at the Puerto Princesa Airport, we rode a van en route to El Nido, which took us 5 hours. (tip: pre-book your van rides so as to avail a discount. It's hard to haggle during the trip itself. Haha!)
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| Upon our arrival at PPS Airport! See our excitement? :) |
Accommodation:
We searched for affordable hotels online, and read reviews to make sure that we would have a comfortable place to stay at. At first, our group agreed to stay at inns or bedspaces to save more, especially that we would not stay much in our rooms for we planned a jam-packed adventure! But after reading some reviews (I don't say that it's all bad but we set our standards especially for the bathroom) we ended up booking a hotel/lodge!
Good thing we found this online. Aqua is a newly built lodge just near El Nido beach. I think it's just 1-2 mins walk to Art Boutique and Cafe, a famous store in El Nido town known for its souvenir shop at the ground level and restaurant on the second floor.
We booked a Deluxe Family Room, good for 5-6 persons for 3,800/ day. It's affordable for a hotel nearby the beach, bars and restaurants, its comfy beds, and of course, clean bathroom. They have hot and cold shower, provides tissues and clean towels, and free room cleaning if you'll stay for more than 3 days. They also have free wifi access, and a complimentary breakfast.
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| The Deluxe Family Room (got this from their website) |
If you opt for a cheaper place, you can find lots of inns just within El Nido Town Proper, as affordable as 300 to 600 per night! :)
Our experiences:
Day 1 (March 26, 2015)
We left Manila at 6:50 AM and arrived at PPS by 7:30 AM. Expecting a 6-7 hour van ride, we're thrilled that we arrived in El Nido as early as 2PM! (Thinking we would arrive at around 4 or 5PM, we didn’t plan any activity for our first day! Hehe.) Anyway, I came with my highschool buddies Lala, Dedeth, and Trina, as well as Aly, who’s Lala’s officemate and college classmate!
One of the reasons why we chose March 26 was because Lala wanted to witness her students’ graduation. And it was such a touching event!!! My friends and I realized that we haven’t treasured our graduations as much as those students have!! They even had a portion where they give their diplomas to their parents, which was very very touching!!! We got teary-eyed upon witnessing such heartwarming scene.
During our first night, we hangout at Pukka bar, which is a nice, beachfront neon-reggae-themed bar. I’m a light drinker so I didn’t spend much on beer! Hehe.
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| Live band at Pukka Bar |
Day 2-3 (March 27-28, 2015)
We only tried two tours given the time constraint; but between Tours A and C, i loved the islands on the latter more!!! Will be sharing my insights in my future posts. Haha! This may get too lengthy if I include my chikas and all :)))) But make sure to try tour A too! According to them, tour A is the most famous. :)
What's also good about the tours is that lunch meals are included in the packages and cooked/grilled on the boat! With this, we're sure that the meals served are fresh and of course, delicious!! :)
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| Gettin; ready for our adventures! |
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| Panoramic shot at the Big Lagoon! (Part of Tour A) |
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| My favorite island, the Hidden Beach <3 |
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| We also got to explore the beauty underneath :) |
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| Bonding moments during lunch break. |
And before I forget, we booked our tours via Discover El Nido! :) Donde Vitalicio, the owner, was very accommodating and considerate! He even gave us discounts! His staff– Dexter, Boy-boy, Felix and Mike– were also very nice and friendly! Make sure to book your travel tours with Donde and the gang! They will never disappoint. You can even hangout with them after the tour!
You may contact Donde on the ff:
Smart: +639102020494
Globe: +639177733404
Discoverelnido@gmail.com
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| L-R: Dexter, Lala, Aly, Apple, Dedeth, Me, Trina, Boy-boy; Center: Felix; Mike took the photo :) |
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| Night hangout with Donde and his team in front of his office. Donde was the one who took the photo. :) |
Our last day in El Nido!! Time flew fast!!!! I can’t believe that it has already been 4 amazing days in El Nido!! (technically 3 days!) Of course we did not forget to drop by the nearest pasalubong center in PPS!!! I think I hoarded all the cute turtle keychains and pearl earrings there. Haha! So many good finds, which are all affordable! :)
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| My last morning wander!! Huhu Sepanx agad! |
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| Look at my sunbuuurn! But totally worth it! :D |
OVERALL EXPENSES: PHP 14,900
~15k isn’t bad for an amazing trip like ours! You can even lessen the costs depending on your needs and wants. Hehe. I just didn’t deprive myself of Palawan goodies and experiences because it’s not easy to come back there due to the hassle transportation! But I will definitely go baaaack! I promise <3
**All photos were taken using iPhone5S and GoPro Hero 3. :)
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