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Honeymoon Destination: El Nido, Palawan

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Photo from travelaccess.com

Frank and I had already visited Puerto Princesa in 2013, but I was able to grab a promo seat from Air Asia so we decided to celebrate our honeymoon in Palawan. As I was seaching for places that we still haven’t visited during our Puerto Princesa trip in 2013, I’ve found out that we’ve almost seen it all. Saddened by this thought but still lucky, I was able to run through a blog about El Nido, Palawan. Tourists can travel for 5-6 hours to get into El Nido from Puerto Princesa. I remembered my father telling stories about the place that it’s beautiful there. I’ve also read hundreds of blogs about El Nido, it just had me excited to the max.
The only bad thing about this trip is our flight schedules. We will be staying in Palawan for 4 days and 3 nights. Arrival in Puerto Princesa would be at 3PM so plus 6 hours trip to El Nido, we will be arriving at our destination at around 9PM making the first day “sayang”. Also our departure from Puerto Princesa is 11AM so we have to get back to Puerto Princesa the night before our flight making the last day “sayang” as well.

At NAIA Domestic Airport (Terminal 4)
 
 

HOW DID WE GET THERE:
From Puerto Princesa Airport, we were fetched by Nature Island Transportation. We will be brought to El Nido via a 14-seater van. Other tourists can also ride Cherry or Roro Bus but it will take longer travel hours. From Puerto Princesa to El Nido, it usually takes 5-6 hours travel. (Get your butts ready.. haha)
WHERE DID WE STAY:

At St.. John Island View Pensionne roof deck, where you would eat your free breakfast
Our Room

El Nido
I was able to snatch a good deal from St. John Island View Pensionne in Agoda. P2500 for 2 nights good for two with free breakfast. It was an okay pension. If you’re planning to only sleep at the hotel, this is a good and affordable place. The staff are all very friendly and accommodating. They were the ones managed all of our transportation. The breakfast was okay, justifying the price. The only thing I didn’t like was the sheets are so thin. Overall, it was a good hotel but could have been better. Addition of tv’s inside the rooms would be recommended since St. John is located in Corong Corong. There’s nothing much to do at night.
Puerto Princesa
I booked Pension Del Flora since it is one of the affordable pensions with good reviews on Tripadvisor and Agoda. One good thing also is that it is near the airport. I wasn’t expecting a great and comfortable room from Pension del Flora since we’re only paying P900 good for two with free breakfast. Pension del Flora just opened last January 2015 so that explains why it’s so clean. Interiors are cute, plain and simple. The only not-so-good about this pension is that the shower head is so low that I, considering I’m only 5’3″, still have to lower my head while showering. But other than that, I am in awe. Ms. Raquel is so accommodating and friendly. She attends to our requests immediately even if it’s already midnight. One best thing about Pension del Flora is that when I asked Ms. Raquel if they are selling coffee as I wanted a coffee when we arrived late in the evening from El Nido, she gave it for free. 🙂 I’m not sure if coffees are really free from them anytime, though.
WHAT DID WE DO:
There are five (5) tours in El Nido: Tour A. B. C. D. and E(inland). Due to lack of time, we were only had Tour A on our first day in El Nido. It will be for a whole day with free buffet lunch. The boatmen were in-charge of cooking the food. Tour A will visit Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon (Unfortunately, we were not able to visit this because the waves are really mad due to the weather condition.), Shimizu Island (where you will have your lunch), Small Lagoon (You can ride kayaks here.), and Seven Commandos Beach (where we were able to have our halo-halo cravings).

From St. John Island View Pensionne, you need to ride a tricycle to El Nido Proper.

Boat Dock at El Nido Proper
 

 

Our boat engine won’t start. Fortunately, boatmen in El Nido were trained that whenever there’s something happened like this, other boatmen will help.
 

 

Lunch at Simizu Island

 

Kayaking at the Small Lagoon
 

 

On our second day, I know Frank would love to rent out a motorbike in order for us to explore the area. So, I asked Ms. Malou of St. John if she knows someone that could provide us with a motorbike, and she did. Frank and I went to Nacpan Beach. It was 45min to 1hr  travel from El Nido Town Proper. WARNING: if you’re planning to do this, please make sure it’s not raining because the road is really in bad condition. If so, then get your feet ready to be covered in mud.. maybe your bike too..haha. Anyway, Nacpan Beach is a long stretch of white beach. There is a hill there where you can climb up to see an aerial view of the twin beach, Nacpan and Calitang Beaches.

With our rented bike
 
Hill top with the Twin Beaches at the back
 

 

Nacpan Beach

ITINERARY:
September 25, 2015
3:00PM – 9:00PM Travel to El Nido
9:00PM – 9:30PM Check-in at St. John Island View Pensionne
9:30PM – 6:30AM Lights out
September 26, 2015
6:30AM – 7:30AM Breakfast
7:30AM – 8:00AM Travel to port
8:00AM – 4:00PM Island Tour A with Lunch
4:00PM – 4:30PM Travel back to City Proper
4:30PM – 6:00PM Free Time at the City
6:00PM – 7:00PM Dinner
7:00PM – 7:30PM Travel back to Hotel
7:30PM – 9:00PM Free Time
9:00PM – 6:00AM Lights out
September 27, 2015
6:00AM – 7:00AM Breakfast
7:00AM – 8:30AM Travel to Nacpan Beach
8:30AM – 10:00AM Free Time
10:00AM-11:30AM Travel back to El Nido City Proper
11:30AM-1:30PM Lunch
1:30PM – 2:00PM Travel back to hotel
2:00PM – 4:00PM Shower
4:00PM – 10:00PM Travel back to Puerto Princesa
10:00PM-10:30PM Dislodge at Pension Del Flora
10:30PM Lights out
September 28, 2015
7:00AM 8:00AM Breakfast
8:00AM 9:00AM Free Time
9:30AM 11:00AM Pasalubong Buying
11:00AM 11:40AM Travel to Airport
11:40AM 1:15PM Travel to Manila
EXPENSES:

 

3 Responses

  1. Hi Cindy! Our accommodation, St. John Island View Pensionne, arranged the tour for us.

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