Our Six-Day El Nido DIY Tour (from Dumaguete) – Part 1
Our Six-Day El Nido DIY Tour
(from Dumaguete) – Part 1
Group Size: 3 adults
Date of Trip: March 22-27, 2017
Today I’m sharing our itinerary for our six day trip to El Nido, including some tips, reviews, and whatever comments I can think of.
For the comment-free itinerary, click here.
Day 1: The Probinsyana Dilemma
Our Day 1 itinerary actually started at 12 midnight with a Cokaliong boat ride from Dumaguete to Cebu (P310+15 TF/pax). We arrived at around 7AM, then went on a 30-minute taxi ride (P220/cab, metered) to the airport. We ate breakfast at Cafe Cesario at the airport (tip: airport food is always overpriced, so bring sandwiches/snacks with you to save money). After a lot of sitting around and killing time, we had another overpriced meal at Jollibee inside the pre-departure area, and finally boarded the plane to Puerto Princesa.
While waiting for our checked luggage at the PPS airport, we were offered a van ride to El Nido for P500 each, which we took. We started our journey at around 4PM. We first stopped at the van’s booking office, where we paid for the ride and were given a small complimentary bottle of water. We also picked up additional passengers along the way, then were finally off to El Nido.
The van we rode was quite spacious and in good condition, so we had a comfortable ride. At around 7:30, we stopped for dinner & CR break, then continued on our way. We arrived at El Nido Terminal at 9:50PM, then rode a tricycle to our hostel (P50/cab), making a total of around 6 hours from PPS to El Nido.
We had a small misunderstanding with the tricycle driver who took us to BPI because our hostel’s name is ATM (At The Moment). Hihi. But the driver was good natured so no harm done. =)
Finally, we checked into AtTheMoment Hostel (P400/pax/night) where we booked bunk beds in a 10-bed dorm-type room for our first 2 nights (review here). Note: booked ahead via agoda.com
The probinsyana dilemma: 1 whole day from start of travel to arrival at destination. =(
Day 2: TOUR C
We started day 2 with a breakfast of cornsilog (corned beef, fried rice and egg) at around 7:30 at the rooftop mess hall of the hotel. There is instant coffee available with cream and sugar, but there is no other alternative, so my energy-gap friends had to buy milo from the neighboring sari-sari store.
The previous day, we arranged with Tarawis ElNido Island Tours (0917-423-8764 review here) for Tour C, who told us we’ll be picked up from our hotel by 8AM. So we were already waiting when the guide arrived to take us to the El Nido Port which serves as the jump off point for the tours. It was only a three-to-five minute walk away. We had to wait for the other guests to arrive and were finally off for our tour at 9:30.
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| The El Nido jump-off point for all island-hopping tours. |
TOUR C Destinations:
A. Helicopter Island
We were given around 30 minutes on the island to swim, take pictures and relax. There was nothing in the island that stood out for me so I’ll let the picture below describe it:
B. Talisay Beach
This is a small beach usually used as lunch area. The guides have started preparing the food while we were on our way to the island so we didn’t have long to wait before we got to eat. There were also vendors in the area selling drinks, coco juice, and other snacks.
The food: Delicious food enough for everybody.
C. Secret Beach
This is a very aptly-named beach. We saw other boats huddled around this formation with nothing but an imposing rock surface and didn’t quite expect the entrance to the beach to be right there. If there were less people, it would have been absolutely stunning to swim from the deep blue sea, through a small hole in the rocks then find the enclosed beach. As it was, there was a large family and several other tourists already there and they were quite noisy, ruining the atmosphere of the place. When they were gone, it was nice again. =)
D. Hidden Beach
Since our boat was relatively large, we had to “park” quite far and swim-walk to the hidden beach. The place was awesome and the other tourists were already on their way out when we got there so we mostly had the place to ourselves. This was our last destination for the day so the guides gave us a long time to enjoy the area.
The swim back to the boat was against the current (I think) so it was tasking.
At 3:30PM, we were brought back to the jump-off point where they collected our fees (P1400 + P200 Environmental Development Fee valid for 10 days).
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| The ride back was perfect for “muni-muni” pictures. |
Tips/ Reminders:
1: Ask for a discount when you make tour reservations and you might just get one. ;)
2: Keep your EDF receipt as you’ll reuse this for the other tours.
3: Bring your aqua shoes and own snorkels, if possible, to truly enjoy the snorkeling moments, though to be honest the underwater life in this tour is not that extraordinary.
After the tour, we went back to our hotel for a quick change then went out again for dinner (we can’t really stay/chat comfortably in our room because it felt cramped and there are other guests we’d disturb). So we went to look for food which is always a good idea.
2: Keep your EDF receipt as you’ll reuse this for the other tours.
3: Bring your aqua shoes and own snorkels, if possible, to truly enjoy the snorkeling moments, though to be honest the underwater life in this tour is not that extraordinary.
After the tour, we went back to our hotel for a quick change then went out again for dinner (we can’t really stay/chat comfortably in our room because it felt cramped and there are other guests we’d disturb). So we went to look for food which is always a good idea.
I’ve read good reviews about The Altrove El Nido so we went to try it for dinner and we were absolutely glad we did. (Review here: https://goo.gl/maps/8q6jhhskhKm). Probably one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had. When we left there was already a long line waiting for free tables.
Tip: Most of the establishments don’t have free potable water so buy 1 large container of water when you first arrive and refill your smaller canteens from there. The small sari-sari stores usually have cheaper water.
We then went back to our hotel, with stops for souvenir window-shopping along the way. We also arranged with the staff of the hotel for our motorcycle-rental the following day.
And we are done with Day 2!
Day 3: NACPAN BEACH + TWIN BEACH+ TAPIK BEACH
After a breakfast of egg, luncheon meat and rice, we packed-up our things and begged to leave some of them at the hotel so we’d be less loaded for our motorcycle trip, and the staff was kind enough to oblige.
Then we were told that the maximum load per motorcycle is 2 so we have to rent 2 units (i.e. we’ll need 2 drivers). Since I was the only other driver among us, I had to drive one of motorcycles =( which was distressing since I’m a very ‘smooth-road’ driver. I’ve never had to drive far in my life and I’m not confident with my driving, especially with the unfamiliar scooter; but we had no other choice so gowra. Rental price was negotiated to P800 per unit for 1.5 days.
Nacpan Beach & Twin Beach
We left for Nacpan beach at 7:50AM, with a short stop at the gas station for a full tank refill. We arrived at the Nacpan crossing at around 9 then turned into the mostly-unpaved road to the beach.
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| Watch out for this signage for the turn to Nacpan Beach. |
The drive from there was challenging as the road was really rough which was hard on the arms. Finally we arrived at the ‘checkpoint’ at around 9:40 where they collected P50 for environmental development fee. We decided to first go to twin beach so we turned into the less-used road which was a mistake. I almost crashed multiple times, and I once got stuck in the sand. Thankfully, the residents helped me push the scooter.
We parked at the residential area and went to the beach where we were joined by some of the locals who turned out to be Cebuano-speaking, so we chatted with them in our native tongue (finally!). The mood here is very laid back, a nice contrast from El Nido town.
Unfortunately, the Twin Beach viewpoint is closed-off to the public due to an ongoing court case (private land so we can’t complain). We tried approaching to beg for a 5 minute photo op but we were met with a very firm head-shake and hand-shooing motions.
After that heartbreaking rejection (awww), we contented ourselves to the still very beautiful view of the beach.
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| This is us trying to get the twin beaches in our groufie. |
We finally got tired of picture-taking and walked to the ‘hotspot’ of Nacpan beach where there were more tourists, beach umbrellas for rent, and food.
Since it was nearing noon and the sun was scorching-hot, we decided to have our lunch first at Kyla’s Cocina. They have a nipa cottage along the beach with a few tables and chairs. The food was good and priced okay. We shared chopsuey, chicken curry, buttered shrimp and rice and paid around P200 each. After lunch, we stayed just enjoying the view.
Nacpan Beach is probably the best beach I’ve even been to, with its very long stretch of fine white sand and crystal-clear waters. We braved the mid-day sun to take a dip in the turquoise water and were rewarded with its refreshing coolness. I could have bathed all day, but it was reeeaaally hot, so we lay around under the shade of the trees.
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| Look at that gorgeous turquoise water. |
Note: There are benches with beach umbrellas for rent but it’s much cooler under the trees. Do check that the coconut trees do not have mature fruits that could fall on you.
When we couldn’t postpone any longer, we walked back to twin beach to get our motorcycles (around 3PM) and continued our drive to Tapik Beach Park Guesthouse in Brgy. Sibaltan, arriving at 4:20PM.
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| One of the beautiful views along the way to Tapik Beach Resort. |
Tapik Beach
We originally booked 2 camp huts via booking.com but there was an issue with double-booking so they upgraded us to a treetop room; the bed space was quite small for 3 people, but we got a private CR.
Basically, what Brgy Sibaltan offers is a calm and quiet atmosphere that’s common in rural areas in the Philippines. Being from a rural area myself, with easy access to a beach, I personally didn’t find this trip worth the effort.
There was nothing much to see or do. You just go there to have some peace, so that’s what we did. We visited the village, walked back to tapik, sat in the recliners, drank beers and waited for the sun to set.
We had dinner of sizzling sisig (which tasted like bicol express), ginataang Lingeb (grilled fish in coconut milk which was delicious), fish fingers and rice (paid a little more than P300 each including the beers, shared dishes).
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| My sad attempt at night-sky photography. |
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