5 Days in El Nido: A Journal from Someone Who Almost Didn't Go
Day 1: The Van, the Road, and the First Glimpse
The van from Puerto Princesa left at 7AM and I immediately regretted not paying for the AirSwift flight. Five hours of a winding road through Palawan's interior, my knees pressed against the seat in front, a compilation of Tagalog pop hits on repeat. Somewhere around hour three I fell asleep with my forehead against the window and woke up with a perfect circular bruise.
But then — and I know this sounds like a travel cliche, but it actually happened — the karsts appeared. Limestone towers rising straight out of the jungle, backlit by afternoon sun. The entire van got quiet. Even the driver, who has presumably seen this 2,000 times, glanced in the mirror and said something I didn't understand. The guy next to me translated: "He says it gets better."
Checked into a guesthouse on Real Street. PHP 1,200/night for a room that was clean, had AC, and smelled faintly of lemongrass. Good enough. Walked to the beach. The town beach in El Nido is honestly mediocre — muddy at low tide, boats parked everywhere. But the backdrop of karsts turning orange at sunset made up for it.
Dinner at Trattoria Altrove. Pizza for PHP 400. Not bad, actually.
Day 2: Tour A — The One Everyone Talks About
Up at 7AM. PHP 200 Eco-Tourism Development Fee paid at the municipal office (keep the receipt). Tour A boat departed at 9AM from the town beach. PHP 1,300 including lunch.
Big Lagoon first. I'd seen the photos. I was prepared to be slightly disappointed. I was not slightly disappointed. The water is genuinely emerald — not blue, not green, but some impossible color that shouldn't exist in nature. Limestone walls rise vertically on all sides. We rented a kayak (PHP 200) and paddled deeper in, where the lagoon narrows and the cliffs create a natural cathedral.
Small Lagoon next — swim through a narrow gap in the cliff face and you're in a calm inner pool. Quieter than the Big Lagoon. Probably my favorite moment of the entire trip was floating on my back in here, staring up at cliff walls covered in ferns, with no sound except water.
Secret Lagoon was nice but crowded. Shimizu Island had decent snorkeling.
Lunch was served on a beach — grilled fish, rice, mango. Simple. Perfect.
Back by 4PM. Walked to the night market near the church. Grilled squid and a San Miguel for about PHP 200 total.
Day 3: Tour C and the Hole in the Wall
Tour C might actually be better than Tour A. Fight me.
Secret Beach is accessed by swimming through a small opening in a limestone wall. I wore water shoes (critical — the rocks are brutal) and ducked through. On the other side: a tiny beach enclosed entirely by rock, like someone scooped out the inside of a cliff. Maybe 20 people fit. At low tide, the entrance is easy. At high tide, it can close entirely — check with your guide.
Matinloc Shrine is a crumbling structure built into a cliff face, worth about 10 minutes. But behind it, the Secret Lagoon is another one of those places that doesn't seem real.
The snorkeling at Tapiutan Strait was the best of any tour. Healthy coral, clownfish, a sea turtle that swam within a meter of me. If you only bring one piece of gear to El Nido, bring your own snorkel mask — the rentals are usually foggy and ill-fitting. PHP 150 if you must rent.
Day 4: Nacpan Beach and Doing Nothing Well
Hired a tricycle to Nacpan Beach. PHP 600 round trip with waiting time, 45 minutes each way. The road is paved now but still bumpy.
Nacpan is four kilometers of golden sand backed by coconut palms. No crowds (Tuesday afternoon in March helps). Found a beach bar with hammocks, ordered a mango shake for PHP 100, and read for three hours. Got slightly sunburned because I forgot to reapply sunscreen. Worth it.
The sunset here is unreasonably good. The beach faces west, the sky turns every shade of pink and orange, and the coconut palms create perfect silhouettes. I stayed until dark.
Day 5: The Regret Phase
Packed up. Walked the town one more time. Coffee at Art Cafe (PHP 120, good WiFi). Realized I should have booked seven days, not five.
The van back to Puerto Princesa left at noon. Same five hours, same winding road, same Tagalog pop hits. But this time I watched the karsts recede in the side mirror and felt something I don't usually feel about places: actual reluctance to leave.
Would I Go Back?
In a heartbeat. But I'd fly AirSwift next time (PHP 5,000-10,000 one-way from Manila) to skip the van. I'd bring twice as much cash — the ATM situation is genuinely stressful. And I'd do the expedition boat to Coron instead of backtracking to Puerto Princesa — a 3-4 day boat trip through the Bacuit Archipelago that I heard about from three different travelers, all of whom described it as the best thing they'd done in the Philippines.
El Nido isn't perfect. The town beach is so-so, the WiFi is unreliable, and the standardized tour system means you share lagoons with crowds. But the water. The karsts. The secret beaches you access by swimming through holes in cliffs.
Some places live up to the hype. El Nido is one of them.
