El Nido, the town on the north side of Palawan in the Philippines is paradisiac. We know that. We also know that they can be quite packed too.
While we had some ideas of what to do while exploring El Nido, we knew we had to take a boat tour to visit the paradisiac islands and beaches around. But the thought of coming around in a boat with 20 other people we never saw before wasn’t exactly what we imagined.
We came to the Philippines for this
The trick:
Hire you own boat and do a private tour. Sounds expensive but it doesn’t have to be. If you want, you can do that on your own and enjoy some privacy in paradise, or you can still enjoy a little piece of heaven on earth with some cool friends and little bit more money left in your pocket.
As we always meet up people wherever we go, convincing some awesome like-minded peeps to jump onboard our private tour wasn’t hard. We met them at the beach or at the hostel and got together to close a private boat for the same price we would pay to go on a tour (with another 18 people). This way, we had a reduced number of people around which we were more comfortable with while we toured some amazing beaches. PLUS: ask to have the itinerary done the other way around (so start with the last stop and finish with the one that should be the first), this way you can get arrive to the destinations with no disturbance!
5 Unmissable Beaches in El Nido
In the Philippines (and most SE Asia, like Thailand) you can do that pretty easily. Just make sure to research for a good deal before closing off any tours. In El Nido, you have the chance to do Tours A, B, C or D or a combination. All tours will take you to different spots around the islands and show some ‘hidden’ spots. We did Tour A & D and we highly recommend you do the D if you have to choose (or prefer beaches to salty lagoons).
Plus, we also hired a scooter for one day and got to see some pretty amazing beaches.
Stick together to see what are we talking about…
Pasandigan Beach
Sunset with awesome friends we’ve made along the way
This beach was the perfect spot to chill after a long day in paradise. Barely no one around and a sweet sunset to make the day even better. This beach was part of the Tour D.
Paradise Beach
If this doesn’t scream paradise to you, I don’t know what would…This little ‘hidden’ beach was full of tourists but because we asked our guide to do the itinerary the opposite way, we’ve got to enjoy this area by ourselves.
Nacpan Beach
This amazing spot was highly recommended to us and we were a bit skeptical but once we arrived we knew this was perfect. The beach is obviously full of people but if you want a little more privacy, walk along down to the left and you’ll get to an area with way less people. Also, the water: pure bliss. Warm, calm and crystal clear! We couldn’t have asked for anything better!
Ipil Beach
Good spot for lunch? Well, we think so…see all the boats, they left as soon as we arrived and the small boats on the side? They were locals selling beers. Win, win! This beach was on Tour D and was perfect!
Las Cabanas
Our time in El Nido wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t stop by to watch the perfect sunset in Las Cabanas. This beach which is about 10 minutes ride from the town of El Nido is famous for its golden hour and that sunset did it justice. Crowded beach but oh, so worth it! (P.S.: can you spot our drone on the horizon?)
Have you been to El Nido? Did you do any tours? What was your favourite spot in here? Tell us! We’d love to know…
Larissa & Jean
Nomaddictives
