The Pristine Beauty of El Nido

Palawan means “The Land of Beautiful Safe Harbor”. The name, once intended for merchant ships sailing through the centuries, takes a new meaning: a land of beautiful haven for every traveler who seeks refuge and oneness in nature. Palawan has been given numerous accolades as the country’s cleanest, greenest an most peaceful city. On top of this distinction, Palawan has been dubbed the “Last Ecological Frontier” in honor of its unique ecological balance. Safeguarding this frontier are the hospitable Palawenos who are deeply committees to the tenets of environmental conservation and protection.

Three of the most visited places in Palawan are:
1. Puerto Princesa
2. El Nido
3. Coron

My friends and decided to go around Palawan and  tick off Puerto Princesa and El Nido from the list.

How we got there:
The fastest way to reach Palawan from Manila is through a 1.5 hours plane ride. We book way ahead of time (June 2016) to take advantage of the promo airfare that Cebupac has offered. We got our return ticket for only P1,700 per pax.

Accommodation:
We also booked our accommodation in advanced through booking.com. We got a nice deal of P1,000 for 3 days and 2 nights stay. I called the number indicated in the voucher to confirm our booking and asked if they got tour package for El Nido and Puerto Princesa City Tour. Luckily, they did. The tour price was reasonable with comparison to a DIY trip.

Itinerary:

Day 1 - Puerto Princesa City Tour
Day 2 - El Nido Tour
Day 3 - Travel back to Pampanga

The Province of Palawan. Travel time for Puerto Princesa to El Nido is 6 hours via van.

For our Puerto Princesa Day Tour, we visited the following places:

• Lunch at Noki Nocs Savory House (you have to try their halo-halo!)
• Crocodile Farm
• Butterfly Garden
• Nitra's Ranch
• Baker's Hill
• Pasalubong Centers

El Nido has so much to offer. Depending on your stay and course of travel, you have the liberty which tour to select. There are four (4) tour packages that you can avail.

Tour A - Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Simizu Island, Secret Lagoon and 7 Commandos

Tour B - Entalula Island, Pinagbuyutan Island, Snake Island, Cudugnon Cave and Cathedral Cave

Tour C - Helicopter Island, Secret Beach, Matinloc Shrine, Star Beach and Hidden Beach

Tour D - Bukal Island, Ipil Island, Nat-nat Beach, Cadlao Lagoon and Paradise Beach

It would take one whole day for each tour. My friend who completed all the tours (Hi Kimmy!) recommended Tour A for first timers. So Tour A is it!

All places that we visited, from Tour A, were breathtaking and were not overcrowded. We did not worry about our lunch as it was included in the package. Lunch was more than what I expected :) Thumbs up! 

Tip: Bring extra money if you wish to do kayak at the lagoons.

Gallery:

1. 

Breakdown of Expenses and Time Spent

All picture where taken using Lenovo Vibe Shot. No further edit except for the watermark was done.

Sources:
Intro - http://www.visitmyphilippines.com