My wife and I would like to go to El Nido during late October. We have a total of six day in the Philippines. We are in our early 30%26#39;s and don%26#39;t mind a bit of adventure.
1. Should we spend all six days in El Nido or should we split our time a bit between other locations in the area?
2. I priced out Lagen and Miniloc on their websites and it seems as though their prices are per person and are about $300 per person per night or $600 per night. Is this cost accurate? Seems a bit high. How many nights is ideal for these resorts? Do I have to book my flights through the resorts?
3. Should we fly into Puerto Princesa and take a van up to El Nido or fly directly into El Nido?
4. How far is Coron? Would it be worth a few nights? Or would it be better to spend the two night elsewhere?
Thanks!
El Nido hotel %26amp; itinerary questions
1. U can base urselves in EN and go island hopping from EN to neighboring islands.
2. Lagen and Miniloc. Check out the ratestogo.com for discounted rates as much as $115/room for Miniloc and $205/room for Lagen for booking 27 days before ur stay.
3. Fly directly into EN with ITI (expensive but convenient). Van (6 hrs) from PP (600php/person).
4. Coron is 8 hrs.(to 11 hrs) by pumpboat (basic facilities, toilet-hole in back of boat). With rough weather and during rainy season, it could be horrendous.
October is still rainy season. Check the weather.
El Nido hotel %26amp; itinerary questions
Hi there,
Great choice, Palawan, and especially El Nido! We spent a week in a cottage on the beach in El Nido, which we arranged upon arrival in the village. For the whole week we payed 200 euro, we had hot coffee on our private verandas from 5 am, and we greatly appreciated that, watching the sun rise over the bay directly in front of us. Magical. The town provides everything, and the lady of the house will do your laundry for a little extra. You can easily meet someone who owns a bangka (bamboo boat with engine and space to sit up to 10, depending) to take you to all the spectacular places around the Bacuit area, taking care of fresh lunch (bbqed fish on a private island coral beach) and taking you snorkeling to see turtles and sharks, if you want.
';Our'; fisherman was a true master. In January 2006 we were there, and it was quite windy, but he took us 4 days long to any miraculous hidden cave, lagune, moving sandbank, private islands, and he told us a lot about the place. We payed for the 4 days something like 80 euro... almost embarrassing. It was an unforgettable stay in the Phillipines.
Puerto Princesa however is hardly worth it. There is nothing there to see, but the small town has been complete taken over by stinking loud tuktuks and mopeds, and it%26#39;s actually quiet horrible compared to tranquil El Nido. The crocodile farm is sad, but the underground river down in Sabang, including the vantrip there, is adventurous.
There is no overland way from Puerto Princesa to El Nido as a bridge has been washed away and never fixed. You could try, but find out first if there is anything that can pull your car over the river....
We were smart, we took a flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa, then cancelled our return flight after finding out there was nothing there, and then took a plane to El Nido instead and flew back from there to Manila. A flight like that is a true adventure and costs as little as 35 euro.
The very expensive resorts in Lagen en Miniloc are mainly visited by milk-white Japanese that leave just as milk-white :) and truely, your bangka will just drop you off on the beach around the corner, and it%26#39;s just as nice!
Coron is supposed to be wonderful, but we haven%26#39;t visited.
Good luck and fun with your preparations. You can ask away!
Hi! There%26#39;s really a lot more places to see around, but instead of tiring yourselves, you%26#39;d love to relax and enjoy El Nido the whole time, whether raining or sunny.
First, before you get confused with the posts, I guess you have to understand that there may be posts referring to El Nido ';town'; or ';village';, and El Nido Resorts which is Lagen and Miniloc. Like one of the posts above, there are smaller accommodations found in El Nido town. In my past 5 visits to El Nido, stayed several times in Lagen, once in the now gone Pangulasian resort, and last in Miniloc. But for my last trip, I also stayed a night in town. To read about activities and accommodations in town, check out http://www.elnidoboutiqueandartcafe.com
As for Lagen and Miniloc, be sure to be part of their mailing list. Sign up at http://www.elnidoresorts.com as they regularly email special offers. And in the past, they usually offer lower rates from august-october, and its always a good deal considering the inclusions. Like what Ive told friends, the cottage room is good enough, even if its the cheapest room in Miniloc. You can use the facilities of Lagen as you can schedule trips to the other resort.
As mentioned, flying direct to El Nido may be expensive but worth it than taking a grueling van or bus from Puerto Princesa. You wouldnt want to waste your day travelling on bad roads. http://www.islandtransvoyager.com/ flies to El Nido, and it is always better to book them with your rooms at Lagen or Miniloc as they give priority to resort guests. On my last trip, I was able to arrange with them that I%26#39;ll be staying an extra night in town on my own just to see the town of El Nido, before going to Miniloc and they were fine with it. If it is your first time though, I suggest you skip town.
The town has its charms though, with quaint and basic accommodations. Whether staying in town or in Lagen or Miniloc, it all depends on your budget and travelling style.
For Miniloc %26amp; Lagen resorts, verified the rates in USD: Miniloc from 90USD and Lagen from 160USD, water cottage from 190USD as offered online in ratestogo.com.
';Manila-El Nido flights via IslandTransvogayer Inc. Book flights at rtgflights@islandtransvoyager.com. Roundtrip boat transfers El Nido Airport-Lagen island Resort-El Nido Airport shall be charged Php5,000 for 1-5 persons.';
';Compulsory meal supplement of Php3,355/person/night inclusive of 3 buffet meals.';
Seems the above is lower than ur quotes as per ur info #2.
Hope that is useful.
Thanks for the great replies. Very helpful information. I%26#39;m going to spend all of my time in El Nido. Also, flying seems like the way to go for us.
When I rent on ratesgo.com and did some searching. Many of the days were not available. I guess it%26#39;s a matter of luck and timing. I might make a preliminary reservation on Agoda and sign up on the e-mail list.
Is it best to go all inclusive because of the meals? I imagine there is no other food on the islands.
Are there any other accommodations? Poliartes - You Mentioned booking a cottage. How was it? Clean, comfortable bed, flush toilet? If so, please send the link.
Thanks again for all the help!
Hi GoBuckeyes00,
We went to Palawan more or less unprepared, but we wanted to escape Manila which we really disliked. In Puerto Princesa we met up with a Brit who knew the island from previous visits, and he was just moving on to El Nido. He told us it would be no problem to find a good place to stay. Literally upon arrival on the main street along the beach (El Nido is a very small village and very original, in spite of some little tourist development) we walked along a fenced house and the lady who stood in the garden told us she had a cottage free. The guys from the tuktuk who brought us from the airstrip dropped us off there, and told us they%26#39;d drive us around until we found something suitable. This was, and it had a double four poster, very simpel, and we put our own mosquito net over it. Bring that! There was no flush toilet (january 2006) and as everywhere in the area, there is a regular timed power outage. Once you%26#39;re used to it, it%26#39;s no big deal. But it had 200% charm and a veranda with the most amazing view. I have no idea what the name or address was, but there are about 15 or so such cottages on that very bay. We also went everyday to the art boutique (see the link above) to have breakfast and to think about what to do that day. This went on for a week and it was really relaxing.
If you%26#39;re more into comfort, then the resorts are always safe of course. But you should realise you are isolated, and in Ek Nido village there are neat small tasteful restaurants and bars (not many, 3 or 4 or so) where gringos end up because of the ambiance, and there is a lot going on with the kids walking by on the beach in their school uniforms, just dropped off by a bangka at 6.00 AM, and the action after dusk on the small streets, people chatting over their fences, etc etc... truely Philippian. You will miss all that on the remote resorts..!
Hello again,
I just posted a few pics from El Nido, they should be live within a business days, according to the faq section here. Hope you%26#39;ll find them useful!
Best regards,
Andr茅 (Poliartes)
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