Budget Backpacking Guide:

El Nido, Philippines

Travelling in El Nido is a true unforgettable tropical experience. Located on the Northern Tip of Palawan Island reaching El Nido can be done a variety of ways (by land, sea, or air) and getting there is half the fun! It offers the basics for backpack and higher range travelers but is no way a full service tourist haven destination like Bali, Phuket, or Boracay. You will not find a pumping nightlife, big shopping centers and large swarming tour groups. You will however find yourself in the most beautiful marine ecosystem the Philippines has to offer. Surrounded by towering limestone cliffs (Karsts) El Nido Town Proper (and it’s surrounding areas to stay) offer the jungle meets beaches and coral reef landscapes made popular in the famous movie “The Beach”. You can lodge, eat, get around and do activities on a really low budget in El Nido but miss none of the beauty, quality, and comfort that the more tourist overrun Southeast Asian tropical destinations offer. It is the true gem of Palawan Island, which in turn is the least traveled and trafficked of the major Islands in the Philippines. There is a reason this place is so popular with domestic travelers, when Filipinos want to escape to paradise they head to El Nido. Island hopping, snorkeling, diving, jungle trekking, fresh seafood dinners, beach bar drinks with the sunset make up your typical day in El Nido. In El Nido time is better measured by the high and low tides and the rising and setting of the sun rather than your watch.

El Nido Daily Budget Information

• Daily Average Cost – Room / 3 meals / Transportation (2 people)
• $50-60 ($30 each)

Stay away during Easter and Christmas holiday breaks and prices are great for budget travelers. A room, 3 meals, scooter rental, and a few evening drinks can be had for two people for $50-60/day. Lots of good deals on food and drinks can be found within an afternoon of checking out the town proper both on and off the beach strip, so don’t pick until you look around a little bit (it’s a small place to scout out before you decide where to stay and eat).

Budget Accommodations in El Nido

If you are looking for budget places to stay then look in El Nido town proper or Caalan Beach (10min walk from town) as this is where you can find some of the $5-15 a night spots. A fan room with bug netting and your own bathroom is typically what to expect usually in a beach bungalow hut or small 2 or 3 floor guesthouse.

Cheaper Mid-Range Accommodations in El Nido

Air conditioned rooms typically start off at $25-40 a night and can be found in El Nido Town, Caalan Beach, Corong-Corong Beach (10min trike taxi), and Marimegmeg Beach (20min trike taxi). Some have a room safe or access to a safe at the front desk and most have restaurants in the hotel that also offer room service. Swimming pools are a little harder to come by but there are 3 places between Caalan, El Nido Town, and Corong-Corong in the midrange that have them.

 

Eating in El Nido

The Philippines is not as renowned for its food as other places in Southeast Asia like Malaysia, Thailand or Vietnam but there are still some really tasty foods to try out. In El Nido you can find a good collection of traditional Philippine foods as well as many other international favorites like pastas, sandwiches, pizza, noodles and fried rices to name just a few. Most of the dishes are rice staple and BBQ but there are others too. Some dishes you should definitely try while in El Nido are Chicken Adobo, Nido Soup, and fresh caught and BBQ’ed seafood. You can get fresh seafood in most restaurants but a cheaper way to have it is buy it at the local market between El Nido Town and Corong-Corong Beach near the bus terminal. Then take your fresh bought market seafood (and veggies) to your guesthouse or small restaurant and most places will cook it up for a small fee. Just ask in advance before you hit the market if its possible where you are staying. It saves a lot of money for larger groups of people who wish to gorge themselves on seafood. Nido Soup is made from the little birds called swiftlets that build their nests high up in the lime stone cliffs (karsts). These nests, made from regurgitated bird saliva, are highly prized in others areas of Asia (mostly China) and fetch a very high price sold abroad. Here you can enjoy Nido Soup (Bird’s Nest Soup) for only about $4 so it is a good deal. Finally Chicken Adobo is such a common dish everywhere in the Philippines so try it out here and compare!

 

 

 

 

 

The SUPER-CHEAP $1-3: For the real cheap eats try finding a Turo-Turo stand or a bakery. Turo-Turo means “point-point” in Tagalog. You point at one or two pre-cooked dishes (chicken, pork, fish, or veg) and they are served to you with rice. The great bakery in town is “The Midtown Bakery” where you can get fresh cinnamon buns, coconut buns, butter buns, cookies, cakes and whole wheat buns in the price range of 2p to 20p per peice (3 peices avg for $1). Both of these options are popular with the locals also so just look for the line-ups. There are also a couple $1 burger stands around town now.

The CHEAP $3-6/dish: There are many sit down spots along the beach and the two streets back from the beach in the town proper where two can eat for $10 and get full easily. Again scout it out, especially along the beach as two restaurants side-by-side on the beach can have a pretty big price difference. Most places offer Filipino favorites, sandwiches, salads, pasta and seafood dishes.

Sample List of General Food Prices 

• Fries – $1.50
• Chicken/Pork Dish – $3
• Sandwich – $4
• Pizza – $5
• Beef Dish – $5
• BBQ Shrimp (6 jumbo) – $6
• Whole BBQ fish (2 people) – $8-10
• 3 Crab Dish – $8

Drinks & Alcohol: Fresh fruit shakes, juices, and soda are usually no more than $2. Cold San Miguel beer (local and delicious) is also never over $1 for a small bottle. Cocktails are a little more pricey at about $3 and are often different from what you expect them to taste like.

Local Transportation in El Nido

Trike-taxis are your main way of getting around for everyone on the Island. You will rarely see cars and trucks. Most people ride bikes and trikes on the two land highway. Prices are always negotiated so make sure you agree on both the destination and the price with the driver before you set off. Also a favorite trick is for the driver to agree to a price then upon drop-off insist that was the per person price and if there are 3 passengers you will be paying triple what you thought. So make sure you confirm “A to B, for the 3 of us is total 60 Php, right?” However the trike-taxi is a cheap and easy way to get around and you will rarely if ever have a hassle with a shady driver.

Some sample local Trike-taxi fares:

• El Nido Bus St. – El Nido Town – $1
• El Nido – CorongCorong – $2
• El Nido – Marimegmeg (Los Cabanas ZipLing) – $3

Scooter/MotorBike Rentals are by far my favorite way to get around as you can freely explore and you get the lay of the land so much quicker. You will need to leave your passport with them as a deposit (which is true almost anywhere in the world I have rented) so it is best to try to rent from your guesthouse if possible. The cost is about $10/day and you can see most of the stuff on land in 2 or 3 days in El Nido so you wouldn’t need one everyday you are there for sure.

Activities to Do in El Nido

There are a lot of things to do in El Nido to explore it’s beautiful rain forests and tropical seas. The most popular (and pricier) ones are all boat-based activities in Baicuit Bay out from El Nido Town. But there are many low price or free things to do in and around the town on water and land so you can intermix your days with Island hopping boat tours and self-exploration activities and make a great itinerary for yourselves.

• Island Hopping (Tours A,B,C or D) – $26/pax (1,200 PHP)
  1. The most popular activity by far is to take the tours that hit about 3 to 4 different Islands in and around Bacuit Bay. See beautiful lagoons, coral reefs, hidden sea caves, and an abundance of marine life. All tours have guides, snorkel gear, and include lunch in the price.
• Scuba Diving (1 day – 3 dives + lunch) – $78 (3,500 PHP)
  1. Prices, equipment quality, and food service will vary between dive shops so you should shop around. All PADI courses are on offer here as well as multi-day diving packages and diving/island camping trips from El Nido to Coron Island.
• Kayak to Cadlao Island (kayak full day rental) – $35 (800 PHP)
  1. The largest Island offshore is Cadlao Island only 2km out in the bay. It has a hiking trail you can get on to an interior lagoon and a few beach spots as well as coral reefs to snorkel in. Or just paddle south of El Nido town to find some great mainland beaches.
• Las Cabanas Zip Line (2 zips, sitting) – $32 (700 PHP)
  1. Very fun 750m zip line from a mountain top to an adjacent island and back again 550m to Marimegmeg Beach (great for a day trip out of town with or without the zip)
• Visit Marimegmeg Beach (5km from town)
  1. The best beach close to town to chill out at for a true beach day of sunning, swimming, sipping and a great sunset.
• Mangrove Eco Park (just past Marimegmeg Beach) – free
  1. Give yourself an hour here tops but you get right into the heart of a mangrove forest on a raised boardwalk. Interesting at low or high tide for different reasons. Keep your eyes open for snakes!
• Hike Tarawan Peak beside town (3 hrs / guide not needed) – $4 (for a guide)
  1. The huge limestone Karst behind El Nido Town offers an amazing view of the town at your feet and all the Islands of Bacuit Bay out beyond. A guide is not needed if you know where the trail head is but it is less stressful with one.
• Visit Nacpan & Calitang Beaches (20km from town) 
  1. Totally untouched tropical beach. There is no tourism here at all except for a couple families who sell BBQ & cold beer for visitors. Off the beaten track a little but you can hire a trike-taxi to take you for the day or take yourself by scooter.
• Nagkalit Kalit Waterfall & Makanit Hot Spring (on the way to Nacpan Beach)
  1. You should hire the local guide at the farm where you park your scooter at the trail head or have your trike-taxi driver guide you in. You could end up a little lost if you don’t. The guide is only $3 and you can negotiate the price of course. It is about a 30 minute walk in and you can swim in the pool at the base of the falls in the fresh cool water. FYI – In the height of a very dry “dry season” the large creek that feeds the falls sometimes runs dry.
• Eat Bird’s Nest Soup (Skyline Inn) – $3
  1. Famous in China and throughout Asia, the little swiflets that inhabit the tall Karst limestone cliffs regurgitate their saliva to make their nests. The nests are harvested by daring locals from their cliff side perches and sold for making soup. Worth more than their weight in gold I’m told.
• Best Sunset Spots – Corong Corong Beach / Marimegmeg Beach
  1. Both beaches are Westerly facing and have sight lines for the sun to fall to the horizon unobstructed by islands out in the bay. Both have nice sand and little restaurants to get refreshed in. Corong Corong has a long shallow tidal flat and is really interesting at low tide but Marimegmeg is much better for a beach day.

El Nido Services Information

One of the trade-offs about El Nido is that beautiful nature and lack of thronging tourism comes at the cost of some services. Although you can get what you need if you plan ahead and know what you can and can’t get in El Nido there are still a few things that are not entirely first world tourist zone about it.

 

Money, Banks & ATM Machines

THERE ARE NO BANKS OR ATM MACHINES IN EL NIDO!!!!! This is very important to plan ahead for so i will say it twice, “NO Banks, NO ATM Machines in El Nido Town at all.” You can use your credit card to pay for your guesthouse, food and tours in most places now but no one wants to give cash advances on the cards. So you must bring cash with you from either Manila, Puerto Princesa or Cebu (the three places people come into El Nido from). There are a few places that do exchange currency, most notably the El Nido Art Boutique and Cafe located on the main street behind the beach in town. They will exchange US Dollars, Euros, British Pounds, HK Dollars, Australian Dollars, Japanese Yen, and Singapore Dollars only.

Traveler’s Checks are also impossible to cash here but also in the Philippines in general (I found out the hard way with my American Express US Dollar Checks that were useless to me outside of Manila).

Book your hotels in advance from AGODA.COM to reduce the amount of cash you need to carry and pay for whatever else you can by credit card while you are there. Make sure you check if there is an added fee for paying by credit card as some places add up to 8%.

 

Electricity – 220V / 60hz

The electricity in El Nido and surrounding areas only runs from 2pm-6am (14:00-06:00). So that means there is no power (or air con from 6am-2pm). Some places run gas powered generators or have solar panels and they offer around the clock electricity but they are few and usually the high end hotels. Make sure you charge your electronics as soon as you get home from your day’s adventures and overnight while you sleep. Socket types used there are A, B, like in North America mostly and occasionally type C (two rounded prongs).

 

Wifi, Internet and Cellular Services

Since the electricity goes off at most places from 6am-2pm so does the wifi and internet connections. However some places run a generator specifically for these services. One cheap place in town is the Centro Cafe located along Calle Lisang. They offer free Wifi with your table and even let you charge your devices too. Just order a tea or coffee.

Cellular coverage is 3G only but coverage in the built up areas is pretty good. Two companies offer sim cards for prepaid plans and can be bought before you get to El Nido preferably. Both Smart and Globe networks work well in El Nido.

There are some internet cafes and a lot of places are offering free or paid Wifi during electricity hours.

 

Hospitals and Clinics

There is a basic medical center in El Nido only. The closest small hospital is one hour away in Tay-Tay. Serious medical situations require transfer to Manila or Puerto Princesa. Basic non-prescription drugs are available at two pharmacies in El Nido.

 

Drinking Water

Out of the tap water is not recommended as potable water. The cheapest and most eco-friendly thing to do is buy the 6L jugs in the little supermarkets and keep refilling your smaller bottles to take with you on day trips. Prices: 6L-$2 / 1L-$1 / 700ml-$1

 

El Nido Weather and Travel Seasons

Palawan Island is located in the tropics and therefore follows a two season (wet and dry) year which is governed by the Monsoon winds. Also since El Nido is mostly a popular domestic destination the Christian holdiays that Filipino people celebrate are very busy and most places are fully booked in advance.

El Nido Weather

Wet season is June-November. Dry season is December-May. Typhoon season peaks in September but storms sweep through at any time of the year really. December of 2013 (Haiyan or Yolanda) and 2014 (Hagiput or Ruby) have brought big Typhoons through.

El Nido Travel Seasons

Prices for low end accommodations, food and tours don’t really fluctuate with the travel season but availability will for sure. The mid-range and luxury accommodations will fluctuate drastically with the high and low travel seasons.

The High Season travel is December to April but especially Christmas, Easter and Chinese New Year hotels are jammed pack with Philippine vacationers.

Good Low Season travel is in May-June and October-November. Avoid July-August due to monsoon rains, stormy seas and strong currents. Also September is the region’s peak Typhoon season but these storms are sporadic and can really come anytime so I wouldn’t worry about it. You are either lucky or you are not.

The People You Come Across in El Nido

The Local Philippine People are mostly engaged in farming, fishing or tourism in El Nido. The religion in this community, like most of the Philippines, is Christianity and there are lots of churches in the community. Although English in the Philippines is much more widespread than in other Southeast Asian countries anyone in El Nido not involved in tourism directly won’t speak much English at all. Most of the hotel staff, restaurateurs, and boat tour jobs will speak English well enough to make communication in English effective and easy. The locals are kind and helpful towards tourists in general and they live life at a leisurely pace. A lot of the younger kids are pretty shy yet curious about foreigners so be friendly and approach slowly if you want to get a few pictures. There are not a lot of touts or scammers like in more developed tourist spots in the Philippines. Most people you come across in daily activities have a cousin, or friend who they will try to direct your business to for Island hopping and other tours, good food, or rentals of any kind. However, it is not aggressive at all but you can tell they try to keep as much business as they can within their social circles so don’t necessarily trust the best place to be recommended. There is definitely a two tier pricing system in place for locals and tourists. In general, when you travel, its not a good idea to show off your wealth and I would follow that advice here as it is well inside a rural-economic zone and you don’t want to draw any unwanted attention to your valuables. That being said at no time in El Nido, night or day, did I feel in danger whatsoever. However, using good judgement to keep yourself safe is always advisable.

There are many places (especially dive shops and bar/restaurants) owned by expats and their Filipino partners.They are often very, laid-back, friendly and talkative. For us meeting couples like this was such a good source of information on the way things worked locally and how to fit in well but still get some of the better deals. I would recommend having a nice conversation with business owners such as this if the opportunity presents itself.

Fellow Travelers tend to be mostly older backpackers (mid 20’s and up), mixed expat Filipino couples living home or abroad, and domestic Filipino tourists who work in the metro Manila area. You don’t get a lot of the young party-party backpackers like on Khaosan Rd in Thailand or Kuda Beach in Bali nor do you get the older sex tourists that frequent Manila and Cebu. So in general the crowd, conversations and other interactions with fellow travelers in El Nido are very pleasant and laid-back.

Possible Dangers to Avoid in El Nido

El Nido is a relatively safe place to stay, eat, drink and play but as always being knowledgeable and prepared is the best way to travel to a new place. There are a few health and environmental factors to be careful of when you are visiting anywhere in the Philippines and those same cautions are true for Palawan Island and El NIdo.

 

Dengue Fever and Malaria

Both Malaria and Dengue Fever are much more prevalent in the rural areas of the Philippines like most of Palawan and El Nido. Educating yourself on transmission and prevention should be all the precautions you need to take. Anit-Malaria medications are generally not advised to be taken here but if you are one of the 12,000 people annually who contract Malaria in the Philippines then don’t blame me! The best method of prevention is to protect against bug bites that can carry the two diseases. Below are some good bug prevention tips.

 

Preventing Mosquito Bites

• Wear loose fitting long sleeve/leg clothing rather than shorts and t shirts
• Avoid being outdoors at dawn, dusk and early evening, when more mosquitoes are out.
• Stay in hotels with air conditioning, intact screens as well as windows and doors that close well
• Sleep under mosquito netting (if no air-conditioning)
• Use repellents containing DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535 as the active ingredient
• Clothing impregnated with permethrin is another option (pre-treated or you can treat yourself with topical permethrin)
• Spatial repellent/insecticide products (mosquito coils, plug-in or butane powered devices), may reduce the risk of mosquitoes around you

 

Jellyfish and Sharp Corals

As most of the cool stuff to see and do involves getting in the water with a snorkel or dive gear in El Nido it is smart to be informed about how to avoid the annoyance of jellyfish and sharp corals, both of which can cause some pretty painful side-effects.

How to Prevent Stings and Cuts

• Cover skin with lycra, rash-guards or wet suits.
• Wear surf shoes (snorkeling shoes)
• Bring a bottle of vinegar with you to neutralize un-injected toxins.
• Look up for jellyfish as well as down at the pretty coral.
• Know what the dangerous ones look like (clear, well isn’t that just great).
• Know the months they are common (Oct-May/April & May especially).

What to Do If Stung

• Douse area with vinegar and nothing else!
• Remove tentacles with a gloved hand or a stick.
• Use pressure-immobilization if possible with a light bandage above and below the stings (if you can’t get two fingers under it then it’s too tight). Immobilize the area at heart level (gravity neutral). If area is too high toxins travel to the heart faster, and if area is too low then more swelling will occur.
• Don’t take alcohol, medicine, or food.