It’s been two weeks since my last trip, and while I enjoyed staying at home, I found myself itching to go somewhere — anywhere — again. Botched weekend plans made me wistful for the beach. I’ve been lucky to be able to have gone to some of the best beaches the Philippines have to offer. In no particular order, here are my top four:
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I’ve seen the pictures, I read what people have said, but I wasn’t prepared for what I saw and experienced that Sunday. After close to twelve hours of travel (from the time I left the house, including the waiting time at the airport, food breaks, etc), I jump down from the fishing boat into the beach, my fall cushioned by the finest sand I’ve ever come across. So this is Calaguas Island.
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I’ve been coming across blogs about Calaguas Island, but truth be told, as much as I am interested to go there, I couldn’t be bothered to plan going there because it seemed so hard. I prefer going to destinations where you just hop on a plane, ride a trike, taxi or van and you’re at the town already. As the saying go, nothing worth having comes easy. All that effort to go to the Calaguas is certainly worth it.
What finally got me to go there was when one of the bloggers I follow announced that Calaguas is one of her destinations this year. One comment and a seat sale later, I am booked for a flight to Naga. Naga is the closest airport served by most domestic airlines. The closest is Daet, which is served by Seair, though only seasonal. From Naga, you have to ride a van to Daet, then transfer to another van to Paracale. In Paracale, you have to find a willing boatman (and an available boat) to take you out to Calaguas, and buy supplies for your stay there, since there are no stores, no electricity and no water.
Save for the boat rental, the airfare and the van rides, this is a fairly inexpensive trip. It can be made cheaper if you take the bus instead of the plane, and just stay overnight. I think the bus schedule works well for a quick weekend getaway to a gorgeous deserted beach.
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This is just a short list of the islands, beaches and attractions of El Nido. There are plenty more that you can explore.
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Southeast Asian Airlines (Seair) is only one of two commercial airlines that fly to El Nido. The unpaved runway of El Nido Airport limits the types of aircraft that can land there. Currently only Seair’s 19-seater Let-410, Island Transvoyager Inc’s (ITI) 19-seater Dornier 228 and the service helicopter of the Malampaya crew land and take off from their airport.
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Two weeks ago, if someone told me that traveling to El Nido can be done on a budget, I wouldn’t believe it. Now that I’ve been there, I can say that it *is* possible. Not counting the travel expenses to and from El Nido, staying in El Nido town can be quite cheap, given the range of budget accommodations available, as well as affordable canteens and restaurants scattered throughout the small town. It’s not surprising that a lot of backpackers from all over the world flock every year to this gorgeous place, as well as a growing number of Filipino budget travelers.
During our off time (one day spent resting in between island hopping adventures), I decided to walk around town and check out some of the affordable places to stay in El Nido. This is a short list compared to several available online, but these are places that I have looked at and doesn’t look too dodgy. I wasn’t able to check the rooms on offer on most of them, but I have chatted with the owners or caretakers about their rooms and facilities. I they were kind enough to answer the questions of this pesky traveler who wasn’t even planning on staying at their place, they’re automatically included in the list.
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I’m trying to think back why we chose to stay in Marina Garden Beach Resort, but all I can think about is how glad I was that we agreed to stay here. The resort has the best stretch of beach for lounging and swimming. Though most of the resorts in town have beach fronts or have access to the beach, Marina’s beachfront is the widest and cleanest, and hardly any boat dock on its shore, which makes it the best for swimming. That’s why guests of other resorts flock to Marina’s beachfront.
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I’m back in Manila and I’m sorely missing the beach in El Nido. I’ve prepared a series of blog posts about this trip, and I hope you guys find it useful for planning your own El Nido vacation. First up is of course, the travel budget.
The perception of many is that El Nido is a very expensive place to travel to. It actually is, considering that direct flights to El Nido from Manila can cost as much as Php 13,000 per person. The cheaper alternative is to go via Puerto Princessa, but you’d have to deal with rough roads and cramped spaces inside vans or buses (or if you’re hardcore, saddled on an off-road motorcycle). The best place to stay for budget travelers is El Nido Town. There are several resorts and lodges that offer cheap accommodation to fit every budget. The same go for restaurants and shops.
El Nido’s main attraction, of course, are the spectacular limestone formations and sparkling white sand beaches of the islands in the Bacuit Archipelago. To visit these islands, you can either hire your own boat or go with a group tour. The group tour aren’t so bad, and they’re usually limited to about 8 to 10 passengers. If you’re a fairly large group (5 and up), you can try sweet talking the tour operator to let your group have the entire boat to yourselves. Tour of the islands usually start at Php 500 per person and already includes lunch.
This is certainly not my cheapest domestic trip, but considering that it’s a 5 day, 4 nights trip in one of the most amazing places in the Philippines, it’s worth every peso.
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Nina, going through quarterlife crisis, decided to stop talking about traveling and actually start traveling. Starting with a solo weekend trip to Cebu to a backpacking trip in Thailand and Singapore, she finally made it out of Asia and into Australia. After spending close to six months down under, she's happily settled in Manila (for now), intent to explore the best things the Philippines has to offer.
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