SMALL-TOWN GIRLS, MIDNIGHT TRAINS

— travel inspiration for small budgets and big dreams —

travel inspiration for small budgets and big dreams

SGMT — 
It was our first time in El Nido, and it wouldn’t be our last
 — or so our guides assured us. According to both Jack, the tricycle driver we engaged on our arrival in town, and Sam, the boatman who led our island hopping tour the next day, most of the people who come to El Nido almost inevitably come back.

First, they go home. They tell everyone they found paradise out west, at the very edge of the Philippines. And then they return, many with a new batch of first-time visitors, fresh converts, in tow. If El Nido were a secret — and it isn’t, not anymore — it seems to be a secret no one can, in good conscience, keep to themselves.

And after going on the island hopping tour myself, I could definitely understand why.

El Nido Paradise - Island hopping combo tour A and C

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The Philippines has more than 7,000 islands to its name, and island hopping tours here are a dime a dozen. The ones around El Nido, though, are special — even to those of us who’ve lived our entire lives in close proximity to swaying palms and white sand beaches.

For one, the seascape is different. Dozens of towering limestone cliffs dot the seas around El Nido. There are strips of white sand aplenty, but many of them are nestled between rocks of gray and clumps of green and glittering blue seas.

Another difference: a sense of space. The town of El Nido itself is cramped and necessarily busy, as one would expect of a place descended upon by busloads of tourists everyday. But out in the sea, there is an unfamiliar vastness. You feel like you’ve come to the edge of the known, that a Dawn Treader-type adventure was waiting just beyond the horizon, if you would only dare to go forward.

El Nido Paradise combo tour A & C

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Don’t think for a minute, though, that you won’t see another soul when you go island hopping.

In El Nido, there are 4 standard island hopping tours, each of which take the whole day. The stops for each tour include the following:

  • Tour A (standard price ₱1200 | $26): Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, Shimizu Island, Seven Commando Beach
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  • Tour B (standard price ₱1300 | $28): Snake Island, Pinagbuyutan Island, Entalula Beach, Cudugnon Cave, Snorkeling Site
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  • Tour C (standard price ₱1400 | $30): Helicopter Island, Matinloc Shrine, Secret Beach, Star Beach, Hidden Beach
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  • Tour D (standard price ₱1200 | $26): Ipil Beach, Cadlao Lagoon, Paradise Beach, Pasandigan Beach, Natnat Beach, Bukal Beach

Out of these four, Tour C is probably the most popular, followed closely by Tour A. However, even if you choose B or D, because the stops for each tour are standard, you will most likely bump into at least one or two other boats full of passengers in each stop — and that’s in the low season. During peak season, it will be nearly impossible to get a photograph without a photobomber.

The only island we managed to have to ourselves during our tour — and only for around 15 minutes at that — was Helicopter Island:

El Nido Paradise combo tour A and C

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This is what it was like at Hidden Beach — and it wasn’t even the most crowded spot in our itinerary.

El Nido Paradise combo tour A and C

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Even before we arrived in El Nido, we’d already decided we would spend just one day island hopping (so that we could spend the other days just chilling — see: El Nido, Nice and Easy: A Stress-Free 6-Day Itinerary for Non-Backpackers).

Luckily, on the advice of a friend, we were able to do a “combo tour” that allowed us to visit most of the stops of Tours A and C in just one day. We booked it through El Nido Paradise, the same agency that helped us book our van transfer from Puerto Princesa to El Nido and back, and they were fantastic.

  • El Nido Paradise also offers what they call a “counter the clock” itinerary for each of the standard tours. You will be visiting the same stops but in a different order, which will let you avoid most of the crowds doing the regular route.

There are pros and cons to doing a combo tour. The main disadvantage — the only one I can think of, really — is that you would have less time in each stop, roughly 30 minutes instead of an hour. However, since we were planning on beach bumming on our other days in El Nido anyway, we didn’t really feel the need to spend a lot of time in each stop. The advantage, of course, is that you get to see more in less time, and at a price (₱2,000 | $43) less than what two full-day tours would have cost.

Here are some other photos from our tour:

El Nido paradise combo tour A and C -- Sights like this are one of my favorite things in the world
Sights like this are one of my favorite things in the world
El Nido paradise combo tour A and C -- The view from Matinloc shrine
The view from Matinloc shrine
El Nido paradise combo tour A and C -- Seven Commando Beach has fine white sand and the most stunning views
Seven Commando Beach has fine white sand and the most stunning views. You can stay in a resort here — click the photo to be taken to the resort’s booking page.
El Nido paradise combo tour A and C -- One of the best things about island hopping tours in El Nido: the food!
One of the best things about island hopping tours in El Nido: the food!
El Nido paradise combo tour A and C -- Swimming and kayaking at the Big Lagoon
Swimming and kayaking at the Big Lagoon
El Nido paradise combo tour A and C -- Isn't it gorgeous?
Isn’t it gorgeous?

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More about El Nido in the next few articles. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a place to stay in El Nido, check out: Where to Stay in El Nido: 15 Great Options. We stayed in and loved Spin Designer Hostel.

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Island Hopping in El Nido: Combo Tour A & C© Small-Town Girls, Midnight Trains. All rights reserved.
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15 Responses

  1. oh.my.god. this looks like paradise indeed…
    I had to google “island hopping”, wow, there is an article about it in Wikipedia, while I only now hear of it for the first time… quite an adventure 😀

    1. And now you’ve got me Googling it too 😀 We have so many islands here and some of the nicest beaches tend to be in the smaller uninhabited islands, so people go on boats and spend a day out in the sea, hopping from 1 island to another, then going back to the mainland at the end of the day. I wish you and your boys could come here one day and we could go island hopping together!

      1. honestly, this post made me google plane tickets and prices 🙂 wouldn’t it be wonderful… hopefully someday… who knows 🙂 xoxo

    1. Uy, we came across some of your articles while researching El Nido baya. 🙂 My friend wanted to go up Taraw Peak and we were inspired by your article on that, but ang pinaka-peak is closed yata karon (or at least it was still closed when we were there) kay naa’y accident a couple of months ago.

      1. Oo, luoy kaayo ang guide kay murag ang guest lost his footing man yata, unya ang nabagsakan niya ang guide. 🙁

    1. Hi Laura! Thank you, I did! And I’ve just been checking out your blog. “Live like an Urban Local, Learn like an Urban Expert” — love it! All the best to you. x

  2. been browsing blog for the last 2 months regarding ElNido experience, so far this is the most legit and commendable detailed information. Options are varied! Looking forward to do all these next year!!! Thank you! keep up the good works

    1. Thanks very much for your kind words Cookie! I hope you have a great time in El Nido and wherever else your travels take you. Happy holidays!

  3. Hi! I’m just wondering what kinds of activities were you able to do in the combo tour? Seeing as you only spent about 30 mins at each stop! Looking forward to hearing from you!

    1. Hi Carina! I’m so sorry, I must have overlooked your comment — sorry for the delay in replying. The stops in this tour were mostly beaches and lagoons so we mostly did swimming and snorkeling, plus kayaking in one of the stops. If we had an hour at the stops, I think we would have done basically the same things, just a bit longer. 😀

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