Travel: El Nido Highlights
Palawan is probably my favorite Philippine destination. Rightfully so, its been voted as the best island two years in a row. What's dubbed as the last frontier, this paradise is home to idyllic beaches sans the crowds. Its pretty much still under the radar as compared to other Asian beaches like Phuket and Bali but I think this is a good thing.
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| Ready to explore El Nido |
Here are my top highlights from my El Nido Trip:
1. Nacpan Beach / Twin Beach
Due to Typhoon Haima (locally known as Lawin) that is still affecting the country during our visit, our day 1 island hopping tour was cancelled (the cost guard won't allow boats to travel). Although sad, we know it was for our best interest and safety as well.
Since we can't explore the island beaches, we went to the inland beach of Nacpan or what they call as twin beach.
You can hire a tricycle or rent a motorcycle to go to the beach. There are places to eat and lounge (beach chairs) and there's a lifeguard as well (they're located where the eateries are, so better swim where they are hahaha).
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| Cloudy skies |
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| View of the Twin beach high above the hill |
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| Strong waves at Nacpan beach |
Going to the beach, you have to hike down (cardio exercise) a flight of stairs, but before heading down, take a picture, you have a good vantage point at the top. Unlike Nacpan, Las Cabanas has more of beach club vibe going and is definitely upscale as compared to Nacpan.
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| Beach bars |
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| Lunch with a view |
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| Drink with a view |
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| Now this is a vacation |
By the way, you can also zip line here. I haven't tried it, maybe next time. :)
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| Our furry friend enjoying the beach |
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| Long stretch of sand |
All tours resumed the next day so the beach was swarmed with tourist eagerly waiting to board their designated boats.
The beach as the name suggests is hidden at the back of large limestone rocks/min islands. It took us about an hour I think to get there but it was all worth it. Swimming there was quite a challenge because of the waves but once you get there, just gorgeous. Clear water, white sand and just unspoiled beauty make the place special.
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| I have the beach to myself |
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| Taking pictures |
Star beach is a small stretch of sand surrounded by limestone rock. It is where we had our lunch and conveniently, there's a boy selling cold drinks and coconut which was perfect for a beach day. So while our guides were preparing our lunch, what better time than to take pictures.
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| Our boat docked at Star beach |
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| Enjoying some coconut by the beach |
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| Under the shade |
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| Lunch is served |
5. Matinloc Shrine
Its a small shrine but the highlight is the view from above. Although I have a fear of heights, I mustered the strength to climb up to be able to appreciate the view. However I got a little scared since its a makeshift viewdeck and you'll need to be extra careful not to slip and plummet to the water below.
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| View from above |
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| Boats docked at Mtinloc shrine |
Yes, you guessed it, its called Helicopter Island because from afar it looks like an Apache helicopter, but for me, I see it as a whale actually.
The beach at helicopter island was nice. There were already a couple of boats there however it didn't feel crowded because the beach was long and had a wide shoreline. For some reason, there were goats there, and it was funny and scary at the same time.
Conveniently, someone was selling ice cream, what a better way to spend the rest of the day.
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| Less crowds, more space for me |
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| Enjoying some ice cream by the beach |
7. Camping by the beach
When you're surrounded by gorgeous beaches, why not enjoy it during the night too and sleep at the beach. Only hassle is that because the sand was fine, its everywhere, literally!
But if you want to be one with nature, I guess this is a start. Although you may not have any modern conveniences here, you still have network coverage (yes the beach was close to town that I still have coverage).
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| Accommodations for tonight |
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| Nice morning for a dip |
Stunning beaches with a laid back beach vibe is
what El Nido offers. There you can enjoy the beach without the crowd
(notice that in my pictures I am the only one there, not 20 other people
in the background).
Word is they are building a bigger airport
for commercial flights so this paradise will be more accessible which
maybe a good or bad thing (you can now fly directly to El Nido via Air Swift).. I’ll definitely be back though, and you
should visit too!
Tours provided by El Nido Adventure
Read the full version of my trip here - christianjohntravel.blogspot.com
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