Tour A, El Nido, Palawan, Philippines

Early morning of June 7th Irene and I hoped on a plane from Cebu City to Puerto Princesa, Palawan, PH. We arrived by 10/11am not entirely sure what our plan was. Before boarding the plane we had met and chatted with 2 other travelers about what they had plan. Originally El Nido was ruled out due to the 10 hr roundtrip drive and us having a flight on the 9th at 11am. But after talking to some others and doing research our best bet for a good time was El Nido. 

We hopped in a van but ended up switching to one with the new friends we had made before the flight. It was a smooth sailing with one lunch stop at a spot that had insanely ridiculous prices for food so I settled on a cup of noodles that was still overpriced. Upon arrival we weren't sure where we were staying due to losing service on the drive and then no service upon arrival. We hopped in trike to the central area where we could find wifi which ended up being a place called the Tea Spot. Here we also bought our tickets for Tour A for 1,400 Pesos this including a meal or drink at time of purchase(we took the meal). During this time I had found us a room at Athemoment Hostel costing $13.12 USD for a private room, bathroom, and AC for a single night. After checking in we then found out we could have gotten a better deal through them on the tour but there was no changing now.

We caught the free breakfast with our hostel before heading to our tour. Luckily we got a dry bag and phone covers along the way which protected our stuff from the torrential downpour. We were kayaked to the main boat and once everyone was onboard we set sail. The storm led to the coastguard denying us access to 2 of the sites due to them being in open water and it far too dangerous.

1st stop Small Lagoon, here you need to rent a kayak(500 pesos) to enjoy the site otherwise you sit on the boat for an hour waiting to go to the next site staring at surrounding boats and people kayaking to some unknown adventure. When we got here the raid had lifted to a small trickle. Irene and I kayaked into the lagoon, this being her first time kayaking and she did an amazing job. The island had towering rock walls with numerous types of vegetation growing up the walls. We even found a small little cave to go into! Despite all the people it was breath taking. There was a nice spot that no one was going through that we took turns to swim around and enjoy the water. 

We went back through the small hole to get to the lagoon and took the kayak to this beach for some photos and chill time before going back to the boat.

2nd stop Big Lagoon you had the option to swim, snorkel or just chill while they prepared lunch. I took the option to snorkel around. The water wasn't completely clean but there was lots of coral and various fish, some I have never seen before! Lunch was ready at the perfect time! They served, chicken, pork, tuna, crab, clams, veggies, fruit and rice. It was all so good, the only thing I opted out on was the pork since I refuse to eat it. After our bellies were full the boat crew cleaned up and we set sail to our final destination

3rd spot Shimizu Island you could swim, snorkel, kayak or just chill. Looking around it didn't seem to be much to see snorkeling so I splashed around in the water with Irene and we played around taking photos. It was absolutely stunning here. The whole trip was and I am so grateful that the rain had to stopped to make it more enjoyable. The adventure had to come to end like it always does.

We set sail back to El Nido saying goodbye to the gorgeous islands and the new friends we had made. Before being able to leave we both experienced some hiccups that we overcame in no time, hit some shops, then was back on an evening van to Puerto Princesa to catch some zzz's.

Recommendations:

• Fly into Coron if you just plan on going to El Nido
• Stay no less then 3 nights
• Keep in mind it is much pricier than other parts of the Philippines
• Go between February and May to avoid storms

This was my final event in the Philippine's before going with Irene to Manila for my flight to Bali. I am glad I got to experience it and if I do go back I will go before May along with give myself more time. Palawan would be a great honeymoon romantic trip for any love birds out there.

I am forever grateful for having the oppurtunity to experience moments like these.

Please share my blog, give me a follow for future adventures and tips, and leave comments bellow! I love to hear from you all. You can get more adventures and photos on my Instagram findingmewhereverimaybe as well. My next post should be a summary of the Philippines followed by a very short bit on Bali.

Stay safe always,

Finding Me Wherever I May Be

xoxo