El Nido Travel Guide – Visit El Nido – Budget Travel In The Philippines

Visit El Nido to experience white, sandy beaches, stunning coral reefs, breathtaking lagoons and limestone karsts. It is easy to see why this is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines.

After spending five nights in the often-overlooked but beautiful small village of Port Barton, we took a three-hour van journey to reach El Nido. I had talked with locals in Port Barton and they assured me that El Nido was a wonderful place and I would have a great time. Port Barton had been our favourite place in The Philippines by far so we were looking forward to seeing what the much more popular El Nido had to offer.

Arriving In El Nido

Our van from Port Barton dropped us off at ‘El Nido Transport Terminal’ (map). From here, it was an approximately 15 minute walk to our hotel, which was located in the main town. The walk was along the main road and gave us our first glimpse of life in El Nido. My initial reaction was that we were going to enjoy it here.

The streets were busy with vendors and tricycles all offering their services as we walked by. The road was overshadowed by the looming presence of a huge limestone cliff.

After checking in to our lodge, we headed for the beach where we enjoyed some beers and live music in a beach bar, overlooking El Nido Bay. It was a great start to our time here.

Where To Stay In El Nido

These are some of the best budget hostels in El Nido, according to user reviews. These are affiliate links to the Agoda web site. I found Agoda to be much better than booking.com in Southeast Asia. I receive a small amount for any bookings made through these links at no extra cost to you.

• Happiness Hostel
• Dormitels.ph El Nido
• ARC Pension
• Pawikan Hostel El Nido
• Elternative Hostel
• Wilnag’s Guest House

Bunakidz Lodging

We had decided to split our time in El Nido between two hostels as we didn’t want to run the risk of committing to one place for 7 days, only to find it was poor.

The first place we booked was a place called ‘Bunakidz Lodging’ (map). Located right on the main street and only minutes away from the main El Nido beach, it offered basic but decent rooms within our budget.

The bathrooms were private but external to the room. There was no hot water. The host offered to clean the rooms after two days but we never asked.

There is a free breakfast included but it wasn’t great and we only bothered with it one morning. There is a nice communal area but you are not allowed to drink any alcohol.

The WiFi was surprisingly good but charging devices was difficult as each room had one power socket that were so loose, the chargers just fell out of the wall.

Neighbours From Hell

There was an issue on our second night. The rooms are not well soundproofed so it can be a bit noisy if you have inconsiderate neighbours and, unfortunately, we encountered the most inconsiderate neighbours imaginable.

At around 2 am, we were woken by the sound of shouting, laughing and banging on walls. This continued for around an hour, despite being told by the owners they had to be quiet as people were sleeping.

Confronting The Neighbours

The next morning, I told the owners that we were not happy with the noise. They said they had told them to be quiet but they simply didn’t listen. I asked for their room number and went to their door and banged as loud as I could, repeatedly. A shocked, confused Spanish guy answered.

“Did I wake you? Good!”

After giving him a big piece of my mind, I’m glad to say there were no more problems with our Spanish ‘friends’.

The lodge was adequate for a short stay. Though I do feel the owners should have kicked out the Spanish guys and not left it to me to sort out.

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We paid £45 for three nights in a twin room with private (external) bathroom.

Click here to book a stay at Bunakidz Lodgings.

Cliffside Cottages

The second place we booked was a place called ‘Cliffside Cottages’ (map) which is located just down the road from ‘Bunakidz’. We arrived early so could not check in. They told us to come back an hour before our check in time as the room would be ready. It was not ready, meaning we had to sit and wait whilst most of the staff sat around watching a movie.

Our first impressions of the accommodation were good. The bungalows are made up of bamboo huts, similar to the ones we had stayed in during our travels around the Thai islands. There was a nice central communal area and each hut had a large terrace area.

The bathroom was not great, however. There was no hot water and the water pressure was very low. We also could not access WiFi in our room. It connected whilst we were sat outside but there were so many mosquitoes, sitting outside was out of the question.

Bed Bugs?

Without doubt, the worst thing about this place was that we both experienced dozens of bites what we thought were most likely bed bugs. We couldn’t find any but we were waking up with more bites each day. It didn’t help that El Nido experienced torrential rain whilst we stayed here and the whole bungalow just felt damp. We were so relieved to get out of this accommodation, which was among the worst we’ve stayed in on our entire trip. Do not stay here.

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We paid £45 for three nights in a double room with ensuite bathroom.

Chelle’s Apartelle Inn

As a lot of our time in El Nido was spent during torrential rainstorms, we stayed an extra two nights hoping for better weather. We got it too and this coincided with the best accommodation out of the three places we had stayed.

‘Chelle’s Apartelle Inn’ (map) is located a little further away from the main town than the previous two places, but it was more than worth the extra ten minute walk. We had a room with two double beds, a modern bathroom with HOT SHOWERS, two balconies, good WiFi (though not working all the time) and they even brought breakfast to our room in the morning. Even on our last day, when we had to leave early, they brought breakfast before we left.

Next door to the inn lives a family who will do your laundry. They did a great job; much better than the other laundry services we had used in El Nido.

If you are travelling to a similar budget to us, this is your best bet in El Nido. It is only a 10 minute walk to the main town and tricycles are very cheap.

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We paid £23 for 2 nights in a double room with en-suite bathroom.

Where To Eat In El Nido

There are certainly no shortage of places for food and drink in El Nido and prices are generally reasonable. Local dishes and international tastes are catered for and vegetarians and vegans will find it relatively easier than other towns in The Philippines.

Art Cafe

This restaurant seems a popular place with tourists as it has many western dishes. They are very active in local environmental issues and they are keen to spread the message with customers which is great. Nice live music too. The only problem for me was that the food was just not that good. Mine was just average and Joanna hated her vegetable curry. Great ethos but they need to up their game with the food. Map.

Cavern Hotel

Located on the main road out of town is this hotel and restaurant. It appears to now be completely vegan. It is a relaxing place and one where you could very easily spend all day sipping cool drinks and reading or blogging. The food was excellent; delicious burger and crunchy chips! Map.

Deli (next door to Kopi Bake)

This is a lovely little shop selling wine, cheese, meats, olives and other deli products at good prices. We came here for a toastie and bought some coffee beans, olives and salami which were all delicious in a bread roll from the bakery opposite. Map.

Falafel Restaurant

Open 24 hours, but don’t let that fool you into thinking the quality might suffer. I ate here three times. The beef kofta and chicken tandoori wrap was one of the best things I’d eaten in The Philippines. Perfect for a post-beer meal. Highly recommended. Map.

Giovanz Beef Stew Hauz and Restaurant

Now in its new location next door to ‘Subasko’ who they also provide food for. I had their noodles with pork whilst in ‘Subasko’ and then sizzling pork in their own restaurant. It was an odd dish; very flavoursome but with a raw egg cracked in to it which made for a gooey texture I wasn’t expecting. Map.

Glow Juice Box

Quirky, small cafe selling fresh juices and vegetarian and vegan food. The food was great and the staff were friendly and keen for us to enjoy our meal. Everything is made to order and using locally sourced ingredients. Map.

I.B.R Restaurant

I.B.R is a 24-hour restaurant serving cheap food. I came here because I’d already visited the nearby falafel place twice already. The dried beef was good, but greasy. I then ordered the spaghetti bolognaise because it was so cheap. There was good reason as to why it was so cheap. Map.

Midtown Bakery

Incredibly popular bakery that opens every day from around 5.30 am. They bake all their breads and cakes on the premises, meaning it always smells amazing on the street. Try to get their coconut buns when they come out of the oven some time in the afternoon! Map.

Odessa Mama Cafe And Boodmo Brewery

I wasn’t expecting to find craft beer in El Nido and I certainly wasn’t expecting to find a Ukranian restaurant. This place offers both. The dumplings were not the greatest I’ve had but were good for a mid-afternoon snack. The beer was very nice. If it’s raining, it’s hard to access as the road outside floods. Map.

Scape Skydeck

We came here on our last night in El Nido to watch the sunset whilst sipping delicious half-price cocktails. There’s even an infinity pool that you can use. We ended up eating here and the food was excellent. Map.

Silog Republic

Pretty dire food from this 24 hour fast food restaurant. Every now and again on travels, you crave some home comforts or even junk food. That was the case here. I ordered chicken and fries and it was very bland. Skip. Map.

Subasko Music Bar & Restaurant

This is a great bar with friendly staff and some of the best live music in El Nido. I ended up here at least three nights. The music ranged from Beatles covers, Bob Marley, Nina Simone through to local favourites. The food (prepared by the restaurant next door) is also very good and at a mid-budget price. Map.

Best Bars In El Nido

Botanica Cafe

We came here for coffee and to use WiFi to book the next part of our travels. We asked if they had WiFi and they confirmed they had. We then sat with our very expensive coffee only to find the WiFi didn’t work. The WiFi in El Nido is not the best but I thought they could have checked it was working before we bought drinks as it was the WiFi that we needed more than coffee. Map.

Coco Bar

Located right on the beach is this cool bar that offers happy hours and live music. Beers are cheap but be aware there is a service charge that you don’t know about until it’s time to pay (50 peso). I visited here twice and it was the same band playing rock covers. They are pretty good, even if their choice of material wasn’t always to my taste. At least it made a change from reggae! Map.

Gusto Gelato

I must admit, I was surprised when Joanna suggested we go for coffee at an ice-cream parlour and I wasn’t expecting it to be good. Thankfully, I was wrong. We sat upstairs in the cocktail bar area and had a great coffee whilst overlooking the streets of El Nido come to life. Map.

Havana Beach Bar

Located right at the western end of El Nido beach is this chilled out beach bar. Well-priced drinks, food and occasionally live music is relaxed surroundings. Well worth that extra walk. Map.

Jarace Grill

Specialising in seafood and located right on the beach, I came here twice just to enjoy a beer whilst watching the sunset. The staff are friendly and a little over-attentive (I had four different people wiping down my table) and the beer is well-priced for a beach bar. Map.

Pukka Bar

No tourist spot would be complete without a reggae bar and this is El Nido’s. You can access the bar from Calle Hama street or directly from the beach. Drinks are well-priced and the music is decent and, surprisingly, not always reggae. Map.

Rooftop Bar

Accessible only by entering through a shop on its first floor, this is a cool, laid-back bar with floor cushions, comfy sofas and the obligatory reggae music playing. Drinks are cheap and it is a great place to relax with beers and cocktails. Map.

Things To Do In El Nido

Most of the popular activities to do around El Nido are covered by the tours offered by the many tour operators. It doesn’t really matter who you book with; they all offer the same and at the same price. One thing to remember is that there may be additional charges on top of the cost of the tour (such as admission to each of the islands). Make sure you know exactly what is covered in your package. All tours include visits to beaches and islands with the opportunity to snorkel.

We used Klook to book our tours in El Nido and we got a better price than any of the tour operators in the town.

Klook.com

Which El Nido Tour Is The Best?

The most popular tours seem to be ‘tour a’ and ‘tour c’ but this is subjective so I would advise discussing the itineraries with your booking agent. Do a bit of research and don’t necessarily take the advice of your booking agent as they may be just pushing a particular tour to fill up places.

El Nido Tour C

Of all the tour packages, Tour C and Tour A are the most popular. We had booked to do Tour A first but were moved onto Tour C at the last moment.

Our first stop was Helicopter Island (named because of its shape).

We then moved on to ‘Secret Beach’ which, judging from the number of tourists, isn’t that secret. It is, however, very beautiful. I couldn’t risk taking my camera with me, despite having bought a cheap waterproof cover, so I could only take photos of the entrance and not the actual secret beach itself.

Whilst swimming back to the boat, I heard a voice behind me. To my surprise, there was a guy in a kayak trying to sell me a beer. 🙂

We then had lunch which they had been preparing on the boat all morning: chicken, pork, rice, vegetables, fruit and a huge tuna fish. It was delicious.

We then headed to ‘Matinloc Shrine’. Randomly situated between the cliffs and the beach, this deserted shrine was the most bizarre part of the trip. This incurs an extra cost for preservation of the site. There is a viewpoint at the top of some very scary steps. The views are amazing.

Our next stop was more snorkeling. We had seen some amazing fish but the highlight was the coral. This was the best coral we had seen anywhere. As I am not a good swimmer, I never expected to be confident enough to snorkel in deep waters. Being able to swim among the sea life and see the incredible coral reefs has been one of the highlights of the trip.

El Nido Tour A

This was our second island-hopping trip and our clothes were still soaked from the first one. It had been raining non-stop for three days and we were not looking forward to spending a day out at sea in torrential rain.

We got off to a good start as it was dry when we set off to our first destination, Seven Commandos Beach, for some snorkeling.

After another snorkeling stop, we reached a small but beautiful island where we stopped for lunch. Unbelievably, we had not had any rain!

We then continued island hopping and snorkeling, seeing some mind-blowing underwater sights. The landscapes were equally as beautiful.

As part of Tour A, you will get the choice to visit the ‘Big Lagoon’ or the ‘Small Lagoon’. You are no longer able to visit both on the same trip. Both incur an extra cost, as does the hiring of a kayak. We chose to visit the ‘Big Lagoon’. The surroundings were visually stunning and it had been a while since we had been in a Kayak so that was great fun too.

As we returned to our boat and stepped out of the kayak, the rain finally came. And it came hard! Thankfully, the last trip was the one back to El Nido. We had managed to spend the whole day in sunshine so we were very lucky. It was an excellent trip and one that will stay in our memories for a very long time.

Is El Nido Worth Visiting?

I loved our time in El Nido. As we stayed for 9 days, we were able to take it easy and not have to rush to do everything we had planned. The weather was miserable for at least 3 days and it rained on most other days, albeit for short periods. This caused flooding on the roads.

The tours are an absolute must if you visit El Nido. The islands are simply stunning. I am not looking forward to the day where seeing these incredible parts of the world is no longer a daily occurrence.