Is El Nido Worth Visiting? Here’s What You Need to Know
Planning a trip to the Philippines and wondering – is El Nido worth visiting? Should you include a few days in El Nido in your itinerary? Let me answer that for you.
El Nido is located in the province of Palawan. Considered one of the top beach destinations in the Philippines, it’s no wonder many people plan a trip to the country just to experience the beaches of El Nido.
But, with the many beautiful beaches in the Philippines, is El Nido worth visiting?
I first went to Palawan to explore the City of Puerto Princesa. After experiencing snorkeling in Honda Bay, falling in love with the underwater creatures as we learned how to scuba dive in Dos Palmas Resort, and seeing the UNESCO World Heritage Site – the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park – I knew that, one day, I’d have to plan a visit to El Nido, another famous Palawan destination.
After all, friends who’ve been there first said that El Nido is much more beautiful than Puerto Princesa. I knew I just had to see it for myself.
But, for someone who has been to many stunning islands and beaches in the Philippines – including Boracay, Bohol, Cebu, Camiguin, Caramoan, Pagudpud, and Capones in Zambales, just to name a few – like you, I wondered if El Nido actually worth the hype?
So, let me try to answer that for you.
By the end of this blog post, you’ll have the answer to the question, “Is El Nido worth visiting?” In addition, you’ll get a travel guide plus a sample itinerary to help make your trip to El Nido memorable!
⏳ Planning a trip to El Nido?
Here are my recommended travel planning resources to help make your trip to El Nido a memorable one!
✈️ Getting to El Nido
– Manila to El Nido: Direct Flight OR Fly to Puerto Princesa + Private or Shared Van to El Nido
– Coron to El Nido: By Ferry OR By Plane
🛏️ Hotels + Accommodation: I recommend booking with Agoda, Booking.com
– Budget: Spin Designer Hostel
– Mid-range: El Nido Garden Resort
– Luxury: Vellago Resort
🏞️ Tours + Experiences: I recommend booking with GetYourGuide, Klook, Viator
👣 Recommended Experiences
– Tour A: Lagoons & Beaches
– Tour C: Hidden Beaches & Shrine
– El Nido Jeepney Adventure Tour
*These are all travel resources I use to plan and book my trips. If you use them, some will earn me a commission at no extra cost to you. This helps reduce the ever-increasing costs of keeping my site up. Thanks!
Is El Nido worth visiting? 🤔
El Nido is one of the most beautiful places in the Philippines. Located in the province of Palawan, it is famous for its white sand beaches, limestone cliffs, and turquoise waters.
After enjoying the beaches of Puerto Princesa, I knew that El Nido would be the next to tick off my bucket list. And I’m grateful that I did!
To this day, El Nido remains one of the most beautiful Philippine destinations I have ever explored.
With its postcard-worthy scenery, endless opportunities to swim in its pristine beaches, stunning islands, gorgeous sunsets (without the hectic crowd similar to Boracay), and a very warm and welcoming local community, I’d say that El Nido is worth visiting!
🛌 Where to stay in El Nido, Palawan?
I get that accommodations can make or break your trip. Here are some top-rated accommodations in El Nido for each budget type – hopefully, staying in any of them will make you answer YES to the question, “Is El Nido worth visiting?”:
👉🏼 Luxury Option: Vellago Resort is in Las Cabanas, El Nido. Staying at Vellago Resort will let you experience breathtaking sunsets in El Nido. If you’re looking for a luxurious stay on this beautiful island, book your stay with Vellago Resort.
👉🏼 Mid-range Option: Guests love staying at El Nido Garden Resort because of its stunning views, spacious and clean rooms, swimming pool, and proximity to the El Nido port (for island hopping) as well as to restaurants and bars.
👉🏼 Budget Option: Spin Designer Hostel is a hip hostel highly rated by travelers because of its top-notch service and location. It offers bunk beds in mixed male and female dormitory rooms (shared bathrooms). If you’re looking for more privacy, they also offer a private single room with a private bathroom.
📝 Ultimate guide + travel tips for how to plan a perfect trip to El Nido, Palawan
Now that I’ve shared my thoughts about the question, “Is El Nido worth visiting?” I now want to share some tips for visiting El Nido to make your trip to the Philippines one for the books!
How to get to El Nido, Palawan
There are several ways of getting to El Nido. Since you might also be visiting Coron and Puerto Princesa (both in Palawan) during your visit, I will cover them in this guide, too.
Getting to El Nido from Manila
There are a couple of ways to get to El Nido from Manila:
The fastest way of traveling from Manila to El Nido is by plane. Consider taking this route if you have limited time and extra bucks. It just takes 1.5 hours, and you’ll arrive in El Nido.
But, if you are like us and would rather allot your resources for tours and food, I recommend taking the Manila to El Nido via the Puerto Princesa route.
Manila to El Nido via Puerto Princesa
If you have time to spare but also don’t want to spend a day and a half traveling by ferry (which is another way of getting to El Nido from Manila), you might want to consider flying from Manila to Puerto Princesa first and then traveling to El Nido by land (shared van or bus).
💡 PRO TIP: Cheap flights are offered by local airlines, like AirAsia, Cebu Pacific, and PAL. I recommend visiting their websites to see which one has the cheapest offer (if budget is a consideration).
I have flown from all of these carriers, and while the seats are a bit cramped, I prefer flying with AirAsia and Cebu Pacific because of their affordability. In fact, after scouring for the cheapest flights during the time we booked, we decided to fly with AirAsia.
Getting to El Nido from Puerto Princesa
You can take a bus or ride a van to El Nido from Puerto Princesa.
Taking the bus would come out a bit cheaper. But we also took into consideration these things:
- The length of time we had to be on the road (5-7 hours in a crowded bus is not a pleasant experience)
- The season (we visited Palawan during its not-so-peak season, and so we assumed that there wouldn’t be a lot of tourists)
- The legroom
- And the time we would arrive at El Nido Town (we wanted to get to El Nido as soon as possible to maximize what we spent on the accommodations).
While we were concerned with the comfort (we just requested that we be seated on the first row behind the driver for a bit more legroom) and because we wanted to maximize our time in El Nido as well as we thought there would not be too many tourists booking the van. So it wouldn’t be too crowded, we chose to take the van and booked with our hotel (for a little more convenience).
The bonus for us here is that we were picked up from the airport and didn’t have to go through the hassle (however little that may be) of getting to the bus terminal and waiting for the next bus to leave.
💡 PRO TIP: If you have extra time and would enjoy the long bus ride, I would definitely suggest that you take the bus option. It’s cheaper by a couple of hundred, and I think there would be more legroom and comfort than when you are in a van and would have to sit on the 2nd or 3rd row from the driver.
But if you’re with a group or willing to splurge a little, I recommend getting a private ride from Puerto Princesa to El Nido. It’s much more comfortable and may be able to get you to El Nido in a shorter time.
Getting to El Nido from Coron
You can travel from Coron to El Nido via ferry or by taking a flight.
Coron to El Nido by Ferry
Riding a ferry from Coron is the cheapest way to get to El Nido. It will take you approximately 3.5 hours.
💡 PRO TIP: You can purchase your ticket at the port or buy your ferry tickets from Coron to El Nido ahead of time to ensure you’ll have a seat.
Coron to El Nido by Plane
If you’re uncomfortable taking the ferry, you can also get to El Nido from Coron by flight. It’s the fastest way to travel between Palawan’s top destinations.
Best things to do in El Nido
Island hopping tours are a must when you visit El Nido. Because of the beaches we visited during our private tours, I can answer YES to the question, is El Nido worth visiting?
I’ve been to many beaches in the Philippines and overseas, but I don’t think I’ve ever been to a place that can top the beauty of the beaches in El Nido. You can easily access these gorgeous beaches and lagoons on an island hopping tour.
Yes, maybe I need to travel more. But still I think that says a lot about whether or not it’s worth visiting El Nido.
Anyway, here are the most popular El Nido tours (available as a shared tour and as a private group tour):
✔️ Tour A will take you to the Big Lagoon or Small Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, Shimizu Island, and Seven Commando Beach.
✔️ Tour B will take you to Snake Island, Pinagbuyutan Island, and Entalula Beach. It also offers cave exploration of Cudugnon Cave and Cathedral Cave.
✔️ Tour C will take you to Helicopter Island, Matinloc Shrine, Secret Beach, Talisay Beach, and Hidden Beach.
✔️ Tour D will take you to Ipil Beach, Cadlao Lagoon, Paradise Beach, Pasandigan Beach, Natnat Beach, and Bukal Beach.
💡 PRO TIP: I highly recommend booking a private island hopping tour if you have the budget. If money is not an issue and you’re okay to experience the beauty of El Nido on your own or with your group of friends, I’d say that the benefits outweigh the cost. We booked a private tour and visited the places on Tours A and C, and I think I say yes to the question, “Is El Nido worth visiting?” because of my island hopping experience!
Getting around El Nido
There are several transportation options available in El Nido. So, whether you’re a solo traveler or exploring El Nido with your partner or a group, I’m pretty certain you’ll find a suitable transportation option.
Motorcycle or habal-habal
I’m scared of riding a motorcycle in Manila, but I love being on one when I visit Philippine provinces. Driven by friendly locals, solo travelers usually prefer riding the habal-habal for one-off trips or exploring El Nido.
💡 PRO TIP: Are you an experienced and licensed motorcycle driver? You can also rent one in El Nido! You can just ask your accommodation hosts to help you.
Tricycle
Tricycles are one of the most popular transportation options in the Philippines, and there are many of them in El Nido! When we went to El Nido, we rode the tricycle to Nacpan Beach and enjoyed its fine sand between our toes – ALL DAY!
Private vans
But if you’re traveling with a group or prefer a more comfortable option, you can hire a private van in El Nido. You can ask your accommodation host or book through this link.
Best time to visit El Nido
Whether or not you’ll have sun during your visit to El Nido will probably make or break your trip to this beautiful destination.
While the Philippines is a tropical country, and we have rains (albeit sporadically) even during summer, I’d say the best time to visit El Nido will be between January and March.
The weather isn’t as hot during summer, but the rainy season is likely over by this time. So, the chance of getting sunny and clear skies is higher between January and March vs. the year’s second half.
We visited El Nido in July, and it rained. It was good that we had a few days in El Nido, and we got to enjoy the islands for an entire day. We didn’t feel like we wasted money!
🗺️ Sample Itinerary for El Nido
I get that it can be overwhelming to plan a trip to El Nido. So, let me share a sample itinerary you can follow when you go on a vacation to this beautiful Philippine destination.
- Day 1: Travel to El Nido
- Day 2: Island hopping tour (lagoons & beaches)
- Day 3: Island hopping tour (hidden beaches & shrine)
- Day 4: El Nido Jeepney Adventure Tour
- Day 5: Leave El Nido
FAQs: Is El Nido worth visiting?
Here are some frequently asked questions for the topic: Is El Nido worth visiting?
Is it worth it to go to El Nido?
El Nido is a beach lover’s paradise with its white sand beaches, paradisiacal islands, turquoise waters, and gorgeous limestone formations. So, yes, it is definitely worth going to El Nido!
How many days in El Nido is enough?
I’d say it depends on what you want to do. If you plan to experience Tours A, B, C, D, and E, you’d need 7 days in El Nido. But, if you have limited time, I’d say that spending 4 days in El Nido is enough, which will already allow you to experience a couple of island hopping tours, plus a trip to Nacpan Beach.
Which is better to visit: Puerto Princesa or El Nido?
I think it depends on what you want to do. I loved my stay in El Nido more than that in Puerto Princesa – because of El Nido’s pristine and uncrowded beaches. But I also enjoyed my stay in Puerto Princesa, especially my experience exploring the Underground River, snorkeling at Honda Bay, and scuba diving at Dos Palmas.
What is special about El Nido?
El Nido is one of the most beautiful destinations in the Philippines. You can also visit its paradisiacal islands and beaches through the standardized private or group tours A, B, C, D, and E.
Is El Nido very touristy?
No, it’s not very touristy. But many tourists – local and foreign alike – visit El Nido all year round. So, you’ll have a lot of opportunities to interact with fellow travelers, but, in my opinion, you won’t feel like there are too many people.
The Wrap-Up: Is El Nido worth visiting?
Yes, indeed! With its paradise-like beaches, turquoise waters, and breathtaking landscapes, I’d say that a trip to El Nido is definitely worth it!
I’ve been to many beautiful beach destinations in the Philippines. But I’d say that, by far, the beaches of El Nido were my favorite.
So, if you’re asking me, “Is El Nido worth visiting?” My answer is – yes, definitely! And I invite you to plan your visit to this beautiful paradise.
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