Suroy- suroy: Island Hopping in El Nido, Palawan

      I only have 3 days left in the island of Palawan until I go back to Cebu and of course, I don't want to go home without having experienced the place myself. I really want to see for myself what Palawan has to offer to the world. I mean, it's not called "Best Beach and Island of Destination of the Philippines" for nothing. 

   My friends, actually my teammates, decided to leave as early as 2AM of November 14, 2016 because we wanted to maximise our time in El Nido and as much as possible, we want to be able to see all the islands in our tour since we're going island hopping. We did Tour's A and C with 5 islands each, so we're seeing 10 islands all in one day!

    We arrived in the town proper of El Nido at 7:00 in the morning. I think we all slept in the van that we rented to bring us from and back to Puerto Princesa. We had breakfast in a nearby convenience store and also negotiated with our tour guides there.

     After waiting for almost an hour, our tour guides finally came with our requested snorkelling gears. They also loaded the boat with water, and our lunch! I think this is where tours usually start because pump boats have gathered around the crescent-like shore. I was just scenic!

     When our pump boat started moving, our tour guides introduced themselves and reminded us of the Do's and Don'ts. I can really tell that they are taking really good care of El Nido and its islands. After several minutes, we made it to our first stop;

Helicopter Island

     When viewed from afar, the form of the island is shaped like a helicopter thus, the name Helicopter Island. We only had 20 minutes in the island so we took our time snorkelling. Here's a tip, snorkel closer to the rocks! 

Hidden Beach

     The beach is basically hidden because people have to go through a small cave-like opening to reach it but if the water is high enough, pump boats can go around, enter and dock closer to the beach.  Since it was in a low-tide, we had to swim all the way to the opening. 

Matinloc Shrine

     An old shrine that was said to be dedicated to a priest that ones lived in the island. The shrine comes with an entrance fee of 100Php but it will be all worth is since the best part of this island is climbing on the rocks and enjoy a panoramic view of the place. Unfortunately for me, I didn't have the budget to see the place for myself. 

Talisayen Beach

     This is where tours usually dock to eat lunch. Pump boats provide their own tables and serve us our meal . It is by the way included in the tour package!  While we swim and rest under the shade of the rock formations. The boatsmen/ tour guides were actually already preparing our lunch. They were grilling, chopping and just being busy. We just waited patiently and enjoyed the sun.

     After several minutes, maniudto na ta! (Let's have lunch!) We were surprised of what was in front of us. They prepared the food perfectly! They have grilled pork, fruits of different kinds, and of course seafood! Did I mention some of it were caught during the tour? I know! We finished everything! 

Secret Beach

     For me, the experience here is incomparable. Swimming through an opening that's almost under water is amazing! I swam without a life vest no and surprised myself of the depth of the waters that I was swimming. For those who are not good swimmers, I suggest you wear your life vest and ask your tour guides to swim with you. Big waves will slow your swimming, so please be extra careful. There's just one thing, I don't have an underwater camera? Why?

Secret Lagoon

     The secret lagoon is so secret that you won't even know it's there. We had to go through a really small opening wherein we had to sit down, and strategically moved our legs to fit in through the hole. There's not much to see in there. Well, maybe it was just a low tide.

Big Lagoon

     The Big Lagoon is literally big. During high-tides, pump boats can go through the lagoon but when the tide is low, don't worry for there are kayaks ready for rent. But if you don't want to go kayaking, you can also snorkel or basically just enjoy the view because it is just magical!

Small Lagoon

     We can also kayak in the small lagoon. The best part is when you have to kayak your way though an entrance, duck a little, then be surrounded with beautiful rock formations. Lucky for me, together with my friends (there were 3 of us in one kayak), we were able to enjoy the lagoon for ourselves. It was already late afternoon and most of the tours are already heading back. It was just so serene. We thanked God for his wonderful creations.

7 Commandos

     Our boatmen advised us that the public CR's are only up until 5PM and was worried we won't be able to make it. We had to make use of the public facilities since we don't have anywhere else to take a bath. Also, we have to head back to Puerto Princesa as early as we can. So unfortunately, we weren't able to visit this place but we did pass by it and at least got a glimpse of how it looks, so that's good enough, I guess.

     If you go to Palawan, please don't miss out on El Nido. If only I can go back and finish all the tours, I would. But that's it for now. I'll be back soon PARADISE!

     When we got back to Puerto Princesa, we had a chance to have a day tour within the city. Click here to read about our City Tour in Puerto Princesa!

FAQ's

Van( to and from Puerto Princesa)- 770Php each. *there were 13 of us

Tour A & C (10 Islands)- 1200Php each *with lunch 

Snorkel Gears- 50Php each

Entrance to Matinloc Shrine- 100Php each

Kayak (Big/Small Lagoon)- 300Php small kayak max. of 3 people

                                              500Php big kayak max. of 5 people

Public Bath- 25Php each

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Photo credits to:

Lorelai

TJ

Syd