Off The Beaten Path in El Nido

Last updated on August 4th, 2022 at 06:32 pm

There are many fun activities to do when visiting El Nido. As we have been in El Nido a few times before, we chose to do off the beaten path in El Nido for this time. The most popular tours in El Nido are Tour A, B, C. But we will share about other interesting things to do in El Nido, our favorite place in the Philippines.

Read here where to sleep in El Nido and 3 Days El Nido Itinerary!

How to get to El Nido

There are flights direct to El Nido from Manila, but not so many and they are little bit expensive. The most common thing is flying to Puerto Princesa from Manila and Cebu. From the airport the fastest and most comfortable option is going by van to El Nido.

It will take you 4-5 hours to reach El Nido from Puerto Princesa. The van will stop in the middle of the way and you will have air conditioining. The prices are 600 per person and for this trip we teamed up with Northen Hope Tours. The service was great and we can recommend 100% for you guys!

Read here a full blog post: How to get to El Nido!

Taking El Nido’s Tour D

El Nido tour D is the most unpopular tour among. El Nido’s island hopping tours, A-D. We feel that Tour D is totally underrated. One reason possibly is that people want to do island hops farther than the mainland. Tour D hops on lagoons and beaches closest to Cadlao and El Nido Mainland.

Since we’ve already experienced tours A to C, we chose to do D this time around. And yes, we definitely proved that tour D is also beautiful.

Tour D felt like a very relaxed island hop. Tours usually end around 5-6 (or more, especially if you’re on a party boat) however we finished ours at 4.

Here’s the itinerary for El Nido Tour D:

Cadlao Lagoon

Cadlao lagoon looked so magical with its perfectly shaped limestone formation covering clear blue waters, almost like an enchanted river. It’s a good spot for swimming and kayaking.

Pasandigan Beach

Here we spent a lot of time taking photos for Instagram and personal ones. We love warm swims so the Pasandigan beach was perfect. Plus it was super picturesque!

Paradise Beach

This was our lunch stop area. It was a chill, quiet place where we felt like it was our own little island. We loved the service in the tour companies in El Nido. The guides will prepare you an amazing lunch and they will make sure you have all the comfort in the island, shades and all the things that you need.

Natnat Beach

Natnat is a slang term for coconuts. This beach is full of coconut trees. The water is so clear and you can enjoy snorkeling. We tried that and got some nice shots underwater.

Bukaled Beach

This was the last stop and the closest island to El Nido mainland. It is full of small rock formations and a perfect spot indeed for relaxing and a short stop. It´s close to mainland. We even saw people going here by kayaking. The weather when we visited here wasn´t the best. People just carried their kayak and actually saved more than an hour rowing or even more, who knows.

So there you go. In case you’ve been wondering if El Nido Tour D is worth it, here’s your sneak peak.

Booking El Nido Tour D

For this tour, we partnered with Northern Hope Yours to show us around the islands. The tour ended up as a private one, since we’re the only ones who wanted to visit tour D that day. They had great guides and made us feel like it’s a real tour even with just 2 people. They even helped us take amazing photos! They also picked us up from the hotel to the office.

Swim and relax in Nacpan Beach

Probably one of our top favorite beaches in the Philippines. So far, after Port Barton, Nacpan is a really long beach in El Nido with clear blue waters. To reach Nacpan, you’ll have to get either an island tour or an hour ride From El Nido town.

We went by tricycle from El Nido and it took us one hour since the few last parts of the way was full of mud. We even had to get down the tricycle from time to time and walk a few meters. But no worries guys. Tricycle drivers will take you to Nacpan Beach safely.

We actually got surprised of the beauty of Nacpan Beach. We enjoyed walking around, taking pictures and of course, having beers.

Where to stay when OFF The Beaten Path El Nido

Sea Cocoon Hotel is the top bed and breakfast according to Trip Advisor in the whole of El Nido. Make sure you check out their links here to see if it fits your budget. We had 3 good nights with them. They have an internet connection in the hotel which is quite challenging when traveling in El Nido so we were really satisfied with our stay.

The atmosphere is quiet and relax. There is a pool where you can chill out after your tour experience. They will serve you a delicious breakfast which is good enough to start your day. We loved meeting Eric, the owner of Sea Cocoon Hotel. We talked about travels and listened to his advice.

Let us know if you have any questions about El Nido’s Tour D. Like always, happy to have a chat on how to plan your adventure in El Nido. We’ll be happy to help you if you are planning to visit Nacpan Beach or if you want to go from Puerto Princesa to El Nido.

For more of our adventures in Palawan, click here to read all our experiences. Or click here to do more interesting tours and activities in El Nido.

Read here  know the best beaches in Southeast Asia!

Happy Travels!