El Nido Basics

During our time on the Philippine island of Palawan, we spent most of our time in the remote town of El Nido. We have made videos and blog posts for the many activities around El Nido’s islands and reefs, but we’ve never said much about the town itself. Although there may not seem like much to do in a town so small, we had no trouble spending our entire time in the Philippines in El Nido. Here are the basics you need for your stay in El Nido.

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Scuba in El Nido!

Palawan is known for its natural beauty. The islands, as we have discussed before, ad nauseam, are abundant and beautiful. There are a number of ways that you can experience El Nido’s islands and we suggest doing as many of these as possible. On our recent vacation, if we weren’t sitting on the beach with a cold San Miguel in hand, you can bet that we were in the water.

Motorcycle Misadventures in El Nido

When in Asia, do as the Asians do and hop on a motorcycle. In the Philippines, and for the first time ever, we rented a bike. I have driven scooters back in the States but never a full motorcycle and I have always been hesitant to try because I’ve never sat down and learned shifting on a bike.

Island Hopping in El Nido

In El Nido for the majority of our vacation to the Philippines, we had ample opportunities to enjoy the beautiful waters that surrounded us. The view from this small, but quickly growing town would dazzle the most discerning traveler. Dozens of islands are spread across the bay, each climbing out of pristine waters, reaching for the beautiful blue sky.

Trikes on Trikes on Trikes

Sometimes you simply aren’t prepared. Sometimes you arrive at an airport in a foreign country and find out that your layover is miles away and you need to take the notoriously interesting public transportation across town to catch your connecting flight. Sometimes you get excited to find out about new forms of vehicle that you had never see before. Sometimes it’s fun to be utterly surprised.

Stamps in our passport… The Philippines!

Teaching in public schools, we are given a generous 8 days of paid vacation during the summer break. Since we were going to be unable to make a trip back home to the states for Ryan’s brother’s wedding due to scheduling issues, we started looking around for cheap airline tickets elsewhere.