5 Days in El Nido: Big Lagoon, Zip Lining & a Sunset Beach to Ourselves
Arriving at Big Lagoon by kayak, with the whole lagoon almost to ourselves.
The most famous stop in Palawan, right after the emptiest one. Here's how El Nido held up, and the one booking decision that changed everything.
We travelled the Philippines in March 2026 in this order: Siquijor, Bohol, Balabac, El Nido, Coron. Here's the full route.
We arrived in El Nido with a problem of our own planning: we'd just spent three days in Balabac with entire islands to ourselves. Now came the most photographed place in Palawan, the one every Philippines itinerary includes, and we honestly wondered if it could still impress us or if we'd just be queuing for lagoons with half of Instagram. El Nido was stop four of the trip, and it had the hardest act to follow.
The answer, after five days: El Nido earns its reputation, but how much you enjoy it depends heavily on a few decisions you make before you go. The biggest one cost us a little extra and gave us a famous beach entirely to ourselves at sunset, one of the most special moments of the whole trip.
Here's how we'd plan El Nido: the tour setup that worked, the zip line you should do before the heat, the beaches worth your time, and the practical stuff nobody tells you, starting with the cash problem.
Before You Arrive: The Cash Problem
We flagged this in our Philippines overview and we'll repeat it here because it matters: the ATMs in El Nido regularly run out of cash. Not "sometimes inconvenient", but actually empty, especially in high season. Withdraw everything you'll need in Puerto Princesa before heading north. Tours, scooter rental, beach entrances and many restaurants run on cash, and standing in front of your third empty ATM is not how you want to spend a morning here.
One more thing for your packing list: a waterproof backpack. It belongs on the essentials list for the Philippines in general, and El Nido is where you'll use it daily: boat tours, kayaking, beach days, your phone, cash and camera live in it the whole time. Ours survived the entire trip including the kayak through the Big Lagoon.
Cash sorted, bag sorted. Now for where to sleep.
Where We Stayed: Colibris Corner
Our accommodation was one of the quiet highlights of El Nido: Colibris Corner, a boho-style loft that can only be booked through Airbnb, so for once there's no price comparison game to play. Book the right unit and you get a view that's worth the entire stay.
Getting there is part of the experience, and you should know it in advance: you check in at the gym at Vanilla Beach, where your luggage is picked up and carried for you. From there it's about a 10 minute walk, along the beach, briefly through the jungle, and finally up a set of stairs. What you get in return is real quiet, away from the crowds, in a place that felt more like a hideout than a hotel.
One thing we can't stress enough: book El Nido accommodation 4 to 5 months in advance. We reserved Colibris Corner months ahead, and the really good places here disappear early. El Nido is the one stop on this route that punishes spontaneity.
If Colibris is booked out, and it will be if you're late, we can only tell you where we'd look, not where we've stayed. What we'd do: look around Marimegmeg Beach / Las Cabañas Beach, the quieter stretch south of town where Colibris sits. You'll trade a few minutes of tricycle ride for calm nights and better sunsets. The map below shows what's available in the area:
Getting There & Getting Around
The transfer from Puerto Princesa is simple: we booked it directly through our hotel there, and a small van (around 9 seats) picked us up for the 4 to 5 hour ride north, with one break along the way. Same drill as the Balabac road: if you can pick your seat, sit closer to the front.
In El Nido itself, we rented a scooter at Tres Motorcycle for 500 pesos per day and kept it for all four full days. Same logic as everywhere else on this trip: El Nido's best spots are spread out, tricycles add up fast, and having your own wheels means Nacpan Beach, the zip line and the sunset bars are all a spontaneous decision instead of a negotiation.
The Island Hopping Tour: Do It Private, Do It with Brian
This is the heart of any El Nido visit, and it's where the most important decision sits.
One note before the photos: everything from here on is shot at sea level or even below. Our drone stayed behind in Balabac, at the bottom of the sea next to a sandbar. How that happened, and why the trip was still worth it, is in our Balabac guide. Luckily, the underwater camera survived.
The famous lagoons and beaches are organised into standard tour routes (Tour A, B, C and D). We booked a combined Tour A + C as a private tour through Brian, together with two friends we'd met on the Balabac tour who were heading the same way. 5,150 pesos per person for the four of us, on a large boat with a crew that could not have been better.
The day ran from 6am to 6pm and covered the full highlight reel:
- Big Lagoon, explored by kayak
- Secret Lagoon
- Secret Beach
- Hidden Beach
- Helicopter Island, with some of the best snorkelling of the day
- Snorkelling stops with sea turtles (and, honest warning, some jellyfish)
- Lunch served on a quiet beach
- And the highlight: Seven Commando Beach at sunset
That last stop was the small extra we mentioned. Most tours are long gone by late afternoon, and for a surcharge, our boat stayed out for the sunset at Seven Commando. We had one of El Nido's most famous beaches completely to ourselves as the sun went down. After a full day of sharing lagoons with other boats, standing on that empty beach in golden light was the moment El Nido stopped being a checklist and became our own memory of it. If your operator offers this, take it without hesitating.
Seven Commandos Beach just before sunset, almost empty because everyone else had already left.
Why Private Here, When We Said Shared in Balabac?
Fair question, since we told you the exact opposite one article ago. The difference is the setting. In Balabac, the shared group IS the experience: same camp, same meals, same people for four days, and the islands are empty anyway. In El Nido, the spots are busy, the schedule is everything, and a private boat means you set the pace, linger where you want and buy yourself moments away from the crowds, like that sunset. Shared where the group adds something, private where flexibility does. That one rule would have taken us two trips to figure out alone.
We booked Brian directly via WhatsApp. Rather than posting his private number publicly, send us a message on Instagram (@myframesofearth) and we'll happily share his contact. He deserves guests, not spam.
Zip Lining Over the Sea at Las Cabañas
On another morning we did the zip line at Las Cabañas / Vanilla Beach, and it delivered: you fly across open sea to a small island on the other side, with the whole coastline below you. 600 pesos per person.
The practical details that make or break it:
- Go in the morning. The climb up to the platform is steep and on foot (a scooter probably gets you part of the way), and by midday the heat turns it into a workout you didn't sign up for
- Expect a wait: we had about 20 numbers ahead of us, roughly 30 minutes
- Once you land on the other island, you can simply walk back along the beach, a nice cooldown after the adrenaline
The Beaches of El Nido
Five beaches earned a place in our notes, each for a different reason:
- Seven Commando Beach: the absolute highlight, if you can get there at sunset after the day tours leave (see above)
- Nacpan Beach: the classic scooter day trip north of town, long, wide and worth the ride
- Vanilla Beach: beach clubs and bars, good for a day in a lounger, but come early if you want shade and a bed
- Las Cabañas (Marimegmeg) Beach: our pick for sunset on land, with electronic music drifting over from the beach bar
- Lio Beach: the polished, resort-side beach near the airport, worth a look
Where We Ate in El Nido
Breakfast: Blend & Grind pulled us back twice, and Taste does bowls so good you won't notice everything on the menu is vegan. Hayahay rounds out the rotation.
Dinner: The Panorama Sunset Bar has very good food, proper cocktails and the sunset view to match, but be aware it's noticeably pricier than everywhere else and adds a 10% service charge. Come around 4:30pm to get a spot before the sky does its thing. Our best value dinner was Pizzeria Bella Vita at Corong Corong Beach, we went twice, simply because it was that good.
El Nido Travel Tips
- Book your El Nido accommodation 4 to 5 months in advance, the really good places disappear early
- Withdraw all your cash in Puerto Princesa, El Nido's ATMs are regularly empty
- Book the island hopping tour private and pay the sunset surcharge for Seven Commando, it's the single best decision we made here
- A waterproof backpack is not optional between boats, kayaks and beaches
- Do the zip line in the morning before the heat, and expect around 30 minutes of waiting
- Rent a scooter (we paid 500 pesos/day at Tres Motorcycle), the good beaches are spread out
- At Panorama Sunset Bar, arrive by 4:30pm and budget for the 10% service charge
- At Vanilla Beach, come early for shade and loungers
Frequently Asked Questions: El Nido
Is El Nido worth visiting? Yes, the lagoons and island landscapes are the best-known scenery in Palawan for a reason. Just go in knowing it's busy, and use a private tour and smart timing to carve out quieter moments.
Which El Nido tour is best, A, B, C or D? We combined Tour A and C into one private day and covered the Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, Secret Beach, Hidden Beach and Helicopter Island in a single trip, plus a sunset stop. If you only have one day, that combination covers the essentials.
How much does a private El Nido tour cost? We paid 5,150 pesos per person as a group of four for a private combined Tour A + C on a large boat, running from 6am to 6pm including a sunset stop at Seven Commando Beach.
How many days do you need in El Nido? 4 to 5 days works well: one full day for the island hopping tour, one for the zip line and Las Cabañas, one for Nacpan Beach by scooter, and buffer time for beach days and slow mornings.
How far in advance should you book El Nido accommodation? 4 to 5 months if you want the really good places. We booked our loft months ahead, and El Nido was the one stop on our Philippines route where late booking would have meant settling for leftovers.
Do ATMs work in El Nido? Often not, they regularly run out of cash. Bring everything you need from Puerto Princesa.
Can you see turtles in El Nido? Yes, we snorkelled with sea turtles on our island hopping tour. Small jellyfish were around too, so a rash guard or wetsuit top isn't a bad idea.
Balabac spoiled us, and El Nido still found a way to earn its place. Not by being empty, it isn't, but by proving that with the right boat, the right people and one well-spent surcharge, even the most famous beach in Palawan can belong to just you for an evening.
Next stop: Coron, wrecks, lakes and the final island of the trip. 👉 Read our Coron guide →
Who we are: We're Marcel and Kathleen, a couple with corporate jobs, one big trip a year and a drone that comes everywhere with us. I (Marcel) plan every route down to the ferry timetable, Kathleen trusts the plan, and everything on this blog is something we did and paid for ourselves. More about us →