When planning for my trip to the Philippines, pretty much every online article I read recommended going to a place on the northern tip of Palawan called El Nido. The pictures online were stunning! White sand beaches, clear waters, and limestone cliffs… Everything online just stated that El Nido is “a place like no other” with “breathtaking views above and below the water.” All the recommendations given to each of us were pointing to El Nido, but with our initial research, it seemed really time consuming to get there. We were leaning towards skipping this destination and it wasn’t until we were recommended a lesser known (and more expensive) route that we added El Nido back on the list.

So How Can You Get to El Nido?

FERRY
One option of getting to El Nido is taking a large outrigger boat from Coron. Supposedly there are boats that depart from Coron about 5-7 times a week through various businesses. It costs roughly 2000 pesos or $43 USD per person. It didn’t take long for me to rule out this option. Despite the trip being advertised for 6-8 hours, it often takes even longer as it is dependent on the weather. I found stories of trips being cancelled without much notice (due to weather) and one story of an outrigger that sunk in the deep sea. I also had difficulty finding solid info online for trips from Coron → El Nido. A ferry would probably be worth looking into if you have a flexible schedule and happen to be in Coron, but it wasn’t worthwhile for us. If you are looking for a ferry from El Nido → Coron, tickets can purchased at the Art Café a few days in advance.

FLIGHTS TO PUERTO PRINCESA (PPS)
The capital, Puerto Princesa, is about 7 hours away from El Nido’s Town Proper via ground transportation. Flights to Puerto Princesa from Manila can easily be found for ~$36 USD.

From Puerto Princesa finding transportation to El Nido is extremely convenient. According to ironwulf.net “As of January 2015, all the transport going in and out of El Nido are located in El Nido Integrated Terminal. Both buses (Roro and Cherry) as well as the numerous Vans are located across the market. Other buses going to other parts of El Nido are located here.”

Transportation to El Nido from here is relatively easy to find. Most popular options of:
-Roll on Roll off (RORO) buses:

~$11 USD pp with air con
~$6 USD pp without air con

-Cherry Buses:

~$11 USD pp with aircon
~$8.50 USD pp without zircon http://cherrybuspalawan.com

-Van:

~$18-20 USD pp http://www.daytripperpalawan.com/#routes-and-rates

FLIGHTS TO EL NIDO (LIO)
El Nido Airport is roughly 15 minutes from Town Proper and easily accessible by trikes.  The only airline we found that flew direct to LIO was via AirSWIFT. To make things even better, we found out that AirSWIFT just began flying out of Cebu along with its only other destination, Manila. This was perfect for us, because we were coming from Camiguin which only flies out to Cebu, saving us an extra flight to Manila.

Huge plus for saving hours of traveling, but the major downside was the cost!

-A one way flight from Manila ←→ El Nido ranges from P5550- P8000 ($121-$174) depending on the season
-A one way flight from Cebu ←→ El Nido ranges from P5000- P7600 ($109 -$165) depending on the season

FYI when researching direct flights to LIO, I came across for information for Island Transvoyager, Inc. (ITI Air). This is the same company as AirSWIFT! Flights can be booked at http://air-swift.com. I’m assuming the site is fairly new because I found many sites directing me to email the airline to book flights, but this isn’t necessary with the new website.

Thoughts on AirSWIFT?
Choosing AirSWIFT caused a huge dent in our budget, but we figured we were already across the world and didn’t want another $200 to be the deal breaker for us exploring El Nido. (The guys couldn’t afford the extra travel time due to work). If money isn’t a huge issue but time is, I would totally recommend AirSWIFT. Booking online was quick and easy! There were daily flights to/from Cebu with multiple flights daily to/from Manila. You’re also allowed one checked bag up to 10kg and a carry on up to 7kg.

We also felt like rock stars flying from Cebu to El Nido! There was a red carpet leading to the check in counter and also to the plane. Prior to boarding, we were given juice, water, and a meal (typical airplane meal). Both of our flights departed on time and and we actually arrived at our destination earlier than scheduled.

Upon arriving to El Nido, we realized how fortunate we were to be able to fly into LIO. The airport was so unique and remote! There were no TSA, x-ray technology, or conveyor belts for baggage. It looked like we were dumped in the middle of a huge dirt lot! As we walked away from the plane and towards the airport, I was expecting your typical metal/concrete building but was surprised to see the airport consisting of open wooden cabins! We were kindly greeted by Filipino women singing us a song, used the ridiculously clean restrooms, and then made our way to the luggage area… another wooden structure.

We then walked over the pick up area where a line of trikes rolled in to bring us into town for about P200. Twenty minutes later, we were ready to check into our hostel and explore El Nido!