The first night that we hung out at Spin Hostel, the guys connected with two artists who were performing at their jam night. This eventually lead to us having connections for our island hopping tour and hike up Taraw Peak. Lucky enough, one of the artists, Mike, is also known as “the surfing guy” in El Nido. He introduced surfing to the tiny town and is solely responsible for teaching every local surfer how to shred. They even named a surf spot after him, Mike’s Point. Talk about knowing the right people! SO sick!!!

I had quickly and halfheartedly looked into surfing in El Nido prior to our arrival and found nothing. When you research El Nido, you’ll find plenty of sites for island hopping, kayaking excursions, and diving, but surfing isn’t nearly as popular. If it weren’t for Mike, surfing wouldn’t have even crossed our minds. With hundreds of advertisements in town for island hopping, it’s safe to say that there are absolutely none for surfing. On top of that, Bacuit Bay in Town Proper is extremely flat! The waves literally make a flop noise when they “crash” onto shore. I’ve never seen more sorry excuses for waves than the ones there.

Mike’s Point is your best bet in town, but if those conditions aren’t ideal, there may be waves to catch if you’re willing to travel for them. Mike asked if we were up for a 45 minute drive to surf at a place called Duli Beach. The guys were psyched with the idea of being able to ride mopeds again, so the distance was no issue at all. Mike helped to coordinate the moped rentals for the day along with renting a trike for those who weren’t comfortable with mopeds.

As soon as we got to El Nido, we had already set our surfing date for the tail end of the week. With our incredible luck when that day finally came, surf reports showed that the waves were on point! Yesssssssss!

The drive to Duli was absolutely stunning with varying landscapes. It gave us a glimpse into life on the island beyond the tourist areas and felt amazing to getaway from the crowds of people. It was also the first time Corey drove me on a moped!

When we finally reached the beach, we walked to the far end where there was a little restaurant with a few cottages set up. You could tell immediately that the community was extremely tight knit. But not in a bad way! The owners and guests were genuinely excited to see Mike and his friends, and it was nothing but smiles when it came to meeting us! They were friendly, welcoming, and more than ready to share their piece of paradise. The restaurant had tasty food and the largest fresh buko I’ve ever seen! There were hammocks and a volleyball net set up, but best of all… NO crowds! It’s literally the perfect place for my ideal beach day. If you’re looking into a convenient little getaway from El Nido on a pristine beach that’s not ruined by tourists, check out Duli Beach Resort. The food is a huge plus! And no, I wasn’t paid for any of this.

Now for the surfing part… I honestly can’t believe how lucky we were to have had the conditions that we did. The waves were so perfect for us! The not-too-baby-but-still-easy-to-catch kind of waves! It was beautiful.

Mike gave us a quick land lesson and then we were able to hit the waves shortly after. I have no idea why, but something clicked and I had an amazing time catching almost every wave I went for. Not long after getting in the water, every one of us were able to catch a few waves on our own! The best part of being able to surf at Duli Beach with Mike is that he doesn’t use the giant foam boards that you find in your typical surf school. Mike saved up money and through connections with other surfers, he slowly built up his collection of boards. He had different types of boards of varying lengths to suit our individual needs. The only bad thing to come of this day is that he ruined my future experiences with surfing. Getting on a giant foam board in and overcrowded ocean totally lost it’s appeal to me. Really high standards were set at Duli!!

Surfing is exhausting!!!! We relaxed on the beach for a while, but ended our day around 6pm to make the drive back to Town Proper before dark. This meant cruising back to town just as the sun was setting!

This would’ve been the perfect ending to the perfect day; however, Corey and I arrived back and immediately fell ill to food poisoning (from food we ate the day before.) The last full day of El Nido was spent feeling like we were on the brink of death. But we had such a great time in El Nido, this didn’t dampen it one bit!

For info on surfing in El Nido and a direct contact with Mike, check out “Surf El Nido” on Facebook. You can also find him performing throughout town at Spin Hostel, Makulay Bar & Restaurant, or the Pukka Lounge.