Intrepid Love: El Nido

There is so much to say about El Nido. Yet at the same time I want to just say it was like a dream and leave it at that. But really, it felt like a dream. Everything was beyond beautiful!!

Our first full day in El Nido we went on island hoping tour A. If anyone ends up going to El Nido make sure you book with a touring agency that takes you to the Big Lagoon. A bunch of tours will tell you that you’re going on tour A but instead take you to other places. That’s sadly what happened to us. Despite not seeing the big lagoon the sites we did see were absolutely beautiful. Collin and I were in awe at just how gorgeous one place could be!

Our second day we decided to kayak.... oh man... be advised sea kayaking in a cheap kayak is not for the faint of heart. Looking out across the bay we decided we would easily be able to make it to the first secluded beach we could see in a very reasonable amount of time. All of the travel blogs I had read said how great kayaking was as a way to see a bunch of beaches. About halfway out of the bay the waves started picking up. My anxiety was threw the roof, the water was deep and dark and scary! With the waves and the wind it ended up taking us a longer time to get to the first beach then we would have liked. The beach only had one other couple on it and the water was crystal clear for snorkeling. (Snorkeling was by far my favorite thing to do on this vacation.) After about an hour on this little beach we decided to cross the deep dark sea yet again to kayak to seven commandos beach. This is a beach that you see on tour A. We loved it so much and wanted some rum and coconut so we started the journey. It took forever. Whatever direction we seemed to go the wind was just trying to push us back. Finally at seven commandos we were able to relax and enjoy the views.

I didn’t think we were going to survive the journey back to El Nido! The wind didn’t want us to make it home. We would paddle and paddle and paddle and not move a centimeter. So we stopped a few times along the way. I’m not going to lie I had a tiny melt down on the way back cause like I said I didn’t think we were going to make it. I’m grateful to Collin for being the strong man he is, and getting us back safely.

The third day we spent relaxing. We both had got a bit of sunburn and I had a bunch of homework to do so we just ate food and enjoyed the peace of this beautiful place.

We went on another tour on the 4th day! Tour C is AMAZING!! There were so many wonderful spots for snorkeling. We decided to book with Go Paradise Travel & Tours for this one and it was so much fun! When we go back we will only book with them. Tour C features choppy water, where yet again I thought we’d all go overboard, however, the spots you visit were so cool!! Hidden lagoons, a beautiful snorkeling spot and more crystal clear water. The snorkeling was so amazing. However, IT WAS JELLYFISH SEASON!! Even with the all the jellies, swimming through the water seeing a deep dark endless ocean on one side and a beautiful reef full of fish on the other was one of the coolest experiences. But make sure you have a shirt cause there were jellyfish literally everywhere, and I mean everywhere.

The 5th day we decided to go to Las Canabas beach and do the zip line. The zip line wasn’t the longest, nor fastest, but you got some beautiful views of the ocean.

The last day we went up to Nacpan beach. Nacpan is considered one of the 10 ten beaches in the world. The water was gorgeous and the beach had absolutely no shells or trash to step on and went on for miles.

We had some of the best food and drinks in El Nido. There are so many great cheap restaurants for meat eaters and vegans alike. I’m not going to lie I’m seriously craving some Pancit Bihon and a pina colada just thinking about it!

I know El Nido really made an impression on both of us. We didn’t want to come home. I cried on the plane and in the airport because I didn’t want to leave that paradise. Hopefully one day we will make it back, but until then we’ll be dreaming of those beaches!!