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Philippines: island hopping in Palawan

I flew an hour west of Manila to the region of Palawan where just a smattering of the Philippines 7,103 islands pop out of the ocean, to spend two nights staying in one of the fab El Nido resorts out here.

Here’s my photo blog of what to do and where to stay when you come – and I suggest you do!

Lio, El Nido

Arriving at Lio Aiport, El Nido. Woot woot!

El Nido jeepney

Where they transfer our luggage and selves on a 1 minute drive to the boat in this jeepney

El Nido water taxi

Off we go in our wooden outrigger where these stablisers provide a nice smooth ride

Check out the towering limestone rock islands that pop out of the ocean. Any rock that can be seen at high tide is counted as an island here!

Miniloc El Nido

Arriving at Miniloc Island which is my home for the next 2 nights. This is a great family resort, rustic and friendly.

Miniloc room

The view from my balcony. Great snorkelling out there, plus paddle boarding and kayaking if I so desired

Margarita at Miniloc

This is the life!!

If you’re already keen to see more about these eco resorts, jump here to the El Nido Resorts website >>>

El Nido lagoon

In God We Trust indeed! The next day we set off island hopping and started with a kayak in this pristine lagoon

Lagoon kayak, El Nido

You can see the sand floor, a few fish and if you kayak next to the rocks you’ll see crabs scampering around

Limestone cliff, El Nido

Trying out my black and white filter of these amazing limestone cliffs

Lagen, El Nido

Then we visited Lagen Island for breakfast at this resort where you can hike through their 4 acre forest and face the sunset from the beach over Bacuit Bay.

Lagen Island pool, El Nido

I like this resort – it has a pool!

Island hopping, El Nido

On an island hopping day, you call in at this little slice of beach on yet another island for a barbecue lunch – and a windsurf if you fancy it

El Nido cave

Caving! On our outrigger we arrive at yet another island where a cave awaits…

Cave, El Nido

Explore Cudugnon Cave. To get into the cave our guide put these towels down over the sharp rocks and we had to roll into it!

Pangulasian Island

Pangulasian Island is your top end resort where 6 villas come with their own pool. Beautiful and breathtaking. The ultimate luxury eco resort.

Pangulasian Island pool

The main pool and bar for those without private pools at Pangulasian Island resort

Snake Island, El Nido

Then we had one last stop at Snake Island, named not for vipers but for the shape of the sandbar that joins these 2 islands. It’s a 5 minute walk up this hill for the view.

Island hopping El Nido

Looking up at the hilltop view. We waded through warm water to get to the sand bar. Sublime!

El Nido, Philippines

Leaving a piece of my heart in El Nido 🙂

Round trip flight from Manila is around NZ$300 and your room rate inclusive of meals and activities (except spa treatment and SCUBA diving) starts at around NZ$450+ per room (for 2 people).

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Hi, I'm Megan Singleton and I'm the word slinger of this travel blog as well as on radio in NZ every Sunday. Former Travel Editor at Yahoo NZ and current freelance writer for a few newspapers and mags from time to time, I set off on this travel writing journey 20 years ago and I've pretty much always got a suitcase half packed (or half un-packed!) I'd love you to join me on Facebook or Twitter and sign up for my newsletters if you want loads of travel tips, advice and deals!