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El Nido Island Tours
The main tourist business card and the most popular attraction of El Nido, and possibly the whole of Palawan, are sea excursions on the islands in the bays of Bacuit (Bacuit Bay) and El Nido (El Nido Bay). This is a journey to the beauties of nature, consisting of limestone islands and magnificent beaches, turquoise lagoons and caves. For millions of years, water and wind have formed incredibly beautiful and bizarre shapes of rocks and water grottoes here, which you can see during these excursions. They also include disembarking to relax on the beaches, swimming in lagoons, snorkeling, a great lunch and, of course, hundreds of beautiful landscapes to photograph.
Video of the island tour from El Nido
What kind of island tours are there from El Nido and which one to choose
There are four options for tours in El Nido, they are simply named with the letters A, B, C and D. Each of the tours takes a full day. You can choose one of them or several, it depends on your preferences, free time and availability of money. Here is a brief description of each of the tours to make it easier for you to choose:
- Tour With / 1400 pesos. This is the most eventful tour in terms of the number of places visited. It is most often taken in the first place, and we also recommend it if you have little time or you want to limit yourself to only one option. Here is the best snorkeling among all tours; there will be kayaking; you will visit unique secret and hidden beaches. But there are also disadvantages: it is the most expensive + there will be additional expenses for a kayak, mask and snorkel; you will spend a lot of time on the boat, even more than on the beaches; this tour is canceled more often than others due to bad weather (strong wind and waves), and the route for safety reasons may change even during the excursion.
- Tour A / 1200 pesos. The most inexpensive, but it includes additional fees: 200 pesos for visiting a private lagoon and paying for a kayak. Snorkeling is so-so and you will like it only if you have never swam with a mask before.
- Tour D / 1200 pesos. According to the opinions and reviews of tourists, it is a little simpler and not as beautiful as A, but it is also worth a visit. Snorkeling is so-so and you will like it only if you have never swam with a mask before.
- Tour B / 1300 pesos. The easiest tour in terms of beauty, it is usually recommended as a backup option, i.e. when everything has already been looked at, there is time left, and there is nothing more to do. Snorkeling is so-so and you will like it only if you have never swam with a mask before.
In addition to these typical group tours, there are also private tours for the whole boat. There is also a special tour with an overnight stay on a private island.
Well, a separate topic is renting a kayak for independent sailing along the coast or to the nearest islands. This is not suitable for everyone, because a kayak also needs experience and endurance, and you will not sail far on it anyway. Therefore, it is not worth considering a kayak as a full-fledged replacement for one of these tours, but it is very worthwhile to swim in addition to the excursion. Renting a kayak for a day in El Nido costs 600 pesos.
Tips and what you need to take with you on a tour
It is better to take a minimum of things on a tour, to leave everything valuable in the room in a safe place if possible. You don't need to take food with you, because all tours are well served with a buffet-style lunch.
Wear a swimsuit at the hotel, and you can take spare light clothes and a towel with you, as you will definitely get wet. There will be a lot of water and splashes in the boat, you will have to go down into the water and back on board several times, so it is recommended to take a sealed case for things, documents and equipment (camera, smartphone). You can buy them before sending tours or earlier, they are sold everywhere here, prices are normal.
If you have your own snorkeling mask, take it. If not, you can rent before departure from 150 pesos.
Even before departure, you will be obsessively offered to rent "aquashouses" for 100 pesos, almost under the pretext that they will not be allowed on the boat without them. They are really very useful, especially on tours A and C, but in fact we (the authors of the site) went through tour C in ordinary sports rubber sandals, and refused to rent. The main thing is that your shoes are fastened and held on the foot, and do not fall apart from humidity.
🕐 Working hours: all tours depart in the morning from 8 to 9 o'clock, last all day.
💵Entrance fee / ticket price: the pricing here is a little confusing, and in addition to the cost of tours there are different surcharges. The cost of tours in all agencies and hotels is the same, as of 2024 the prices are as follows:
- Tour A – 1200 pesos / 20.79 rubles
- Tour B – 1300 pesos / 22.52 rubles
- Tour C – 1400 pesos / 24.26 rubles
- Tour D – 1200 pesos / 20.79 rubles
But you can bargain from this price, especially if there are several people or you take several tours at once. According to the reviews of tourists, you can get a discount of up to 200 pesos for each of the tours. Well, we went the simpler way and just bought excursions on Klook, which is cheaper than on the spot.
To go on any of these tours, you will also have to pay an environmental fee of 200 pesos. But this is a one-time fee for all tours, i.e. you will pay 200 pesos for both one and all four tours. Payment is made immediately before departure for the first tour, and be sure to take a payment receipt for subsequent tours after that.
In addition, Tour A pays 200 pesos for entering a private lagoon. Tours A and C also provide kayaking on request, for which you will have to pay 250 for a double kayak and 300 for a triple kayak on the spot. There is an additional fee of 150 pesos for mask rental, and another 100 pesos for aquashouse rental. At the end of the tour, the guide will unobtrusively offer to leave a tip, but this is not necessary. If you liked everything, you can leave 50-100 pesos.
🚶 How to get there: island tours from El Nido are sold at almost every turn in travel agencies and hotels. There is no need to buy or book a tour in advance, you can do it the day before the planned departure. In extreme cases, you can try to come to the beach near the pier, where all these excursions depart from (place of departure for tours on the map), and buy on the spot on the spot. The latter option is not guaranteed, but according to the reviews of tourists, you can do this, and also get a discount of up to 200 pesos.
The cost of tours does not include a transfer from the hotel to the starting point of the tour, usually they get there on foot. But if your hotel is located far from the center, then you can request a tranfer when buying an excursion, it will cost 100-200 pesos. And if you know how to bargain, you can ask him to include it in the price of the tour for free instead of a discount.
Another option is to purchase tours to the islands on the Klook website, the price there is 200 pesos cheaper than in travel agencies. You can pay for the tour on the website with a foreign bank card or GCash wallet, and after payment you will receive a voucher with all instructions by mail.
But in any case, wherever you buy a tour, do not forget to take cash with you on a tour to pay additional fees, rent masks and shoes.
We also recommend to see the possible options for other excursions on Palawan, which can be booked online.: