10 Day Island Hopping Itinerary El Nido to Coron: Part 1

You're likely to arrive in El Nido mid-day, so depending on what your hotel has to offer and where it is located will determine how you would like to enjoy your afternoon. I stayed at the wonderful Charlie’s in Lio Beach. The hotel had an amazing pool, restaurant and offered free shuttles to both Lio Beach and town throughout the day/night, meaning I didn’t need to rent a motorbike. Motorbikes were the most expensive I had seen throughout my entire month here in El Nido, as was food, drink, taxis and excursions. They also offered free airport pickup and drop off. Lio Beach is a much quieter zone compared to El Nido town, another reason I chose this area.

I opted to hang out in Lio Beach on my first afternoon and stick around for a gorgeous sunset on the pier. Lio Beach offers a small village, with a bit of shops and restaurants. I really liked Punta Playa for dinner.

El Nido is known for its stunning limestone cliffs, crystal-clear waters, and hidden lagoons, making it the perfect destination for exploring by boat and with only three days in the area, you want to see as much as possible. There are different tour packages available, each offering a unique itinerary and experience in the Bacuit Archipelago. All the tours all run from 9ish - 4ish and most include four stops with time for swimming, snorkeling, lunch and beach relaxation. Please note that Tour C is often cancelled for weather/ocean conditions as the boats go out to sea.

Island hopping Tour A is the most popular amongst tourists as it visits El Nido’s iconic Big Lagoon. Depending on how busy the Big Lagoon is when you arrive, your captain may take you to Secret Lagoon first (which mine did). The tide was high so we swam into the lagoon and after had some time to explore the beach area. Our next stop was snorkeling and lunch on Shimizu Island.

The bulk of the trip was the remaining two stops. The Big Lagoon is typically quieter in the afternoon so it takes less time to organize your tour boat with kayaks. The only way to access the lagoon is by kayak, so no you cannot swim in. Carry cash on you as you rent them ($300 pesos/kayak) at the entrance. The Big Lagoon is indeed very big and if you stay to the right hand side there is one cave you can paddle to.

Our last stop was my favorite beach in all of the Philippines called Seven Commandos. This stunning beach is named after seven Japanese commandos who reportedly were stranded on the island during World War II. It is known for its powdery white sand, clear turquoise waters, and swaying palm trees, creating a picturesque tropical paradise. There are drinks for sale, lite snacks, coconuts and time for some great snorkeling.

There are a ton of beaches around the area to explore if you want a day off of boat trips and non-scheduled activities, which is how I preferred to alternate my days. The one thing you will have to decide is to head north of town or south. I choose to head south of town by motorbike for a few reasons. Had I rented the bike in Lio beach I would have driven north to Nacpan, the longest white beach in the area. However that is a stop with the excursion I booked to Coron so I skipped it. A few stops to check out in Nacpan are the Nagkalit-kalit Waterfull, Twin Beach (which is the south side of Nacpan) and perhaps Duli Beach, which is known for the surf.

I spend my second day at beach club along Maremegmeg Beach. It was only a 15-minute scooter/taxi ride and this beach also neighbors Las Cabanas Beach, which is known for their epic sunsets, another reason for migrating this direction. For both areas you park at the McDonalds and walk through the outdoor shopping area and hook a left when you get to the beach. There are a ton of beach clubs along the way, but my arrival was around noon so I settled into The Beach Shack since they had an open lounger and food. Later that afternoon I walked further down to the point and the Las Cabanas Beach Resort for sunset. It was a great vibe there, music, really good tacos (that is a lot coming from a taco connoisseur), drinks and bean bag chairs. Get there at least an hour before sunset if you want a beanbag though.

If you are interested in the famous El Nido zipline it starts right between Las Cabanas beach and Maremegmeg. You can access it both from the road and also the beach. I heard great things about the Via Ferrata Canopy Walk, which I wish I had time to do. It is recommended to go early in the morning when they open and the sun is behind the town for great photos. I choose to shop in Lio Beach, as they have the Kalye Artisano, which is a few shops selling artisan crafts. Lio Beach also has great little shops as well if you are looking for something handmade or one-of-a-kind, like I do.

Another day, another island hopping tour and my pick was Island Hopping Tour D because we went to Cadlao Lagoon and Small Lagoon, both which I heard were amazing. Well I heard right!!! I actually much preferred this tour to tour A because not only were there less people visiting these lagoon, but the Small Lagoon was so spectacular! Our first stop was Cadlao Lagoon, where yes you can only enter via kayak, so plan to fork over $300 pesos for one. This lagoon was a bit more open and had a big sandbar to park your kayak and walk around. There is no swimming in the lagoon itself.

Next stop was the Small Lagoon, which was my favorite of all the ones I had visited. Here a kayak is optional, you can swim in with your life jacket, but if you want good photos and videos get the kayak. There is no docking area inside and I am glad I opted for the kayak. The colors inside are spectacular and there are two little coves to explore.

Our lunch spot was Pasandigan Cove, a tiny beach on Cadlao Island where we were the only boat. Our lunch was a bit later in the day and the snorkeling stop was right after. I wasn’t impressed by the snorkeling here (like Tour A) and the seas were very choppy and it took longer to get out to the lagoons so we only had three-ish stops. I liked this tour though because it was WAY less busy.

A highlight of my month long trip was here in Palawan, an exhibition with Big Dream Boat Man. In my research I came across this recommendation and I am so happy I jumped on it! When I arrived in Palawan I did learn there were a few different companies that took trips from El Nido to Coron or vise versa, however BDBM was the highest rated and I am glad I booked with them. If you want to do an exhibition, keep in mind they SELLOUT quickly. Planning is highly necessary because you will need to arrive a day or two prior to your trip (recommended) and will need to arrange travel off the final island. These are one way excursions. I booked two months ahead and got the final seat El Nido to Coron, as I was near the end of my month and I had a flight from Coron back to Manila to fly home.

I won’t spend a ton of time with the “what we did and saw” here because each trip varies with the day-to-day stops. They are all 3N/4D, however due to rough seas my trip was only 2N/3D so we had to skip the first night stop. One thing to note is that each trip will stop at Nacpan Beach, spend a night on Linapacan, a night on Banana Island, and will have a visit to the Twin Lagoon and Kayangan Lake. The camps and traditional “huts” were actually quite nice and I slept amazing both nights.

Our itinerary allowed us some amazing snorkeling Linapacan and Coron as the first day was a very long trip in order to get to the camp (which is technically night two). I loved the stop at Araiv Beach as the reef was so amazing. We snorkeled at Inapupan Reef our first morning then in the afternoon popped over to Ditaytayan Island and Bulog Dos on the way to our final night camp on Banana Island. We had a great time singing karaoke and having drinks on our final night!

If you are eating in El Nido town I loved Big Bad Thai (expect long waits) and was blown away by the Takoyaki balls at Osaka Castle. Sava bar is great for sunset and happy hour drinks if you are hanging on the strip, as well as Happiness Beach bar (the swing bar). Dryft Fish was also on my list, but I wasn’t able to make the stop.