El Nido is the island-hopping paradise of The Philippines. Located on the island of Palawan, it’s home to 45 small islands and islets, all with incredible limestone cliffs, remote beaches and endless tropical scenery. In this guide, we’ll take you on a trip around some of the main islands and will share the top places to visit in and around El Nido town.
El Nido offers everything from snorkelling, sand bars, caves and island adventures, to unique cultural experiences, and a good nightlife scene. The beaches in this area are worth shouting about too. We found some of the best beaches in our Philippines trip on the islands around El Nido.
Read our guide for inspiration on the top places to visit in El Nido and see what we got up to in our 6-day visit. Be sure to post a comment if you have any questions.
Nacpan Beach
El Nido has many amazing beaches on the islands away from the mainland. However, when it comes to beaches than are accessible from town, nothing beats Nacpan Beach. It’s located a 30-minute drive from El Nido Town, away from all the hustle and bustle. As the beach stretches out for almost 4-kilometres, it never feels too busy. The scenery is tropical, untouched and simply breath-taking to look at.
We recommend visiting Nacpan for a day of relaxation. There are several coconut and drink stalls, a beachside restaurant and shower facilities. One of our favourite things to do here is go for a long walk from one end of the beach to the other. At the very end of Nacpan, there’s a bay that splits in two, with a beach on the other side. ‘Twin Beach’ is one of the most beautiful areas of El Nido.
El Nido Canopy Walk
Limestone Cliffs surround El Nido Town, creating the dramatic scenery you’ve probably seen on postcards and Instagram photos. To get up-close to these magnificent, jagged rock cliffs, check out the El Nido Canopy Walk activity. This organised hike takes you up the side of the rock face to a series of viewpoints and platforms. You’ll also cross a rope bridge along the way.
At the top of the canopy walk, there are some excellent viewpoints of El Nido Town, beach below and the islands in the distance. It’s a great place to take some panoramic photos. There’s a small fee to enter the canopy walk and you’ll have the help of a guide. We found it to be very safe, though some steps may be challenging for those with reduced mobility.
Las Cabanas Beach
Las Cabanas Beach is one of the best places to visit in El Nido for sunset. Every day, flocks of tourists descend on Las Cabanas to see the orange glow of the sun drop below the horizon. As it’s only a 15-minute trike ride from town, it’s an accessible place to relax at any time of the day.
Daytimes at Las Cabanas are best enjoyed swimming in the sea or lying on the sand. There’s a small island just off the shore of Las Cabanas, forming a shallow bathing area that’s perfect for cooling down. Later in the afternoon, the beach bars and shacks along the Las Cabanas strip come alive. They’re a great place to enjoy a happy-hour drink.
Las Cabanas Zipline
Another attraction worth checking out in the Las Cabanas area is the beach zipline. This adventure activity takes you from a hill, inland from the beach, to a small island just off the shore. The Las Cabanas zipline experience is a fun way to experience the tropical scenery as you glide over the beach.
You can complete the zipline sitting down, or if you’re feeling more adventurous, opt for the face-forward ‘Superman’ position. We had a great time trying the Las Cabanas zipline. The only downside was the long queue time, so be sure to arrive early morning to skip the crowds.
Philippines Experience
The next recommendation on our list is somewhere that isn’t very well-known to tourists. Deep inside the El Nido jungle is a small village that has been set up as an activity centre. Managed by a friendly local called Shen, The Philippines Experience is a fun, half day experience that teaches you about local traditions, games, plants and other cultural gems of The Philippines. It also includes a cooking class.
The Philippines Experience is a great introduction to the Philippines for anyone that’s interested in learnings about the country’s rich culture and foodie delights. During our visit, we climbed a coconut tree, made our own coconut milk, participated in several traditional games and cooked up the Filipino national dish, Chicken Adobo.
This activity only takes place on certain dates and spaces are limited, so be sure to book a place at least a week in advance. Visit their official website for the full activity schedule.
El Nido Town
You can’t visit El Nido without exploring its bustling, charming, and sometimes chaotic main town. It’s the beating heart of the El Nido area and is where most cafes, restaurants, shops and hotels are based. It’s also where you’ll board the island-hopping boat tours. Although it lacks the peace and quiet of nearby beach areas, El Nido Town is worth visiting day or night for completely different experiences.
During the day, the town centre is a quiet place to walk along the beach, browse the shops or enjoy a drink in one of the trendy coffee shops. Evenings are where it comes alive. The streets have endless restaurant options for all tastes and there are some excellent live music bars.
Big Lagoon Tour A
Island hopping is the number one reason to visit El Nido. The limestone cliffs, dramatic scenery and beautiful collection of tropical islands here is some of the best in the world. The El Nido tourism board has arranged tours into 4 itineraries; A, B, C and D. Tour A has some of the island-hopping highlights, so it’s a great place to start.
Big Lagoon, as its name suggests, is a sprawling lagoon surrounded by limestone cliffs. It’s one of the best places to visit in El Nido for its incredible scenery, vibrant blue water and unique rock formations. To get there, you’ll need to kayak or swim over a shallow bay and into the lagoon entrance.
Exploring Big Lagoon on a kayak is peaceful, awe-inspiring and a highlight of any El Nido visit.
Secret Lagoon – Island Hopping Tour A
Another stop on Island Hopping Tour A is Secret Lagoon. This lagoon is hidden away behind a giant limestone cliff, so to get there, you’ll need to squeeze between a small cave opening in the rock face. Secret Lagoon is one of the coolest places we visited during our time in El Nido. If you’re lucky, you’ll arrive at a quieter time with fewer crowds, giving you Secret Lagoon all to yourself.
Take some pictures at the lagoon opening, stand under the sunlight as it cascades over the cliff, or bathe in the shallow water. In addition to the lagoon, the area has a sandy beach where you can relax.
Payong Payong Beach snorkelling – Island Hopping Tour A
Payong Payong is the next stop on Tour A. Rather than being a stop-off point for its beach, it’s a popular place to snorkel and explore the underwater sea life. The waters surrounding the beach are full of tropical fish.
Depending on your tour, the boat driver may dock up at the beach or drop the anchor at sea, giving you a chance to jump in and snorkel around the shores. When we visited, we saw shoals of colourful fish swimming around the boat.
Shimizu Island – Island Hopping Tour A
Shimizu Island is a secluded island on Tour A with a long, sandy beach and lots of shaded areas. It’s the beach where most boats stop for lunch. A selection of wooden tables, a small drink and snack stall and beautiful sea views make it a nice place to take a break and re-energise. During our boat tour, we were served a delicious, pre-prepared lunch with fresh fruit, chicken, seafood, rice and vegetables.
After lunch, you’ll have time to relax on Shimizu Beach with a coconut or go for a walk and explore the island’s shores. The scenery at the island is gorgeous, but it can be a little crowded if you arrive during peak lunch hours.
7 Commandos Beach – Island Hopping Tour A
The final stop on El Nido’s Tour A island hopping itinerary is 7 Commandos Beach, one of the most beautiful stretches of sand in the region. Only reachable by boat but attached to the mainland, 7 Commandos is where you can choose a spot on the sand, lay down your towel and relax with a view. The tropical island scenery, with tall coconut trees and soft white sand, is the perfect way to end your day. The transparent, calm waters make it the perfect place to swim.
Entalula Island – Island Hopping Tour B
Entalula Island was one of the best islands we visited in all of our El Nido island hopping tours. Featuring a dramatic backdrop of limestone cliffs and powdery white sand, it’s the tropical island destination you imagine before visiting The Philippines. Entalula attracts less crowds than other islands and its shores are long enough to never feel too busy.
During our stop on the island, we walked along the full length of the beach and enjoyed the view under a coconut tree. The open beachfront can be a little wavy here so it’s not the best place to swim. Nevertheless, the scenery makes it well worth the visit.
Snake Island Sand Bar – Island Hopping Tour B
Snake Sand Bar is the highlight of the Island-Hopping Tour B itinerary. This long, shallow bay forms a unique sand bar at low tide, which looks like a winding snake from above. The sand bar attracts colourful starfish in its shallows and the surrounding scenery is breathtaking.
At low tide, you can walk the full length of Snake Island Sand Bar and into the mangroves. You can also bathe in the shallow waters and take some nice photos with the sand bar as your backdrop.
Cudugnon Cave – Island Hopping Tour B
Another stop on the Island Hopping Tour B itinerary is Cudugnon Cave, a large cavern that’s hidden away on an island, just off the coast of El Nido. Out of all the caves in the area, Cudugnon is the largest and most impressive. It has a narrow entrance that leads to an echoing chamber of stalagmites, stalagmites and other rock formations.
In addition to the cave, Cudugnon Cave Island is worth visiting for its beautiful beach scenery and relaxation areas. You can hire a lounger or grab a snack in the island’s restaurant.
Cathedral Cave – Island Hopping Tour B
The other cave stop on the tour B itinerary is Cathedral Cave, a small opening in the side of a limestone cliff. The tall shape of the cavern is said to look like a grand cathedral. It has a narrow passage that goes deep into the side of the cliff, creating a sheltered place for swimming. Unfortunately, tourists can no longer swim here due to the presence of dangerous sea snakes. Instead, the boat stops at the entrance for you to take some photos.
Sand Bar Lagen Island – Island Hopping Tour B
The Lagen Island Sand Bar turned out to be one of our favourite places, not just on Island Hopping Tour B, but our whole trip to El Nido. This lesser-known sand bar in the middle of the sea can only be seen when the tide is low. It sits just south of the luxurious Lagen Resort on Lagen Island.
As we booked a private tour, we pretty much had the island to ourselves. The sand bar stretches out for over a hundred metres and it has warm, transparent waters. It’s one of El Nido’s hidden gems.
Lagen Island Snorkelling – Island Hopping Tour B
As with most of El Nido’s island hopping tours, Tour B has a stop for snorkelling. We stopped at a sheltered coral reef just off the shore of Lagen Island for an hour of swimming with the tropical fish. Some of the corals in this area are dying and there wasn’t a great deal of sea life to see when we visited. However, it’s a nice, quiet place to snorkel and we still managed to see some tropical fish, sea anemone and corals.
Depending on the boat tour company you book, you may visit a different snorkelling spot around the Tour B islands.
Other tours – C and D
During our visit to El Nido we tried island hopping tours A and B. However, you can also opt for Tour’s C or D. Each tour has unique combinations of snorkelling spots, islands, caves, sand bars and lagoons and they’re all worth visiting in their own right. Tour A and C are the most popular options, but as Tour C has islands that are further out to see, it can be impacted by bad weather.
We personally loved how quiet and diverse the stops were on Tour B. It isn’t as popular as A and C, but in our opinion, Snake Island Sand Bar makes it one of the best tour options.
Paradise Beach – Funny Lion
Paradise Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches we visited in El Nido. As it’s privately owned and is only reachable by boat, it has far fewer tourists than other islands and beaches. The sand is bright, white and powdery and it has a backdrop of coconut trees. The sheltered bay also makes it a great place for swimming.
Life on Paradise Island is all about relaxing on the sand and enjoy the beach scenery. There’s a small drinks shack where you can buy fresh coconuts, and a free volleyball and tennis court. To get there, you can book an excursion with a boat company such as David John Tours or kayak there yourself from Corong Corong Beach on the mainland.
Nightlife scene
With a big backpacker crowd, lots of hostels and an upbeat, younger crowd, it’s no surprise that El Nido is one of the Philippines’ top island nightlife destinations. The sleepy town centre starts to come alive after sunset. El Nido’s nightlife scene suits those that want a quiet cocktail in a beach bar with a view of sunset.
It also suits those that want to party until the early hours. Late-night beach clubs, karaoke bars and a lively atmosphere make its town centre the go-to place for great nightlife after 8pm. We personally loved The Reggae Island Bar and Restaurant. They have talented live musicians every night of the week.
Spa
El Nido is a place of adventures and island hopping. However, it’s also important to relax and wind down on holiday. What better way to do this than a spa? Rituals Spa is one of the best places to visit in El Nido to indulge in spa treatments such as massages, facials and various beauty treatments. It’s located in the newer ‘Town Square’ area of El Nido town and has some excellent reviews.
A second spa option is Sea Tree Spa at The Funny Lion Hotel. We enjoyed a 1-hour full body treatment at Sea Tree Spa and it was one of the best of our trip.
Vanilla Beach
Vanilla Beach is an area of El Nido that’s quickly being developed. Located only a 15-minute trike ride from the main town, it’s one of the nicest and most accessible beaches. Vanilla Beach has a modern complex of cafes, bars, shops and restaurants, all leading to the beautiful beach front. As there are very few boats on this beach, it’s a nice place to go for a swim.
Visit Vanilla Beach for an afternoon of bathing on the sand and enjoy lunch in one of the bars and restaurants. There’s a good selection of eateries spread out along the beach, all offering a beautiful view of the bay. In our opinion, the best time to visit Vanilla Beach is late-afternoon. Go for a walk and pull up a deckchair in a bar to watch the sun set.
That brings us to the end of our guide on the top places to visit in El Nido, Palawan. There’s a lot to see and do here, so be sure to plan enough time to see everything the region has to offer. 4-7 days is the perfect amount of time to see all of the main sites.
If you have any questions about any of the places we’ve featured, be sure to post a comment.
By Susie
Author bio:I’m a passionate traveller that loves a sunny beach holiday, but also appreciate the cultural side to a trip and checking out undiscovered destinations. I’m the go-to Toucan Traveller for great holiday stories, cool photos and foodie recommendations.