🇵🇭 El Nido: where to stay, the beaches and which tour to pick: A, B, C or D

El Nido is the reason most people decide to come to the Philippines in the first place. Those photos of black rocks poking out of turquoise lagoons have travelled around the world, and yes, in person the lagoons really do look like that.

That said, it pays to arrive with the right expectations. The view from above that you see on social media is drone footage: there are no viewpoints or hikes that give you that angle. And in high season the tours are crowded. The bays fill up with boats, kayaks and people.

This guide has everything you need to plan El Nido without surprises: where to stay, the beaches, which tour to pick between A, B, C and D, how many days to stay and how to get there.

🗺️ Where El Nido is and how to get there

El Nido sits at the far northern tip of Palawan island. You have three ways to get there:

• Van from Puerto Princesa: 5-6 hours on the road, 600-800 PHP. It's the cheapest and most common option. Vans leave all day from the San Jose terminal and from the airport.
• Direct flight into Lio airport, 15 minutes from the centre. Small, pricey flights, but they save you a whole day.
• Ferry from Coron: around 4 hours at sea, 1,800-2,500 PHP. It's the natural link if you're combining the two destinations. In rough seas the crossing can be brutal.

On arrival you pay a municipal environmental fee, valid for your whole stay. Keep the receipt: they ask for it on the tours.

📅 How many days to stay in El Nido

3-5 days. With three days you fit in two tours and a day at Nacpan. With five you can do all four tours and still enjoy town life without rushing. Under three days you risk seeing nothing but the port.

🛏️ Where to stay in El Nido: the areas

The area you pick changes the kind of holiday you get. There are four, in order of distance from the centre.

El Nido Town (Downtown)

The middle of town, where the hotels, restaurants and agencies are concentrated. Hundreds of boats leave the main beach every morning. The streets are narrow, noisy and packed with scooters and people. It's handy, but the local feel is long gone. It's not the area I'd recommend for sleeping.

Corong Corong

A 20-minute walk from the centre. There are hotels and restaurants, but also plenty of local homes: it still feels like a village. The beach is longer and less crowded, the places on the sand are better, and the sunset is straight ahead of you. It's the best area for the balance of atmosphere, prices and convenience.

Las Cabanas

Ten minutes past Corong Corong. Pricier, more westernised hotels and restaurants, and the cleanest beach of the ones near town. If you want comfort and somewhere "international", this is it. Not much of the original El Nido is left here.

Nacpan

A 45-minute drive from the centre, cut off from everything else. A few resorts and hostels on El Nido's biggest beach, with a fishing and farming village behind. Perfect if you want silence and sea all day, awkward for tours and for the evenings.

🏖️ The beaches of El Nido

• El Nido Beach: the town beach, where the tours leave from. Polluted and dirty, nobody swims here. Only good for a drink in the evening.
• Corong Corong: longer, not exactly spotless either, but with better bars and postcard sunsets.
• Las Cabanas: the best of the ones you can walk to, cleaner water, expensive restaurants. You get the sunset.
• Nacpan Beach: four kilometres of golden sand, clear water, few people. This is the beach where you spend a whole day. You get there by scooter or tricycle in 45 minutes.
• Seven Commandos Beach: spotless, reachable only by boat or by kayak from Corong Corong in half an hour. Between 4 and 5pm it's overrun by the tours: turn up at 5pm with a kayak and you'll find it almost empty, with a sunset you won't forget. On the way you can stop at Lapus Lapus Beach.

🚤 Tours A, B, C and D in El Nido: which one to choose

The boat tours are organised into four standard routes, identical across all the agencies. They leave around 9am and get back at 4pm, lunch on board included. The prices below are for group tours; on top of those you almost always pay the lagoon entrance fees and the kayak rental.

If you only have time for two tours, do A and C. Tour A has the famous lagoons, Tour C has the hidden beaches and the best snorkelling spots. B and D are quieter and less crowded, but also less spectacular.

A few practical tips:

• A private tour for 4-6 people costs barely more than the group tickets added up, and it lets you run the route backwards: you reach the lagoons as the other boats are leaving.
• Bring reef shoes, a dry bag and sunscreen: on a boat you burn without noticing.
• In rough seas the Coast Guard grounds the boats. If you're travelling in high season, book your tours for the first days so you have room to reschedule.

🛵 What to do in El Nido beyond the tours

• A day at Nacpan by scooter: the road is paved, the scenery is lovely, and the beach is worth the ride.
• Kayak to Seven Commandos in the late afternoon, as mentioned above.
• Sunset at Corong Corong or Las Cabanas, San Miguel in hand. It costs a euro and beats plenty of tours.
• Nagkalit-kalit Falls, a waterfall inland that you reach with a 40-minute walk through the jungle. Few people, cool water.

💡 Things to know before going to El Nido

• Cash withdrawals are a problem: few ATMs, often empty in high season. Arrive with enough cash. 👉 How to withdraw cash in the Philippines without fees
• Brownouts are frequent and the connection comes and goes. A Smart SIM works better than Globe around here. 👉 The best SIM in the Philippines
• The best season runs from November to May. From June to October tours get cancelled often. 👉 When to go to the Philippines
• El Nido is one of the priciest spots in the country: accommodation and restaurants cost twice what they do in Puerto Princesa. 👉 How much it costs to travel in the Philippines

✅ El Nido in short

• Days: 3-5
• Where to stay: Corong Corong for atmosphere and prices, Las Cabanas for comfort, Nacpan to get away from it all
• Tours not to miss: A and C
• Best beach: Nacpan by day, Seven Commandos at sunset by kayak
• Pair it with: 👉 Coron by ferry, or 👉 Port Barton on the way to Puerto Princesa