How to get to El Nido
Most people will go to El Nido from either Puerto Princessa/Port Barton by van or from Coron by ferry. Both the van and ferry can be easily booked on 12GO. If you are coming from Puerto Princessa, consider making a stop in Port Barton first. This little beach town is very laidback and has the best beaches to relax! Check out our Guide to Port Barton, Palawan!
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Nacpan Beach
Possibly our favourite beach in the list. Nacpan is a long white sand beach approximately 3km in length. This beach is relatively easy to access from El Nido. Near the entrance you’ll find a few small restaurants and sunbeds you can rent. Here you can also park your scooter for 20 pesos.
But the further you walk along the beach, the more peaceful and quiet it becomes.
This is also where the popular hostel chain Mad Monkey is, which is great for a morning coffee or afternoon beer.
We visited Nacpan Beach a number of times and it was never busy.
Nacpan beach is one of the two beaches that form El Nido’s “Twin Beach”. Twin Beach comprises of Calitang and Nacpan beach, which are connected at a point to create quite a unique formation. Nacpan is the larger and, in our opinion, much better portion. But while you’re here, go for a nice stroll along the beach to check out Calitang beach too.
How to get to Nacpan Beach
Like we mentioned, Nacpan beach is relatively easy to access from El Nido. Renting a scooter will cost between 400 and 600 pesos per day. Nacpan beach is located around 45 minutes from El Nido town by scooter. The road there is quite okay, aside from the last 10 minutes which gets quite rocky and rough. If you are not a confident driver, then getting a tricycle here would also be possible. However, this takes a bit longer and will be more expensive.
Duli Beach
Duli beach is a surfing beach and is the furthest from El Nido in this list, but it is well worth the trip. It takes around an hour by scooter and the last 15 minutes is very steep and rocky. However, once you reach the beach you’ll be rewarded with no crowd and beautiful surroundings.
Keep in mind, the waves are bigger here so it’s not so great if you’re wanting a relaxing swim. But if you’re wanting to go for a surf then this is your best bet. Even if you haven’t surfed before, there are several surf schools that do classes and have boards that you can rent.
Renting starts from 300 peso an hour for foam boards, and up to 500 peso an hour for fibreglass boards. The surfing lessons are around 700 peso an hour where you can learn from some of the locals. After some surfing you can relax in one of the beach bars.
Lio Beach
Lio beach is a great beach because it is very accessible from El Nido town. This beach is the most fancy, with several nice restaurants and even resorts on it. Yet it doesn’t feel too commercialised.
At high tide it is also possible to surf here. The waves aren’t as good as Duli Beach, but good for beginners.
Lio beach is right next to the airport, so if you’re lucky you’ll get to see a plane take off or land with the beautiful surroundings.
Vanilla Beach
Vanilla beach is located to the south of El Nido and is yet another nice beach in the area. To access the beach you have to enter via the McDonalds then walk past some shops. The beach itself is nice but it is small and therefore gets busy quickly.
If you keep walking further south you will come across Las Cabanas beach. It is here where you can do the zipline across to Depeldet Island.
El Nido Beach
El Nido beach is the main beach in the town. You will therefore find the most restaurants, bars and cafes along here. This is also the El Nido harbour, where both the ferries and boat tours leave from. Therefore this is not the best beach to swim in.
Even though less untouched than some of our first mentioned beaches, El Nido beach is still very nice and offers beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. It is a perfect spot for a coffee or some food while enjoying the scenes.
Corong Corong Beach
Located a little further south than El Nido town, you’ll find the smaller town Corong Corong. Even though we recommend to stay in El Nido town, getting to Corong Corong is a short 15 minute drive and costs only 100 pesos by tricycle.
Its adjacent beach, Corong Corong Beach, is not the best for swimming and is best seen at hightide, when all the rocks and weeds are covered. Its nicknamed “Sunset Beach”, and for a good reason. It is a good and lively spot to have a drink as the sun sets over the distant islands.
Best beach for Sunset
Since El Nido is located on the west of Palawan, most of the beaches will offer a good view at sunset. But in our opinion, Corong Corong and Lio Beach were the best beaches in El Nido for sunset!
For the best viewing we recommend checking out Outpost hostel or SIP lounge on Corong Corong Beach. Or the jetty on Lio Beach for an unobstructed view.
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