fun fact : did you know there are over 7,000 islands that make up the Philippines?
EL NIDO
We flew from Seoul to Manila which is the main hub. We then took a connecting flight (AirSwift) directly to El Nido. Make sure you have enough time to transfer from whatever terminal you land to get to the AirSwift terminal. It requires a shuttle which has specific hours. We were cutting it close and took a taxi, resulting in traffic, but we made it. Also, make sure you book directly into El Nido airport and not Puerto Princessa. Doing that will require a 5 hour uncomfortable drive to El Nido. So we flew directly to El Nido (Lio airport). On another note, AirSwift was great! I was stressing out about our carry on luggage. Just pre-book luggage before you get to the airport. These planes are small and I thought people were exaggerating with how small the overhead bins were but they were right! They are very compact. A duffle bag will not even fit. We paid $30 for all four of our suitcases and I'm so glad we did. It was well worth the money to be stress free. It was such as easy process too. They handled all luggage with care.
We landed late at night so I reserved transportation from the hotel which was a huge van and then we had to transfer to two tuk tuks directly to the hotel.
We stayed at Cadlao Resort. It was amazing. It was beach front, great food, and the staff was so nice. We reserved a family bungalow which was two bedrooms, and a shared bathroom for all of us. What I also really liked about this resort was that they have a shuttle to El Nido town, AND they also have a WhatsApp number for you to text whenever you need a ride. This place is also guaranteed great sunset and sunrise views.
We explored El Nido town one day, and then did an entire day of island hopping the next.
ISLAND HOPPING : TOUR A
We booked tour A through the travel agency across from the resort, J Benito Tours. You will see travel agencies all over, but all are priced around the same, depending on the tour. I wish we had a few more days here in El Nido. I would have loved to explore some of the other tours. We went with a private tour and it was well worth the extra money to be by ourselves with the tour guides and not a boat full of random tourists. The price of the tour also includes lunch which you will get at one of the stops.
As a mom of a three year old I was skeptical with doing these tours. It's not often you see kids in photos from these tours but kids are allowed! We had a great time and so did our 3 year old.
You can see the tie Tok I made on her experience HERE :)
Lunch time. We had pork/chicken adobo, rice, salad, bananas, and these banana egg-roll things that were SO GOOD.
The sun stick came in the clutch this day. I swear by this when I'm in the sun all day.
You can find it HERE.
AND these waterproof phone pouches!
These waterproof phone cases were a lifesaver! These kept our phones dry for all of the water activities.
You can find the cases HERE.
CEBU
We stayed at CostaBella resort. While it was just okay for us, I wouldn't recommend it. I tried to reserve at Shangri-la but they were booked. I'll be honest, all of these top resorts are on the main roads which don't look like they belong there. You need to pay attention or you will miss the signs for the hotels. The hotels will have lonnnnng roads lined with security so you cannot get in or out without being a guest at that resort. Our resort kind of felt like a prison as my husband said, lol. You weren't allowed to order any food delivery, you had to eat on site or take a taxi to eat elsewhere. You also couldn't leave the premisis without the staff knowing. Basically anytime we would take a cab, they would use the walky-talkies "Guests from room 123 leaving". The vibe just didn't feel super safe here in this part of the city, but I knew that. The hotel has a decent pool and a slide and was also beach front and had water activities so it wasn't bad.
As far as transportation, we weren't able to use Grab as we hoped to. We used it to get to/from the airport but we had to use the hotel transportation to get to Sirao garden, which wasn't cheap. We also hired a private driver to take us to Kawasan Falls. I found him through a Facebook Philippines group and he was highly recommended. Him and his assistant were great. We had a spacious vehicle and they took us to get lechon afterwards. His name is Herme Cortes, with wonder car rentals and tours Cebu.
We just did swimming at Kawasan Falls. I would have liked to do the whale sharks experience and canyoneering but we had the baby with us. Kawasan falls requires life vests for ALL. You cannot enter this area without one. There are rocks surrounding the entrance of the waterfall but then it drops suddenly and is VERY deep.
SIRAO GARDEN
This selfie park is located an hour away in Cebu City. The giant hand is the most popular piece. This is what made me want to come to Cebu, in addition to Kawasan Falls. There are instagram picture spots located all over the park. I can't remember what we paid for admission but it was cheap.
One of the biggest tips I will tell you is : BRING WATER SHOES!
For all of the tours, and Kawasan falls, you will be walking on rocks to get places. I made the mistake of not bringing mine because I was already out of luggage space and I instantly regretted it when I was walking in waist deep water with target sandals on praying I didn't lose one or both, lol. They sell water shoes, the water proof phone pouches, and water proof bags as well all over. So if you forget you can purchase some there relatively cheap.
I also just want to add, Philippine airlines was my absolute FAVORITE airline in all of Asia! They are so nice, respectful, and they don't nickel and dime you for everything like the other airlines do. We got to check bags free of charge, complimentary snacks and meals throughout our flights to/from the Philippines and to/from Bali. The flight to Manila was delayed and Philippine airlines provided complimentary lunch from Jollibee's for all. Are you kidding me?! Needless to say, I am a HUGE PAL fan :)
I hope one day I get another opportunity to explore other parts of the Philippines. I would have loved to explore Coron, and Siargao among many other parts. I definitely got hit with post Philippine depression after we left and came back to reality. Definitely worth adding this destination to your travels.
XO CHRISTINA
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