Take Me Back to El Nido. Immediately.

As we are rushing to the airport it dawns on us that we are not flying into Puerta Princessa. No No.  We are flying straight into El Nido.  We ask the driver if he is familiar with where their terminal is for ITI.  Thankfully after about a 10 minute discussion he realized where we were headed.  We get there and we are greeted with an amazing woman who helps us check in.  The security line, what security line?!  Coming rom LA this is a god send, haha.  We get checked in and go to the boarding “lounge”.  They have juices, snack sandwiches, soup, tea, etc. all for you to enjoy while you wait for your plane.  You then receive your boarding pass.

Can we just mention how amazingly awesome these are?!  I mean come on, WOOD boarding passes.  So awesome.  I asked to buy them… they of course said no.

So off we go to our plane.  We land and are welcomed by a jeepney, a second lounge area of more amazing snack, tricycles and a phenomenal group of women singing a what I believe to be a Filipino welcome song.  My boyfriend so nicely asked if I wanted to take a van (since I have never been on a trike) and I of course say no, haha take me on the trike!  This looks fun!  So we go on our merry way making it to the main part of El Nido.  We take a second complimentary trike to our hotel which was BEYOND adorable.  Cadlao Resort.  Everything about it was perfect.  Off the beaten path, the employees, the rooms, everything!  Pure perfection.

Our first night was quite relaxing.  We ended up at what I believe was called “Mezzanine” or something similar and had some food.  Homemade risotto and seafood pasta, amazing.  It was beyond delicious.  A couple own and runs the restaurant and on the top patio of the restaurant they even have a rack of the clothing which she designed.  I ended up buying a cross bag for myself.  We watched the sunset and that was the end of day one.

 

Day two was remarkable in my opinion.  My boyfriend had arranged for an island hopping tour and we left about 8 am.  The staff (again from Cadlao Resort) was so incredibly nice and friendly I am so glad he chose to book it through them.  So off we go… Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Cadlao Beach, Secret Beach, and Papaya Beach.

Everything about this day was magical.  When we got to Cadlao Beach they had started to prepare us a lunch of fish, chicken, fresh fruit, and so much more.  All in all El Nido was an amazing trip.  There were very few tourists there as of this past February.  Yes, there are some, which should be expected… I mean look at it!  But nothing close to what you would see in a larger city such as Boracay or Puerta Princessa.  We only had one and a half days there, but I can happily say I cannot wait to return.  If it isn’t on your bucket list – it needs to be.