El Nido Island Hopping: Tour B

Updated November 28, 2013.

There’s this possibility that when a traveller visits a place for a second time it would not be as magical as the first time. I’m glad to know that on my second time in El Nido, Palawan it was still as beautiful as it used to be when I went there for the first time.

I was fortunate to join Marky Ramone Go of Nomadic Experiences and my new friend Pam Bringino on this trip. They got there a day ahead of me, which is good as they could do El Nido Island Hopping Tour A without me. For the next 2 days I’ll be joining them for Tour B and C.

Tour B (800 Pesos/pax)

Wake up at 7AM then breakfast, around 8AM we’ll book for an Island Hopping Tour B, at 9AM we’ll ride the boat and start hopping.

Our itinerary for Tour B was to visit Panggulasian Island, Snake Island, Cudognon Cave, Cathedral Cave and Pinagbuyutan Island. But due to some circumstances going around El Nido there were some modifications to the itinerary.

First stop would be Panggulasian Island. I thought we were going to an island and lay on the beach for a while but there was a resort being built on the island so we were not permitted to go there but we can do snorkeling at nearby shallow sea in front of the island.

Next is my personal favorite for Tour B, the Snake Island. We went up to the top of the hill which showed superb view.

Then went down and since our lunch was not still ready, we decided to experience why the island is named Snake Island. A long sandbar connects this island to another island where we walked during the low tide.

Then I saw another unique sea creature and I shall call it a Sea Dog. According to our boatman/tour guide the dogs from the other side of the sand bar would swim across the sea around 11AM because they know that people will be having their lunch at the Island.

 

It was a great 40 minute walk from one end of the sand bar to the other end and back. Time for lunch!

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Next stop is Cudognon Cave where one would need to roll around a tiny hole just to get inside the cave.

There’s really nothing much to do there except for the cave. So if you’re friends are not addicted to pictures you’ll probably not stay there for long.

Next stop was Cathedral Cave which is a cave on the side of a limestone cliff. One must swim to the inside of the cave so you would know why the name of the cave is Cathedral Cave.

Unfortunately, there were only a few in our boat that wanted to go inside the cave so our boatman decided we should visit a nearby beach instead. So our next destination would be Cove 2.

Cove 2 is like Panggulasian Island because we only got to do snorkeling on it. It has a beach but because of the low tide the boat was unable to dock near it.

Unfortunately, due to a filming of a reality TV of another country we were not allowed to visit Pinagbuyutan Island. But hey, we were in El Nido where there a lot of awesome islands and beaches so our boatman decided to bring us to Sandbar Island.

And we got proof that there was a reality TV show filming in the islands of El Nido when we got to Sandbar Island. There were temporary structures being built.

I took a few shots and since there was no vegetation nor cliffs on the island for a shade we did not stay long.

Since it was only 3PM and usually the tour should finish around after 4PM our boatman decided that we should stop at somewhere along the way. That’s when they decided that we should go to Papaya Beach.

Papaya Beach is actually on the left side of Seven Commandos Beach and has a better snorkeling spot than the latter.

And our day island hopping tour ended around 4:30PM. Washed up, ate dinner, met new friends, sat on the beach at night and went to sleep. Next was Tour C the next day.

Below are the new standard rates for Island Hopping in El Nido effective November 16, 2013.

• Tour A – 1,200 Pesos/person
• Tour B – 1,300 Pesos/person
• Tour C – 1,400 Pesos/person
• Tour D – 1,200 Pesos/person

Rates excludes Eco-Tourism Development Fee (ETDF) of 200 Pesos/person.

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I recommend Northern Hope Tours for your island hopping tours in El Nido.

Northern Hope Tours Details

Contact Numbers:

• 0939-902-2216 (Smart)
• 0927-735-3221 (Globe)

E-mail: [email protected]

Reserve your tours ahead of time by calling Northern Hope Tours so you could reserve a slot. They do get fully booked.

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Update Log

November 28, 2013

As of November 16, 2013, the standard rates have now increased. Former standard rates are Tour A – 700 Pesos/person Tour B – 800 Pesos/person Tour C – 900 Pesos/person Tour D – 700 Pesos/person Combination Tours – 1,500 Pesos/person Rates include Lunch, Boat and tour guide. Rates exclude the Eco-Tourism Development Fee (ETDF) of 200 Pesos/person.

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