Northern Hope Tours

Redoing Tour B: Island Hopping in El Nido, Palawan, Philippines

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Last week I was superbly stressed that I wanted to let go of work, disconnect, take a rest and do something out of my daily routine. I decided to go to El Nido and do Tour B. (Perks of living in Mainland Palawan I could travel to El Nido in a whim.) Since it was a spur of the moment decision I availed the tour solo.

Why Tour B?

The best island hopping tours in El Nido are Tour A and Tour C, these tours are action packed since you needed to swim to get inside Small Lagoon, Hidden Beach or Secret Beach. I want something relaxing where I could enjoy the view, feel the splash and just get my mind off things. Tour B was perfect since I could do the whole tour without swimming and just enjoy the beach.

Tour A: El Nido Island Hopping for the nth Time, Palawan, Philippines

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Ever since I moved here in Palawan, I’ve done the Island Hopping Tours of El Nido for as many times as I can remember. Different dates with different sets of people and friends. But with the same excitement for me to be able to visit and see the beauty of El Nido.

At the beach of El Nido Town Proper.

At the beach of El Nido Town Proper.

What’s different now? 

Ever since November 2013, there had been a lot of changes from what I experienced on my first visit here.

The prices now have increased. My first Tour A costs 700 Pesos/person but now it costs 1,200 Pesos/person. Both prices does not include the 200 Pesos/person ETDF.

Though I’m happy for the increase because the guides and boat staff would get a better pay, what I did not like was the steep increase in prices and the abrupt increase without proper information dissemination. Thinking back on my very first Island Hopping Tour in El Nido, I did thought that even if the price of the island hopping tours will be around 1,500 Pesos/person, the beauty of El Nido is definitely worth it.

El Nido Island Hopping – Combination Tour A and C

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Updated November 28, 2014: Combination Tours are no longer allowed in El Nido. I have also updated the details below.

00 Our Boat at Talisayen Beach

Our boat at Talisayen Beach

I was a bit reluctant to join Paula of ponderingpaodaolei.net and Marx of marxtermind.com in their island hopping tour as I’ve done all the tours except for tour D. I thought about getting bored to death without any activities for a whole day while the two are out having fun under the sun. It became an easy decision… Take me with you!!! Please!

The plan was for us to do a Combination Tour, A & C. Doing combination tours is actually a good decision if you have limited time in El Nido, Palawan. You can do two tours in a single day, plus it’s cheaper too. Tour A costs 700 Pesos per person while tour C costs 900 Pesos per person, doing both would cost 1600 Pesos per person… plus time… plus snacks… But the standard rate for Combination Tour A & C is 1,500 Pesos per person, a hundred pesos cheaper. And we still got it at a discounted rate of 1,000 Pesos per person from Northern Hope Tours. 😉 (The prices on this paragraph are already outdated. Updated prices can be found here.)