El Nido, Palawan, Philippines

Paradise: Found

This place is, simply put, PURE PARADISE. Bathtub temperature oceans, incredible sunsets, tropical islands, sand bars, limestone cliffs. Insanely beautiful and picturesque. National Geographic ranked this region as one of the 20 most beautiful places in the world, and when you come here, you realize why. 

Geographically speaking, Palawan is an island province in the Philippines that lies between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the southwest. The two most famous ‘paradise spots’ are El Nido and Coron. Coron is more famous for it’s diving, as there are countless shipwrecks in the area left over from WWII. 

El Nido tends to be the spot where people go when they want to experience pure, unrefined, unprocessed paradise. If you’re looking to island hop, snorkel, and chill-out on uncrowded beaches… this is definitely the spot. I had a simple cabin on the beach, like ON the beach, door opening up to sand, for $20 USD per night. There are not many places in the world where this can be had. And when you are actually on the beach, there are no annoying vendors constantly pestering you for a jet ski, massage, beer, deep fried shrimp, etc etc. I’m looking at you, Thailand!! 😉

Many of the sunset shots here were actually taken from the small village near El Nido called Corong Corong. A mere 5 min trike (moto taxi) ride away, this little spot was a gem. The sunset views were even sweeter, and the beach, even less crowded (and bigger!) There is a place there called Greenviews Resort that I would definitely recommend! First off, they have really good food! Something that is a bit hard to find in the Philippines 😉 Second off, they have WIFI! Something that is a bit hard to find in El Nido. The electricity for the entire town shuts down around midnight, and doesn’t come back on until around 2PM the next day. One of the only other locations with WIFI was a restaurant run by a very angry foreigner who informed me that “even if I bought dinner, I wasn’t welcome to just hang around and use the internet!” WELL, SORRRR-EEE! Kinda thought that was the whole point of the gigantic WIFI HERE sign… 😉

Another great spot (that also happens to have WIFI!) is a restaurant in town called The Alternative. Very delicious food! Very healthy fare, lots of vegetarian options, and also amazing views! Right on the water. Highly recommended!