February 24. It was a bright sunny day. After about an hour and a half, we have finally landed at the El Nido Lio Airport. My wife and I along with some travel blogger buddies have been waiting for this much needed weekend getaway to El Nido, located at the northwestern tip of Palawan.

We flew via Seair’s LET 410 which was suited for short-ranged travels and unpaved airstrips. This was my second or third time to fly in this plane. The El Nido airport runway was literally a strip of (dusty) land and could only accommodate small planes.

Since Seair flights to El Nido happen only twice a week, our group stayed in El Nido from Wednesday to Sunday. That’s 5 days and 4 nights of relaxation and strenuous but fun-filled island hopping activities. We stayed at the Marina Garden Beach Resort. There were three of us who shared a single air-conditioned room with 2 beds (and an extra mattress upon request). Although there were a few other cheaper alternative resorts, Marina was reasonably priced and the place is okay.

We spent P3,500 per head for 4 nights inclusive of breakfasts. There’s free WiFi at Marina too but in this part of Palawan, electricity is only available from 2pm – 6am so you’ll be forced to go out and explore. I did bring a laptop to answer any emergency work-related emails.

Marina Garden Beach Resort: For inquiries, please send us an email at marinagarden.elnido@gmail.com or call our front desk at +63-917-624-7722 or +63-908-884-3711.

El Nido is famous for its pristine beaches and majestic islands where people can go island hopping. All the trips and tours are already “packaged” so to speak (Tour A, Tour B, Tour C, or combination) and the locals are very friendly and hospitable. You just hire a boat that comes with 2 boatmen who’ll take care of cooking lunch for the group as well.

All throughout our stay, we tied our Tour A and Tour C. So that’s 2 days of snorkeling and island hopping. Some of the paces we got to experience were: Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Secret Beach, etc. There were a whole lot of other places and things to do in El Nido.

SEAIR resumes direct flights to El Nido

SEAIR resumes direct flights from Manila to scenic El Nido, Palawan on November 18, 2009. SEAIR flies Manila-El Nido-Manila every Wednesday and Sunday.

El Nido is located in the northernmost tip of Palawan and is part of the El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area, the largest marine sanctuary in the entire Philippines. This group of islands is a perfect destination for divers and snorkelers as well as beach and island-hoppers with over 30 dive sites and more than 50 beaches and hidden lagoons. Aside from its diverse fauna, El Nido also showcases a striking geological wonder: limestone cliffs that were carved extensively from thick layers of coralline deposits