Our itinerary for the day--- Combination Tour A & C. One whole day of island-hopping...yes!
They say that when you only have limited time in El Nido, never ever, as in NEVER EVER let go of the chance to see the beauty of Tour A & C.
In our case, we only had 2 days to explore El Nido so we opted for the Combination Tour A & C and Tour B (for our last day). Not all the travel agencies offer combination tours so we're really lucky that Northern Hope Travel & Tours have it. For a separate quotation, Tour A costs P1,200 per head and Tour C is at P1,400/head; but if you opted for a Combination Tour, the cost would be P1,500 per head. All fees include lunch...buffet lunch!
You will also have to pay P200.00 for the environmental fee which will be valid the whole time you are staying in El Nido.
Tour C: Helicopter Island/ Matinloc Shrine/ Hidden Beach/ Talisay Beach/ Secret Beach
First stop! Helicopter Island.
This island's called as such because of it shape. (Though for some, they say it looked like Nemo!)
The tour guide gave us 20 minutes to explore the island...so we wasted no time and swam and took pictures like there's no tomorrow!:)
And then kuya called us to return to our boat so that we can go to the next destination...
Matinloc Shrine
Since we're on a limited time, "Kuya Tour Guide" told us to just do a photo op...and so we did. Twenty minutes have passed and off we go to our next stop which also happen to be the lunch venue... Talisay Beach.
According to our "Kuya Tour Guide" this island was a former resort (or house), owned by a Filipina and her foreigner husband. Too bad, the structure looks promising (though creepy, since it's already abandoned. We don't have much time to look around the place so we just climbed up the rock and look what we saw... (just be careful because the way up is very steep; one wrong move and I'm sure you'll not be able to enjoy your whole stay in El Nido).
The STUNNING View from the top of Matinloc Shrine
We also did some photo sesh at their mini port and some at infront of the shrine...and then off to the next island.
The Hidden Beach!
View from Talisay Beach
While our tour guides and boatman were busy preparing our lunch, we on the other hand were also busy enjoying the beach!:)
Buffet Lunch!
I just want to commend "Kuya Tour Guide" for being the most artistic tour guide I've encountered. See the fruit and veggies on the picture? Yes, he did that! He also told us that every year, there's a food decoration competition between tour guides (that's why they're really dedicated on how they prepare the food.) Excellent!
The food was delectable! Everything was fresh, from the pork to fish, to crab, to fruits and veggies! No wonder after a few minutes everything was gone!:)
We spent another 10 minutes on the island, and then "Kuya Tour Guide" called us so that we can go to our next adventure.
Our last destination in Tour C is the Secret Beach.
You may reach the Secret Beach by swimming through a hole. If you happen to saw the movie "The Beach" then you'll have an idea of what I was about to show you.
I present to you, The "Secret Beach"...
According to other blogs, this is where Alex Garland got his inspiration in writing his book-turned movie, The Beach. They say that they just decided to film the movie in Phuket, Thailand for aesthetic purposes. I need some clarification here. (After our trip, I watched the movie, and yes, it's kinda like it!
Again, we just stayed here for another 20 minutes, then swam back to our boat for the start of our Tour A.
Tour A: Big Lagoon/ Small Lagoon/Secret Lagoon/ Papaya Beach (instead of Commando Beach)
We began our Tour A with a trip to the Big Lagoon. You see, we were a bit disappointed with this one, because we didn't get to experience to swim in this area. This is just for photo op purposes only.
The Big Lagoon as the perfect backdrop for your "picture-perfect" profile pic.:)
(Excuse me for ruining the view)
After our "side trip" to the Big Lagoon, off we went to the Secret Lagoon. You may reach it through a keyhole again, but this time, minus the swimming.:)
Docking area to the Secret Lagoon.
How you will enter going to the Secret Lagoon.
Nothing much to see inside the Secret Lagoon, just a huge rock and body of water.
There's nothing much to see in this area, just a place for photo session. So after spending a few minutes we left the place and went to the Small Lagoon.
Again, if you want to go to the Small Lagoon, you will have to swim & walk (but in my case swim & swim), because the docking area is far from where the Secret Lagoon is located. No one told me that at some point the water is shallow so you can just walk your way. Kuya Tour Guide only told me when we were already on our way back to the boat.
Me: Kuya baket di mo sinabi na may mababaw na part pala dun? Todo langoy pa'ko.
Kuya Tour Guide: Ma'am akala ko po nakikita nyo yung ilalim kase naka-snorkeling mask po kayo.
So yeah, That's my fault after all.
Boyfie and I didn't get the chance to enjoy the Secret Lagoon, because we had or own misadventures. Let's leave it that way. *wink*
Group picture at the Small Lagoon.
*Credits to Jasper Franco for the picture
And for our final stop... Papaya Beach!
Kuya Tour Guide told us that instead of going to Commando Beach, he will just bring us to the beach beside it...Papaya Beach. According to him there's no shade in Commando Beach so we might not be able to enjoy there. Fair enough, kuya.:)
Exhausted from all the swimming and island hopping we opted not to swim this time and just enjoy the view and this wonderful feeling. Ahhhh...the beach life!
Papaya Beach
You can buy beer, fresh buko juice or fruit shakes in this island, but be ready because the price isn't that cheap.:)
Beer: P60.00
Buko Juice: P50.00
Mango Shake: P150.00
I was really craving for mango shake that time but paying P150 bucks wasn't really that reasonable. Sigh.
We spent an hour more on the beach doing nothing but crazy stuff. At around 4-ish, we asked Kuya Tour Guide (who by the way was playing volleyball) to bring us back to our hotel.
Our Tour A & C is a wrap!!!
