EL NIDO ISLAND HOPPING TOURS

THE TOURS (CONT.)

All these tours typically start between 8-9 am and ends around 4 pm. A delicious lunch is provided with all the tours. I would have to say that the lunch in these tours are top notch. A bottled water is also included but bring your own as well as it's good to have extra water to keep yourself hydrated. Snorkelling gear should also be included in the tour. What's not included is an environmental levy fee of 250 PHP. Then there's other optional costs such as a kayak rental fee when visiting the big/small lagoon which I will further go into detail more a bit later or if you're looking to rent water shoes.

Yeah, it's a lot of take in but let's make these choices easier for you! The 2 most commonly picked tours are Tour A and Tour C. I've had the opportunity to do both in 2 separate days so I'll be share with you my experience for you to be able to narrow down your choice!

THE SCHEDULE

Depending on your agency, you will most likely get picked up at the place you're staying at (or if you're close to the docking/meeting area, you may walk) then get dropped off at the meeting point which is in the main beachfront of El Nido. Here is where all the boat tours pick up the passengers between 830 am to 9 am. All the tours take off from here and this is where you will meet your tour group for the day. You will see other island hopping tours meeting here, getting on their designated boats and taking off for the day. This is also where you will be dropped off at the end of the day. Because you're going to be visiting 5-6 islands in the span of 1 hour, you typically get between 40-50 minutes in each destination. This may seem like a long time but it isn't! Once you get to the islands, what you do is up to you. You may take a dip, explore the island, take photos, go snorkelling (if available) or stay on the boat.

In the middle of the day you'll have lunch. This is one of my favourite parts of the tour! The food is delicious! I'm drooling just writing about it! One of the highlights of these island hopping tours for me at least. For lunch, they serve up fresh seafood, meat, delicious hearty fruits and so much more! Water is included in these tours as I mentioned but other beverages are not. After lunch, you'll most likely get a food coma depending on how you much you've eaten but don't worry, the beautiful islands will keep you awake to enjoy the last half of the tour! Just before 4 pm hits, you'll be back at the main beachfront of El Nido.

TOUR A OR TOUR C?

If you have the time to do both, do it! If you end up wanting to do both, try to bargain with an agency since you're doing two tours to get the best price possible. Doing more than one tour will give you the leverage, the bargaining power to give you normal prices at a discounted rate. Of course, this depends how convincing you can be. Giving it a try is worth it! The prices vary from one agency to another but Tour A normally costs 1,200 PHP ($31 CAD or $23 USD) and for Tour C, it's 1,400 PHP ($35 CAD or $27 USD).

If you have a limited amount of time, and if you must pick one, that all depends on what you want. Both tours offer clear water, white sand kind of deal. A true paradise vibe. Although, I did find Tour C much better for snorkelling. Let me quickly break it down for you.

Tour A has a beach, majestic vibe to it (..If that even makes sense). The iconic limestone rocks are there to grab your attention instantly on each of the islands you visit on this tour, making it a very scenic island hopping tour if you ask me. The Small Lagoon and Big Lagoon alone will leave you breathless. That being said, to explore these two lagoons, there's an extra charge of 200 PHP - 300 PHP to rent a kayak. It's not included in the price you had already paid for. Yes, it's unfortunate I know especially when you're not told by the agency of this extra cost right from the get go. Be sure to bring money if you would like to rent a kayak on this tour. You have the option of swimming to these lagoons but a kayak is the most convenient way to explore the lagoons.

Tour C offers more of a relaxing and snorkelling destinations. No kayaks needed on this tour. The perfect tour to sit back, get a tan, drink coconuts, swim in super clear water or go snorkelling. My favourite island on this tour is the Hidden Beach. Clear water, white sand, and somewhat hidden! Tour C is a bit more further than Tour A as it takes you to Matinloc Island. Your boat will also face much bigger waves on the open water here so be sure that your electronics are properly sealed in a waterproof bag.

To quickly recap, if you would like a relaxing tour with the option of snorkelling, I would pick Tour C. My preferred tour if I had to pick one would be Tour A! The Small Lagoon and Big Lagoon just did it for me! But hey, if you can do both, I would highly recommend it!

I hope I was able to help you choose an El Nido Island Hopping Tour that works best for you. If you're planning on doing one of these tours, I would love to hear from you so comment down below or if you've done one of these tours already, go right ahead and share your experience! As a friendly reminder, when doing these tours, don't forget to bring your swimwear, sun screen, water proof bag, receipts/tickets from the agency, and pocket money for the tour.

To see my vlog when I did Tour A, click HERE to see the video.

To see my vlog when I did Tour C, click HERE to see the video.