The Apartments at El Nido: Your home on the islands

A visit to El Nido wouldn’t be complete without going around town and experiencing the island tours. The Apartments at El Nido, located at the heart of El Nido town, is a great home base that is located close to the main road and the starting point for their very own private speedboat tours.

The property is only 30-minutes away from El Nido’s Lio airport. Guests also have the option to fly to Puerto Princesa and take a 5-hour van trip to El Nido.

On this trip, we were eager to explore the town of El Nido and also experience an island-hopping tour by means of a private speedboat.

A mabuhay welcome

The tourism and hospitality industry’s valuable asset is its people. Filipinos are warm and always ready to offer assistance with a smile. That one-of-a kind Filipino trait is the first thing noticeable once we arrived.

Garry Talampas, the property’s operations manager along with his staff welcomed us and gave a brief orientation about the place.

The Apartments at E Nido offers a brand of service that is centered on the Filipino trait of malasakit, which translates to a sincere concern for another’s well-being.

We stayed at the Big Lagoon Suite at the El Nido House part of the property. The 79 sqm suite was spacious and it smelled wonderful once we came in. It has two rooms with their own bath, a fully equipped kitchen and 55-inch TVs.

There is also unlimited soft serve ice cream (the popular vanilla and chocolate flavors) and coffee (americano, cappuccino, mocha, cafe latte, chocolate and espresso) available near the communal kitchen downstairs. This part of the complex has a long table which is great to just relax at the end of the day and also get acquainted with the other guests.

Not more than a stone’s throw away of this area are restaurants, bars, groceries and souvenir shops. We found the location very practical for budget conscious travelers because of the many dining options.

Private Speedboat Tour

The next morning was our scheduled island-hopping tour provided by The Apartments. Their customizable tours came inclusive of bean bags, speakers, towels, beach umbrellas, snorkeling gear, utensils and what we are most excited about, the sea pool. Each speedboat can accommodate a maximum of 11 persons. To assist us is one tour guide, one boat captain and one deckhand.

Come December, The Apartments will introduce the latest addition to their fleet: A 33-footer Stepped Hull Speed Boat, which will be the first luxury speedboat in El Nido. This modern vessel combines design with performance, ensuring guests embark on a journey marked by luxury and safety. The new speedboat offers a freshwater system complete with shower and toilet facilities to plush pilot seats. This will be a one-of-a- kind island tour experience in El Nido.

Our first stop was Miniloc island’s Big Lagoon where we rented kayaks and explored hidden natural pools along limestone formations. After almost an hour of kayaking and swimming in the clear blue waters, we went back to the speedboat and proceeded to our next stop, the Secret Lagoon.

The secret lagoon has a small entry beside the beach that leads to a pool that is enclosed by tall limestone cliffs. It is best to come early to avoid the many tourists falling in line to get through the small rock opening. Once inside, the area is great for swimming and taking memorable photos.

Our next destination was Kudugman island where they served plenty of seafood and grilled meats for lunch. After about more than an hour of eating and just lazing around the beach, we hopped on the speedboat and proceeded to our next stop.

Snake island, officially called Vigan island. The island is slender and long like a snake with its sand bridge that connects to the mainland. After a few minutes of looking around and taking videos and pictures, we headed to the next island destination, which was Entalula. This island has powdery white sand amid tall karst cliffs. We spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling and just lounging around on the bean bags that The Apartments provided.

It was late afternoon when we returned to town. We were already thinking about dinner. An option is to just buy seafoods and barbecue at the market and cook at the hotel. The hotel’s staff went to the public market for us and also helped with the grilling of the fish that was bought.

When it was finally time to go back to Manila, the staff and their manager Garry helped us with van transfers to the airport. We felt relaxed and ready to go back to work after the holiday. The Apartments at El Nido is truly a home away from home.