How to get from El Nido to Manila

Why visit Manila?

Manila is the capital of the Philippines — an old city often disregarded by travellers who use it only as a gateway to the country’s more visually appealing islands. But if you have an extra day in your itinerary, we think Manila’s colourful history is a great way to kick off your trip.

Explore the walled city of Intramuros, Fort Santiago, Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church — all of which were first built in the late 1500s. Art and anthropology also attract many locals to Manila. You will find here the National Museum, a complex of three museum buildings that tell the story of the Filipinos.

There are 4 ways to travel the 623 kilometers (387 miles) from El Nido to Manila. You can choose between the direct flight, ferry, minivan + flight via Puerto Princesa and minivan + flight via San Vicente. The journey takes 1 hour 30 minutes to 22 hours 30 minutes and the quickest way is by direct flight. If you're on a budget, the cheapest option is by minivan + flight via San Vicente with tickets starting at 3,790 PHP (€61).

Aside from El Nido and Puerto Princesa, San Vicente has a small airport where you can take a flight to Manila. This town is located 2 to 3 hours away from El Nido, so travel time is shorter compared to taking a flight via Puerto Princesa.

San Vicente is a budding tourist destination in Palawan. You’ll find here the longest white sand beach in the Philippines, which makes for a good side trip opportunity before heading to Manila.

This option includes a 2-hour minivan ride from El Nido to San Vicente and a 1-hour-45-minute flight with Sunlight Air from San Vicente to Manila.

Since San Vicente is a small town with only two flights a week at its airport, public transportation is not regularly available.

For this reason, Sunlight Air, the sole airline operating between San Vicente and Manila, offers minivan transfers for its passengers. Tickets cost 785 PHP (€12.70) one way, and you can book your seat through their Facebook page.

The minivan will pick you up from El Nido Terminal and drop you off at San Vicente Airport in time for your flight to Manila.

We suggest booking your seat with Sunlight Air, especially since the flight is early in the morning. If by public transportation, you will need to take a bus or a minivan to Roxas town or junction and then ride an e-tricycle (electric tuk-tuk) to San Vicente Airport.

Sunlight Air offers flights between San Vicente and Manila twice a week. The flight departs San Vicente at 07:00 on Sundays and Thursdays.

Airfares start from 3,000 PHP (€48), but you can score cheaper tickets during seat sales.

It takes around 1h 45m from San Vicente to Manila by flight.

The direct flight is the fastest option from El Nido to Manila, but it is also the most expensive.

Airswift is the only airline offering direct flights on this route, and it takes 1 hour 30 minutes from El Nido to Manila.

Check Flights on Skyscanner

El Nido Airport

Flights depart from El Nido Airport, which is only 5 km away from the town centre. A tricycle ride from your hotel to the airport costs 300 PHP (€4.80) for 2 passengers with luggage.

You can also check with your hotel if they offer transport to the airport.

Manila Airport

The direct flight from El Nido to Manila lands at the main airport in Manila: Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City. You can take a taxi or Grab outside the airport building.

Note that the Manila Airport has 4 separate terminals that are quite far from one another. This is important to consider when booking a connecting flight. AirSwift flights land at Terminal 4.

TIP: If you decide to travel by plane, please consider including a carbon compensation fee to reduce your impact on the environment.

Travelling by ferry from El Nido to Manila takes the longest. With the ferry options available, you’ll arrive in Manila after 20 hours 30 minutes to 22 hours 30 minutes.

The shorter option is a 1-day direct ferry with Atienza Interisland Ferries from El Nido to Manila.

Alternatively, you can take an indirect ferry via Coron with 2Go Travel. This option requires a 4 to 5-hour ferry ride from El Nido to Coron and a 17 to 18-hour ferry ride from Coron to Manila, all in all taking about 1.5 days.

Departure and arrival station

With the indirect ferry option, you need to first take a ferry from El Nido Ferry Terminal to Coron Port. Here, you can take the 2GO Travel ferry to Manila North Harbour Pier 4.

The sole company offering direct ferry trips from El Nido to Manila is Atienza Interisland Ferries with only one departure a week.

The ferry departs El Nido every Sunday at 10:00 and arrives at Manila at around 11:00 the day after. Both passengers and cargo are allowed on the ferry.

Economy class tickets cost 2,210 PHP (€36), while an air-con tourist class ticket costs 2,410 PHP (€39).

Since Atienza does not have a website for online booking, you need to buy your tickets at the port or from a local travel agency. You may also contact the numbers posted on their Facebook page.

2Go Travel is one of the most famous ferry companies in the Philippines, so it is often travellers’ first choice for sea travel.

However, 2Go Travel doesn’t offer direct ferry trips from El Nido to Manila. Instead, you need to take a ferry from El Nido to Coron first and take the 2Go ferry from Coron to Manila.

There are three fast ferry companies operating between El Nido and Coron.

The cheapest option is Montenegro Lines with daily trips at 12:00. Ferry tickets with Montenegro cost .

Judy Ferry Travel and Atienza Interisland Ferries also operate ferry trips on this route. However, tickets are more expensive starting from 3,200 PHP (€52), and their ferry trips are only on select days.

Travel time is about 3h 30m - 4h 30m, so you’ll arrive in Coron between 16:00 and 17:30.

For more information, you can visit our page on El Nido to Coron.

The 2Go ferry from Coron to Manila operates only on Mondays and Thursdays. Travel time takes 17-18h to Manila North Harbour with fares starting from 1,400 PHP (€23).

With the ferry schedules from El Nido to Coron and Coron to Manila, you might not make it in time for the 18:00 trip to Manila in case there are delays.

We suggest taking the 02:00 ferry trip on a Monday instead so that you’ll have enough time between your arrival in Coron and your departure to Manila.

The most popular option to travel from El Nido to Manila is a combination of a 5 to 5.5-hour minivan ride to Puerto Princesa and a 1.5-hour flight to Manila.

More airlines operate flights from Puerto Princesa to Manila and fares are cheaper for this route. In fact, combined fares for this indirect flight option are less than half of the direct flight fare from El Nido to Manila.

From El Nido Transport Terminal, there are multiple minivans bound for Puerto Princesa. Fortwally and Eulen Joy Express vans head straight to Puerto Princesa Airport, so you won’t need any additional rides.

The van ride can take 5h - 5h 30m with fares from .

We highly suggest booking online in advance via BookAway if you have already booked your flight from Puerto Princesa to Manila. This way, you can plan your trip from El Nido to Puerto Princesa Airport accordingly without missing your flight.

The second leg of your trip is a flight from Puerto Princesa to Manila. AirAsia and Cebu Pacific are low-cost carriers operating this route. Philippine Airlines usually offers more expensive flights among the three.

Same as direct flights from El Nido to Manila, it takes 1.5 hours from Puerto Princesa to Manila.

Book your flight ticket in advance

Flights from Puerto Princesa to Manila are as cheap as 1,000 PHP (€16.10).

Note that flight fares get more expensive if you are booking shortly from the scheduled flight. Also, during peak seasons, ticket fares can get more costly and even sell out.

Aside from booking tickets during seat sales, booking your flight months in advance is the best way to avail cheap tickets for your trip. To find the cheapest available flights, we recommend checking Skyscanner.

Manila Airport

Flights from Puerto Princesa to Manila also land at Manila Airport in Pasay City. NAIA Terminal 2 is exclusive for Philippine Airlines flights.

Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia flights both land at Terminal 4. These two terminals are about 10 minutes away from each other.

TIP: Cebu Pacific and AirAsia offer many promotions annually. Keep an eye out for these promotions to book a cheaper flight for this route!