Manila to El Nido

What to expect when visiting El Nido

El Nido is Palawan Island’s northernmost tip, popular around the world as the gateway to paradise — the Bacuit Archipelago. This group of picture-perfect limestone islands boasts white sand beaches, crystal clear waters, enchanting lagoons, and beautiful underwater.

El Nido’s town centre leaves much to be desired with its mediocre beach, narrow streets, and mostly backpacker and mid-range hostels. But the island-hopping adventures from here are some of the best you will see in the world. Outside town, you should also include in your El Nido itinerary a visit to Nacpan-Calitang Beach and a hike to Taraw Peak.

4 ways to get from Manila to El Nido

If the direct flight is out of your budget, your best option is to fly from Manila to Puerto Princesa. From Puerto Princesa Airport, you can continue by van to El Nido.

Airfares on this route are cheaper than direct flights from Manila to El Nido, making it possible to travel this journey from Manila to El Nido via Puerto Princesa for a price of around €26.

AirAsia, Cebu Pacific, and Philippine Airlines (PAL) offer multiple flights a day from Manila to Puerto Princesa. PAL departs from Terminal 2, while the two other airlines depart from Terminal 4.

The flight time from Manila to Puerto Princesa is about the same as the flight time from Manila to El Nido: about 1.5 hours.

If you book at least a month in advance, you can find flight prices starting at 1,000 PHP (€16). Flight fares tend to be more expensive if you are booking days away from the scheduled flight.

Booking your flight months in advance and during seat sales is the best way to avail cheap tickets. Flight tickets from Manila to Puerto Princesa can get as low as 630 PHP (€10.10), depending on the airline, day, and time of flight.

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

Upon arrival at Puerto Princesa Airport, head to the exit hall. You’ll find drivers outside the exit hall who will happily guide you to their minivans. If you’re not sure where to go, you can always ask the transport counter at the airport for assistance.

At Puerto Princesa Airport, you can travel with several minivan companies, including Eulen Joy Express, Lexxus and Fortwally. Minivan tickets start from €9.70, and there are trips from 05:00 to 17:30. Travel time from the airport to El Nido is about 5h - 5h 30m.

We recommend booking a van ride online beforehand so that you won’t have to worry about your transport. Also, you can check the reviews of van companies beforehand to be assured that you’re travelling with a trusted company.

Minivans and buses are not allowed to enter El Nido town due to its small roads. The drop-off point for shared vans from Puerto Princesa to El Nido is El Nido Bus Terminal. From here, a tricycle to the town centre costs 50 PHP (€0.80).

You can check out our route from Puerto Princesa to El Nido for more information.

You can also travel from Manila to El Nido by sea. It’s a much longer journey compared to the flight options, but if you like to make an adventurous trip, this is the way to go.

The last time we checked (January 2023), you have two options when travelling by ferry from Manila to El Nido. The cheaper option with a shorter travel time is a 1-day direct ferry with Atienza Interisland Ferries.

Alternatively, you can take a 2-day ferry with 2Go Travel from Manila to Coron. This option is a great idea if you’re also looking to visit Coron since it requires an overnight stay in town. You’ll take another ferry from Coron to El Nido. We explain both options below.

Departure and arrival port

The two ferry companies have different departure and arrival ports.

The Atienza ferry leaves from Baseco Port Area, while the 2Go Travel ferry departs from Manila North Harbour Pier 4. Both piers are accessible via taxi or Grab from anywhere in Metro Manila.

If you take the Atienza ferry, you’ll arrive directly at El Nido Ferry Terminal. With 2Go, you’ll head first to Coron Port and from here, take another ferry to El Nido.

Atienza Interisland Ferries is the only ferry company offering direct trips from Manila to El Nido.

Atienza’s M/V Star San Carlos allows both passengers and cargo for this route. This direct ferry leaves Manila at 18:00 on a Thursday and arrives at El Nido around 19:00 the day after.

An economy class ticket costs 2,210 PHP (€35), while an air-con tourist class ticket costs 2,410 PHP (€39).

Note that they don’t have a website where you can buy your tickets. Instead, you need to go to their office inside the Manila Port Area or message them on their Facebook page.

Step 1: Manila to Coron

Unlike the Atienza ferry, 2Go Travel doesn’t offer direct Manila to El Nido trips. With 2Go, you need to take a ferry from Manila to Coron. You can then choose from several ferry companies when travelling from Coron to El Nido.

Pre-pandemic, the 2Go ferry from Manila to Coron takes only 11 hour, so travellers usually book with this ferry company instead of Atienza Interisland Ferries.

However, with 2Go Travel’s new ferry schedule this pandemic, the ferry ride from Manila to Coron now takes 2 days (50 hours). The reason behind this longer journey is the ferry now makes stops in Batangas and Puerto Princesa before heading to Coron.

The ferry departs every Wednesday at 10:30 and arrives at Coron Port on Friday at 12:30. Ticket fares start from 1,330 PHP (€21).

Step 2: Coron to Manila

If you want to push through with this 2-day journey from Manila to Coron, you can book your tickets at the 2GO Travel website or with 12GoAsia.

The ferry from Manila arrives in Coron at 12:30 on Friday, and the earliest Coron to El Nido ferry departs at 07:00 the next day. This means you need to stay for a night in Coron and take the ferry the next morning.

There are fast and slow ferries from Coron to El Nido, but your best option is to book a 5-hour fast ferry. You can choose between Montenegro, Atienza, and Judy Ferry with ferry tickets starting from 2,820 PHP (€45).

You can read more about this route in our post from Coron to El Nido.

The easiest and direct way to travel from Manila to El Nido is by a direct flight with AirSwift.

Note that El Nido is a prime location, so flight tickets are quite expensive. But this is probably your best option if you’d rather save time than money.

AirSwift operates multiple direct flights from Manila to El Nido daily. The earliest flight schedule is 05:15 with the last flight of the day at 18:55. Travel time takes around 1 hour 30 minutes.

A one-way ticket starts from 4,000 PHP (€64) and can get up to 7,500 PHP (€120), depending on the day and time of flight.

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How to get to Manila Airport

Flights from Manila to El Nido depart from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City. Note that there are four airport terminals with different entry points that are a bit far from one another. AirSwift flights depart from NAIA Terminal 4.

The airport is accessible by taxi or Grab if you’re coming from Metro Manila. You can also look for a Point-to-Point bus heading to the airport.

How to get from El Nido Airport to the town centre

Flights land at El Nido Airport, about 5 km away from El Nido town centre. If your hotel doesn’t offer airport pick-up, you can take a tricycle to El Nido town. Fares start at 300 PHP (€4.80) for two passengers with luggage.

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

Another option is to take a flight to San Vicente, a town about 2 to 3 hours away from El Nido.

The longest white sand beach in the Philippines is located here, so it’s also an emerging tourist destination in Palawan. Some travellers head to San Vicente first and stay a few days here before heading to El Nido.

Only Sunlight Air operates flights between Manila and San Vicente, and they also offer minivan transfers to El Nido for their passengers.

Sunlight Air is the sole airline offering flights between Manila and San Vicente, with only two flights in a week. These flights depart at 11:00 on Sundays and at 05:45 on Thursdays.

Airfares start from 4,000 PHP (€64), but you can score tickets as cheap as 1,000 PHP (€16) during seat sales.

From Manila to San Vicente Airport, flights take 1h 45m.

Since flights are only two days a week, public transportation is not regularly available and quite complicated. Booking private transportation, on the other hand, will make it an expensive trip.

The best option when travelling from San Vicente Airport to El Nido is the Sunlight Air shuttle.

Sunlight Air shuttle

In 2023, Sunlight Air started offering minivan transfers between San Vicente and El Nido for their passengers. Tickets cost 785 PHP (€12.50) per person, which you can book via their Facebook Page.

You will be dropped off at El Nido Bus Terminal, where you can take a tricycle to your hotel in the town centre.

Public transportation

We also asked some local tour operators in 2023 for possible options when travelling from San Vicente Airport to El Nido by public transport.

Outside the airport, you can take an e-tricycle (electric tuk-tuk) to Roxas town. The 1-hour ride to Roxas Bus Terminal costs around 300 PHP (€4.80) per person, depending on your negotiation with the driver. At the terminal, vans and buses going to El Nido Bus Terminal depart daily.

You can also ask the e-tricycle driver to take you to the junction where buses and vans from Puerto Princesa to El Nido pass by. Minivan fares start from 400 PHP (€6.40), while buses would be a bit cheaper.

Private transport

If you prefer a private transfer, you can rent a private minivan with rates from €98.