Our Getaway: El Nido Vacation

And so we are back! If you have been a follower of this site, you would know that Dada & Mimi have been planning for our El Nido trip last October - http://dada-mimi.blogspot.com/2015/10/budget-plan-el-nido.html - And somehow, we were fortunate enough not to proceed as planned. Why is that? Because if we did, then we will not end up having the following -
4 days and 3 nights in El Nido inclusive of:

• 4 days and 3 nights’ accommodation
• Daily Breakfast
• Island Lunch Buffet 
• 2 whole day tours (Tour A & C)
• Van Transfers from PPT to El Nido and vice versa
• Environmental Fees

Everything cost us Php 10,000 pesos. The only additional expense that we had is when we rented out a kayak for (1) hour, Php 400 and our Daily Dinner where we spent at the famous Art Café and Sea Slugs. (Paluto by the Beach). 

Sea Urchin

I was able to bump into Anang Balay’s website and inquired on their room rates when Ms. Anafe (owner of Anang Balay) offered all of this for a package, which I agreed. I gave her a security deposit that is less than 50%, paid Php 3,000 sent her the deposit slip and a week after we were picked up by the van from PPT going to Anang Balay, El Nido.

Upon arriving at El Nido I saw there’s a lot of other guest houses that offers much cheaper rate. Fan rooms starts at Php 500 / day but since we wanted a worry-free vacation, we allowed Anang Balay to take care everything for us.

Our room is just right although there were no cabinets so we ended up not unpacking our clothes though the consolation we get is the cable TV. Honestly, I was quite surprised to see a TV inside the room because it was never part of the room features. Anyways, it became favorable for us. Our room has a small porch where you can hear the sound of the ocean and have a small view of the shore. Anang Balay is strategically located at the end of the proper town and right across the shore where the boat rides were.

The Bed

Toilet and Sink

Cable TV

Dresser

Lights & Fan

One good thing about Anang Balay is that they have their own boat, so all of their guests are the ones traveling together.

Snorkeling on Star Island

Lunch Buffet on the Islands was sumptuous. There were mussels, grilled chicken and pork, honey melon etc. Our tours were held from 9 a.m. til 5 p.m. so it a must that you bring along snacks and a lot of Sun Block. There are even no dull moments when traveling from one island to another. The boatmen always ensure to give us a bit of entertainment every now and then along with their epic stories of the island.

We would also admit that we fell in love in El Nido that we plan to go back. We were now on the course of planning another trip to get Tour B and Tour D and stay again at the same place.

Some tips and points:

• Van can’t get inside the Town Proper so you will be dropped off and need to pay for a tricycle ride Php 50 to get to Anang Balay 
• PPT to El Nido travel time is for 6 hours with 2 stop overs for lunch / dinner  
• Stay away from Service Water. Buy or Bring mineral water, somehow I experienced diarrhea due to water intake  
• Anang Balay have generators that can run the fan and TV in case you experience electric outage, which we did on our last day
• Make sure to wear or rent snorkeling shoes, you will need it for most of the Island Tour. 
• Enjoy Nature, Share Moments and Fall In Love in El Nido

Anang Balay Turista
Ms. Anafe
0917.315.1900