Palawan tourist transport and Tour services - Joseph Ednalino

Palawan tourist transport and Tour services - Joseph Ednalino

we availed of island hopping tour and van transfer from PP - El Nido RT with kuya Joseph Ednalino of Palawan tourist transport and Tour services (found reviews of him in some blogs and fb). bale 9 pax kami so nakatawad kami kahit paano. 

Sa totoo lang, hindi ako mahilig sa package tours. Usually, I book the tours, hotels and transfers separately to get the best services and rates available sa iba ibang guides/hotels. Pero with Kuya Joseph, he offered me the best rates sa lahat ng nakausap ko na tour guides in El Nido and Puerto Princesa. 

Supposedly, either siya or sa Northern Hope Tours sana ako kukuha ng Island Hopping and Transfers pero the deal breaker is libre na ang CITY TOUR kay kuya Joseph if sa kanya ako kukuha ng Van Transfers TO & FROM and El Nido-PP. Yes, you read that right, LIBRE and CITY TOUR. I don't know if that's usually his package or its just because lean season when we went, pero WALA kami binayaran for the CITY TOUR. So for the Van Transfers costing P10,000 balikan (PP-El NIdo-PP), sobrang sulit na kasi same price lang din ang quote sa amin for van transfers ng Northen Hope and Eulen Joy (transport company). Tapos libre pa ang city tour kay Kuya Joseph (which costs 600/pax standard rate if van ang gamit) so kung tutuusin nakatipid kami ng husto dito.

**city tour covered these spots:

plaza cuartel, church, croc farm, binauatan, kasoy factory, bakers hill and souvenir shop

for the island hopping naman, bigay niya sa amin na rates is TOUR A is 900/pax while TOUR C is 1000 per pax. private boat na yun with lunch, tour guides, vests etc.. snorkles and mask were rented sa puerto princesa for 150/pax for 2 days use na. 

overall, ok ang service ni kuya joseph. mabait and madaling kausap. customized tour siya usually but kung island hopping lang ang avail niyo puwede naman siguro. text or call him na lang. he's based in Puerto Princesa pero if may guests siya in el nido, sumasama siya sa tours para maasikaso niya yun guests niya. 

Joseph Ednalino (FB page : Palawan tourist transport and Tour services)

- 09997093300; 09162380040 

EL NIDO TOUR A

EL NIDO TOUR A

again, we woke up early for breakfast and TOUR A island hopping. Breakfast was continental, with a few slices of bread with Butter and Jam and some fruits. A bit lacking but since its free, who are we to complain right?

TOUR A
Big Lagoon

Small Lagoon

Simizu Island

7 Commandos Beach

Ipil Beach (was not able to go)

some pics while sailing... emotera mode on.. LOL

Now, as we reached the BIG LAGOON sabi ng tour guide i-ready na ang lahat ng camera at di puwede mag-stay ng matagal sa lugar dahil low tide and baka sumadsad yun outrigger boat. Buti na lang at maaga rin kami dahil wala kaming naabutang boat sa lagoon kaya wala masyado photobomb na banca's sa pics.

now, where in manila can you see a view like this?

artista teh? pinagkakaguluhan ka hehe

now, kaninong daliri yan ha?

solo moment

SMALL LAGOON

Upon reaching Small Lagoon, i suggest renting a kayak for easier maneuvering inside the lagoon. First time I went to El NIdo last 2013, di kami nagrent and nahirapan kami mag-ikot sa loob dahil lalanguyin mo pa, nakakapagod. Masyadong malawak ang Small Lagoon. 

This time, we rented a kayak. 300pesos ang rent and kaya ng 2pax per kayak. Since we were 9 pax, My mom had a solo kayak and was assisted by 1 of our boatmen.

kayak for rent, 300 lang po

my mom and kuya boatman

isipin niyo na lang, pano niyo lalanguyin yan ng hindi kayo napapagod

nagtatago sa sikat ng araw haha

Spent more than an hour inside the small lagoon. Sobrang enjoy!

Pagkabalik sa labas ng small lagoon, bumaba muna kami sa tubig para magpalamig. ang sarap ng tubig! We wanted to stay pa sana but we're starving na rin so we proceeded to SIMIZU ISLAND where we'll have our lunch.

SIMIZU ISLAND

ready!

my mom had a quick swim before lunch

ang taguan namin

LUNCH TIME!!!

grilled fish and squid

mussells (sosyal di ba, tahong lang naman haha)

grilled liempo and shrimps

talong with century tuna

 after a quick lunch, siesta muna then we snorkled at the right side of the Island. Ang daming isda!

After having our fill of Simizu Island, we then proceeded to 7 commando Beach

After a tiring day, this is the best place to end your Island Hopping tour. The beach itself is not that deep, mala-boracay ang tubig. Malinis and malinaw. Very safe as they cordoned off the area to note kung hanggang saan lang dapat ang mga tourists. They have a mini-store where you can buy snacks, drinks and halo-halo. 

sarap ng halo halo

100 pesos for this halo halo

after a while, napansin namin na parang uulan na so we searched for a cottage. (walang bayad ang cottage dito, basta walang tao, puwede mo lagay ang gamit mo)

our cottage with a great view

7 commando

Was supposed to go to another beach after pero we declined na. 7 commando is a great beach for beach bumming and ending the day. We stayed there until past 4pm then went back to the town after.

That night, we had dinner at COCO BAR at the beachfront. 

half of the group ordered filipino dishes while the other half had pasta, salad and pizza. Food is good and cheap. We paid around 100 per pax for dinner. Went back to hotel and slept. Need to wake up early again since early trip kami back to Puerto Princesa.

EL NIDO TOUR C ISLAND HOPPING

EL NIDO TOUR C

The next day, Oct. 10, we woke up early for our Island Hopping tour C with Kuya Joseph Ednalino.

But first things first, we had breakfast c/o CASA CECILIA at their rooftop. Breakfast is a simple longsilog meal which made better by the great view of the limestone cliffs surrounding El Nido town.

simple but filling

breakfast done!

limestone cliffs surrounding the town proper

Then around 8:30am, Kuya Joseph fetched us from the lobby of CASA CECILIA and went to the beachfront for the tour.

our itinerary:
Helicopter Island
Hidden Beach
Tapiutan / Tailsay Beach (where lunch is served)
Secret Beach
Matinloc Shrine & viewing Deck

excited!

our group with Kuya Joseph (sya yung naka-black na rashguard)

and off we go...

thankful for the nice weather

maganda na sana, kaya lang.. nagphotobomb yun camera hehehe

first stop: HELICOPTER ISLAND

Not much to do here but swim and snorkle. Very laid back island with nothing much. Spent around 20-30 mins here then onward to the next stop.

snorkling

2nd: HIDDEN BEACH

nasan.. nasan ang hidden beach?

the entrance to the beach hidden by the limestone

Hidden Beach entrance is covered by limestone rocks so it is not easily seen from afar. Back when I first visited El Nido, boats can dock inside the hidden beach but not anymore. As per our guide, Boatmen have decided that boats should dock near the entrance so that the tourists may be able to enjoy the Hidden beach without the boats hindering the view. This I Agree On.

eto siya o!

see that? yan yun isang entrance to hidden beach

Then for our lunch, the boat sailed us to TALISAY BEACH

While they were preparing our lunch, we contented ourselves with lounging around and taking pictures of the island

clear waters

finally, lunch is served!

grilled chicken

alimasag

grilled fish

vegetable salad

lato

DIG IN!

after a filling meal, we then went to SECRET BEACH.

To enter the Secret Beach, tourists need to swim towards a small hole. Ihahatid ka lang ng bangka near the entrance and you'd need to swim the rest of the way. During Low tide, this is safe enough but during high tide, this is discouraged dahil baka madala ka ng waves and masugatan coz of the sharp rocks and limestones. Suggest to have Aqua shoes here because talagang matatalas ang mga bato na aapakan and hindi sapat ang slippers lang.

To tell the truth, I wasn't THAT awed with the secret beach. I think what people are after is what you have to go through just to see the place. The adrenaline rush. Its just a simple beach that is surrounded by limestones cliffs on all side. You can't even swim inside because of the shallow water and sharp rocks. Just enough for picture-taking.

see that small hole at the right side? yan ang papasukan to enter the secret beach

success! got inside the beach fine

Our last stop: MATINLOC SHRINE AND VIEWING DECK

This was previously owned by a German and his Filipina wife and was later abandoned for unknown reasons. It was houses a shrine and a viewing deck with a mesmerizing view of the Matinloc Islands.

crystal clear waters near the dock

where our boat docked

viewing deck

By 4:30pm, we were done with TOUR C and proceeded to go back to town. We then bought some breads at the nearby Bakery and proceeded to have merienda with our cup of Instant Noodles. Busog!

After having a shower, stayed at the lobby area to use their wifi. Updated our FB with some pics taken during the day. By 8pm, wala pa ring nagtatawag for dinner because pagod and tulog na half of the group. Only 5 of us came out for dinner and we had it at KAPTAIN'S DINER near CASA CECILIA.

Food is so-so, I had tapsilog which for 80 pesos is expensive considering the taste. Their carbonara with chicken is ok for 150 pesos. Spaghetti is very basic. Also ordered their burger with fries, sakto lang ang lasa. Rating is 6 out of 10. 

Should've gone to ALTROVE for dinner kaya lang di namin mahanap. More expensive but better food.

Anyway, after an uneventful dinner, got back to the hotel and slept. It'll be an early day again tomorrow.