Coron and El Nido are two of the most beautiful places in the region of Palawan in the Philippines. From the stunning blue waters to the epic cliffs, you definitely should add them both of these towns to your Philippines itinerary. They are also pretty close to each other, which makes it pretty easy to get from one to the other. There are two ways to get from from Coron to El Nido—by plane or by ferry.
How to Get from Coron to El Nido, Philippines
Here’s How to Get from Coron to El Nido, Philippines:
FERRY:
There are several ferry options, but there are just a few boat companies that do the trip in 4 hours or less: Montenegro and Phimal leave from the Coron port, take 4 hours, and cost about $34 USD. Jamalia is a newer company that takes 3.5 hours, leaves from the pier, and costs $36 USD. We went with Montenegro, and it was a comfortable experience. But this mostly depends on how busy the boat is and how the weather is that day. Jamalia is said to have newer boats with more spacious seating, but we haven’t personally experienced that.
To get to either the ferry port or pier, take any tricycle from within town for about 50 PHP ($1 USD) or less, and the driver will know where to take you. At the ferry terminal, you’ll have to pay a terminal fee of 20 PHP ($0.40 USD) per person. In the terminal, they’ll do a security check and then you’ll board the boat and be off. There aren’t any options to buy snacks on the boat, so buy some ahead of time if you think you’ll get hungry! (Since it’s a four hour ferry ride, so we definitely suggest you bring some water and snacks.) You can check the schedules and book your ferry here.
Once you arrive in El Nido, take a tricycle from the port to your hotel. We noticed that we got a better deal if we walked away from the crowd to find a ride. We paid 50 PHP ($1 USD) for the two of us and our luggage to get to our hotel, which was about a 10 minute ride.
*If you’re looking for a tricycle driver that is really nice, speaks great english, and you don’t want to worry about haggling over prices, feel free to reach out to our friend Franco. You can message him on Whatsapp and set up a time for him to pick you up (+63 997 897 6163). Be sure to tell him we sent you!
PLANNING A TRIP TO THE PHILIPPINES? CHECK OUT THESE 10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE VISITING THE PHILIPPINES!
AIRPLANE:
Airswift is the only airline that goes from Coron to El Nido and tickets range from 3000-4500 PHP ($60-90 USD) per person one way depending on the date. It is more expensive, but there are benefits to flying over taking the ferry. You won’t get sea sick, your journey won’t be affected by rough seas, and you won’t have to worry about getting uncomfortably hot, which are all common issues on a ferry. Unfortunately, flying doesn’t end up being that much faster than taking the ferry, because both the Coron and El Nido airports are about 30-45 minutes from the main towns. If you fly, you’ll probably save about two hours door-to-door. You can check the schedule and book your flight here.
To get to the Coron airport (Busuanga) from Coron town, book a shared van with your hotel. It will typically cost 150-200 PHP ($3-4 USD) per person and take anywhere from 40-60 minutes. Once you get to the airport, the flight takes about 40 minutes nonstop. When you arrive at the El Nido airport, you’ll be about 30 minutes outside of the main town. You can grab a tricycle from there, and it should cost you about 300 PHP ($6 USD) for two people with luggage.
CHECK OUT OUR EL NIDO TRAVEL GUIDE FOR THE BEST THINGS TO DO ONCE YOU’RE IN EL NIDO!
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