Our expectations were set rather low after visting the world famous underground river - so El Nido took us by surprise! It is absolutely worth the visit - never mind the long and uncomfortable travel: 45 mins boat ride from the Coconut Garden Resort, another 2 hr jeepney tour and finally a local bus to El Nido for another 5 hours (of cause stopping in every single village). Including waiting time this might have been a record setting 10 hr trip for 180 km! El Nido itself is not that special but the surrounding Bacuit Archipelago is. It's an amazing archipelago consisting of immense limestone cliffs surrounded by crystal clear turquoise water inviting everyone for a snorkelling tour. Island hopping tours are the only way to explore the archipelago with its stunning lagoons. We booked the two most recommended ones (A and C) and weren’t disappointed. In the evenings we met with Dany and Layak (a Lebanese couple we met in a shisha bar) and Maaike and Marc (a Dutch couple we met on one of the tours). Well, El Nido itself is not a bad place after all Stunning views everywhere on our two trips The small lagoon hidden behind huge limestone cliffs and only visible when the tide is low - from outside, inside and around Way into the big lagoon Selfie time No one knows the true story of the heart island (Matinloc Shrine / Fernandez's Abandoned Mansion) but our tour guide told us the following: a rich german man bought the whole island which comes in the shape of a heart for his wife. He build a catholic center but when he died nobody took care of it anymore. The following years it slowly fell apart. Is anybody out there willing to give us money to buy this island? Maaike and Marc are relaxing in their hammock which the carry around the world Two days of great swimming and snorkeling come to an end ... Our new pets Niels went nuts with the selfie-stick from Layak Local busses at the main bus station in El Nido Finding a good place to relax during a break on the way El Nido
