We hopped on our little tuk tuk in Panglao to take us to the Tagbilaran Ferry Terminal. We were taking the 2 hour ferry from Bohol to Cebu City, where we would spend the night at an airport hostel before flying to Coron, Palawan.
We would be spending 2 nights in Coron, before heading out for a very exciting 4 day 3 night island hopping expedition from Coron to El Nido with Big Dream Boat Man. I had heard about Big Dream Boat Man years ago from a travel blogger, and got my heart set on going. COVID meant that my dream had to be pushed back by several years, but its safe to say that the extra anticipation did not over-hype the experience.
The ferry terminal and ferry were both air conditioned, so it was a relaxing and quick 2 hour journey over to Cebu City. Once we arrived, we were warned by a local that a lot of the taxi drivers in the area would try to scam, so she advised us to use the Grab app to call the cab. We arrived at our airport hostel, HalfWay House Hostel, and checked in. There was a nearby mall, where we were able to stock up on some snacks/essentials before heading to Coron. That evening, every restaurant within walking distance of our hostel looked quite unappetizing, so we opted to get Korean Instant Noodles and enjoy them at our hostel. Honestly way yummier than much of the local food we had tried.
The next morning, we took a quick 1.5 hour flight on a cute little propeller plane, and the views as we approached Coron were just gorgeous! Coron is known for its stunning natural beauty, including its clear waters, white-sand beaches, coral reefs, and limestone cliffs. The area is very popular for activities such as island hopping, snorkelling, and scuba diving, as well as for its picturesque landscapes and scenic views, and we got a beautiful aerial tour as our plane flew over the island.
Our hostel, had organized a van to pick us up from the Coron Busuanga airport. As soon as we hopped in the shared van, it started POURING rain! We’ve been quite lucky with our travels so far – we’ve been on the road for nearly 100 days and have only had maybe 3 or 4 rainy days! It was a beautiful drive through the lush mountains, listening to the rain pound on the windshield.
We arrived at Rain Haven Lodging House (very fitting name!) and checked into our room. The owners were a lovely young couple with their 1 year old adorable daughter. It was still raining so we decided to spend that afternoon cozy inside, watching Netflix and relaxing before our big expedition.
For dinner, we went to Gavin’s Kitchen + Bar, a very cute restaurant with outdoor but covered seating that served wraps and burgers.
The next morning, we planned for a preparation day – we had some errands to run, such as taking out cash for the expedition, buying sunscreen, a dry bag, bug repellant, and snacks for our trip. About 30 minutes after we woke up, the power went out! The owner of the hostel was very apologetic, and said it was an island wide issue that would hopefully be resolved by the afternoon. We left the hostel for our errands, and ran around different stores in Coron buying up all the stuff we needed.
Some of the local restaurants in town, including Gavin’s, had generators, so we went to Gavin’s to eat lunch and kill some time waiting for the power at our hostel to come back on. When we got home in the late afternoon, the power was thankfully back on and we enjoyed the much needed AC.
Big Dream Boat Man had specified in their preparation letter that our bigger bags needed to be kept below deck, which we wouldn’t have easy access to, so we needed to pack a day bag with essentials for every evening. We spent the evening reorganizing our bags for the big trip.
The next morning, our adventure was finally beginning! We met at the Coron Port Authority at 8:30 am, and were greeted by the friendly Big Dream Boat Man staff. The rest of our 19 person expedition began to trickle in, and around 10 am we were led to the boat.
To say this was an incredible experience would be an understatement – we spent the next 4 days exploring some of the most beautiful reefs, sandbars, remote villages, and islands either of us had ever seen!
The staff was incredible, and went so far above and beyond to cater to our every need. The food was so unbelievable – we wanted to bring the expedition chef, Raymond, back home with us! Our amazing guides, Dan and Arius, would spearfish and catch fresh seafood for some of our meals, and the bar man, Jojo, would have another ice cold beer or rum & coke waiting for you before you even finished your first one.
We were also very lucky to have an amazing group on our journey, with people from all over the world. We met friends from Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Argentina, and the Philippines. We all started out as strangers, but by the end of the 4th day we were already making plans on when/where we can see our new friends in different corners of the world.
The experience was truly amazing. To see our full Big Dream Boat Man gallery, click here. To read in detail about Big Dream Boat Man and our trip of a lifetime, click here!
After 4 amazing days in the sun, our boat dropped us of in El Nido Port. El Nido is a beautiful little town, nestled at the base of phenomenal limestone mountains. It has a super vibrant atmosphere, with loads of little bars, restaurants, and shops.
Unfortunately for us, we did not get to enjoy the super vibrant atmosphere because immediately after we checked into our hostel, we both started to feel sick. I came down with a bad cold, with stuffy nose, cough, and sore throat. And Saz and a bunch of our friends had severe food poisoning symptoms. Apparently the water in El Nido is notoriously bad, and we both used it to brush our teeth.
We spent the next 3 days in El Nido holed up in our room, recovering from our illnesses. Although we didn’t get to explore much of El Nido, we really liked the vibe of the town and would definitely come back.
Our visas for the Philippines were expiring in a few days, so we had to decide if we wanted to pay the ~60 USD/person to extend it, or move onto the next country. Ultimately, despite the amazing times we had, we decided that it’s time to leave the Philippines and embark on our next adventure – Malaysia!
Because El Nido doesn’t have a big airport, we took a 4 hour bus ride down to Puerto Princesa, where we spent the next 2 days exploring before flying out to Kuala Lumpur!
We’re very sad to be leave this amazing and beautiful country. The natural beauty of the Philippines is truly unmatched, and our time here has flown by! We will DEFINITELY be back!
