31/03/18

We had breakfast, said goodbye to everyone who were off to Oslob to see the whale sharks and then got in our taxi to the airport. Luckily the traffic wasn’t bad at all and we made good time and were able to chill out at the airport before our flight.

The aeroplane was really small only 12 rows inside and it flew into El Nido airport. From there we hopped in a tricycle and headed to Amos hostel our pick up point for our bus to take us to Tapik which is the other side of the island next to a village called Sibaltan. The bus only comes at certain times of the day and at first we were worried that we would miss the bus as we arrived at 1pm but no need as we didn’t board until past 2! It was a cramped public mini van and we squashed in amongst the locals. The ride was quite winding and really fast, I had to hold on the whole way and the kids in the back were puking up.

An hour later and we’re driving along the beach front right up to the entrance of Tapik. Compared with what we saw in El Nido, this place was pure paradise. The view was incredible with all the other islands out in the distance and the beach right on our doorstep. We had to wait quite a while to be let into our beach hut and once we were in we walked further down the beach to soak it all in. There are all these spider looking crabs that come out in clans at low tide to eat the sea grass. When you walk close by they bury themselves in the sand but if you stand still long enough they come out again all around your toes.

That evening we ate chicken adobo at Tapik, which was a soy and vinegar dressed chicken. It was really delicious but if you’re a backpacker it would be quite expensive to stay. The beach hut cost 1500 pesos a night and then food is 150pesos plus. I have to say it is incredible here and the hut are placed high up so you have a view of the beach and there is a little balcony for you to sit on and look out across the sea. We stayed in beach hut 3 for the first night.

That evening we decided to go on the island camping trip the next day as 1. There was no availability to stay another night at tapik, and 2. It was one of the reasons we stayed at this accommodation. We had seen other camping trips online and they were priced at $300 each but this one was priced at 6500p for 2 people! Less than £50 each! They also have other island hopping tours and from hearing what El Nido tours are like this one sounded much less busy and touristy. We’d basically found the perfect non touristy part of Palawan and we didn’t want to leave!

We packed up our things for the camping trip and went to bed.