Hey #HIVE! If there's anything the Philippines is known for, it's probably having a lot of beautiful beaches and pristine waters. So today, allow me to show you some photos from our trip that we took before COVID-19 changed all our lives. Honestly, I wasn't able to take as many photos cause I was too focused on relaxing and really taking in the scenery. Anyway, hope you enjoy this post, let's get to it!
Getting to Pangulasian
The island is actually in the area of El Nido in Palawan, the whole island is an Eco-Luxury Resort under the El Nido Resorts group. Booking a stay here is a bit convenient as they arrange the flights and the boat rides to the island. They actually have a separate commercial flight going to El Nido through Airswift and it goes straight to Lio Airport, this I think is much better than before when they had this small plane take you there, which was a bit scary. The last time we went was more than 10 years ago and the resort we stayed in for this post didn't even exist yet. Anyway, if you're interested you can visit their page HERE.
Just even from the flight, you can already see how beautiful the place is! I think my phone ran out of battery cause I have ZERO photos of Lio Airport and the surrounding area. It's actually quite nice with several hotels and establishments around the area, although the beaches aren't as beautiful as the ones in more higher-end resorts. From the airport, you'll need to travel by boat to get to the resort itself, you'll even get to pass by other beautiful islands on the way.
The Resort
For some reason, I didn't take too many photos of the entrance area lol. The look of the place was very modern tropical which incorporated a lot of Filipino materials and designs. As soon as you get to the resort, the staff will immediately welcome you with some refreshing drinks and some songs. It's pretty cute actually and really makes you feel like they're really happy to have you there haha.
The photo above is the beach area where you can just relax and order some drinks. It's pretty convenient cause it's pretty near the restaurant if you wanna just grab some food as well. Also, might be a good time to mention that unfortunately, I did not take photos of the food. But what I can tell you is that they have a breakfast buffet, which was super good and then a la carte options for the rest of the day. They also have an option to have dinner by the beach or on a sandbar, which I do have some photos that I'll be showing later.
Here are also some photos of the pool area in the morning and at night. There's also a restaurant in this area if you wanna have some food and drinks while chilling by the pool. This was probably where we spent time the most at night. Fortunately, there weren't too many people when we went so it's like we had the whole place to ourselves.
The restaurant by the beach really had some breathtaking views. Honestly can't think of a better place to eat in. The whole experience just really makes you feel like you're in paradise, from the service to the views and the general vibe of the place.
Accomodations
If I remember correctly, we stayed in the Pool Villa, which can comfortably fit around 3 to 4 people. I honestly forgot to take pictures of the bathroom, which was really beautiful and so well made. If you're wondering, the rooms are all airconditioned, even if the designs look all too natural.
Here are some other photos which show the pool outside the room. It's actually quite perfect if you don't feel like going to the beach yet or if it's nighttime and you still wanna swim a bit. It's not really that deep either so it's pretty kid-friendly.
The Experience
There was quite a number of things to do both in the island and in the nearby areas. We have been to the area before but it was still just as beautiful as I remember it to be. We went to the lagoons and the other islands in the area such as Snake Island which only appears during low tide.
I even got to try windsurfing when we went! A bit of a funny story, I was able to stand and move quite a bit, but the wind was pretty strong that day and I ended up going farther than I wanted to and I had no idea how to get back. In short, the resort staff had to rescue me in the middle of the ocean lol. Quite a funny experience that I'll probably never forget. If you look at the photos below, you'll see my silhouette.
We also had the chance to have dinner under the stars. It was a really memorable experience as it was just me and my family with really good food and conversation. Would definitely recommend doing the same if you get to visit.
Scenery
If there's any testament to how chill this particular trip was, it's when I don't have much photos to share of what I did. Lol. I guess it's really nice to just relax and take it easy sometimes and to not document each and every single thing. But I did take some photos of the beautiful scenery just in case you're still not convinced of how breathtaking the place is haha.
Just as in the morning, the island is absolutely beautiful when the sun starts to set. I can say with certainty that this is one of the best trips I have taken in my entire life. It really just checks all the boxes with how you want your vacation to be.
Anyway, that's all the photos I have for this particular trip. Really hoping to be back one of these days! I promise to take more photos, especially of the food when we do. Hope this little post of mine somewhat convinced you to visit one of our beautiful islands here in the Philippines. If you like this post or if you wanna read more about and travel and food, do follow me! Will definitely follow back as well haha. Hope you're safe wherever you may be, til next time!