El Nido: Taking It Slow at Corong-Corong Beach

Since we last visited El Nido, Palawan seven years ago, the town proper has mushroomed into a jumble of hotels, resorts, restaurants, bars, and art and souvenir shops. Activity at this town center explodes at night, with hordes of tourists descending on the town after nearly 3 years of restricted tourist arrivals. So, when we motored into El Nido very recently, we decided to stay at a relatively quiet location not too far from the town proper.

We had already stayed at Corong-Corong Beach in 2016 but this time we booked a resort situated in an area only walking distance from the public market north of our first resort but practically fronted by a sandy beach. And although there was now a good number of new resorts along this beach, it was not the frenetic dining and shopping place that the El Nido town center is.

Restaurants and resorts along Corong Corong Beach

Arriving at El Nido on a Tuesday afternoon after a 5-hour van ride from Puerto Princesa, we spent the rest of the day strolling along Corong-Corong Beach. It was not as quiet as when we first checked in seven years ago. New resorts, restaurants and bars have mushroomed over the years but the place is still relatively low-key especially when compared to the beach at El Nido’s town proper.

Strolling along Corong Corong Beach near sundown

This beach is at least 3 kilometers long, stretching from somewhere close to El Nido’s public market all the way to just before the northern end of Marimegmeg or Vanilla Beach. It was the perfect place for our daily 45-minute walk just before sundown. It’s also an ideal setting to view and shoot El Nido’s spectacular sunsets, which we got to do on our first day here.

On our first evening in El Nido we walked along Corong Corong to dine cozily at one of the restaurants along the beach. For the remaining evenings, however, we gave in to our nephew’s preference for dining at El Nido’s town proper where there were more restaurant and café choices alongside a vibrant nightlife. In this part of town, some of the roads were closed to vehicular traffic in the evening to allow shoppers to congregate in the narrow streets. The town center has come a long way from the relatively quiet El Nido we have come to know 7 years ago.

The beach at El Nido’s town center

Some mornings however, while waiting to board our boats for island-hopping at Bacuit Bay, we would take our time silently strolling along Corong Corong and just soaking in the beach vibes. Here and there a friendly dog would come our way, its wagging tail indicating its need for affection which we would readily oblige. We also mingled among some local folks, chatting with them and inquiring about their way of life. Many used to be fishermen but as tourists flocked to El Nido, they decided that serving as boatmen on island-hopping tours was a more lucrative arrangement. Before the pandemic that is. When Covid hit, most had to return to fishing for a livelihood. The tourism business started picking up late last year, so it was back to the island-hopping business. Which we would soon experience in the days to come: