There are two ways to get from Coron to El Nido – a ferry or a plane. In this post we will give you with all the details on each method of transport. El Nido is an AMAZING place and should definitely be visited when you come to The Philippines.
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Coron to El Nido by Ferry in 2024
When you come to the Philippines, make sure you have Travel Insurance. You’re going to be getting off the beaten path on a motor bike (hopefully), and definitely want to be covered if something happens! I’ve personally seen people break their legs in motorbike accidents in The Philippines. I always use Safety Wing and would highly recommend them!
Now, let’s get into it…
By Ferry – The Most Common Way
Most ferries leave at 7 AM from Coron to El Nido, and cost 2800 PHP. Most ferries from El Nido back to Coron leave around 12 PM. (it’s the same boat going back to where it started) We recommend you buy your ticket at the ticket office the day before your trip, so you have some assurance. HOWEVER, the ferries almost never sell out, so you should be perfectly fine if you show up 45 minutes before the ferry leaves and purchase your ticket.
You can also buy your ticket on Klook HERE if you don’t want to head down to the ticket office early. (It’s actually a better deal to buy the ticket online for this)
The ferry is very nice and spacious, and comes with great air conditioning (bring a jacket!) and tons of space. There’s also a snack station on board. This is by far the nicest ferry we rode on in the Philippines.
SEE 👉 Top 11 Philippines Travel Tips 🇵🇭
To get to the ferry from your hotel by tricycle can be quite expensive by Filipino standards. We paid 300 PHP total (100 PHP per person) for a trike ride from our hotel to the ticket station. (about a 3 minute ride) We bought our tickets at the window, then walked 1 minute down the road to enter the port, pay the “terminal fee”, and finally get on the boat. The terminal fee is 20 PHP per person.
Door to door from our hotel in Coron to our hotel in El Nido, this trip costed me 100 for the trike to the port + 2800 for the ferry + 20 terminal fee = 2920 PHP total.
READ 👉 Things to Do in Bohol
By Plane
There is a direct flight daily to El Nido from Coron, and can be anywhere from $60 – $150, depending on how early you book it. To get to the airport from Coron town you will also have to pay a decent amount of money for a taxi, so we wouldn’t recommend this. Plus, you will also have to go from the airport in El Nido to the port town where most people stay. (about 20 minutes by tricycle)
➡️ Read: Ultimate 2 Weeks in Philippines Itinerary 🇵🇭
Which Is Better?
The ferry is much cheaper and much more comfortable. (Book here) The ferry is a 5 hour trip, and the plane is less than an hour, but if you factor in all the other time that comes with flying, we think it’s much better to just take the ferry. It’s cheaper and much more comfortable. Plus the plane won’t actually save you that much time at the end of the day.
You can easily walk from where the ferry drops you off in El Nido to your hotel in town – so you can save on a tricycle here if you take the ferry!
READ 👉 The Best Things to Do in Siargao in 2024
Arriving in El Nido
There is no environmental fee arriving in El Nido by ferry. There are a bunch of tricycles waiting to pick you up and take you to your hotel. Most hotels are located along the beach which you can easily walk to from where the ferry lets you off. We recommend cutting through the beach to get to your hotel.
For your first day in El Nido, we recommend hanging out in the town and catching sunset from one of the beautiful restaurants on the water before some island hopping the next day. You can find island hopping tours here!
➡️ Read: The Best Things to Do in Coron ☀️
Summary – Coron to El Nido in 2024
Coron and El Nido are 2 of the most special places to visit in The Philippines. Both of these places are absolutely stunning. After El Nido, most take a van down to Puerto Princesa, and fly onwards to Siargao. Another option would be to fly to Cebu, then head on to Siquijor and Bohol – two great tourist destinations that are much more authentic then El Nido and Siargao.
💡 Checkout our 2 Week and 3 Week Philippines Itineraries for a complete guide! 🇵🇭
Thanks for reading. The ferry from Coron to El Nido was the nicest and most comfortable ferry we took in our whole Philippines trip.
