Here’s a great video explaining the pros and cons of flying directly to El Nido from Manila, or flying to Puerto Princesa and then taking a shared van to El Nido.
Most of our guests opt to fly into Puerto Princesa then take a shared van to El Nido. If you are spending some time in Puerto and want to see the Underground River, we highly suggest that you spend the night in Sabang instead so you can see the Underground River first thing in the morning. If you come from Puerto (which is an hour away) the morning of your tour, you may have to wait hours in a queue. Guests that stay in Sabang always report having a much better experience.
Because we have young children who get car sick easily, we always take Air Swift and fly directly to El Nido from Manila. We’ve taken the flight to and from Manila many times over the past 11 years, and always have a great and comfortable experience.
We haven’t been on Air Swift since they moved to Terminal 4 at the Manila International Airport earlier this month, but we’re hoping that it makes travel even more convenient. If your luggage can be put on your Air Swift flight directly from your international flight, that would mean hours of saved time. You wouldn’t have to claim your luggage, go through customs, haggle with a taxi driver, and battle Manila traffic to get to the former Air Swift terminal. We’ll be flying Air Swift from El Nido to Manila and back in April, and will be back with an update!