A Family Staycation in Lagun, El Nido

Last month, my husband and the kids had a vacation from our permanent El Nido vacation.

LOL! Seriously speaking though, we checked in Lagùn, one of the newest hotels in town for a much needed one night staycation.

Sometimes, it is nice to get away from our current (seemingly neverending) home construction and enjoy the amenities, sights and food of establishments here. What’s the use of living in paradise if we don’t enjoy once in awhile as if we are tourists in our own island home?

The view from our hotel room was spectacular!

Not many hotels here offer a pool with such majestic views so my kids and I managed to swim all afternoon to exercise and expend some energy out.

TIP: If you or the kids love swimming, request for a room closest to the pool deck.

You won’t believe it but my absolute favorite experience in this hotel was their breakfast buffet.

I find that not many places in El Nido offers a wide array of choices. Here, they bake their own donuts and bread daily! Plus, they had many choices for pescetarians like me. I did love the fish dishes and many sauces available. 

Check out this short clip on what’s in store for brekky. Happy dance because they allow locals to dine in here for a fee =)

If you are a local or even a visiting tourist, I highly recommend their restaurant because they are probably one the few establishments in El Nido town that has parking, seats that can accommodate big groups, wifi connection, good dining options (Sushi in El Nido!!) and quiet spaces perfect for catch up with friends or meetings for work.

I really have to salute Lagùn for their winning interiors. If you ask my kids, they would easily imagine that the reception is a scene out of a spaceship in outerspace.

The lounge area upon check in is also a wonderful space to zen out.

On the same floor as the pool, there are areas where you could roll out your yoga mat, do some breath exercises, meditate or do taichi. 

For more information, please contact +639171561507 or email lagunhotel@gmail.com.

You may also like and follow Lagùn Hotel on Facebook (Lagùn Hotel El Nido) and Instagram (@lagunhotel).

Family Friendly Itineraries for El Nido, Palawan

It’s not fresh news that we have moved to the no. 1 island in the world. If you’ve been following our Instagram account (@mylittleglobetrotters) you would know that by now! We’ve been living in an island paradise for almost a year already by this month. Time flies! It’s the reason WHY I have been so quiet and took a long blog break (mostly because I got pregnant and had to focus on my homebirth and care for my new baby plus homeschool!). Yes. I’ve got a looot on my plate BUT I still love to write and share stories so I’m keeping the blog to document not just our worldly adventures but stories from our new home – El Nido, Palawan!

Here’s my top recommendations for family-friendly itineraries in El Nido (if you just have 1 day, just focus and read Day 1, if you’ve got 2 days, then move on to day 2 and so on and so forth…)
Day 1

• Do a whole day private island hopping tour on speed boat with Skipper Charters. This already includes buffet lunch on one of the islands. Ideally, you should email them to book a month before since they get booked especially on peak season.
• Authentic Filipino dinner at Tambok’s. Must try dishes for me are Laswa Soup, Pansit Buko (noodles made from coconuts with vegetables!) and Chicken Inasal. The kids will probably like the Sago Gula for dessert! If you’re dining on a weekend, best to call ahead to reserve a table for your family as this place gets packed for dinner.

Day 2

• Breakfast and coffee in town at Botanica on Calle Amboy. The kids can try the hot chocolate & don’t forget to order some yummy pastries to go. We really like their Ube Cheesecake!
• Grab a tricycle and spend the rest of the morning at Corong-Corong beach. If you’ve got older kids, you can book them an introductory freediving lesson with Flo through Freediving Dimension. Rent stand up paddle boards and kayaks from El Nido Paddle Board & Co.
• Take a lunch break of pizza and pasta at Altrove in Pops District which is also in Corong Corong. Our personal favorites are the Margherita pizza and the Pesto pasta! Not feeling like Italian food? Perhaps you can try the 100% Beef Burgers in Thery’s or the Indian Curries from Gandhi’s Revenge (both also in Corong-Corong).
• Buy some health supplements, natural soaps and kombucha from Lawiswis Organics which is also in Pops District.
• If you’ve got young children, a nap is in order. You may head back to your hotel or resort for this.(#NapsRule!) Some kids, however, do not need naps. If this is the case, walk over to La Plage Sunset & Beach Bar. The no-napping-energizer-bunny younger kids can continue to SUP, kayak or swim on the beach or in La Plage’s very own mini pool while the parents order a drink or two for some buzz. Catch the sunset from here. Dinner can be eaten here, too! I find the Chicken Burger yummy and I hear their chocolate cake is good 🙂

Day 3

• Breakfast at The Cavern. Be sure to get your caffeine fix because today involves a little bit of a hike!
• Hire a trike to Maremegmeg Beach. Go down the 80+ stairs to one of the most picturesque beach coves in El Nido. You may chill and swim OR for more adventurous types, go do the zipline for a heart-racing experience!
• Lunch at The Beach Shack Are you vegetarian? They’ve got the Mung Bean burger for you!
• Still got energy? Fight the urge to snooze and climb up more stairs all the way to The Birdhouse. They offer daily 4pm yoga classes. The kids can read from their library while snuggling with one of their furry friends while you go do your OM thing.
• Early dinner at Maremegmeg Beach Bar before hiking back up the stairs (be sure to take breaks when climbing with kids!) and getting on a trike back to your resort.

Day 4

• Have breakfast in hotel early and get your family on a van to Duli which is about an hour away from town. Today is Surfing Day! So, pack your rashguards and sunscreen. (Note: surf season is from August to February)
• When you’ve arrived Duli, walk to the farthest left side of the cove to Duli Beach Resort. You can hire a surf instructor and rent a surfboard from here. Look for Mike. They’re really good with kids!
• Order the Chicken Curry Meal or Fried Fish lunch from Duli Beach resort. They’re big enough for sharing with your young child. If hungry from surf, however, you’ll probably have your own meals.
• After x amount of hours of surfing. Head back to El Nido for a quick nap in your resort.
• Dinner at Happiness Beach Bar on Serena Street or just ask the husband to order take out if the kids have called it a day. We know that happens sometimes!

Day 5

• Breakfast in your hotel or resort. OR go to the local market for fresh fruits and coconuts in shell for Php25 each. If it is a Wednesday or Saturday, expect more variety of fruits and vegetables as these are the official “market days”.
• Check out Lio Tourism Estate where you can rent a bike on the beach. Not much of a biker? There’s also, a volleyball court, SUPs or kayaks for rent. Have lunch in one of the restaurants here. My husband really enjoys the Chinese food at Fat Choi. I like the beachfront set up of Globy’s Restaurant for a more international flair of dishes.
• On your way out of Lio, be sure to drop by Kalye Artisano to meet & support some of the Palawan local artists and if they’re free, ask them to teach an impromptu music or art workshop for your kids!
• You can choose to have dinner back in main beach, maybe try Agape for Taverna Agape for Greek food with awesome beach views and make sure to try gelato from Gusto Gelato before leaving El Nido.

That’s it! I hope you find this blog post informative. I will be editing to add more activities as I remember or try out more things to do on the island. Hope to catch you in our hOMe paradise soon 🙂

Review: Flower Island Resort, Palawan

The first thoughts that came through my head as I approached the island resort, “Wow all of the photos I’ve seen don’t do this place any justice!”  You cannot capture the essence of Flower Island by mere pictures alone. Powder fine light brown sand, all hues of blue on the clear skies and in the clean ocean, and an island sanctuary all to your group… the experience is so dreamy it is almost ethereal.

Flower Island Resort proves to be a very special and secluded place that’s real hard to get but worth the almost 7-hour travel time. (Plane from Manila to Puerto Princesa-1hour, Van from Puerto Princesa to Taytay-4 hours and speedboat from Taytay to Flower Island- 1.5hours) The long travel is definitely not for the faint-hearted. But we’re willing adventurers so we are rewarded with this piece of paradise for 3 whole days!

  

We stayed in room 9 which is the second closest fan hut to the reception and dining area.

This trip was actually work for me, A Yin & Yang Yoga retreat by FLOW.  I roomed with another yoga teacher, a photographer and of course my little one who goes wherever I go! I was glad to see the spacious hut good enough for a family of 5!

I didn’t take a very good photo of our bathroom. It was very dark so I chose to open all windows to bring the light in.

My roomie taking a nap with that view. The breeze lulls you to sleep, really!

Family friendly activities include: Two hiking trails, kayaking and snorkelling. Maya, my 1.5 year old daughter is too young for both kayaking and snorkelling so we pursued the hiking trails instead. I’m a bit sad to have missed out on the snorkelling which was fantastic says Paul, one of our guests during the retreat. He saw a manta ray!!! And HUNDREDS of different fish. My husband would have enjoyed this so maybe I should schedule a return? 🙂

This is us in the beginner friendly hike trail around the island which took 45-minutes.

And this is the prize for hiking to The Peak, a 360 view from the top of the island.

They also have an island monkey to Maya’s delight!

The resort staff were very friendly, maybe it’s because we were the only guests there! Nevertheless, we enjoyed their service. And I applaud their chef’s baking skills. All of our desserts were made from scratch in the kitchen.

We had really good chocolate cake, pineapple pie, macaroons and the best sesame cookies I’ve had in my entire life. I’ll be craving for them I know it!

I hear that soon they will have the option for sea planes to cut the travel time short. Hmm..so very tempting!

FLOWER ISLAND RESORT

Website: www.flowerisland-resort.com

Mobile No. Viber/Whatsapp +639175045567

Email: reservations@flowerisland-resort.com / flowerisland.palawan@gmail.com

Instagram: @flowerislandresort_ph

An Homage to Palawan, Philippines

Boat Tour in El Nido

Once upon a time, long before Maya was conceived, the Manzanos attempted living in Philippine’s last frontier.. Palawan. You may read all about that here and why it didn’t work out here.

Honda Bay

leading a Yin Yoga class in Nagtabon Beach

photo by Katherine Jack

Montible River

Taytay

El Nido Town

Nevertheless, I keep wanting to come back as homage to what I consider my second home. Last February, with 11 month old Maya in tow, I organized two back to back retreats in Bahay Kalipay, Puerto Princesa for Flow and a Sacred Pregnancy Conscious Birth Retreats.

photo by Tabitha Fernan

In less than a week, we will be wading the waters of another tropical island paradise, Flower Island Resort in Taytay, Palawan for FLOW’s first ever Yin and Yang Yoga retreat I am co-leading. If you’re from Manila, it’s officially announced as a long weekend so, grab your chance to join us! Let’s see how creative I can be with managing 1.4 years old Maya without a nanny this coming weekend.