Nacpan Beach El Nido
Nacpan Beach El Nido is a stunning 20km long white sanded bit of paradise. Our first real experience and taste of what the Philippines had to offer when it came to beach and island life.
Nacpan beach can be a day trip or you can stay at Mad Monkey, right in the middle of the beach. We opted to stay for two nights and three days.
Getting to Nacpan Beach
Arriving at night time we were blown away by how clear the night sky was. We were dropped at the carpark of the beach with our rucksacks after taking a bumpy 30-minute tricycle ride from El Nido town.
We then started towards the fairy lights of Mad Monkey. Looking up at the sky, we all had to take a moment and drop our bags and just sit and watch.
I have never in my life, and probably never will again see the night sky that way.
In the space of five minutes, we saw around nine shooting stars. Nacpan Beach is worth the stay, if not just to see the stars like that every night.
Notorious Nacpan Beach Waves
We were warned by locals that swimming at El Nido was not advised. Disregarding that information we applied the f*ck it, let’s do it anyway approach.
Generally, I have always been cautious of the sea, regardless if it’s still or a raging surfers dream. Nacpan Beach waves were in the big boy league.
Luckily, in our group, we all considered ourselves strong swimmers, once you get into the sea you are ok. Getting into the sea, that is the adventure/challenge in itself.
The waves are HUGE, if you get hit with one, prepare to protect your head and get barrelled back onto the beach. Your only other option is to go under or over.
Once you’re in the sea, jumping up and catching the waves 3metres high and floating back down was the fun of it. The thought of SHIT its a big one, we have to go under to make it was also part of the daredevil thrill. All of us got barrelled, luckily the sea bed was clear and it was just sand.
However, be prepared to find sand in every orifice for the next few days afterwards.
Poppet, Pipsqueak and Pearly – Philippines Dogs
Nacpan Beach is the home to around 30+ stray dogs. The good boy and girl paradise. Just make sure you have your rabies jab (I didn’t, I just didn’t go near the aggy looking ones).
For other recommended travel, vaccinations click here.
We made friends with the cutest bunch of doggo’s known to man, they were so sweet & we proceeded to name them Poppet (above), Pipsqueak (Lil black and white good girl) & Pearly, the Regina George queen B of dogs, who wore a pink bandana around her neck and had the best set of pearly whites we had seen on a dog – hence the name.
Say hi for us if our fur-babies are still there!
Mad Monkey Hostel Nacpan Beach
Solo, solo travel away from tours and organised groups didn’t start properly for me until I got to Cambodia. I stayed pretty much in Mad Monkey hostels for the majority of my solo travels if it was an option. I loved them, they were great for making new friends, finding a tour, organise travel and generally a safety net for solo travellers if you wanted some sort of support, mental or just to know there will be other people around.
This Mad Monkey returns to basics, Swiss family Robinson style bamboo huts, sweltering heat & treehouse/clubhouse entertainment. There are some boat tours and excursions, but generally, it’s a beachside hostel with no wifi, so you have to make friends. The food at Mad Monkey is always top form and you can’t fault it here.
Be warned, it’s hot & Sweaty and very back to basics. Sleep is a struggle for those who hadn’t experienced this level of return to basics before (Koh Rong Samloen pre-warned me), the girls had not dealt with no air con hostels before this.
Sadly Nacpan Beach was also where I experienced my first and only sexual assault whilst travelling. On a scale (ridiculous I am having to scale it in the first place) it was towards the lower end.
As a result, as with anywhere, I would always be conscious of my surroundings wherever you go travelling across the globe. To find out ways to keep safe as a solo female traveller, make sure to read my Go With Gabbs blog on 10 tips to stay safe as a solo female traveller.
