El Nido Tours "Sea Quest" - island hopping and expeditions to Coron. — Local services in El Nido

Our 3-day boat expedition with SeaQuest was a disaster from the start, causing immense frustration and ruining a significant portion of our 10-day holiday in the Philippines.

Initial Delays and Poor Organisation: Upon arrival at the starting point, we were left waiting for over 2 hours before boarding. The boat provided was far too small to accommodate all 24 passengers, leading to further delays as some of us had to be transferred to another, smaller boat. Departure from the port was hours behind schedule, with progress hindered by choppy weather and excessive baggage onboard.

Failure to Deliver the Advertised Experience: On the first day, we visited only two stops instead of the advertised number due to the poor organisation and delays. The following two days were even more disappointing. Upon reaching Pucoy Island, we were left stranded for two nights with no boat to continue the journey as promised.

Safety and Lack of Communication: On the second day, we were placed on three dangerously overloaded local boats for a brief mangrove tour. These boats lacked essential safety equipment such as lifejackets or life rings, making the situation not only disappointing but also hazardous. We received little to no information during these days, leaving us confused and frustrated, especially with no network coverage to seek clarification or assistance.

Basic Needs Not Met: While stranded on the island, we were running low on water and had nothing meaningful to do due to the lack of proper planning.

Guide Efforts vs. Company Failures: Our guide was exceptional and did his best to manage an impossible situation. However, the fundamental issues lay with SeaQuest’s poor planning, overbooking, and lack of resources.

Impact on Our Holiday: This poorly managed tour wasted three days of our holiday, amounting to 30% of our overall trip. We were unable to enjoy or complete the full experience as advertised. Moreover, the offered extra day of compensation was not feasible for us, as we already had other tours and accommodations booked in advance.

Flew over 12,000 miles at considerable expense to enjoy this holiday, and this expedition has left me deeply dissatisfied. The experience was unacceptable and far below the standard promised. I urge your company to review its organisational practices to prevent such incidents from happening to future customers.

Edited Review Update: *I see the owner has now changed their response after initially calling my review 'fake.' While they now admit some truth, their claim about offering a 'free cancellation with full refund' is misleading.

In reality, I was only offered a 50% refund, and it came with confidential terms which I agreed to only on the condition that proof of payment was provided before leaving the boat. However, I only received the proof after disembarking, which was not what was agreed upon.

And as you have clearly accused me of lying on a very public platform, thereby defaming me, I will not only seek remedial compensation but also demand a public apology because I can easily prove my case.

You should be ashamed of using such bullying tactics against customers who are simply sharing their honest experiences.*

Update: This company is now trying to reclaim the refund it issued and is defaming us by falsely labeling our review as fake. Beware of their...

little bit delayed in writing my review as we were on our honeymoon and have only just returned. We did the 3D2N expedition on Saturday 14th Dec. Our experience with SeaQuest was really disappointing which is a shame as we thought this would be a highlight of our trip.

When we arrived at the port everything seemed pretty organised, there was about 28 of us in total and we were asked to split up (8 on a smaller boat the rest on a larger boat). We ended up on the smaller boat and what bad luck that was! After our first stop, it was obvious the boat was not sounding healthy, making awful sounds, moving very slowly until eventually the engine kept cutting out, which meant we were sitting in the middle of the sea for hours. After the third or fourth time this happened, they asked the larger boat to come back and they put all 28 of us on to one tiny boat and said it would remain like this for the rest of the trip. (We actually found out later that a group of five girls on our trip recieved a text a day before the trip started to say they would have to cancel as one of the boats was broken - the company then deleted this message and went ahead with the tour). At the stops, we saw lots of other boats that were much bigger and comfortable (eg bean bags, space to eat etc). It was actually so dangerous the number of people on that boat, and we are so lucky nothing happened as I’m not even sure there would have been enough life jackets.

The stops on the tour were beautiful, we did loads of snorkelling, cliff jumping, volleyball and basketball. There was also access to 1 paddleboard. Our tour guides were great (mark and sol). The accommodation was basic but really comfortable beds, mosquito nets and you were right on the beach. The activities in the evening were fun, and it was a really good vibe! Lots of rum /gin was available. Tbh I was just happy to be off the cramped boat with a more space!

The food was average, lots of people became unwell (I think leftover food was being reserved the next day - not ideal when it can’t be refrigerated!) the staff were helping them given medications etc

Finally, when we arrived in el nido there were not enough buses for everyone, so three people were left on the dock. They ended up waiting TWO hours for a driver to come back and get them!

Overall the trip is amazing but I would highly recommend going with a different company who have more comfortable boats, more regard for safety and are better organised. This trip was expensive and I would never recommend people to go...

My friend and I cruised along the Palawan island on the "Nur Nur 4" boat driven/owned by Captain Badajos !!! Sir. Captain did an amazing job at ensuring we made it to every location safely and was very good at navigating the boat relating to various weather conditions!! 🫡🫡🌊

Denz was our Sea Quest expedition leader/host captain, He did an amazing job at explaining & demonstrating all the locations, safety and experiences that we attended and needed to understand prior to participating. 🦾🛥️❤️ Thanks heaps Denz (especially for helping me hop around the boat/ island with my one good foot and answering/supporting me and others on the boat with any inquires we had.)🌻🌻

I don't remember the Assistant hosts name !! but I'm gonna go with Sir. Filipino Power!! 😂 He helped me especially dress my wound when I sliced my foot on a rock and was always enthusiastic and happy when explaining what was for breaky, lunch and dinner!! 🎉🎉

I want to acknowledge Chef Cook Serafino for always providing amazingly tasty and fresh Filipino food whilst we were on board and on the islands!!! 10/10 for food , 100% recommended! Food is 100% safe ✨✨✨🌞

I also want to acknowledge the chef mechanic Ely and the rest of the deck/boat crew for ensuring the boat was up to scratch with safety features all looked after, bathroom and water support during snorkeling, swimming and diving times. 🫶😘😘

Over all This SEA QUEST TEAM was very attentive, professional, clean and welcoming to myself and what seemed like all the other quests on board !! 🥰🥳 100% recommend! The price for this experience is more then fair for the amount of islands, activities and food/beverages provided!

Also, a big thanks to Artcher AKA "Spiderman/ Aquaman" for being so enthusiastic, positive and personable throughout the whole trip !!

Special mention to Miss. Erica ( the Captains puppy) for being so cute, gentile and friendly during the whole trip 🫶🫶🐺

P.S on island accommodation was pretty good for what it was , flushing toilets, showers, clean towels, private rooms and clean rooms. Suggestions: Potentially more eventing activities like dare games or team challenges.

Thanks heaps crew !! ❤️❤️Love Chiara ! (The crazy Australian with all the...