Hello El Nido Travel, Tours & Transport — Local services in El Nido

We booked our van transfer from San Vicente to El Nido thru Traveloka in which Hello El Nido Travel, Tours and Transport is their partner provider. Hello El Nido told us that the van transfer was scheduled at 1PM and that the dispatcher has our details already and will assist us once we arrive. So me and my fianceé hurried ourselves in order for us to catch the trip BUT upon reaching the Van Terminal, we were surprised (in a very very bad way) when the dispatcher told us that THERE IS NO SUCH TRIP scheduled and he doesn't even know us. It was a long story but to cut it short, we were trasferred to other transport provider and FORCED TO WAIT FOR 2 HOURS in the terminal to wait for the next trip which was at 3PM. As a consequence, we were unable to attend our restaurant reservation in El Nido because we arrived there at past 6PM.

BTW, we paid Php672 per pax for the transpo while if you walk in, you'll just pay Php400/pax. So we paid extra for this kind of service. No compensation was made from Hello El Nido for giving us this hassle of a lifetime.

We also booked El Nido Tour B thru Traveloka and you guessed it right, Hello El Nido is again their partner provider. Our hotel was not included in their pick-up and drop-off service though it is still in El Nido so we were left with no choice but to charter a tricycle for us to reach their office. We were told to be in their office before 9AM on the day of our tour and we did arrive at 8:59AM but the person in charge wasn't around so we waited for 10mins and again waited for 15mins more because we will be collected by the tour guide. Afterwhich, we were transferred again to another tour provider which was Northern Hope Travel and Tours.

Never Again to this...

We booked Tour A through this company since they allow you to book online and pay with card which is convenient. We really enjoyed the tour itself as the sights are incredible and would recommend Tour A, however, we had a much smoother and improved experience when booking a different tour with an alternative company afterwards. Firstly, we were told we could not be picked up from our hostel as it was “outside of the main town” - it was about an 8 min drive and the alternative company we booked a second tour with had no problem picking us up at no extra cost. Second, the booking voucher sent via email stated that bottled water was not allowed, that filtered water would be provided, and to bring a tumbler/ reusable water bottle for it. We brought reusable water bottles but when we were waiting for Jaymie to take us to the boat, she said that actually we should buy bottled water instead and that the water provided probably would not be suitable in case it upset our stomachs. This was frustrating as we then paid a premium to buy bottled water from a small shop and went against what she said about not having bottled water with us. Finally, when we reached the beach for lunch we were asked to pay 20 pesos each to sit at a table when eating. This is not a lot of money but everyone was confused as we hadn’t been told about it in advance. It also felt quite cheeky to ask for money just to sit down for lunch and we felt this should have been included in the tour price. Overall we really did enjoy the tour itself, hence the 3 stars, but did not appreciate the organisation provided by the tour company.

Also - the pinpoint on Google maps is wrong and needs changing as this is...

Hello El Nido

We stayed in El Nido between the dates of October 9-13. We booked Tours A and C with Hello El Nido tours and both tours were exceptional.

Gani, the owner of the tour agency were very responsive and gave us a good deal. We booked a private tour, since we were a big group. He also gave us discount/s and a free use of a 2person kayak.

We did our Tour A on October 10. I got a message from them that one of their staff will come get us. Koy arrived and guided us to the boat which was just 5-10minute walk from where we were staying. Koy, was nice and he made sure everyone was okay all throughout the tour. Rex and the others on the boat were also great. We felt safe. They always reminded us to wear our life vests and to check if we forget anything. The food were perfectly cooked and well presented.

On 11th of October, our second day of tour. We did Tour C. Koy picked us up again at 9am.

I thought it’ll be crowded, but we were lucky that both of our tours went great and it wasn’t too crowded like I’ve seen in different vlogs.

Overall, our group were all happy. The islands in El nido are stunning. We would definitely come back in El Nido the next time we visit Philippines.

I made a right choice by booking our tours with Hello El Nido. The staff and even the owner were friendly, nice, and made us feel safe. They were all funny which made both tours...