Everything You Need To Know About Nacpan Beach, El Nido
The Ultimate Guide To Nacpan Beach El NIdo,Palawan
Our family of 4 hit El Nido, Philippines on a wild Southeast Asian adventure vacation with a 2 year old girl and a five year old boy. One of our favourite stops in the Philippines was our day at Nacpan beach in El Nido.
The reason for this is it was an amazing surprise, that a place this beautiful could be on El Nido. El Nido is located on the northern tip of Palawan Philippines and is an up and coming tourist destination. We have written detailed reviews about all parts of El Nido, you can read these on the links on the bottom of this article.
Adventugo Crew at Nacpan Beach in El Nido, Palawan
Should I Go To Nacpan Beach?
Nacpan beach is an absolute must do thing if you are planning on going to El Nido. It is the best beach you will find on the mainland by far. There are Vlogs out there about Nacpan stating it is the best beach in the world. It is not, but it is pretty awesome. I think the people that film these things may not have actually been to Nacpan beach.
In this article you will learn everything you need to know about Nacpan beach from different perspectives. Not only was I there with my wife and 2 kids, but my two younger brothers were also with me and they did things very different than we did at Nacpan, and after discussing the experience it was opposite spectrum. There is a party scene on Nacpan!
What is Nacpan beach?
Nacpan beach is a beige sand beach located in El Nido, Palawan. It is a 4 km long and around 50 yards wide all the way across, making this beach massive and thick. There are a couple of islands surrounding Nacpan and this provides some cover from incoming waves giving Nacpan smooth water. Nacpan beach is not good for surfing, but it is great for swimming and snorkelling. When you are at Nacpan beach, take in the scenery. The place is stunning, in front of you you will see open ocean and 2 small islands. One of the islands are owned by Manny Pacquiao! On each side of the beach there are small mountain ranges that you can climb to get some awesome lookout photos. Behind you will be large well manicured palm trees and small beach restaurants to chill at.
El Nido Islands near Nacpan Beach
11 Awesome Things to do at Nacpan beach
1. Get a massage on the beach.
We got the beach side massages and they were great! They cost $500 pesos for and hour ($10 USD) and we were able to negotiate the rate for $400 pesos each person for 2 people. They are oil massages and they will do full body. The massages were not in any type of enclosure so this made it easy for us to watch our kids while we got the massage. It is right in the sand and you will be facing the ocean. It is super relaxing and you can easily fall asleep listening to the waves crash on the land and the cool sea breeze.
You can tell that the ladies that will be giving you the massage are not licensed massage specialist, they are locals trying to make a living so don’t expect the best massage. They are however strong as hell and can apply good pressure. I would definitely recommend doing this when you at Nacpan.
2. Snorkel around the lifeguard station.
When you get to the beach if you head to the right side, you will notice a stretch of rocks going into the ocean and a lifeguard stand is right there. I took my son snorkelling around that area and the visibility was pretty good for being on the mainland. We saw lots of fish including tangs, angels and butterfly fish. They are around this area grazing on the rocks and coral stuck to it.
3. Fly a drone.
Nacpan beach was awesome for flying my drone around. There is a lot of open space here and not that many people. It is also really picturesque in all areas of the beach.
Drone Pics at Nacpan Beach El Nido Philippines
4. Jog along the beach.
I jogged from one end of Nacpan to the other end and it never gets boring, the entire run took around 1.5 hrs and there are different things to see in all areas of the beach. When you jog at Nacpan beach you will realize that there are small hotels dotted around different remote areas of the beach. Some of them even have beachfront bars. So if you so desire, you can stop in for a drink. When you get to the northeast end of the beach there is a hill you can hike up and this will give you a view of the twin beaches Nacpan and Calitang beach. This is a really fun and easy hike and gives you the best spot in the area to take cool pictures or to watch the sunset!
5. Relax and get a tan
One of our favourite things to do at Nacpan beach is to just chill and listen to music. The best quality lounge chairs are to the right of the main parking area right beach front and they rent 2 loungers and an umbrella with a small table in between for 200 pesos each for the day. I cannot recommend this area enough, it is associated with the restobar and hotel behind it and they will actually serve you food and drinks here.
6. Make new friends
The locals that were around Nacpan beach were super nice and helpful, they all speak english and can direct you to the best parts of the beach. I spoke to one local and they told me where I should snorkel, where to eat and where the bathrooms were. My kids made friends with the local kids and they played all day on the beach. Filippino people are really friendly and love to hang out. The kids on the beach got a kick out of my drone.
Natasha Making Friends at Nacpan Beach, El Nido Palawan
7. Eat local foods
At Nacpan beach there are 3 main restaurants serving an array of foods, from local food to Italian foods. The Local food is the cheapest by far and tastes amazing. You can get fresh seafood right on the beach if you choose. We were not that adventurous and decided on fries for the kids and Pancit (noodles) and BBQ Pork Skewers for ourselves. By this point we had already been sick in El Nido, so we chose to be very careful. The restaurants are right ocean front and have palm roofs giving them the beauty feel. They played cool Bob Marley tunes and it really created a great experience for us.
8. Have a cocktail
If you are sitting on the right side of the beach past all of the restaurants the locals will serve you beer right at you seat on the beach. Beers are a little more expensive here at $80 Pesos each (2 USD) but still really cheap. There is a really fancy bar across the sand path from the beach that has nice bathrooms and higher end liquor. My brothers hung out here, and I joined them for a drink. There were younger people hanging out here frolicking in their bathing suits and partying. They played house music adding ambience to the crowd. I preferred having a drink right in front of the ocean at the restaurant there. If you go to one of the bars right on the beach you will be able to sit with your feet in the sand and enjoy the views beachfront. My wife an I took some really nice pictures doing this and I told her I had my heaven right there. A view of the blue sea, her face and our kids playing in the background. It was a dream.
9. Hike to the lookout point.
Soooo, we totally missed this when we were at Nacpan. I did not know that you could hike up to the lookout point and see the twin beaches of Nacpan and Calitang beach. The hike is apparently very short and you can take some really cool pics from the top. Calitang beach did not look very good so I would say stay at Nacpan, it is the best!
10. Build a sandcastle
The sand at Nacpan beach is perfect for making a sandcastle. It is fine and sticks really well when it is slightly wet. My son spent half of his day creating the ultimate sandcastle right by the lifeguard point.
11. Take lots of pictures
Nacpan beach is picturesque and there are a lot of cool spots to take pictures. There was a model there for some time and they were taking pictures on the rocks, in front of the water, on the sand road and with the palm tree backgrounds in the pictures. Especially if it is a sunny day your pics from Nacpan will look really good using any camera. The clear blue water will reflect the light just enough to get a perfect shot!
Nacpan Beach El Nido, Palawan Philippines
Other Common Questions about Nacpan Beach
Can You Fish at Nacpan Beach?
There is no fishing in the main area of Nacpan beach but you can fish away from the crowds. There is no large reef off of Nacpan and I was told the fishing is not very good, so I would say save it for a better location.
Beautiful Nacpan Beach, El Nido Blog
How do you get to Nacpan beach from El Nido town?
From El Nido town the drive to Napan is around 40 minutes away. We took a tricycle there and paid $650 Pesos for the entire day. The driver sat there and waited for us until we were done. Nacpan beach is tucked away from any main roads so it is hard to get a ride out of the area if you don’t have a ride pre-setup. There are other ways of getting here that are less expensive, but then you will be on someone else timeline, or with a group.
If you take El Nido Tour E it actually goes to Nacpan beach, but in my opinion to really get the full experience of this amazing place you need to spend at least 4-5 hours here.
How far is Nacpan Beach from El Nido?
The beach is 40 mins away from El Nido town. Or an hour from the Carong Carong area by tricycle or van.
What tours go to Nacpan beach?
El Nido tour E goes to Nacpan beach and can be booked at any of the tour re-sale companies in El Nido town.
Life guard station at Nacpan Beach El Nido
How long should I spend at Nacpan beach?
You should spend 4-10 hours at Nacpan beach to properly enjoy it.
Is Nacpan beach good for kids?
Absolutely, our kids loved this beach. The sand is soft on their toes and the water is shallow and calm. Obviously little ones should still be in life jackets, but you can ease your mind knowing that the water does not have any major undercurrent. There is also a lifeguard on site just in case of emergency.
There is also a clean public bathroom, restaurants serving all kinds of foods, shops that sell water and snacks and umbrella’s for shade!
How is the sand at Nacpan beach?
The sand is golden and fine at Nacpan Beach. The other cool thing is it is also very thick.
Are there toilets at Nacpan beach?
Yes there are public bathrooms here and they are
Nacpan Beach Pictures and Blog
Is Nacpan beach safe?
Yes Nacpan beach is very safe. We did not feel or see anything out of the ordinary here. When you are entering the area they even take your name down and register that you are there. There are many locals here and transportation to get out of the area.
What is Calitang beach?
Calitang is the sister beach to Nacpan, it is small and not as nice as Nacpan. You can see this beach from the lookout point to the north of the beach area.
Where should I sit at Nacpan beach?
The area that we sat in to the right of the beach was perfect. It was close to all of the facilities and not busy at all.
Is Nacpan Beach Wheelchair accessible?
It would be extremely hard to get around Nacpan beach in a wheelchair. There are no concrete walkways and the sand is extra thick, so it would be hard to maneuver in this area.
The Rampersauds at Lio Beach
