Private flights to El Nido, Palawan

El Nido is the reason most people come to Palawan, and it is the hardest part of Palawan to reach well. The airlines land you in Puerto Princesa, five to six hours of highway to the south, or fly you in from Manila on a small turboprop whose seats sell out weeks ahead in season. What almost nobody tells you is that El Nido has its own airport, at Lio, a few kilometres north of town, and that a private aircraft can use it from anywhere in the province.

From Puerto Princesa the flight is about fifty minutes up the coast. From Coron it is about 30 minutes across the Linapacan strait, over the same reefs and lagoons the ferry spends the afternoon crossing. From San Vicente it is a short hop up the coast. Each of those legs is priced on this site for the whole aircraft, in pesos and dollars, and each has its own page below.

Arriving from any of those directions means a short walk from the aircraft rather than an hour of queues and boarding groups, and whatever you bring — dive gear, a drone case — travels with you rather than in a van's roof rack.

Why fly to El Nido

The case for flying is time. A week in Palawan that touches Puerto Princesa, El Nido and Coron spends up to two of its days in vans and ferries; flying between them gives those days back, and the flight itself crosses scenery people pay to see on sightseeing tours.

The case for the van is cost, if you are travelling alone with a loose schedule. A three-seat aircraft is priced for the aircraft, not the seat, so it makes most sense for two or three people whose days are worth more than the fare — and worth checking the empty legs page, since a repositioning flight can put a seat to El Nido within reach of a solo budget too.