In this report, I will share my estimated cost of living to retire early $1141 Month El Nido Palawan Philippines including estimated rents, utilities, groceries, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment.
El Nido is our third stop in the Philippines. Some of you asked us where is the most beautiful place in the Philippines. El Nido is ranked as one of the most beautiful places in the world so we came here to see it for ourselves.
There are ex-pats retired in El Nido. But not as many as in other parts of the Philippines. Instead, El Nido is located on the island of Palawan which has been continually ranked as one of the top 10 most beautiful destinations in the entire world for more than a decade.
Despite international pressure forcing the cost of living up in El Nido, we still found local-style accommodations just a short scooter ride outside the tourist mob areas. We found the apartment shown in the above video that rents for 10,000 Pesos ($200 per Month).
Cost of Living in El Nido Palawan Philippines
Here is my estimated cost of living converted into US dollars if Qiang and I moved to El Nido on a tight budget. But we are all different, so you will have to put your feet on the ground in El Nido to determine your cost of living based on how you would live, shop, eat, and entertain yourself.
Rents: To rent a furnished 1 bedroom apartment, you will have to pay around $150 to $350 per month for a local-style apartment. I will use $350 per month for rent which does not include utilities. If you want a western-style apartment you could easily pay a few hundred more dollars depending on how much space you wanted and amenities. I also provide a link to my report about how to find perfect apartments around the world.
Utilities: El Nido is at sea level so many westerners will be running their air conditioners for most of the year, especially at night. I estimate my electric bill would average around $140 per month which includes water and gas. Once you acclimate to fans you will be able to knock 30 to 40% off your utilities.
Groceries: Based on our time here and the money we spent on groceries, we estimate about $350 USD per month on groceries for two people.
Restaurants: If we went out to eat twice per week, once for date night and once for a lunch somewhere, we would spend about $40 per week or $160 per month in restaurants for the two of us. We would eat mostly in the mom-and-pop-style restaurants rather than the expensive expat-style restaurants.
Cell Phone Data: The cost to recharge prepaid service is about $16 per month. My android phone will act as a hotspot so we can both be on the internet at the same time when we are out of the house together.
Laundry: We could send our laundry out once per week for about $6 to wash, dry, and fold, so about $24 per month.
Water: We would spend about $35 per month on bottled water.
Internet: The Internet will be about $50 per month depending on how fast you need your service.
Transportation: El Nido central is walkable. But you will probably need to go to the Public Market twice per week in (Corong Corong), which is about $1 roundtrip per visit or $8 USD per month in a tricycle taxi. Many ex-pats buy an old scooter for around $800 USD and add about $4 per week in fuel. So we would pay $8 to $16 per month depending on whether we wanted to buy an old scooter or just take tricycle taxis.
Alcohol (Optional): Local beers are about $1.10 USD in small stores. If you watch and buy in bulk on sale you may save a little. Bars charge in the range of about $1.60 to $2.40 per beer. But we saw beers as high as $7 for locally made craft beer. So for two people, we estimate about $120 USD per month since we would drink more at home.
Entertainment (Optional): We would budget about $160 per month for entertainment for the two of us.
|
El Nido, Palawan |
Expense (USD) |
|
Rent |
350 |
|
Groceries |
350 |
|
Utilities |
140 |
|
Restaurants |
160 |
|
Cell |
16 |
|
Laundry |
24 |
|
Water |
35 |
|
Internet |
50 |
|
Transportation |
16 |
|
Recurring Total |
$1141 |
|
|
|
|
Alcohol (Optional) |
120 |
|
Optional Total |
$1261 |
|
|
|
|
Entertainment (Optional) |
160 |
|
Optional Total |
$1421 |
The above cost of living is for 2 people but is just an estimate on the low end. For a full understanding of what it would cost you to live here, you must do an exploratory visit and put your feet on the ground. Also, visit Numbeo El Nido and add anything you spend money on in your home country that is not mentioned in the table. Our costs of living are generally much lower than a new traveler’s because we are great bargain hunters but there are a few people that live cheaper than we do.
Never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. I am not guaranteeing these prices. These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post. Your costs will likely be drastically different depending on your lifestyle and the time since this post.
More typical living costs in El Nido range from about $1400 to $2500 per month. But people spending that much also have higher incomes or pensions. They often report spending more on entertainment, eating out, and alcohol. Many also have more expensive cars, houses, or apartments.
If you are going to try to retire cheap offshore, make sure to read my report, the Two Biggest Risks of Retiring Early for Cheap Offshore, which explains why you should have emergency funds available for unexpected large expenses.
$200 Month Local Style Apartment
Qiang found the $200 per month local style apartment shown in the above video on this other Facebook Page. We would have stayed here if the Internet was stable because we need the Internet to upload Youtube videos. But El Nido has power outages from time to time so even then the Internet router would not have power. Here is the contact information for the $200 apartment in case you are not so Internet sensitive. The contact telephone number is on this Google link.
Here is the general process we follow to find apartments to stay as we travel around the world: How to find perfect apartments around the world.
Where We Stayed
El Nido is known to have spotty Internet service. So we decided to get a private room at this co-working hostel because it has multiple different Internet provider companies, routers all over the premises, and a generator to maintain stable electrical service when El Nido power goes out.
It is also just 5-minute walk down to Vanilla Beach and has one of the most amazing views I have ever seen in my life. Plus, long stay guests, of a month or more are allowed to use the kitchen. So we were able to save money buying food at the local market and cooking in the hostel kitchen.
Here is the contact information for the Lexias Hostel El Nido where we stayed. This is not an affiliate link. We just share what we like. Here is the view of me cooking.
El Nido Nightlife
There is a very centralized nightlife in El Nido with people of all ages so it felt relatively safe to us so we enjoyed the music and the people watching. If you walk through the streets on the below map you will see most of the nightlife in town. Start walking and listen for the music you enjoy most and your crowd is likely to be there. Google Map.
Best Beaches in El Nido
Rent a scooter for the day and check out our favorite beaches in and near El Nido. Just click the Google link and it will guide you along to the Beaches on this Google Map.
El Nido Favorite Restaurants and Markets
Restaurants and Bars:
Best Restaurants in El Nido (Happy Home Restaurant): A family-owned local-style restaurant with delicious reasonably priced meals. We ate here multiple times and loved every meal.
Best Hot Sauce, Music, Expat Hangout in El Nido (Marber’s): The owner Dennis makes the best ghost-flaming hot sauce I have ever tasted anywhere in the world. Order his Spaghetti Aglio Olio and distribute his hot sauce carefully and stir it into the mix. I hope you like your tongue on fire. Go listen to ex-pats tell stories about how they ended up spending their sunset years in El Nido.
Best Sunset in Vanilla Beach (The Beach Shack El Nido): Order the Shiitake Mushroom Pizza and drink $1.60 USD beers as you watch the sunset over an assortment of beautiful people walking along Vanilla Beach at the end of a blue sky filled day.
Best Pizza in El Nido (Altrove Express): We had a lovely Margarhetia Pizza here for $7 USD. We went back we loved it so much!
Best Pizza in Corong Corong (Bella vita el Nido): Corong Corong Beach is just a short motorcycle taxi ride south of El Nido proper for 50 pesos per person ($1 USD). You have to see Corong Corong Beach while you are in town so why not try the best pizza?
Qiang’s Favorite Food in the Public Market (Public Market): The public market is in Corong Corong, so why not try Qiang’s local family food restaurants while you are in the public market? There are about 4 restaurants there. Plus, why not buy all of the best fruits and vegetables you will need while you are in the public open-air market?
Best Sunset in Corong Corong (Piggy’s Sunset Bar): The owners Carole and Julian will make you feel at home as you watch the sunset over the islands. Bring your camera so your friends understand what winning looks like. If you are hungry, they have several nearby restaurant menus that you can order from and have delivered here.
Best Expresso Ground Coffee and Gelato in El Nido (Gusto Gelato): The coffee in the stores was all “add hot water and stir” and that is not my thing. I had to find a coffee source that would grind my beans so I could live my normal life. So why not have a Gelato while you are there?
Best Place to See and Be Seen During Happy Hour on the Beach in El Nido (SAVA Beach Bar): They have 2 for 1 cocktail for $2.50 USD. Later in the evening, this is where you may find beautiful people.
Best Philippines Street Food (De Lunas): Across the street from this Google link, in the evening around 8 pm, you will see a BarbQ cooking the cheapest local food for you to try.
Qiang’s Favorite Filipino Local Family Restaurants (Minds Lomi Hauz).
Favorite Vietnamese Food (Garlic and Mint):
A place to Nibble While You Listen to Live Acoustic Music (El Nido Boutique Artcafe):
Favorite Markets:
Fruits, Vegetables, Meats, and Local Filippino Food Stalls (Public Market):
Grocery Store 1 (Inggo): This has mostly non-perishable food products and other personal needs products. The above public market has fruits, vegetables, and meats.
Grocery Store 2 (Drugman): Includes Pharmacy.
Local and Imported Wine and Spirits (The Bottle Store): This is the liquor store where we met American expat Marion that appeared in the below Youtube video.
El Nido Livability Factors and Retirement Desirability Score
Here are some of the factors I think about when I consider a place for early retirement potential. After I discuss each factor I will assign an overall retirement desirability score to El Nido.
Walkability: High Desirability I love living in walkable areas of the world where you can walk to restaurants, grocery stores, nightlife, the beach, and other interesting things to do. The central area of El Nido is completely walkable. We would not need a car. We would probably just purchase cheap used ugly bicycles or an old scooter, or ride the tricycle taxis if we lived here.
Internet: Medium. The Att Speed WIFI Test in the Lexias Hostel where we stayed was 32 Mbps download speeds and 48 Mbps upload speeds. They also have a generator so the Internet works at Lexias even when the power goes out in El Nido. So if the Internet is important to you run a speed test before signing any long-term lease in El Nido. Overall, El Nido struggles with maintaining consistent Internet, so if you need reliable connectivity, make sure to get enough data on your SmartPhone to act as a hotspot when your WIFI gets spotty. This might be why El Nido has not become a big digital nomad hangout.
Food: Medium. There is not a large selection of international restaurants here in El Nido. This is not surprising for a town of around 50,000 people. But El Nido is known more as a remote location where people go to enjoy island hopping and white sand beaches. So international tourists feel lucky to find a nice pizza when they are here. However, the Filipino diet is a little too meat-centric for my taste as a vegetarian so I found myself cooking at home more here than in other parts of SE Asia. In that case, buy your produce, rice, and grains at the public market (link provided) to save money. Stay away from the supermarkets unless you can’t find something in the public market. So if food is your thing, you better learn or already know how to cook foods from home if you are intending on living on a tight budget here.
Weather: High. In terms of weather, El Nido has a wet and a dry season. June through November is wet, and December through April is dry. The wettest months of July, August, and September receive around 30 cm (12 inches) of rain. The hottest months are April and May, with daily highs averaging 86 F (30 C). The coolest months are January and February, with daily highs of 82 F (28 C).
Things to Do: Medium. Fishing, biking, kayaking, scuba, snorkeling, island hopping, bar hopping, cooking, gym, yoga, restaurants, running, coffee shops, and hiking.
Healthcare: Low. You should be able to get basic medical care at various clinics around El Nido, but for more serious problems you will need to be treated 5 hours south in the city of Puerto Princesa or by flying to Manila. Here are the local clinics in El Nido: El Nido Community Hospital, Palawan Medical City El Nido, El Nido Health Center, and Adventist Hospital Palawan Clinic. If you prefer to be near top-notch medical care at a moment’s notice, El Nido is not a good bet.
Expats: Medium. A few ex-pats hang out at Marber’s in the late afternoons. One told me that there are probably around 200 ex-pats still living in El Nido. Another hundred or so left during the pandemic and some are expected to return. There is one Facebook group for ex-pats living in Palawan with very little daily activity (posts and responses). So it will be a little harder to learn from ex-pats where to find things and get things done. Make sure to make friends with both locals and ex-pats for a richer experience living here. I explain why in my report, The Top 10 Mistakes International Retirees Make.
Real Estate: I never recommend buying real estate until you have lived somewhere for at least 2 to 3 years. I have a report explaining Why Retired Expats Should not Buy Real Estate Overseas for the first 2 to 3 years of living somewhere new overseas. Make sure to read that before deciding to buy real estate overseas.
Exploratory Visa: High. For your exploratory visit to the Philippines, citizens of many countries can obtain a 30-day free visa stamp upon arrival at the international airports. Plus, you can extend your tourist visa for a total of 36 months in the Philippines without bothering with a retirement visa. The monthly visa extensions cost about $30 USD per month. After the 36 months, you just leave the Philippines and go to another country and then fly back to start the whole 36-month process over again.
El Nido Overall Retirement Desirability Score: Many people looking to retire cheap in Paradise like to be near a hospital prepared to take care of common health challenges faced by the elderly. In that case, El Nido is low desirability.
But if that is not important to you and you would like to spend your final years in one of the most beautiful places in the world that costs more than a typical province living in the Philippines, then El Nido would be medium or high desirability for you.
But you won’t know for sure how it feels to live in El Nido or what it will cost to live your desired retirement lifestyle until you do an on-the-ground exploratory visit here.
Thanks for reviewing my report, Retire Early $1141 Month El Nido Palawan Philippines.
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