Screenshot this page or save the numbers below to your phone before you arrive in El Nido. In any emergency, call 911 first.
Last updated September 2026. If a local number does not connect, call 911 or ask your hotel’s front desk to help.
Emergency numbers
| Who | Number | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency hotline (nationwide) | 911 | Police, fire, medical and disaster emergencies. Free, 24/7. |
| El Nido Police (PNP El Nido) | +63 998 598 5864 | Police station in town (see below) |
| Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) El Nido | +63 919 541 3371 | Fire station |
| Philippine Coast Guard, El Nido | +63 906 449 4802 | Coast Guard in El Nido |
| El Nido MDRRMO (Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office) | +63 948 068 7540 (Smart) or +63 975 678 9599 (Globe) | The town’s disaster response office |
| Palawan Rescue El Nido | +63 953 972 6741 | Rescue |
| El Nido Community Hospital | +63 915 837 4260 | 24-hour emergency room (see below) |
| Municipal Health Office | +63 998 569 4813 | The town’s health office |
| Municipal Tourism Office | +63 919 002 1339 | The town’s tourism office (see below) |
| Philippine Red Cross | 143 | National emergency hotline |
| Department of Tourism, Tourist Assistance Call Center | 151-TOUR (151-8687), or call/text +63 954 253 3215 | Help and complaints for travellers |
The police station is on C. Hama in Barangay Buena Suerte, the first street in from the sea (Plus Code 59JQ+5X9).
The Municipal Tourism Office has a new building on Abdulla Street, next to the El Nido Municipal Covered Court. It isn’t on Google Maps yet.
Calling from a foreign SIM? Drop the first 0 of any local number and add +63, so 0948 068 7540 becomes +63 948 068 7540 and (048) 550 8006 becomes +63 48 550 8006.
Weather and boat safety
On tour days, boats wait for the Philippine Coast Guard to announce whether they can go out, and captains complete a document check with the Coast Guard before leaving. If a typhoon is forecast, tours are usually cancelled, so check the weather forecast in the days before you arrive. There’s more on the seasons in our guide to when to visit El Nido.
Tour boats usually carry a first-aid kit for minor injuries, though this depends on the tour company. If someone is seriously hurt or unwell during an island-hopping tour, what happens depends on where the boat is. The guide may arrange for the whole group to head straight back to town, leave the others at a beach while the patient is taken back to town and then return for them, or ask the tour company to send a speedboat. The guide and the tour company coordinate this between them.
Hospitals and clinics
El Nido Community Hospital is a provincial government hospital with a 24-hour emergency room. It is in Barangay Pasadeña, outside the town proper, so ask your hotel or a tricycle driver to take you there. By tricycle it can take around 40–50 minutes from town. A van is quicker, at around 30–40 minutes. Call +63 915 837 4260.
For more serious injuries, locals may recommend going to Taytay instead, for example when a head injury may need a CT scan. We haven’t been able to confirm whether El Nido Community Hospital has a CT scanner.
Adventist Clinic (El Nido), a clinic of Adventist Hospital Palawan, is on the El Nido National Highway in Barangay Corong-Corong. Call +63 939 976 9971 or (048) 550 8006. Its opening hours aren’t published, so call ahead.
At Lio, Healthway Lio El Nido, a primary care clinic, is at Units E1–E3, Shops @ Lio, Lio Estate. Call +63 917 104 5674. It’s open Wednesday to Sunday, 9 am–6 pm.
In Puerto Princesa, hospitals include Ospital ng Palawan, a Department of Health hospital on Malvar Street. Puerto Princesa is a long road trip from El Nido (see our Puerto Princesa to El Nido guide), so it’s worth checking that your travel insurance covers medical transfers.
Pharmacies
| Pharmacy | Location | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| TGP The Generics Pharmacy | Ground floor of South Anchorage Inn, Rizal Street, El Nido town (next to Brunch El Nido) | Open into the evening (exact hours not confirmed) |
| TGP The Generics Pharmacy | GO Building, Rizal Street, El Nido town | 8 am–8 pm |
| Farmacia Comprendio | Next to H Hotel, El Nido town | Not confirmed |
| Pharmacy at Rainforest Beach Hotel | Ground floor of Rainforest Beach Hotel, next to Heads Up Photobooth, El Nido town | Not confirmed |
| El Nido Portside Pharmacy | El Nido town | Not confirmed |
| Green Pharmacy | Lio | Not confirmed |
| Mercury Drug | Building F, Shops @ Lio, Lio (about 5 km, 15 minutes from town) | Daytime hours |
Some of these pharmacies are new and not on Google Maps yet, so use the landmarks in the table. Our go-to is the TGP on the ground floor of South Anchorage Inn. If you’re staying near Lio Beach, Green Pharmacy and Mercury Drug are the closest. These are pharmacies, not clinics, so for medical care see the hospitals above.
Banks, ATMs and cash
- BPI: there’s a BPI branch with an ATM on Real Street.
- Metrobank: the El Nido branch is at S Resort (formerly the Sea Shell Hotel) on Rizal and Real Streets, Barangay Buena Suerte. There are two Metrobank ATMs on the ground floor of the building, plus one more ATM next to the lobby entrance.
- Euronet: Euronet ATMs are likely the ones you’ll see most often around town.
- Arriving by plane: there’s no ATM or money changer at El Nido Airport, so bring some pesos for the tricycle into town (around PHP 300 as of 2026). More in our El Nido Airport guide.
- Why you’ll want small bills: on island-hopping days, small boats selling snacks and beer usually come right up to yours, and you can pay when you get back on board. You’ll also want change to tip your guide at the end of the tour.
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