Island life and barefoot luxury in the Philippines at Nay Palad Hideaway

A barefoot luxury holiday with lots of activity was what we were wanting out of this year’s summer holiday and that is exactly what we got from the beautiful Nay Palad Hideaway located in the south east corner of Siargao Island in the Philippines.

Nestled between ancient mangrove forests and the soft white sands of Siargao and within easy reach of tropical jungle, underground caves, the famous Cloud wave at General Luna and untouched beaches, Nay Palad is a hidden gem.  It is perfect for those looking for privacy, a place to relax or even non stop adventure. You can be as active as you like or do as little as you like, either way you will be thoroughly spoilt by the amazing team who will just take the best care of you.

My family has just voted Nay Palad Hideaway onto the No. 1 spot for our best island family holiday.  Everything about Nay Palad was superb.  Only ten, light and airy villas make up the Nay Palad boutique resort and all are luxurious and beautifully designed with private terraces and lush tropical surroundings. Everything within the resort is only a few steps away from your villa, the infinity pool which is flanked by the “help yourself bar” and has fabulous sea views as does the main restaurant, the spa, a series of thatched roof huts, can be found hidden within the tropical gardens, the beach and even the mangroves are all so close by.

Our days were filled with lots of family activities but with the broad range of activities on offer we all found something individual to do too. There really is something for everyone from island hopping adventures, to surfing, kayaking through ancient mangroves, exploring the island on the jeepney, sailing, paddle boarding, caving, Padle, deep sea fishing, beach walks, wake boarding, water skiing, ringo, shopping in General Luna, visiting a local market with the chef, diving and more.

Between us all we experienced many of the activities but particularly loved the island hopping using Nay Palad’s boat, complete with captain and crew, to uninhabited islands and pristine beaches, a visit to the spectacular Sohoton Caves, the paddle boarding in the mangroves and the sunset drinks on Naked Island.  Whilst we love to be active we also enjoyed the tranquility of the spa for a daily Philippine healing massage known as Hilot or a body scrub and I thoroughly enjoyed my early morning daily yoga classes. The kids loved the surfing, wakeboarding and ringo and we all loved experiencing the local nightlife at Siargao Beach Club and seeing General Luna come to life at night.

The food was exceptional and we loved the variety of different meals whether family style or fine dining.  You can either go with the flow and be surprised with the wonderful dishes that the chef and his team conjure up working around the catch of the day and other local produce or put in a special request for your favourite type of cuisine. Each night we ate in a different location which varied from the beach, to the tree house, to a garden location and lunch was either taken at the resort or picnic style when we were island hopping. The picnics were some of the best picnics we’ve ever had with delicious barbequed seafood, local delicacies and a mix of salads laid out on a beautifully dressed picnic table.

There is something very special about Nay Palad Hideaway, it is truly barefoot luxury at its best with so much to offer and so much to do with the best team at the heart of what they do. It’s one of those places you really have to experience yourself as photos and words are not enough. The team welcome you to into their home for you to make it your home and with their unique warm and nurturing hospitality and sense of nothing is a too big an ask, we very quickly felt part of the Nay Palad family and were very sad to leave.

Helen travelled to the Philippines in July.