Palawan keeps winning "Best Island in the World" awards from travel magazines. I used to think those polls were nonsense — marketing dressed up as reader votes. Then I kayaked into the Big Lagoon at El Nido, and the water was so clear I could see my shadow on the ocean floor 10 meters down.
The polls aren't lying.
Tour A is the signature El Nido experience. Your bangka (outrigger boat) drops you at the entrance to the Big Lagoon — a narrow channel between towering limestone cliffs. You swim or kayak through (kayak rental: 200 PHP / $3.50 at the entrance) into an enclosed lagoon of water so transparent it looks fake.
The Small Lagoon, also on Tour A, requires swimming through a low cave opening (duck your head) into a smaller, more intimate space surrounded on all sides by cliff walls. At midday, the sun hits the water directly and the colors shift from turald to emerald.
Tour A cost: 1,200-1,500 PHP ($21-26) including boat, lunch, and guide. Environmental fee: 200 PHP ($3.50) valid for 10 days.
Coron's main claim to fame: a fleet of Japanese warships sunk by American bombers in September 1944, now sitting in 10-30 meters of clear water. You don't need scuba certification to see them — the shallower wrecks are visible while snorkeling.
The Skeleton Wreck sits in just 5 meters of water. The hull is encrusted with coral and fish swarm through the openings. You can float above it and see the entire structure.
For certified divers, the Akitsushima seaplane tender at 25-36m is the crown jewel — a massive warship with a crane still standing. Two-tank dive trip: 2,500-3,500 PHP ($44-62).
Coron also has freshwater Kayangan Lake (200 PHP / $3.50 entry) — swim in water that alternates between warm and cool layers because freshwater mixes with seawater seeping through the limestone.
The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New7Wonders of Nature. You paddle through 4.3km of cave river (the guided tour covers about 1.5km) past stalactite formations, cathedral-sized chambers, and colonies of swiftlets and bats.
The cave has a limestone cathedral chamber so tall your flashlight can't reach the ceiling. The guide points out rock formations resembling everything from a holy family to a mushroom to a curtain. Some of these resemblances require imagination. The cathedral chamber doesn't — it's genuinely awe-inspiring.
Permit required (200 PHP / $3.50, book through the Underground River office in Puerto Princesa or your hotel). Day trip from Puerto Princesa: 1,500-2,000 PHP ($26-35) including transport, boat, and guide. Limit of 900 visitors per day — book at least 1 day ahead, more during peak season.
Nacpan Beach is a 4km stretch of golden sand north of El Nido. Unlike the lagoons (which require tour boat access), Nacpan is reachable by motorbike (30 minutes from El Nido town, mostly paved road) or tricycle (300-500 PHP / $5.30-8.80 round trip).
There are a few beach bars with hammocks and cold San Miguel. The water is shallow for 50 meters out — you can wade with a beer. The crowd is thin even in peak season because most tourists are on the island-hopping tours.
No entry fee. A coconut from the beach vendor: 50 PHP ($0.88). A cold San Miguel Pale Pilsen: 60 PHP ($1.06). An entire afternoon of doing nothing: free.
Tour C takes you to Matinloc Shrine (abandoned Catholic shrine on a cliff), Hidden Beach (accessed through a small gap in the limestone), and Star Beach (snorkeling with sea turtles if you're lucky).
Hidden Beach earns its name — the entrance is a narrow gap between rocks that you swim through. On the other side: a small beach enclosed by cliff walls, like a private cove that nature forgot to connect to the rest of the ocean.
Tour C: 1,400-1,800 PHP ($25-32). Less crowded than Tour A.
Tour B includes Cathedral Cave (a massive cave you enter by boat), Cudugnon Cave (archaeological site with ancient burial jars), and Snake Island (not actually snakes — it's a sandbar that snakes between two islands at low tide).
The sandbar at Snake Island is the Instagram shot — a ribbon of white sand connecting two green islands across turquoise water. Best at low tide when the sandbar is fully exposed. Bring a drone if you have one.
Tour B: 1,300-1,600 PHP ($23-28).
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site 150km southeast of Puerto Princesa in the middle of the Sulu Sea. It's the best diving in the Philippines and one of the top 10 dive sites on the planet.
The catch: only accessible by liveaboard (no land base), only during the March-June season, and the trips are expensive — $2,000-3,500 USD for 6-day liveaboards from Puerto Princesa. But the walls drop to 100m, the sharks include hammerheads, and the coral coverage is pristine.
If Tubbataha is above your budget, the reefs around El Nido and Coron are excellent for recreational diving at a fraction of the cost.
An evening boat ride on the Iwahig River near Puerto Princesa takes you through mangrove channels where fireflies cluster in the trees — thousands of simultaneous blinks that turn the mangroves into biological Christmas lights.
Tours depart at 6:30PM, last 1-1.5 hours. Cost: 800-1,200 PHP ($14-21). The guides switch off the boat engine and you float silently through the light display. Bring insect repellent — the mosquitoes are as active as the fireflies.
A 45-minute scramble up limestone rocks to a viewpoint overlooking El Nido's Bacuit Bay and the limestone archipelago. This is not a maintained trail — you're climbing sharp limestone with ropes in some sections. Gloves recommended. Shoes mandatory (not flip-flops).
The view from the top: 360 degrees of karst islands, turquoise water, and El Nido town below. Sunrise and sunset are both spectacular from here.
Guide required: 500-800 PHP ($8.80-14). Go early morning to avoid the heat. The limestone is sharp enough to cut skin — long pants and closed shoes.
Every evening, the area near the El Nido municipal hall fills with seafood stalls. Point at your fish, shrimp, or squid, tell them how you want it cooked (grilled with butter and garlic is the correct answer), and wait 15 minutes.
A whole grilled fish with rice: 200-400 PHP ($3.50-7.05). Garlic butter shrimp: 250-350 PHP ($4.40-6.17). Fresh fruit shake: 80-120 PHP ($1.41-2.12).
The food quality varies by stall — look for the ones with the biggest crowd of Filipino families, not the ones with the most aggressive touts.
Several operators offer overnight camping trips to uninhabited islands in the Bacuit Bay area. You get a tent, meals cooked on the beach, snorkeling equipment, and the experience of sleeping on an island with nobody else on it.
The stars at night — no light pollution from any direction — are reason enough. Shooting stars are common.
Cost: 3,000-5,000 PHP ($53-88) per person including all meals, equipment, and boat transport. Book through operators in El Nido town.
Bring reef-safe sunscreen, a headlamp, and bug spray. Leave the schedule at home. For more world-class island diving, check out Borneo and its legendary Sipadan reef.
