Island Hopping Tour in El Nido Palawan

Visiting El Nido Palawan will never be complete without doing the island hopping tour. It is only by island hopping tour that you get to explore the best of El Nido, from its secret beaches to hidden lagoons.

When I arrived in El Nido town, I immediately looked for tour operators where I can join for the next 2 days. There are actually a lot. And tour prices can vary up to 200 pesos. So getting the service of an experienced and excellent tour guide is a bit tricky.

Tours in El Nido are classified as Tour A, B, C, or D. All tours last whole day and picnic lunch included. What differentiates a good tour from a so-so one is its food, and the quality of the tour guide himself, as well as the added bonus visiting islands that are not listed on the tours.

Tour A normally covers the island of Miniloc including the Small Lagoon, big Lagoon and Secret Lagoon, umbrella Island, Shimizu Island, Seven Commando Beach.

Our tour Started at the Small Lagoon. As the name implies, the entrance to the lagoon is indeed small. only kayaks can pass through the opening of the limestone. If you don’t have a kayak, you need to wear life vest and swim. The water level at the entrance is very very deep. but once you get inside, it’s only waist deep. At first I am not comfortable swimming with a life vest.

Small Lagoon

From the small lagoon, our pumpboat then lead us to the big lagoon. The waters of the big lagoon is just so inviting. Sarap mag swim! we only circled the lagoon without getting off the boat. We then headed to the secret lagoon. It was called as such because one has to crawl through a small opening to get inside the lagoon.

Be careful with the extra sharp lime stones at the opening. My ankle got scraped from these limestone rocks. Honesty, I am not really impressed with the hidden lagoon. It is just one of the few sites that I realy didn’t enjoy that much. Or bitter ang ako dahil sa sugat sa paa? ahaha

During our Tour A, we had our lunch at the umbrella island, which is just near the EL Nido Resorts in Miniloc. We decided to have the lunch there since the pace is deserted and we’re the only guests there at that time. And while our boatmen cook lunch, we still got to enjoy snorkeling at the area.

Our last stop was the seven commando island where one can enjoy a spectacular sunset at the beach. There is also a small native hut near the beach which sells fresh buko juice for PHP30 as well as other snacks.

Umbrella Isand. The structure at the back is El Nido Resports – Miniloc

During my second day of tour, I opted to get the Tour C. As what Jason, our tour guide said, Tour A and C are the two most common tours in El Nido. Tour B is not really that popular with tourist because it is a bit far already.

So on my third day in El Nido Palawan, I took the Tour C. Among the organized tours in El Nido Tour C is the most expensive, but it is really worth visiting!

Our tour started with a quick snorkel somewhere around the Matinloc Island. Since its summer already, jelly fish season is also at its peak. So I didn’t get to enjoy that quick snorkel as jellyfishes were literally all over the place. sometime you’ll be surprised they’re right in front of your mask and snorkel. And jellyfish sting is really really itchy.

From there we then went to the Matinloc Shrine. A popular stopover for island hopping tours. The Matinloc Shrine can be easily spotted from afar because of its dome. Beside the shrine is a trail leading to the top of limestone cliffs. The view of the nearby isands from the top is very exhilarating. Ang ganda talaga!

From Matinloc Shrine, we then headed to another island (forgot the name) were the only human beings there. So Jason our tour guide and the boatman cooked our meals. Lunch include, barbecue chicken, grilled fish, fresh mangoes, bananas, and cucumber salad. I also brought some chocolate chips for our dessert and merienda.

While our meals are still being prepared, I enjoyed snorkeling at the beach. There were so many colorful fishes! And the corals are just so magnificent. Giant clams were aplenty, too! What’s so sad is the presence of the crown of thorns starfish. they may be colorful, but it’s notorious in destroying the coral reef system . Jason even said that these crown of are very active at night and can finish a large coral in just a night.

So right after lunch Jason tried to remove these starfish from the corals. He uses a tong when removing them, as its spikes a re laced with neurotoxins and carefully place them in a fish net. He said that leaving the starfish out of the water and in direct sunlight would kill them.

After lunch we then headed to what is probably known as the best gem of Bacuit Bay: The Secret Beach.

Who would have thought that a beautiful beach can be found in the middle of a limestone cliff, and the only way to get through it is to swim through a small opening under several meters of water deep.

sobrang lalim ng tubig! And it was high tide when we went there so the waves are just pounding like crazy.

Nagtapang tapangan ako.

I jumped out of the boat without lifevest. I put on my mask and snorkel and voila! The view under my feet is indescribable. I got overwhelmed in everything that I saw. I then started to swim slowly towards the opening hole. The depth of water at the opening hole is even more deeper. But the coral formations are much better, and with more large fishes swimming underneath me. Sige swim lang ng swim. I said to myself, until I reached the center. I was already at the middle of the secret beach!

Ang Ganda ganda talaga sobra! I was surrounded by towering limestone rocks, while I was just lying on a fine white sandy beach. The water is cool.

One Russian female even asked me “You’re Filipino?” I said “Yep”, she replied “You’re very very lucky to have this in your country!”

Do you remember the movie The Beach which was starred by Leonardo di Caprio? It’s original book version was said to have been written by Alex Garland while in El Nido. Though the movie was shot in Thailand, I guess the end result could have been better if the movie was shot entirely in Palawan.

From Secret Beach, we then headed to the Tapiutan island for some more sight seeing before we docked at our final destination: Helicopter Island.

helicopter island

Helicopter island is called as such because of its shape. It really looks like a helicopter! The island has a long stretch of white sand, the water is very clear. When we went there, there were some Russian tourists enjoying the place. While in helicopter island, we did some crazy shots, perfect for Facebook profile

Tour Prices vary from one operator to another. I got my Tour A at PHP600 and Tour C at PHP700. All tours start at 9AM and ends around sunset time. Tour Fee includes picnic lunch. All island hopping guests are required to pay PHP200 environmental fee, which is valid for 10 days. Keep the ticket as it will be your proof of payment when you will go island hopping on your succeeding days in El Nido.

To book a tour, I highly recommend Kuya Jason. Please text him at 09083034967.