El Nido: The Lagoons of Miniloc

If you can only visit one place in El Nido, Palawan this will have to be the one. Miniloc Island, located in the center of the Bacuit archipelago off El Nido town, is a towering karst landscape filled with attractive white sand beaches and hidden lagoons and surrounded by crystal-clear waters teeming with diverse marine life. To see this island and its lagoons in particular, we got on a Tour A package boat along with 17 other passengers.

Matinloc Island: Shrines, Vantage Points and Secret Beaches

We arrived on the sandy beach after walking a moderate distance from our anchored boat. Some visitors were headed straight for the Catholic shrine immediately to our front but we detoured to the left and up a flight of steps chiseled from the precipitous limestone outcrops. The steps were quite narrow and there was a line of people waiting for their turn at the view deck. After waiting for a few minutes we finally got to reach the vantage point for a breathtaking view.

Tapiutan Island and Talisay Beach: Unassuming Beauties

It’s one of the lesser known islands in the Bacuit archipelago off El Nido in northern Palawan. It also happens to be the most remote island destination of any tour package from El Nido town and its name is not even mentioned in most posts promoting the Bacuit archipelago tours. When we got to Tapiutan Island, however, we were delighted to learn that it was no less beautiful and just as endowed with a rich variety of marine life as the other better-known destinations of El Nido.

Hop Aboard Helicopter Island, El Nido

It was a perfect sunny morning as our outrigger made its way through the calm waves of Bacuit Bay on the way to our first island destination. From a distance the unusual shape of Dilumacad Island stood out with its tall and massive limestone cliffs and verdant tropical forest. Soon our boat was slowing to a halt and disgorging its 20 passengers onto a beautiful white sand beach.