“Sorry, no Tour D available sir,” our El Nido resort manager told us when we were arranging for our 3-day island-hopping tours. And so, we were resigned to completely missing out on Cadlao Lagoon, one of two destinations we were excitedly anticipating on our second El Nido visit. This lagoon is a beautiful body of turquoise water surrounded by towering karst cliffs and was supposed to be one of the highlights of Tour D. Instead, we were booked for Tour C which we had already done 7 years ago.
To facilitate island-hopping at El Nido’s Bacuit Bay, tour operators have set up 4 different tour packages named Tours A, B, C and D, with each tour consisting of at least 5 different destinations. Each tour would run practically the whole day. Tour C normally includes visits to Helicopter Island, Talisay Beach, the Matinloc Shrine and Viewpoint, Secret Beach and Hidden Beach. With a sigh, we boarded our tour boat at Corong Corong’s pier. Anyway, we reasoned, it wouldn’t hurt to revisit one of the more stunning destinations this side of the country.
Cadlao Lagoon
As our boat crew chief Nat briefed us at the start of our island-hopping, more bad news were on the way. One of the tour’s destinations – Hidden Beach – was temporarily off-limits due to a Survivor shooting at the location. Or so it seemed. Because of this, the crew was taking us instead to… Cadlao Lagoon (!) We almost hugged and kissed Nat after his announcement, so delighted were we at this unexpected turn of events.
Cadlao Lagoon is part of Cadlao Island, one of the many islands or islets of Bacuit Bay just off El Nido town. It’s the island closest to town – 6 kilometers from the pier at El Nido town proper or about 15 minutes away by motorized outrigger boat. It’s also the biggest. Had we been able to do Tour D, we would have gone to at least 3 beaches in Cadlao besides Cadlao Lagoon plus a small, adjacent island named Bukal. But just getting to do Cadlao Lagoon was more than enough for us.
The lagoon itself is filled with crystal-clear turquoise and emerald waters and is surrounded by towering karst formations typical of the landscape in El Nido and Coron. Lush, verdant vegetation cover the limestone cliffs and a small strip of fine, white sand marks the lagoon’s northern end. It is definitely one of El Nido’s postcard-perfect sites.
None of the tour boats are able to enter Cadlao Lagoon due to the shallow water depth. Kayaks, however, are available for rent near the lagoon entrance. We were soon exploring the expanse of this body of water and were so enthralled that we forgot and left our snorkeling gear back at the tour boat. We soon realized that we had missed an excellent snorkeling experience as the translucent waters revealed a lot of corals and other marine life underneath.
The waters here are so shallow that we were able to leave the kayak to pose for photos and to wade and swim in the shallows. The boat crew were particularly adept at taking photos, even in using DSLRs, and were on hand to assist non-swimmers in our group. To enjoy El Nido to the max means being able to swim and kayak to reach some of the most beautiful sites which would be a problem with people who are not good swimmers. But the boat crews and tour guides have perfected ways of helping even non-swimmers get to the most difficult sites.
Helicopter Island
After spending much of the morning at Cadlao Lagoon, our boat weighed anchor and was off to our next destination. We’ve been to Helicopter Island 7 years before, something we won’t forget as it was the spot where Leo accidentally dropped his camera case with our then brand-new DSLR into the water. Fortunately, the case was able to protect the camera from any water damage.
Helicopter Island is the closest island to Cadlao and we got there in just a few minutes sailing time. What sets this island – officially called Dilumacad Island – apart from other islands in El Nido is its sand color. To our knowledge, Helicopter Island alone has golden cream or yellow-orange sand while the rest of the islands we have visited contained white or creamy white colored sand.
A favorite activity here is snorkeling and some pretty good snorkeling can be had at Helicopter’s southeastern end. However, the waves on this particular morning were quite strong and kept getting inside our rented snorkels – which weren’t really that great to begin with anyway. Consequently, our stay at Helicopter Island was to be the second shortest among the 5 spots of Tour C.
Secret Beach
Secret Beach on Matinloc Island, was the last destination on our Tour C itinerary. This beach is hidden from view because it is part of a lagoon that is completely enclosed by dominating karst cliffs. Visitors have to swim through a narrow opening to get here. Because of this we were not able to bring a camera on our 2016 tour (we don’t have GoPros) to snap photos from inside. But, on this tour, we came equipped with waterproof dry bags that enabled us to swim while carrying our DSLR. (We also brought the dry bags along when kayaking to ensure protection for the camera.)
Entering Secret Beach was not a problem even for non-swimmers as the boat crew strung non-swimmers in our group together and towed them safely inside the lagoon. (In all our tours at El Nido and Coron we have always encountered very helpful and friendly boat crews and we make it a point to tip them generously.) Once inside the lagoon, we could safely remove our life vests since the water inside is shallow.
We didn’t see a lot of corals inside Secret Beach but we could still see a number of fish swimming in the clear waters. Secret Beach reminds us very much of Secret Lagoon in Miniloc Island. The biggest difference is that – as its name says – it has a strip of white sand beach. But just like our visit here and to Secret Lagoon 7 years ago, we encountered a considerable number of visitors. El Nido is not the same tranquil escape that it was 25 years ago and we fear its increased popularity might have a detrimental effect on the environment. For the moment however, our mind was focused on just enjoying the sights in this northern corner of Palawan.
The Shoestring Diaries 
Truly among the great natural wonders. Beautifully captured.
Thanks! The waters are even more crystal-clear in the Linapacan Islands north of El Nido – which was our original destination. However, the boat tours there were suspended because of the pandemic and have not come back.
This is definitely so awesome . Thanks Anita
This lagoon is probably one of the top 2 best places at El Nido and it’s difficult to choose among some of the most beautiful landscapes/seascapes we’ve come across.
That worked out for you and the images are gorgeous. 😊
Thank you! The Lord had several surprises for us on this trip.
Incredibly beautiful.
Thanks Cindy!