Paddling the Big Lagoon
Between towering cliffs.
Marciano Villavito — CC BY-SA 4.0 · nennnn — CC BY 2.0 · Nicko Melendres — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ronavni — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fabio Achilli from Milano, Italy — CC BY 2.0 · Joewen bragasin — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fabio Achilli from Milano, Italy — CC BY 2.0
El Nido's best-known and most beautiful sight: two seawater lagoons inside Miniloc Island, ringed by black limestone cliffs that rise straight out of the water, cloaked in forest. The water is clear turquoise at the entrance and deepens to dark green further in, and the silence is broken only by paddles. You enter the Big Lagoon by kayak through a gap between the cliffs, then paddle inwards between towering rock until the lagoon opens out in front of you. The Small Lagoon is reached through a narrow opening in the rock that only a kayak or a swimmer can pass, with a small cave inside. The same trip, known as Tour A, also visits the Secret Lagoon and small beaches for swimming and snorkelling. To protect the Big Lagoon, visitors are capped at about 400 a day in time slots, and it has its own fee. Book your tour early, especially in the peak season from December to May, and rent a kayak at the entrance. The tour takes a full day by traditional wooden boat and usually includes lunch. Bring reef-safe sunscreen, water shoes and a dry bag.
Between towering cliffs.
A narrow way through rock.
Clear to the bottom.
Miniloc Island, Bacuit Bay, about 30 minutes by boat from El Nido town
Yes, it is advisable: visitors are capped at about 400 a day in time slots. It is usually booked as part of Tour A through agencies in town, a day or more ahead in peak season.