The sun was shining brightly at our windows. What a great way to start our morning! After the swimming we did at Nacpan Beach and exploring the beautiful hidden beaches (Tour C), we were as much as excited on our 3rd day here in El Nido, Palawan because it is time to board on our Alexzus Travel and Tours assigned boat to go on our second island hopping adventure, Tour A, one of the most famous tour options due to its amazing lagoons located around Miniloc Island.
The good thing about the tours is that they have this standard system like safety protocols, precautions, and all their tour guides are so interactive and approachable. We had a different tour guide in this tour, Jayson. So here’s the complete list of the locations we visited in Tour A:
1. 7 Commando Beach
First on the list is the 7 Commando Beach which is famous for its white sand with crystal blue waters. As the boat is making its way to the beach, you can see swaying coconut trees happily welcoming you to the place. There are also some drinks and snacks sold in the area for refreshment.
The name of the beach can be traced back to the stories from the locals wherein it was believed that there are 7 soldiers long ago that inhabited the island for months, and when they left, they leave a carving on a rock which says “7 Commando” to which the beach was named after for.
2. Small Lagoon
Next stop is what we considered the highlight of today’s tour-the Small Lagoon. Here, you can rent a kayak for 300PHP for 2 pax, and 500PHP for up to 4 pax to explore the whole lagoon, or you can just swim going inside the lagoon, according to your preference. The Small Lagoon is located at the cove of Miniloc Island which is accessible through a gap between two giant limestone rocks. The boat docks 50 yards from the entrance, so you need to swim or paddle your way in to the lagoon.
We were really in awe as we get in the lagoon. The patch of light from the opening above makes your experience more beautiful. If you’re fond of bump cars in an arcade, then you might also enjoy this activity. Since you’re not the only tourist in the lagoon, your boat might bump into another boat, but don’t worry! You won’t fall off the water.
3. Shimizu Island
After working out your muscles by paddling the kayak in the Small Lagoon, our energy was drained. Good thing that our next stop was the Shimizu Island where we took our lunch.
As curious as we were, we asked our tour guide as to where did the island got its name. According to him, decades ago, there’s a group of Scuba divers who explored the underworld beauty of El Nido island where one of them wasn’t able to return back. They searched on for days and found his dead body in this island. The diver’s surname is Shimizu, and so they named this island after him.
Shimizu Island, like other islands here in El Nido is surrounded by pristine white sand and clear waters which is also a good snorkeling area. In the island, you will also notice a towering limestone that adds up to your impressive experience in the island.
4. Big Lagoon
When you search on some photo ideas in El Nido, I’m sure you’ll come across with some photos with the Big Lagoon as the background. What makes this lagoon a great spot for photos are the two cliffs guarding the entrance that seems like you’re having a grand entrance to another dimension of the world that gives you a surreal feeling.
Good thing that when we went there, we have the place all to ourselves. This means no photobombers! Since we were more than 10 persons in the boat, we take turns in taking picture in the famous 2 cliffs. Also, we didn’t just spend our time taking pictures here, instead we also jumped off from our boat and swam in the clear calm turquoise-colored water.
5. Secret Lagoon
The Secret beach in Tour C is not the only concealed beach, Tour A has one too in the name of Secret Lagoon. Before we even reached our last destination, we could already see superb high cliffs that were like tempting us to come closer and see what kind of paradise hidden inside.
When our boat docked, we saw a crowd of people getting inside a small hole located at the left side of the cliff. It was actually the entrance to the Secret Lagoon. When going in, you need to be extra careful of the rocks since the hole (or the entrance) is just above the water.
The beach hidden inside was covered with limestones and we spent taking pictures for 15 minutes. After which our tour guide, Jason, told us to go to the other side of the Secret Lagoon so that he could take some photos for us. Little did we know, Jayson instead took amazing camera tricks for us. He is indeed a cool tour guide. With that, Tour A was over.
As we sailed back to our place in El Nido, we reminisced the past 3 days we had and it was all pretty damn worth it! Time was so fast that we didn’t even realized it was our last day in El Nido. As we packed up our things, we said to ourselves, we will be back, but this time it will be in Coron so that we could explore more the wonders of Palawan.
When you visit the Philippines, don’t miss El Nido, Palawan!
We stayed in a luxury alleppey houseboat for 1 day with my family & it was truly an amazing experience. Our journey was with waves and dales of the <a href=”https://alleppeyluxuryhouseboat.com/”> Alleppey luxury houseboat</a>, which is one of the best houseboats at Alleppey backwaters. We have been in Kerala for about two weeks and tried a lot of dishes from many restaurants but the food in houseboat was really fresh and tasted like heaven, the fish served was too fresh that we could resist ourselves from ordering more. We had a great time fishing and site seeing, they arranged an… Read more »
I really love your pictures! Thanks for sharing:
What a wonderful looking place with so much to see. I really want to visit this pristine location, El Nido. Thanks for sharing this great list 🙂
Philippines is such a beautiful country, especially when it comes to beaches. 🙂