Best snorkeling sites in Palawan
Palawan, known as the Philippines‘ “Last Frontier”, is a paradise for snorkeling enthusiasts. The province is endowed with stunning seascapes, abundant marine life, and pristine water bodies that offer some of the best snorkeling spots in the country. Here are a few of the most popular:
- Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park: Located in the middle of the Sulu Sea, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the best dive sites globally. Its coral reefs house a rich diversity of marine life. Due to its location, it’s only accessible by liveaboard from mid-March to mid-June.
- El Nido: El Nido is well known for its limestone cliffs, white sand beaches, and clear turquoise waters filled with marine life. Snorkeling spots around El Nido are aplenty, including Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, Shimizu Island, and Seven Commandos Beach. These spots are typically visited as part of island hopping tours (Tours A, B, C, and D).
- Coron: Coron boasts several excellent snorkeling sites. The most famous ones include the Twin Lagoons, Siete Pecados, and Barracuda Lake. There are also several Japanese shipwrecks from World War II around Coron that offer fascinating snorkeling and diving experiences.
- Port Barton: This quiet fishing village is another beautiful snorkeling spot with clear waters and vibrant marine life. You can take a boat tour to visit islands and reefs like Exotic Island, German Island, and Aquarium Reef.
- Balabac: Balabac is a group of islands in the southernmost part of Palawan. It is less developed than El Nido and Coron but offers similarly breathtaking snorkeling sites.
True, the above are famous and popular, but popularity means a lot of tourists, which can take away the magic and moment of bobbing in God’s artistic splendour. Furthermore, perhaps because of the high traffic, the water around El Nido and Coron can seem rather foggy. While Balabac, Port Barton and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park are not the easiest to get to and spread rather far apart.
This is why we suggest a boat tour between El Nido and Coron, where there are more than 80 islands in a beautiful, remote area with some of the recognized clearest waters in the world. Furthermore, if you choose for a private tour, you can enjoy the corals, reefs and desolate islands with their empty white sand beaches to yourselves, at your own pace (the group tours generally have a tight schedule, not to mention that the boats have a capacity easily exceeding 20 persons).
You can check out a standard sample itinerary we offer to get an idea of the beautiful, secluded beaches you will find along the way, or if you have enough time, you can even squeeze in Balabac, as this sample itinerary shows from one of our customers.
The multiday expedition tour includes much of the sites around Coron, but we also organize private tours in El Nido (not included in our multiday tours) and Coron, if you wanted to cover all the sites of Coron not included in the multiday tours. The advantage of private tours in these two locations is that our operators make sure to leave earlier and visit the sites in an order and such a way as to avoid the mass crowds of the group tours.
For our multiday tours you can even rent a speargun and get tips from the crew, who are skilled at catching fish using just a line in their hand with a piece of bread to catch a small fish to use as bait to catch the big fish.
And if you like to color up your multiday excursion with some more fun, you can also rent kayaks and even a wakeboard and wakesurfboard, to get a little workout while making your way from one beautiful island to another. And don’t forget to check out the cliff jumping spot!
If you’d like to experience this beautiful, remote and magical region in a custom, private tour catered to your specific needs (we also organize group tours if you are on a budget), just contact us so we can prepare the perfect plan for you.
Experience the thrill of island hopping in the Philippines
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recommendsGérard Benoit2023-02-08I was looking for a personalized excursion to the beautiful bay of Bacuit. Seeing the comments, I contacted Mel. Very responsive, very efficient and perfect organization. The crew were very friendly and very helpful. And I'm not even talking about the meal on board...a marvel. In all fairness, this excursion will remain an excellent memory and I can recommend Mel and his team highly enough. A big thank-you.recommendsAndré Mardoñal2019-10-22⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The island world of Linapacan between Coron and El Nido with the clearest waters in the world is truly a dream for itself! Without a boat you won't be able to see it! But what this boat trips makes so amazing is the crew! Once you come on board they might be shy in the beginning but will make you feel welcome and home from the first moment. Not only that they are looking that you sit comfortable all the time, they will prepare fresh and delicious food what the buy from local markets. They know the best spots and most beautiful islands and will bring you to places where you get this "Robinson Cruisoe feeling". Every day you visit 3 to 5 spots for snorkeling, enjoying a beach or exploring a little island. The accommodation we had was good and simple. We slept in bungalows and tents right at the beach. Sheets and towels were always provided and sometimes towels. After a while you feel like a family on board. We loved living the boat life didn't wanna leave! If you doubt take a longer than shorter trip! For any questions please message me.recommendsSarah Uhan2019-01-31All in all it was a really great experience. It's a once in a lifetime thing to do and you won't get more authentic and basic Philippino experiences anywhere else. We were not so lucky with the wind and waves so we couldn't do all the stops we wanted to unfortunately. So be aware that especially the months from January to May can be very rough on water. But we still saw some great places Benji took us. Benji and his family was very nice and they did everything they could. The food was amazing - always freshly made in authentic Philippino style and way too much for the 2 of us. Make sure to bring enough cash - many of the islands cost extra (entrance fee) and be aware that any kind of accommodation and food (200php per meal) is not included in the boat fee. Also the deposit and commission fee for the agency are a little over the top, especially since the crew does not get any of it. The costs all in all are rather high for phillipino circumstances especially given the basicness of it all. However if you think about that all 5 boat people (in our case) live off of the boat fee alone, you spent the money willingly. Be aware though that accommodation and sanataries are very basic if even existant. So you gotta have the right mindset. Bring tissue, sanatiszer and earplugs to get some better sleep. Another feedback I have concerning the size of the boat. I don't think it is sufficient for more than 4 people. If the weather is like it was these days, you always have to sit on top and it was already a little squeezy with us 2 and 5 boat people. So I guess 4 guests can be fine but more than that won't have the space. There is different boat sizes but make sure to talk about that with Karel in advance. Other than that it was really worth it and we got to see so many great beaches and reefs which we could have never been able to visit without the tour.recommendsEric Liu2018-03-15It was scary to book a 5 day trip with no places to stay confirmed or a strong itinerary. And in the Philippines, communication is difficult. But that is part of changing mindsets to a rural island mindset. In the end, everything worked out. We had some tough moments with bugs. But we also had some amazingly beautiful secluded beaches, the best snorkeling in the world, relaxing on the beach, and freshly made food on the boat while docked at beautiful places (better than being on land). Note, we went with Benji. Recommendations: - you must get a local SIM when you arrive to make sure pickup and everything works out - some islands have bugs - use bug spray! Pros: - a fraction of the cost - away from the crowds - can customize what you want - just ask! - a truly local experience - saw a REAL rural town Cons: - locals aren't really polished tour guides - if you don't ask for it, you won't get it, need to be pretty proactive - pretty simple "activities" - no frills like bathrooms or kayaks etc.recommendsÁngela Deand2017-04-26We can't be more grateful to have had the opportunity of experience the peace in Patoyo Kitesurfing Camping! Spending two weeks in Dimancal Island, gave us the chance to experiment the rural and traditional way of life, in touch with the nature and people. We have learnt how to cook with fire, how to open a coconut and how to survive in an environment where for a time we forget about unnecessary needs, just to focus on enjoy the small details and pleasures of life. Mentioning too the amazing snorkeling and beautiful islands around this place, which make it unique and special. It is a lovely option if you are running away from tourists and overcrowded places in the Philippines. You will find yourself in the middle of virgin beaches and nature, surrounding by charming people. We will definitely come back!recommendsCaroline Danielle2017-02-13We haven't done a Tao tour, but I would suspect that this is a cheaper version of the same thing. Our boat operator (Benji) and the entire crew were were fun, friendly and made an effort to ensure we had a good time. If you get a large group of people together it can be a really inexpensive alternative to other Coron-El Nino and vice versa island hopping tours. The food was good, but more expensive than as advertised by Karl. The price quote we got was 100 php a meal, but the boat charged us 200. Since the food was good we didn't mind the extra expense, but it is important to keep in mind if you're on a budget. Definitely plan for some incidental spending. Our boat did have some mechanical issues and as a result we ended up being stuck in the same place for longer than we wanted to be. That being said, little could have been done about it and the trip was fun nonetheless.recommendsHauk Are Fjeld2017-01-01If you believe that doing the touristic tours in El Nido and going to "The hidden beach" takes you off the beaten path, you are wrong. There are lots of beautiful places in Palawan, but few of these places are without any other tourists. If you want to spend some extra effort on getting away from the tourist places, and don't mind a little "primitive" living, Island Hopping in the Philippines is definitely something you should check outrecommendsArnold Cabiguen2015-05-08The snorkeling in this area is phenomenal. Clearest waters in the world. I guess it's because there is relatively such lower tourist traffic through here, and the locals really protect the reefs!recommendsKarel Kosman2015-05-08Love it so much, just had to say it twice!
We are a family operation managing private custom boat tours in the beautiful Palawan area, and are happy to help travelers with their plans through the country, having traveled a lot of it ourselves and planning to visit it all.