When traveling from abroad to the Philippines, Manila is usually most tourists’ first point of arrival. It is recommended that you avoid the capital altogether and instead simply use its airport as a layover en route to a beach town called El Nido. This is our base from which to explore the area and where your room is located. Around 4:00pm, we are taken to Las Cabanas beach. It is a perfect place to eat dinner on the beach and watch the sunset.

As a natural attraction in its own right, the quiet beach town of El Nido is also a great base from which to explore the surrounding marble cliffs, enchanting lagoons, beaches, lush jungle, mangrove forest, prehistoric caves, and waterfalls. Dotted with islands and islets, most of which are inhabited, Bacuit Bay is home to blue waters and lots of marine life such as dugongs, turtles, manta rays, species of fishes, coral reefs and the occasional whale sharks.

The daytrip boat tours from El Nido are pretty straightforward. For the most part, they do not overlap with each other. Each tour has its own highlights. All of the daytrip tours offer amazing attractions, not least for today. Today we join the boat daytrip tour which covers Snake Island, Pinagbuyutan Island, Entalula Beach and Cudugnon Cave. Snorkeling and lunch are included on today’s tour. Water is available for us on the boat, as is the case with the other boat daytrips throughout this tour.

Today we join the boat daytrip tour which covers Helicopter Island, Matinloc Shrine, Secret Beach, Star Beach and Hidden Beach. Lunch and snorkeling are included on today’s tour.

Today we join the boat daytrip tour which covers Small Lagoon or Big Lagoon (to be determined), Secret Lagoon, Shimizu Island and 7 Commando Beach. Snorkeling, kayaking and lunch are included on today’s tour.

Today we take an early morning ferry ride and relocate to Coron Island. Upon arrival in the quiet/low-key village of Coron Town, we are taken directly to our nearby room. Afterwards, we are provided with a guided tour around town. Places to visit today include the public market, Coron Baywalk, the cashew harvest factory and Maquinit Hot Spring. In the later part of the day, we are taken to the stairway entrance of Mount Tapyas. Reaching the top with our tour guide takes around 45 minutes. Watching the sunset from above is a beautiful way to end our day.

Today we join the boat daytrip tour which covers Lake Kayangan, Twin Lagoon, Sunset Beach, Siete Pecados (a.k.a. Isles of the Seven Sins), Skeleton Wreck, Coral Garden and CYC Beach. Lunch and snorkeling are included on today’s tour.

Siete Pecados is where we see arguably the most amazing coral on earth. Lake Kayangan and the Twin Lagoon are also amazing. As its name suggests, the Twin Lagoon is two separate bodies of water divided by limestone karsts. At high tide, the second lagoon appears inaccessible. There is a small hole in the karsts that we can swim under in order to get to the other side. For those who prefer to climb over the rock formation, a wooden ladder rests above the hole.

Skeleton Wreck is the most popular of the places to be visited today. The aquatic views from the sunken Japanese WWII ships off Coron Island are listed in Forbes Traveler Magazine as one of the top-10 best scuba diving sites in the world. Note that if you prefer diving over snorkeling, you can book directly with a local dive shop. They usually require at least 2 days advance notice. Also, you would need to show proof of a scuba diving license.

Transportation will be arranged for you to reach the airport in Coron.