Photo by Cris Taugpa
Introduction: Tour A, The Crowded Tour
Let’s start with some honesty, Tour A is the most crowded tour…. At the starting gun of the 9am departure on El Nido town’s beachfront hundreds of bancas (Philippines native boat) back tourists in hoping to get to either Small Lagoon before the huge line. Think rush-hour in any major city in the world. If you are able to get in entrance expect bumper-to-bumper traffic into the tiny hole that leads to the lagoon itself. In the high season it’s not unusual to see 40-50 boats parked out of that entrance.
Next stop is Big Lagoon, this one’s got a long entrance leading up to the lagoon but during the low tide you’ll have to walk it. Yes there are sharp rocks so be careful when walking there. Once you hit the entrance, if you have any swimming skills you’ll be able to get away from the crowd of non-swimmers which is a lot of the typical audience in Asia.
Bacuit Bay is scattered with 45 islands and islets there never seems to be an emphasis on how many sites there are in each of them. This tour is situated mainly around Miniloc Island, with a snorkeling spot in the mix over at Shimizu Island and then back to the mainland with a visit to Seven Commandos Beach.
Site Visits: Lagoons Galore
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Small Lagoon (Miniloc Island)
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Big Lagoon (Miniloc Island)
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Shimizu Island
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Secret Lagoon (Miniloc Island)
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Seven Commandos Beach (Mainland)
Tour A also takes you to Secret Lagoon is also surrounded by limestone karst cliffs. Inside a small hole (you’ll likely crawl through) you enter a massive caldera and end up in what was once a cave. Getting here can be a bit of an adventure. This one isn’t as picturesque as the other lagoons and Tour A doesn’t even host the most beautiful lagoon in El Nido.
Shimizu Island is famous for the swiftlet nests that produces bird’s nest soup believed to have high nutritional value and healing powers! This island stop is where you will likely be having lunch so while your boatmen and guide prepare your meal feel free to jump into the water and explore the marine life and the coral reef!
At your last stop you will spend the last hour or two of your tour on Seven Commando Beach. Here you can buy some fresh coconut juice or beer as you wait for sunset. For those needing more vitamin sea you can take a dip in the ocean or snorkel a few meters from the shoreline. Look out for turtles and they do roam around in the area just mind your head as tons of boats finish their tour here.
