Best Beaches in El Nido You Can Only Reach by Boat
El Nido’s most beautiful beaches don’t have parking lots. They don’t have roads leading to them. Most of them don’t even show up on Google Maps with any useful detail. The way you reach them is by climbing into a wooden bangka boat, cutting across the glittering blue of Bacuit Bay, and trusting that whoever is steering knows where they’re going.
That inaccessibility is part of the magic. And knowing which beaches are worth the boat ride, and which island hopping tour gets you there, is the difference between a good El Nido trip and a great one.
Here are the beaches that are genuinely worth it.
Beaches on Island Hopping Tours
Small Lagoon Beach (Tour A)
Technically a lagoon, but the small sand strip where kayakers pause and swimmers rest has the quality of the best beach you’ve ever been on, just miniaturized and enclosed by walls of grey-blue limestone that dwarf everything around them. The water is calm, warm, and colored a shade of blue that looks digitally enhanced but isn’t.
How to get there: Tour A island hopping package. The lagoon is about 45 minutes from El Nido town by bangka.
Insider tip: Arrive on the earliest tour boat (8–8:30am) to have the lagoon close to yourself. By 10am it gets busy enough that the magic is slightly diluted.
Helicopter Island Beach (Tour C)
Named because the island looks like a helicopter rotor blade from above, this 500-meter white sand beach is one of the most beautiful stretches of shoreline in Bacuit Bay. The water is shallow enough to wade far out, the sand is fine and clean, and there’s excellent snorkeling along the reef edge at the island’s southern tip.
How to get there: Tour C island hopping. About 1 hour from El Nido by bangka.
What makes it special: Unlike some tour stops, the beach here is long enough that you don’t feel crowded even when several boats are anchored offshore. There’s genuine space to claim a quiet corner.
Entalula Beach (Tour B)
One of the lesser-hyped beaches in the tour circuit, Entalula has excellent soft sand, calm swimming water, and beautiful views toward the outer islands. Because Tour B is less popular than Tour A, Entalula tends to be less crowded than comparable beaches on the A circuit.
How to get there: Tour B island hopping. About 50 minutes from El Nido.
Seven Commandos Beach (accessible from Tours A/C)
A longer, wider beach with rows of coconut palms providing shade and calm turquoise water stretching out toward the karst formations in the distance. Seven Commandos is named after a local folk legend, seven shipwrecked survivors who lived on the island for years. Good for swimming and a long beach walk.
How to get there: Some Tour A and Tour C variations include this as a stop. Confirm with your operator.
Cadlao Lagoon Beach (Tour D)
Cadlao is the largest island in the Bacuit Archipelago, and its lagoon contains a sheltered beach that feels genuinely remote, in part because Tour D sees fewer tourists. The beach here is quiet, the water calm, and the surrounding karst scenery dramatic.
How to get there: Tour D island hopping.
Secret Beach (Tour C), The One You Swim To
This deserves its own section because it’s not a conventional beach, it’s accessed by swimming through a submerged cave opening in a cliff face. On the other side is a small, completely enclosed white sand beach with walls of rock on three sides. You’re inside a natural amphitheater.
No boat can enter. No path leads here overland. The only way in is through the water.
When we first swam through and emerged on the other side with six other people, and not a single other tourist because we’d arrived early, it felt like finding something. Even knowing thousands of people have made the same swim, in that moment the privacy felt real.
How to get there: Tour C. Ask your guide specifically for the Secret Beach stop, some shortened tour versions omit it.
Beaches You Can Reach Without Island Hopping
Las Cabañas Beach
The most accessible beautiful beach in El Nido, about 3 km from town, reachable by tricycle (₱30–₱50). Long, wide, and lined with palm trees, Las Cabañas faces west, making it the best place in the area for sunset watching. The water is calm for swimming, there are several beach bars and restaurants along the strip, and a zipline over the water if you’re in the mood for something active.
This is the beach for your arrival evening, your free afternoon, and your last sunset in El Nido.
Cost to get there: ₱30–₱50 tricycle from town. No entrance fee.
Corong-Corong Beach
Walking distance from the main town (10–15 minutes south), Corong-Corong is a quieter beach area with calm, shallow water and a view across to the outer islands. Less dramatic than Las Cabañas but lovely for an evening wade and the home base for the mangrove firefly tour.
Duli Beach
About 25 km north of El Nido town (45–60 minutes by tricycle), Duli is one of the few beaches in the area with some surf, still not Siargao, but waves that make bodyboarding possible during certain conditions. More importantly, Duli is stunning for its isolation, a long, wide, wild beach backed by mountains with very few tourists.
Cost to get there: Approximately ₱600–₱800 round trip by private tricycle.
Nacpan Beach: The Best Beach on Mainland El Nido
Nacpan deserves special mention. It’s not reachable by boat from El Nido bay, you take a 1.5–2 hour tricycle or motorbike ride north along the coast, but it consistently appears on lists of the best beaches in the Philippines for good reason.
Nacpan is 4 km long. Four kilometers of powder-white sand with gentle waves, backed by palm trees, with almost no commercial development and stunning views toward Lio Bay. On a weekday outside peak season, you can walk for 30 minutes along this beach without seeing another person.
Cost: ₱150 entrance fee per person. Transport: shared habal-habal (motorbike) around ₱200–₱300 each way, or rent a motorbike for the day (₱500–₱700).
Timing: Half a day is enough. Arrive around 9–10am, stay until 2–3pm. Don’t attempt during the rainy season (June–October), the road can be rough.
How to Visit More Beaches in Less Time
The most efficient way to see multiple beaches in El Nido is, unsurprisingly, a well-organized island hopping tour. Two tours (A + C, or A + B) across two days covers six to eight distinct beaches and lagoon stops, all arranged and handled by your boat crew.
CMT’s El Nido island hopping packages include pre-arranged tour slots so you’re on the water from 8am, not spending your morning chasing availability.
FAQ: Best Beaches in El Nido
Q: What is the most beautiful beach in El Nido?
For postcard-worthy scenery, the Small Lagoon (Tour A) or Helicopter Island beach (Tour C). For long stretches of sand, Nacpan Beach (accessible by motorbike/tricycle). For dramatic isolation, Secret Beach (Tour C).
Q: Are El Nido’s beaches crowded?
The most popular spots on Tour A (Small Lagoon) get busy by mid-morning in peak season. Go on the earliest boat. Tour B and Tour D stops are noticeably quieter. Nacpan Beach is almost never crowded outside Holy Week.
Q: Can I go to the beaches in El Nido without a tour?
For beaches within Bacuit Bay, you need a boat, and booking an island hopping tour is by far the most practical option. Las Cabañas and Corong-Corong are reachable by tricycle from town. Nacpan requires a longer motorbike or tricycle ride.
Q: Is Las Cabañas Beach worth visiting?
Yes, especially for the sunset. It’s the most accessible quality beach near El Nido town and one of the best places to end an El Nido day.
Q: What beach is best for snorkeling in El Nido?
Helicopter Island (Tour C) and Shimizu Island (Tour A) have the best snorkeling among the tour circuit stops. Pinagbuyutan Island on Tour B is also excellent for marine life.
Experience El Nido’s Beaches Properly
The secret to El Nido’s best beaches is simple: get on a boat early and let a crew that knows these waters take you there. CMT’s island hopping packages handle the rest.