El Nido Resorts Lagen Island

Before you have even landed at Lagen Island, you know you are in for something pretty special. The limestone islands jut skywards from the sea, speckled with white sandy beaches and lapped by turquoise waters. Set beneath towering cliffs and verdant jungle, El Nido’s Lagen Island resort could not be more exotically located. A series of water cottages, beach cottages and forest suites make up the resort’s accommodation and have fabulous views of Bacuit Bay, which in the evening is often lit up in purples and reds by some of the best sunsets you are ever likely to witness. The water cottages offer the best views of the bay, while the beach cottages are closer to the centre of the resort and the forest suites are just that bit more luxurious. All rooms have antique wooden floors and recycled timber furniture, and come with air-conditioning, an en-suite bathroom, a mini-bar and a stereo system with CD player.

Meals are usually served in the main dining room, raised so as to maximise views out to the bay, although a couple of times a week the buffet is moved to the garden where you feast on delicious food under the stars. The swimming pool makes for a great place to chill out in the afternoons with the pool bar and staff at your beck and call.

On arrival at Lagen Island Resort you will be met by your personal activity coordinator who will be able to go through the different experiences on offer so you can do as much or as little as you like. Diving and snorkelling are the main draw cards here, and the professionally-run PADI dive centre has an instructor and two dive masters to help you learn the ropes or to take you out to more than twenty dive sites. The reefs are flourishing and there are plenty of fascinating small critters and large schools of snapper that often hover in the current and huge gardens of cabbage coral.

There's much more than just diving on offer at El Nido Lagen Island Resort. Take a boat trip to the lagoons near Miniloc Island, hike through the virgin forests to see birds, monkeys and much more; go island hopping and enjoy a private beach picnic; or visit natural attractions such as Cathedral Cave. What ever you want to do, the staff here are extremely helpful and make you feel welcome from the word go.

When to go

Palawan has a tropical climate and is situated outside the typhoon belt. This means that it enjoys less rainfall than the rest of the Philippines. Generally, the dry season runs from November to May, with scattered showers between June and October. January is usually the coolest month, with temperatures averaging about 25°C, and May the hottest, with an average temperature of about 28°C.