Tourist Travel Information:
Travellers entering will have to register for a QR-coded tourist ID online via www.elnidotourism.ph and present a confirmed travel itinerary as well as a negative swab test result. Documents have to be shown at the checkpoint before entry to El Nido. To learn more about the health and safety protocols in place in El Nido, visit https://philippines.travel/safetrip
Getting there:
If you are flying in internationally, travellers will have to fly into Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport, before catching a domestic flight to El Nido’s Lio Airport, which is located around 4 kilometres from midtown.
Best time to dive:
March to May
Dive Experience:
All levels from beginner and upwards
Visibility:
5 to 13 metres
Depth:
1 to 30 metres
Water Temperature:
24oC to 33oC
Marine Life:
Reef fish, groupers, snappers, trevallies, schools of mackerel, batfish, and barracuda, hawksbill and green sea turtles, nudibranchs, and crustaceans
A municipality of 45 islands in the Palawan province of Philippines, El Nido is part of a protected area that has the best natural beauty and diverse ecosystem unlike any other, even placing 9th in Conde Nast Traveler’s 25 Best Island Beaches in the World: 2020 Readers’ Choice Awards list.
South of Coron, on the north-western coast of Palawan, El Nido is dotted with some 2,000 islands and islets. Conservation efforts have been ongoing in the area since 1983 to protect the island and as the gateway to the Bacuit Archipelago, diving here you are sure to be treated to some of the most amazing coral reefs, a myriad of coral reefs and staggering limestone cliffs.
Here are some of the best dive spots to visit in El Nido:
Dilumacad Tunnel
Found on the north face of Dilumacad Island, the tunnel was discovered in the early 90s by a Japanese diver. Starting at a depth of 12 metres, the tunnel stretches around 40 metres long and due to the dangers of cave diving, this site is only recommended for advanced divers. Here divers may encounter marine life such as ringed pipefish, black sweepers, scorpion fish and much more.
South Miniloc
Probably the most popular dive site in El Nido, South Miniloc is a reef that is located near the famous Small and Big Lagoons, right between two islands – Miniloc and Simizu Island. Found at a depth of 12 metres, this dive site is popular for its coral garden and schools of fish. This site is reserved for advanced divers as this is the only dive site in El Nido that experiences frequent strong current.
