El Nido, PhilippinesAn island shaped like a helicopter from above, with a beautiful white sand beach on its windward side and excellent snorkeling along its rocky southern coast. Helicopter Island is the most accessible uncrowded beach day-trip from El Nido, reachable in 15 minutes by bangka boat.
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The most famous of El Nido's lagoons - a vast turquoise lake enclosed within towering limestone cliffs, accessible only by kayak through a narrow rocky passage at low tide. The water changes color from aquamarine to deep blue through the day and the silence inside the lagoon walls is absolute.
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A perfectly circular enclosed lagoon accessible by swimming through a small hole in the limestone karst at low tide, with stunning vertical cliff walls rising 100m straight up from the translucent water. The experience of emerging through the rock wall into the hidden lagoon is one of the most memorable moments in Philippine travel.
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A 4km twin beach on the north coast of El Nido accessible by habal-habal motorcycle taxi, with powdery white sand, coconut trees, turquoise water, and almost no tourist infrastructure. Consistently voted one of the world's most beautiful beaches - visit on a weekday morning for the experience of a genuinely empty paradise beach.