If you’re planning a trip to the Philippines, you have probably heard of El Nido and Coron. Both are beautiful places where you’ll get to swim in turquoise water, tan on white sand beaches, and snorkel and dive amongst colorful fish and corals. The only problem: the masses of tourists and the skyrocketing prices.

What if I told you there was a way to experience everything the Philippine islands had to offer without ANY tourists? Let me introduce you to Linapacan.

Linapacan is a Philippine municipality situated between El Nido and Coron. It’s not on most people’s radar (yet!) because getting there is a little difficult. I, however, think it should be on your bucketlist if you’re even just a little adventurous. Here’s why:

1. Linapacan has the clearest water in the world.

According to several websites such as this one, Linapacan has the clearest water in the world. And when you look at these pictures I snapped when I was there… yeah, it’s pretty easy to believe.

Having grown up in Northern Europe, swimming in crystal clear water had been my dream forever. Linapacan just blew my mind! This actually brings me to my second point:

2. The snorkeling is amazing

Linapacan’s marine life is very well-preserved, and thanks to the water being so clear you can see EVERYTHING. Off the top of my mind, the coolest things we saw were sea turtles, clown fish (Nemo!!), sea cucumbers, sea stars, and the most colorful corals I have ever seen.

This was my 14 year old sister’s first time snorkeling, and she loved it. What may be even more telling is that this was about my boyfriend’s hundredth time snorkelling and even he was amazed by the variety of marine life.

3. There are no other tourists.

When we took the boat from Palawan Island to San Miguel, Linapacan, we saw two guys in their 20s get off the boat on Palawan island. They had been the only tourists on the island, and we would now take their place.

As long as you don’t go with a tour from El Nido, you should meet very few other tourists. Every time we would go for a walk in San Miguel several people would turn to look at us and say hi. To me, this is really proof of a place being secluded.

4. It’s not very expensive

Coron is beautiful, but the prices are not something the average backpacker can afford. El Nido is slightly more affordable but even more crowded. In comparison, Linapacan can be very cheap.

We paid 500 PHP per person per night for accommodation, 200 PHP per meal per person, and 3000 PHP per day for the four of us for island hopping, cave tours etc… The boat from San Fernando to San Miguel (and back) cost 500 PHP per person, as did the van from San Fernando to Puerto Princesa City. In total, five full days cost the four of us about 40,000 PHP. For the record, a two- or three-day guided Linapacan tour from El Nido for two people would have cost roughly as much.

Linapacan : When and For Who?

I recommend visiting Linapacan during the dry season, from November to May. There isn’t much to do other than explore the sea, and the monsoon season from June to November may bring lots of rains and big waves. We visited in February and the weather was absolutely perfect.

Linapacan is by far not the most accessible destination. I would only recommend going here if you’re an adventurous traveler: you won’t find five-star resorts on the island. We had to wade in the water to get to the boats during high tide, which I really liked – but if you want to be pampered, this might not be the destination for you. You need to carry cash since there are no ATMs of the island, which is also a problem to some people. There was no wi-fi where we were staying, and mobile data was nonexistent.

If you’re the adventurous type, this is the place for you. You can snorkel all day, wander on deserted islands, and explore caves that are a million year old. You will very likely see sea turtles and beautiful sea stars and sea snakes and… I could go on and on. You can admire the stars in the sky every night because there’s no light pollution. We stayed at the BRC guesthouse (which I 100% recommend) and Arnold, the owner’s son took us to his own island!

Basically… this is why you should go to Linapacan.

Are you planning a trip to the Philippines? Do you have any questions about Linapacan? Tell me in the comments!

You can find more posts about the Philippines here!