El Nido Island Hopping ToursEl Nido Tour D: The Quiet Route With the Small Lagoon
El Nido Tour D is the shortest and least crowded of the four routes: Small Lagoon, Cadlao Lagoon, Pasandigan Cove, Paradise Beach and Nat-nat, about six hours for ₱1,200 to ₱1,400. It exists in its current form because of a 2018 town ordinance that pulled the Small Lagoon off Tour A, which means Tour D now holds a stop plenty of travellers rate above anything on the famous route.
Quick answer
Tour D runs five stops around Cadlao Island in about six hours for ₱1,200 to ₱1,400, the cheapest headline price of the four routes. Budget roughly ₱800 more in cash: two lagoons means two kayak rentals at about ₱600 total, plus around ₱200 to enter the Small Lagoon.
Key takeaways
- The stops are Small Lagoon, Cadlao Lagoon, Pasandigan Cove, Paradise Beach and Nat-nat
- The Small Lagoon was on Tour A until Ordinance No. 101 moved it here in November 2018
- Shortest boat day of the four, and the closest route to town, so less time in transit
- No shared Tour D is listed here: book it at an office in town or add it to a private charter
- The ₱400 eco fee is separate, paid once and valid ten days across every island hopping route
- Sheltered water the whole way, so it runs on days the Tour C crossing is shut
The Five Stops on Tour D
Small Lagoon: The Reason This Route Exists
A closed circular basin of green water inside Miniloc Island, reached through a slit in the cliff barely wide enough for a kayak. You paddle in, the rock closes overhead, and the wind stops.
It is the stop that people who have done both lagoons argue is better than the Big Lagoon. It is smaller and more enclosed, the walls come down to the water, and because it sits on the least-booked route it is quieter for most of the day.
A kayak is not optional here: there is no other way through the gap. Reckon on about ₱300 for the kayak plus roughly ₱200 to enter, both cash, both collected on the spot.
Cadlao Lagoon: Under the Highest Island in the Bay
Cadlao is the big one, 640 metres of rock rising straight out of the water directly across the channel from El Nido town. You have been looking at it since you arrived.
The lagoon on its southern side is broad and shallow, mangrove-edged in places, and calm enough that this is the easiest paddle of any lagoon in Bacuit Bay. Another kayak fee applies, which is why Tour D costs about ₱600 in rentals against Tour A's ₱300.
It is also the quietest water on any of the four routes. Most boats are on the far side of the bay by mid-morning.
Pasandigan Cove, Paradise Beach and Nat-nat
Three beaches, all on Cadlao, all within a few minutes of each other. Pasandigan is the wide one with palms and shade, and it is where most boats put lunch on the sand.
Paradise Beach is the small pale cove people photograph. Nat-nat is closest to town, shallow and calm, and often the last stop before the crossing home.
Snorkelling here is modest. There is coral off Pasandigan and reef fish in the shallows, but if underwater is the point of your day, the reef at Helicopter Island on the Tour C route is a different class. Tour D sells calm water and empty sand, not marine life.
Costs, Booking and the 2018 Change
What a Tour D Day Costs
Last verified August 2026 at ₱61.06 to the dollar, all cash. Tour D has the lowest ticket price of the four routes and the highest kayak bill, which puts a full day at roughly ₱2,000 to ₱2,200 including the eco fee. That is close to what Tour A works out at, and about ₱400 more than Tour B, where nothing is charged once you are on the water.
| Charge | Amount | Optional? |
|---|---|---|
| Joiner tour, walk-in | ₱1,200-1,400 ($20-23) | No |
| Eco-Tourism Development Fee | ₱400, once, valid 10 days | No |
| Small Lagoon entrance | About ₱200 | No |
| Kayaks, two lagoons | About ₱600 total per kayak | In practice, no |
| Drinks from boat vendors | ₱50-150 each | Yes |
Tour D Against the Other Three
Last verified August 2026. Tour D and Tour A are the two routes where the extras change the ranking: both have the cheapest-looking tickets and the most expensive days.
| Route | Ticket | Hours | Cash on the water | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tour A | ₱1,200-1,500 | 6-7 h | About ₱500: Big Lagoon entrance and kayak | Heaviest |
| Tour B | ₱1,300-1,500 | 6 h | Nothing | Lightest |
| Tour C | ₱1,400-1,800 | 7-8 h | About ₱200 at the shrine, optional | Heavy |
| Tour D | ₱1,200-1,400 | 6 h | About ₱800: two kayaks and the Small Lagoon | Light |
Why the Small Lagoon Is Here and Not on Tour A
Until late 2018, Tour A carried both the Big Lagoon and the Small Lagoon, and every boat in the bay arrived at both on the same morning. Municipal Ordinance No. 101, series of 2018, passed in a special council session on 27 November 2018, split them: the Small Lagoon moved to Tour D, and the Big Lagoon stayed on Tour A.
The stated reason was carrying capacity. Two enclosed lagoons on one route, both entered by kayak through narrow gaps, produced queues that the water could not absorb.
Eight years on, the pre-2018 itinerary is still printed on flyers, quoted by touts and published by a good share of travel blogs. If somebody offers you both lagoons in one morning, they are selling something no permitted joiner boat is allowed to run.
Booking It
There is no shared Tour D listed on this site. Every operator office on Calle Real and Rizal Street sells the joiner version at the standardised rate, and because it is the least booked of the four you can usually walk in the day before even in high season.
The other route in is a private charter, which runs ₱6,000 to ₱11,600 for the whole bangka and lets you reverse the order so the Small Lagoon comes first. On a route this close to town that saves real time. The private boat guide covers where the break-even sits.
What you cannot do is book Tour D and Tour A together as one day. That is the whole point of the 2018 split.
How the Six Hours Run
Boats leave the town beach between 08:30 and 09:00 like every other route, but the first stop is fifteen minutes away rather than forty. That is the practical difference on Tour D: almost no transit.
Most crews take the Small Lagoon first while the water is still, then work along Cadlao through Cadlao Lagoon and the beaches, putting lunch on the sand at Pasandigan around midday. Nat-nat or Paradise Beach closes the day and the run home is ten minutes.
Because the route hugs one island in sheltered water, it is the least weather-dependent day in Bacuit Bay. When the wind is up and the harbour master has closed the Tapiutan crossing, Tour D boats are still going out, which is worth knowing if you are here in the June to October monsoon and want a plan that survives a bad forecast.
It is also the shortest day back on the beach, usually by 15:00. If you are flying out of Lio the following morning or catching an afternoon van south, it is the route that fits.
Is Tour D Your Day?
If You want the Small Lagoon specifically
Tour D is the only shared route that has it. No other option exists since 2018.
If You have already done Tour A and Tour C
Take Tour D over Tour B if you liked the lagoons, and Tour B if you liked the sandbars.
If You are short on time or energy
Tour D. Six hours, the shortest crossings, and back in town earliest of the four.
If You want the best snorkelling
Take Tour C instead. Tour D is calm water and quiet beaches, not reef.
If You are counting every peso
Tour B. Tour D's ticket is cheaper but two kayaks put the real cost above it.
Our Recommendation
The Best Second Day in Bacuit Bay
Tour D gets called the leftover route because it was assembled from stops the other three did not want. That is roughly true and it does not matter. It holds the best lagoon in Bacuit Bay, it is the cheapest ticket, and it puts you back on the town beach while the Tour C boats are still crossing the strait.
Questions About Tour D
What is Tour D in El Nido?
One of the four fixed island-hopping routes the town licenses, covering Cadlao Island and the water between it and El Nido town: Small Lagoon, Cadlao Lagoon, Pasandigan Cove, Paradise Beach and Nat-nat. About six hours, ₱1,200 to ₱1,400 as a joiner, with a buffet lunch cooked on the sand. It is the shortest, closest and least crowded of the four.
How much is Tour D in El Nido?
₱1,200 to ₱1,400 per person as a walk-in joiner, about $20 to $23 at ₱61.06 to the dollar in August 2026. That is the lowest ticket price of the four routes. On top of it, budget the ₱400 eco fee paid once for ten days, roughly ₱200 to enter the Small Lagoon and about ₱600 in kayak rental across the two lagoons, all in cash. Counted properly, a Tour D day lands close to what Tour A costs.
Which El Nido tour has the Small Lagoon?
Tour D. The Small Lagoon was part of Tour A until Municipal Ordinance No. 101, passed on 27 November 2018, moved it to Tour D on carrying-capacity grounds. The Big Lagoon stayed on Tour A. No shared boat covers both in one day, so seeing them both means two mornings on the water.
Is Tour D worth it in El Nido?
Yes if you want the Small Lagoon or a quiet day, no if you want reef. It has the best enclosed lagoon in Bacuit Bay, the calmest water, the shortest crossings and the fewest boats. What it does not have is snorkelling worth planning a day around, or the scale of the Big Lagoon. As a second or third day it is the strongest of the four; as a first day it is not.
How long is Tour D?
About six hours, leaving the town beach between 08:30 and 09:00 and back by mid-afternoon. It is the shortest of the four routes because every stop sits on or near Cadlao Island, directly across the channel from town, so almost none of the day is spent in transit.
Do I need a kayak on Tour D?
For the Small Lagoon, yes: the entrance is a slit in the cliff and there is no other way in. At Cadlao Lagoon a kayak is how most people explore it, though the water is open enough to swim. Reckon on about ₱600 in total for both, per kayak rather than per person, cash on the day.