Any recommendations for crystal clear waters right of the beach, without taking a boatride to some remote Apo reef, and not at the end of the world after a day´s walk through the jungle? El nido so far had the best water I have seen in the Philippines but again not off the beach... any hints greatly appreciated, thanks!
1
eastbound101
In Bohol there are some spectacular caves with freshwater to dip and even swim in right off the beach, maybe 1/4 mi. The water is fresh and very clear, Ph neutral probably because all the limestone around. PM me and I'll give you tips on exactly where to go.
2
travelbert
Sounds good but I was rather thinking of snorkelling, where you walk out of your bungalow and jump in truly crystal clear water. If that exists.
3
eastbound101
I see. Well, Bohol has great beaches and very clear water, in both Panglao and Anda. I'm a diver, and the visibility is excellent in these places; at least 20-30 m average, even more. Port Barton in Palawan possible was the clearest water I've experienced, but that's remote. No reefs from shore, but a short boat ride or kayak paddle out will get you there. You can see plenty of starfish, urchins, some fish just off the shore though. Reefs are half km off the beach.
5
callippo
there is not all that many places I know where you can just walk straight out of an inexpensive bed and be snorkelling with coral 5 minutes later. Moalboal might sound a bit too commercialised, but you can actually do this at Panagsama and the water is clean. One minute walk, 4 minute swim, and you are there. Or even better at White beach 7km up the coast, however there is no budget (under 1000) bungalows around there.
Bano Beach, Pacijan, Camotes has a backpacker's resort https://www.facebook.com/banobackpackers/?fref=ts and you can snorkel here, however it is not as easy as Panagsama and you need a bit of a kick on you. The drop off is 300m out.
there is not a shortage of snorkel spots, but trouble is there is not that many places where there is budget accommodation AND off-beach snorkelling all together. For example, there is off-beach snorkelling at the Cantaan beach, Camiguin, where the giant clam sanctuary is, but nowhere to stay nearby except the Cantaan Yacht Inn, however that is a 500 meter walk (downhill) to the sea.
6
trota1
San Miguel, Linapacan Island. Beach the size of a postage stamp, but a marine reserve at your doorstep, excellent snorkelling.
Bit of a hike getting to San Miguel, though.
As with eastbound 101, the waters off Port Barton were the clearest I've come across. Better than El Nido. A 20-minute boat ride gets you there.
8
travelbert
Well thanks everybody for those great suggestions! Keep them coming :)
Boat trips of course are lovely too, but normally you do that once or twice, it costs money and you are stuck with a group and a fixed schedule. So that´s why I would really love a place where you don´t need all of this. Not necessarily under 1000 for the night, but certainly not one of those incredibly expensive places in El Nido bay! Linapacan sounds like a very interesting place too, I almost took a boat from El Nido to Coron until I saw it, but didn´t know there´s still something along the way!
Anything else that comes to your mind, I´m right here!
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