El Nido Joins the World's 8 Best Beaches: Charlie's El Nido, Your Base for a Bucket-List Palawan Escape

IMS HII • June 18, 2026

In April 2026, the BBC named El Nido one of the world's eight best beach escapes. Not the best in Southeast Asia. Not the best in the Philippines. Best in the world, alongside the Bay of Fires in Tasmania, La Baia di Ieranto in Italy, and the Andaman Islands in India. El Nido Palawan was the only Philippine destination on the list, and the recognition landed exactly the way the place deserves: quietly, without needing to explain itself.


If you've been thinking about making the trip, this is the moment. And if you're weighing where to stay in El Nido Palawan, Charlie's El Nido puts you minutes from everything that earned the BBC's attention, with a comfortable, well-run base to come home to after a day on the water.

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  • A person stands in the ocean surf near a sandy beach lined with palm trees under a bright sky.

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What the BBC Saw in El Nido

BBC journalist Francis Augustin visited El Nido with his family. He booked a local speedboat crew, spent the day swimming, kayaking, and snorkeling across Bacuit Bay, and ended the afternoon anchored at a solitary cove for a Filipino seafood meal [1]. His account reads less like a travel review and more like a dispatch from somewhere genuinely surprising, a place that still feels like a discovery even when you've read about it a hundred times.


That quality is difficult to manufacture. It's why El Nido Palawan shares the BBC list with coastlines in Scotland, Puerto Rico, and New York. The common thread isn't luxury or infrastructure. It's the feeling of arriving somewhere that doesn't quite belong to the modern world yet.

The Department of Tourism's OIC Secretary Verna Buensuceso noted that the recognition strengthens Palawan's standing as a global destination [2]. What it does more immediately is confirm what travelers who've already made the trip know: Bacuit Bay is a special place, and El Nido sits at the center of it.

What the BBC Saw in El Nido

BBC journalist Francis Augustin visited El Nido with his family. He booked a local speedboat crew, spent the day swimming, kayaking, and snorkeling across Bacuit Bay, and ended the afternoon anchored at a solitary cove for a Filipino seafood meal [1]. His account reads less like a travel review and more like a dispatch from somewhere genuinely surprising, a place that still feels like a discovery even when you've read about it a hundred times.


That quality is difficult to manufacture. It's why El Nido Palawan shares the BBC list with coastlines in Scotland, Puerto Rico, and New York. The common thread isn't luxury or infrastructure. It's the feeling of arriving somewhere that doesn't quite belong to the modern world yet.


The Department of Tourism's OIC Secretary Verna Buensuceso noted that the recognition strengthens Palawan's standing as a global destination [2]. What it does more immediately is confirm what travelers who've already made the trip know: Bacuit Bay is a special place, and El Nido sits at the center of it.

  • Aerial view of a turquoise cove with many white boats near rocky green cliffs

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The Lagoons, Beaches, and Cliffs Behind the Ranking

Bacuit Bay holds around 45 islands and islets. Most of what makes El Nido Palawan worth the trip is accessible by bangka, and the island-hopping tours here are organized to make that access straightforward.


Tour A is the one most visitors do first, and for good reason. Big Lagoon opens up after you round a narrow passage through the limestone, the water shifting from deep blue to clear green as you move deeper inside. Kayaking through it, cliffs rising on both sides and almost no sound except the paddle and the water, is the kind of thing people describe for years afterward.


Small Lagoon requires swimming or a kayak to enter. The passage is tight, the lagoon beyond it is calm, and the light inside does something to the color of the water that photographs only partially capture.

  • Aerial view of many white boats in a turquoise cove between rocky cliffs and green vegetation

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  • Aerial view of white boats in a turquoise cove bordered by rocky cliffs and green vegetation

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  • Secluded tropical beach cove with clear turquoise water, white sand, and tall rocky cliffs

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  • Secluded tropical cove with white sand, turquoise water, and dark rocky cliffs under a bright sky

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Secret Beach lives up to the name. You reach it by swimming through a narrow gap in the rock face. On the other side: a hidden cove with white sand and water so clear it looks shallow when it isn't. It's the kind of find that makes the whole bay feel like it still has things to show you.


Seven Commandos Beach is more open, with a long stretch of fine white sand and enough shade to rest between snorkeling sessions. A natural midpoint on a full day out, the kind of stop that would anchor a trip on its own.


What ties it all together is the scale. Bacuit Bay's limestone karst formations rise straight out of the water, their profiles shifting as the bangka moves between them. Snorkeling around Shimizu Island and the coral gardens elsewhere in the bay adds another layer, the underwater scenery as dramatic in its own way as what's above the surface. This is what sits alongside Tasmania and Italy on the BBC list. Not one beach. An entire bay worth exploring.

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Secret Beach lives up to the name. You reach it by swimming through a narrow gap in the rock face. On the other side: a hidden cove with white sand and water so clear it looks shallow when it isn't. It's the kind of find that makes the whole bay feel like it still has things to show you.


Seven Commandos Beach is more open, with a long stretch of fine white sand and enough shade to rest between snorkeling sessions. A natural midpoint on a full day out, the kind of stop that would anchor a trip on its own.

What ties it all together is the scale. Bacuit Bay's limestone karst formations rise straight out of the water, their profiles shifting as the bangka moves between them. Snorkeling around Shimizu Island and the coral gardens elsewhere in the bay adds another layer, the underwater scenery as dramatic in its own way as what's above the surface. This is what sits alongside Tasmania and Italy on the BBC list. Not one beach. An entire bay worth exploring.

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Why Charlie's Is the Right Base for an El Nido Palawan Trip

An affordable hotel in El Nido that's close enough to the action, quiet enough to actually rest, and run by people who know the destination makes the difference between a good trip and an effortless one. Charlie's is minutes from Lio Airport and within easy reach of the town pier where island-hopping tours depart.


Direct bookings include a complimentary airport transfer. You land, someone's there to collect you, and you're at the resort before the travel fatigue has time to settle in. No tricycle negotiations, no figuring out the road layout after a long day of connections.


Book direct and breakfast is included. Fresh fruit, warm rice, eggs cooked to order, strong coffee, all served in an open dining area while the morning light comes through. Island-hopping tours leave around 9:00 a.m. Eating well before you go matters more than most people plan for.

An affordable hotel in El Nido that's close enough to the action, quiet enough to actually rest, and run by people who know the destination makes the difference between a good trip and an effortless one. Charlie's is minutes from Lio Airport and within easy reach of the town pier where island-hopping tours depart.


Direct bookings include a complimentary airport transfer. You land, someone's there to collect you, and you're at the resort before the travel fatigue has time to settle in. No tricycle negotiations, no figuring out the road layout after a long day of connections.

  • A person in a black shirt and white shorts sits on a bed using a laptop in a hotel room with woven pendant lights.

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  • A person in a black shirt sitting on a bed in a hotel room, typing on a laptop, with two hanging wicker pendant lights.

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Book direct and breakfast is included. Fresh fruit, warm rice, eggs cooked to order, strong coffee, all served in an open dining area while the morning light comes through. Island-hopping tours leave around 9:00 a.m. Eating well before you go matters more than most people plan for.

  • Modern apartment courtyard with a turquoise pool and lush tropical plants

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  • Courtyard resort with a turquoise pool, white buildings, and lush tropical plants

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The pool and restaurant give you somewhere to land when you get back. After a full day on the water, slipping into a pool and ordering something cold is not a small thing. It's the part of the day that makes the pace of the whole trip work.


The concierge team coordinates island-hopping bookings and helps first-timers sort through the options. Tour A covers Big Lagoon, Small Lagoon, Secret Beach, and Seven Commandos, the stops that define what put El Nido on the BBC's list. It's the right starting point, and the team will tell you that before you even ask.


Where to stay in El Nido Palawan is a practical question with a clear answer once you know what the destination asks of you. You want a base that stays out of the way and lets the place do its job. Somewhere to sleep well, eat well, and get out early without any friction.

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A World-Class Destination Deserves the Right Home Base

The BBC recognition puts El Nido in front of travelers who are now planning their first trip and working out the details. The question of where to stay in El Nido Palawan comes early, and the answer shapes how the whole experience feels.


Charlie's El Nido is not the loudest option in town. It's close enough to El Nido Palawan to access everything, calm enough to recover from it, and run with the kind of hospitality that makes planning feel simple. Complimentary transfer, breakfast on direct bookings, a pool and restaurant, and a team that knows the tours well enough to point you toward the right one.


El Nido is one of eight places on earth the BBC chose to put on this list. Come see why. Charlie's makes it easy to experience it properly.

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References

[1] Augustin, Francis. "Eight of the world's best beach escapes." BBC Travel, 24 March 2026. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260324-eight-of-the-worlds-best-beach-escapes

[2] Philippine News Agency. "El Nido named one of world's best beach escapes." PNA. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1272282