Small Lagoon, El Nido: Tour, Fees and Kayak Rules (Checked Nov 2026)

How this page is built: we compile operator booking pages, municipal notices and dated news reports. Each figure names its source and the date we checked it. Nothing here is first-hand, and we do not rank tour operators.

Which tour carries Small Lagoon changes by seller, and the published visitor limits are from 2017 and 2018. Figures marked "reported" come from news or secondary guides; confirm the stop list, fees and what is included with your operator before you pay.

At a glance

Question	What the sources say	Source, checked Nov 2026
Where is it	Miniloc Island	El Nido Paradise Small Lagoon page; Journeyera (Jan 2025) says the east side
How you get in	By kayak or by swimming through a narrow gap; motorized boats may not anchor at the entrance	Rappler (Dec 2018); Sea Quest; Journeyera
Which tour	Tour D at seven of eight listings; not on the Tour A lists we compared	Operator pages; El Nido Map (Jul 30, 2026)
Small Lagoon fee	PHP 200 per person	Velaya; GoWaves; Discover El Nido; El Nido Guide listing; El Nido Paradise private Tour D
Eco fee (ETDF)	PHP 400 from outside Palawan, PHP 200 from within, valid 5 days	El Nido Map (Oct 17, 2026); ETDF Management Board
Kayak	PHP 300 to 350 for a two-seater at three sources; PHP 150 at Sea Quest	See the fees table
Slots	30 people and 15 kayaks every 60 minutes, as enforced from Dec 1, 2018	Rappler (Dec 7, 2018)
Hours	7 am to 4 pm, as enforced from Dec 1, 2018	Rappler (Dec 7, 2018)
Booking ahead	Operators book lagoon slots in advance; Tour D usually has space at shorter notice	Rappler (Dec 2018); El Nido Map (Jul 30, 2026)

Partner link El Nido Tour D, Lagoons and Beaches, on Klook

Which tours list Small Lagoon

Seven of the eight Tour D listings we read name Small Lagoon, and they put it beside Cadlao Lagoon and a run of beaches such as Paradise Beach, Pasandigan Beach, Natnat Beach and Bukal Beach. The exception is El Nido Paradise's shared Tour D, which lists Ipil or Natnat Beach, Cadlao Lagoon, Paradise Beach, Pasandigan Beach and Bukal Beach and no Small Lagoon.

Listing (checked Nov 4, 2026)	Small Lagoon on the route	Notes
Velaya, shared Tour D	Yes, first stop	Five stops; order can change with tides and weather
GoWaves Travel, Tour D	Yes, after lunch at Paradise Beach	Six stops, Cadlao Lagoon last
Discover El Nido, Tour D	Yes, timetabled 9:30 am	First stop of the day, "no strict order"
Sea Quest, Tour D	Yes	Listed second after Cadlao Lagoon; route order may change with sea state and tide
El Nido Guide, joiner Tour D (Lovelyn Travel and Tours)	Yes	Page title calls it the Small Lagoon Tour; showed no available dates on Nov 4
Klook, Tour D Lagoons and Beaches	Yes	Small Lagoon is named first in the route text; 8 hour duration
El Nido Paradise, private Tour D	Yes	Private boat only; from PHP 12,700
El Nido Paradise, shared Tour D	No	PHP 1,500; five stops, none of them Small Lagoon

El Nido Map says Small Lagoon used to be on Tour A, was split off it, and as of Jul 30, 2026 is on Tour D, and that most published itineraries do not show the change.

Is Small Lagoon on Tour A?

Not on the shared Tour A lists we compared on the El Nido Tour A page, but older material and some current copy still say it is. Rappler reported in Dec 2018 that Small Lagoon and Big Lagoon were taken out of the regular Tour A package as "premium tours" that "can no longer be visited on the same day". A Journeyera guide first posted in 2019 and updated Jan 20, 2025 still lists Small Lagoon as the first stop of Tour A, and El Nido Paradise's Tour A guide (dated Oct 23, 2026) lists it among the Tour A destinations and says the tour sees "either Small Lagoon or Big Lagoon", while its Tour A booking page lists Big Lagoon and no Small Lagoon. If Small Lagoon is the reason you are booking, check the stop list on the product page and ask the seller to confirm it in writing.

The Small Lagoon Premium tour

El Nido Paradise's Small Lagoon Premium page, stamped May 27, 2026, carries a notice that the tour is no longer offered and is "currently not authorized by the El Nido municipality". The page still shows the old plan: about 4 hours, stops at Small Lagoon, Payong-Payong Beach and Secret Lagoon, public tours at PHP 1,400 and private tours from PHP 7,500. We did not find an official notice that explains the change, so we report the seller's wording only.

Fees on top of the tour price

Charge	Amount	Source, checked Nov 2026
Small Lagoon environmental user fee	PHP 200 per person	Velaya; Discover El Nido; GoWaves; El Nido Guide listing; El Nido Paradise (DENR protected area office)
Eco-Tourism Development Fee (ETDF), from outside Palawan	PHP 400, once per 5 days	El Nido Map (Oct 17, 2026); Velaya; ETDF Management Board (Dec 2025)
ETDF, from within Palawan	PHP 200	El Nido Map; ETDF Management Board
Kayak, two-seater	PHP 300 (Velaya, about; El Nido Guide listing); PHP 350 (El Nido Paradise); PHP 150 (Sea Quest)	Operator pages
Kayak, three-seater	PHP 350	El Nido Guide listing
Mask and snorkel, if not included	PHP 100 (Discover El Nido; Sea Quest)	Operator pages

Rappler reported the lagoon fee as PHP 200 for the two lagoons when the policy began in Dec 2018, collected for the Integrated Protected Area Fund, and said it is non-refundable except in force majeure such as weather that keeps boats in port. Sellers still quote PHP 200, which El Nido Paradise says is charged per lagoon, so on that wording a day that visited both lagoons would pay it twice. Whether a seat price includes it varies: Velaya's PHP 1,700 and Sea Quest's PHP 2,100 do, and the PHP 1,500 seats at GoWaves, Discover El Nido and the El Nido Guide listing do not.

The same Rappler report says the Protected Area Office fixed the kayak rental at PHP 200 for up to 60 minutes in Small Lagoon in 2018. The quotes above are higher and are per kayak, so two people sharing a PHP 300 two-seater pay PHP 150 each. We found no newer regulated rate.

At the common PHP 1,500 seat price, adding the PHP 200 lagoon fee and the PHP 400 ETDF gives PHP 2,100 per person before a kayak, and about PHP 2,250 with a PHP 300 two-seater shared by two (our arithmetic from the sourced figures). El Nido Map says one ETDF payment covers El Nido's tourism sites for 5 days and that older guides quoting 10 days are out of date, and Velaya and Sea Quest also say 5 days; we found no official text on the validity period. The ETDF Management Board bulletin says the ordinance bars carrying tourists by land or water without a valid ETDF receipt, so keep it with you. Every El Nido and Coron fee is on the Palawan fees page.

Prices by seller

Seller (checked Nov 4, 2026)	Shared price per person	Included, and extra on the day
Velaya	PHP 1,700 (PHP 1,500 plus the PHP 200 lagoon entrance)	Includes lunch and a local guide. Extra: ETDF PHP 400, kayak about PHP 300
GoWaves Travel	PHP 1,500	Includes hotel pick-up and drop-off in town, lunch, drinking water. Extra: ETDF PHP 400, lagoon fee PHP 200, kayak
Discover El Nido	PHP 1,500	Includes guide, life vests, drinking water, soda, buffet lunch. Extra: ETDF PHP 400, lagoon fee PHP 200, kayak, mask and snorkel PHP 100, towel PHP 100
Sea Quest	PHP 2,100	Includes lunch, drinking water, the lagoon fee and an environmental fee. Extra: kayak PHP 150, mask PHP 100, fins PHP 100, aqua shoes PHP 100
El Nido Guide listing (Lovelyn Travel and Tours)	PHP 1,500	Includes lunch, life vest, drinking water, town pick-up. Extra: environmental fee PHP 400, Small Lagoon entrance PHP 200, kayak PHP 300 or 350
El Nido Paradise, shared Tour D	PHP 1,500	Bento lunch, water, mask and snorkel; no Small Lagoon on its stop list
Klook	Price not shown in the page text we captured	Duration 8 hours

El Nido Map reports a typical shared tour at PHP 1,200 to 1,400 with lunch and says the rates are regulated (Jul 30, 2026); we did not find the regulated rate in an official notice. Sea Quest's page does not say whether its "environmental fee" is the ETDF, so ask before paying the ETDF twice.

Partner link Small Lagoon El Nido tours on Viator

How you get in

Tour boats stay outside. Under the Dec 2018 rules Rappler reported, motorized boats may not anchor at the entrance of Small Lagoon, except boats with a special permit carrying persons with disabilities, senior citizens and pregnant women. Sea Quest says the lagoon is reached through a narrow opening and that entry is "by swim or kayak rental" depending on conditions. Journeyera says it is only possible to swim in or enter by kayak, and that the crack in the rock is tight enough that you duck your head. Velaya calls the kayak optional.

Life jackets must be worn inside. The 2018 rules also prohibit loud sound or music, cliff jumping, grilling, washing utensils, throwing food scraps, stepping on corals, smoking and alcohol, and say a boat or guide that deliberately breaks them can be denied dispatch by the Coast Guard.

Slots, hours and visitor limits

Rule	Detail	Source
People inside	30 every 60 minutes, 240 per 8 hours	Rappler (Dec 7, 2018), enforced from Dec 1, 2018
Kayaks inside	15 every 60 minutes, 120 per 8 hours	Rappler (Dec 7, 2018)
Hours	7 am to 4 pm	Rappler (Dec 7, 2018)
Slot booking	Operators book ahead, at most 15 guests a day; more slots after 3 pm on the eve of the tour	Rappler (Dec 7, 2018)
Earlier board resolution	360 guests a day, 30 at a time, 15 kayaks at a time, 45 minutes inside, 6 am to 6 pm	Rappler (Sep 27, 2017); GMA News (Jan 28, 2018)
Also in the 2017 resolution	One guide for every 6 guests; five boats of 12 guests at the anchorage, one hour at most	Rappler (Sep 27, 2017)

The 2017 resolution was reported as awaiting DENR regional approval and the 2018 policy is the one Rappler reported being enforced, so the two sets of numbers do not agree on the daily total or the hours. We found no newer official schedule, so treat these as the published baseline and not as today's count. Big Lagoon has its own limits, which are in the Tour A guide and the island hopping tours page.

Big Lagoon or Small Lagoon

Point	Big Lagoon	Small Lagoon
Shared tour that lists it	Tour A	Tour D
People per batch (Dec 2018)	60 every 90 minutes	30 every 60 minutes
Kayaks per batch (Dec 2018)	30	15
Regulated kayak rate (Dec 2018)	PHP 250 for up to 90 minutes	PHP 200 for up to 60 minutes
Lagoon fee	PHP 200	PHP 200

Source for the rows with a date: Rappler, Dec 7, 2018. Motorized boats are barred from entering Big Lagoon and from anchoring at Small Lagoon's entrance. We found no seller in this check that lists both lagoons on one shared tour.

Times and booking

Seller	Start	Where Small Lagoon falls, and the return
Velaya	Meet 8:45 am, depart about 9:30 am	First stop; tour lasts 7 to 8 hours, up to 26 guests
GoWaves Travel	Pick-up from 8:30 am, boat 9:00 am	After lunch at Paradise Beach; back around 5:00 pm, 7 hours
Discover El Nido	Depart 8:30 am	Small Lagoon at 9:30 am; back 4:00 pm, about 6 to 7 hours
Sea Quest, group	Start 9:30 to 10:30 am	Return 3:30 to 4:30 pm; group boat of 18 to 22 guests
El Nido Paradise, private	Standard 9:00 am, or about 8:00 am with the counter-the-clock option	Private boat; reverse order also offered

All times are each seller's own, checked Nov 4, 2026, and every seller says the order can change. Deposits differ: Discover El Nido takes 40% at checkout and 60% in cash on the day, Velaya asks for PHP 400 per full-fare guest 7 days ahead, El Nido Paradise takes a PHP 375 deposit on its shared tours, and GoWaves charges the full amount by card, with 100% back more than 7 days out, 50% at 2 to 7 days and nothing after that. GoWaves moves a weather or Coast Guard cancellation to the next available day and refunds in full if you cannot take it. Rain and wind by month are on Best time to visit El Nido.

Private options

Private option (checked Nov 4, 2026)	Price	Includes
El Nido Paradise private Tour D	From PHP 12,700	Private boat and guide, life vests, drinking water, lunch, mask and snorkel; Small Lagoon is one of five stops. Lagoon fee, ETDF and kayak are extra
Sea Quest private traditional boat	PHP 12,000 for 2, plus PHP 1,500 per extra guest	Town pick-up, lunch, guide, lagoon and environmental fees, mask, kayaks in the lagoon

El Nido Paradise says a private tour lets you skip stops, start about an hour earlier or reverse the order, at no extra cost.

What to bring

Sellers agree on a short list: cash for the ETDF, lagoon fee and kayak (GoWaves; Velaya), water shoes (Velaya; GoWaves; Sea Quest), sunscreen, a hat, a waterproof bag for your phone, and a towel. Sea Quest notes there is often no dock when boarding, so expect to get wet.

Partner link El Nido Tour A on Klook

Last checked Nov 2026. Sources are listed at the end of this page. Prices, inclusions and times are as each seller's page showed them on Nov 4, 2026; rules are as the dated news reports named next to them. If you run Tour D and your published details differ, send us the link and we will update the tables.

FAQs

Where is Small Lagoon in El Nido?

On Miniloc Island, which El Nido Paradise names as the first stop of its old Small Lagoon tour; Journeyera places it on the east side of the island. You need a boat from El Nido town to reach it.

Which tour goes to Small Lagoon?

Tour D at seven of the eight Tour D listings we checked (Nov 4, 2026). El Nido Paradise's shared Tour D leaves it out, though its private Tour D includes it. Older guides and some sellers still place it on Tour A, so check the stop list before you book.

How much does Small Lagoon cost?

The lagoon fee is PHP 200 per person at the sellers that list it, on top of the PHP 400 eco fee if you have not paid it in the last 5 days. With a PHP 1,500 seat that is PHP 2,100 per person before a kayak; Velaya and Sea Quest fold the lagoon fee into their seat price.

Do you need a kayak at Small Lagoon?

Not strictly. Sea Quest and Journeyera say you can swim in or paddle in, and Velaya calls the kayak optional. Two-seaters are quoted at PHP 300 to 350 by three sources and PHP 150 by Sea Quest, paid on site.

Can you visit Big Lagoon and Small Lagoon on the same day?

Rappler reported in Dec 2018 that the two lagoons are "premium tours" that "can no longer be visited on the same day". Big Lagoon is on Tour A and Small Lagoon on Tour D, and we found no shared tour that lists both. Ask your operator if you want to try a custom or private plan.

How many people are allowed in Small Lagoon?

The policy Rappler reported as enforced from Dec 1, 2018 allows 30 people and 15 kayaks every 60 minutes, from 7 am to 4 pm. An earlier 2017 board resolution had 360 guests a day and 6 am to 6 pm. We found no newer official schedule.

Is Small Lagoon the same as Secret Lagoon?

No. El Nido Paradise's old Small Lagoon Premium page lists Small Lagoon, Payong-Payong Beach and Secret Lagoon as separate stops, and its Tour A page lists Secret Lagoon beside Big Lagoon.