Boracay’s 12 Beautiful Beaches, And 5 Lesser Ones To Avoid

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id you know that Boracay has 17 beaches? That’s a lot. And it’s hard to know which ones to visit without seeing them first. That’s why on this page I’ll show and describe both the 12 beautiful and the 5 lesser beaches. So that you can make an informed decision about which ones to visit, and which ones to avoid…

White Beach: Lively & Beautiful

White Beach

White Beach is Boracay’s main beach. It’s also the biggest at 4 kilometers long. The main attraction is its beauty, but also that you have everything you need there: resorts, restaurants, nightlife, activities, it’s all available right in front of the beach. Read more…

Puka Beach: Rustic & Beautiful

Puka Beach

Puka Beach is fronted by a big cliff that stretches along its entire length. It’s a 20 minute tricycle ride away from the center, which makes it a less developed and more rustic place. At dusk you can see giant bats flying across the tops of the cliffs. Read more…

Bulabog Beach: Kite & Windsurfing

Bulabog Bay

Bulabog is the wind and kitesurfing beach during windy season, which runs from November to April. During low season it’s a parking spot for boats. It runs parallel to White Beach, on the opposite east-side of the island. The walking distance between the 2 is 10 mins. Read more…

Diniwid Beach: Sunset Relaxation

Diniwid

Diniwid is a small but nice beach just 3 minutes north of White Beach. Although it’s close to White Beach, it’s quite a long walk from D’Mall. Think 20-30 minutes depending on your pace. This makes it a relatively quiet spot, but not the best place to stay in my opinion, unless you want the regular exercise. It’s a good place to visit though. Read more…

Tambisaan Beach: Snorkeling

Tambisaan

Tambisaan is the only beach in Boracay that has a large amount of marine life. It’s great for snorkeling. To get to the marine life, walk about one third along the beach and then swim about 25 meters into the bay. The best time to visit is during high season, with little wind.

Ilig Iligan Beach: Adventure

Ilig Iligan

Ilig Iligan is a relatively quiet beach that feels rugged and wild. If you’re a confident swimmer you can also discover a secret beach right next to it, which feels even more rugged and wild. There the nature is completely untouched. The best time to visit is during high season.

Balinghai Beach: Secluded Dining

Balinghai

Balinghai is a small beach that’s only accessible during low tide. During high tide it’s under water. It’s main appeal is that you can have dinner on the beach, right next to the water. And usually you’ll be the only one there.

Because the beach belongs to the Balinghai Beach Resort there is an entrance fee, which is P500/$10 per person. The entrance fee is consumable as credit for the restaurant. For children of 8 years old and younger entrance is free.

Tip: the best way to explore Boracay’s beaches is via a private island hopping tour, since with a private tour you can travel at your own pace and choose which beaches to visit.

Private Beaches: Quiet & Beautiful

Boracay has 3 private beaches that are only accessible to guests that stay in one of the resorts there. They’re good places to stay if you’re looking for a quiet getaway. The center of Boracay and White Beach are about a 15 minute shuttle ride away.

Banyugan Beach

Banyugan Beach

Banyugan is a small but beautiful beach that’s only accessible via the Shangri-La Resort. It’s enclosed by 2 big rock formations. They’ve built integrated terraces on top of the left rock which give an amazing view of the beach and its surrounding area.

Punta Bunga Beach

Punta Bunga

Punta Bunga Beach is located just left of Banyugan. It’s a beauty too but much bigger. It’s accessible via the Shangri-La, Mövenpick and Ecovillage resorts.

Lapuz Lapuz Beach

Lapuz Lapuz

Lapuz Lapuz Beach is located on the east side of the island, closer to the center of Boracay. As you can see, it looks great too. It’s only accessible via the Fairways & Bluewater Resort.

Secret Beaches: Untouched Nature

Boracay has 2 beaches that are inaccessible via any roads, making them hidden from public view. They’re both beautiful as you can see. The unique thing about them is their untouched nature and having the beach all to yourself.

Secret Beach #1

Secret Beach Near Ilig Iligan

This beach is located close to Ilig Iligan Beach, so if you want to go on a little adventure and discover this beach, go there. And don’t forget to bring your swimsuit ( hint 😉 )

Secret Beach #2

Secret Spot Near Tambisaan

This beach is located close to Tambisaan Beach. To get to it you have to walk through a beautiful little forest that also happens to have some great high-up views of the area.

The 5 Lesser Beaches

These are the 5 beaches that are not of interest to most tourists visiting Boracay. They aren’t necessarily unappealing, it’s just that they generally have less appeal than the other beaches. So when you have limited time in Boracay I recommend sticking to the previous 12.

Malabunot Plaza Beach: Local Life

Malabunot Plaza Beach

Malabunot Plaza Beach is the beach I recommend visiting if you want to experience what local beach life is like in Boracay. You won’t see any tourists there, yet the beach still looks pretty nice, though not as beautiful as any of the above.

Lugutan Beach: Mangroves

Lugutan Mangroves

Lugutan Beach isn’t a beach in the classical sense. It’s a small mangrove forest. There’s a pier pathway through the forest for tourists – that’s where this picture was taken from.

Cagban Beach: The Jetty Port

Cagban Shore

Cagban Beach is right next to the jetty port where tourists arrive in Boracay during high season. This picture is looking out to the left, the jetty port is to the right.

Tulubhan Beach: Local Life

Tulubhan

Tulubhan Beach doesn’t serve a special purpose. As you can see though, it isn’t very pretty so you’ll see mostly local life there since it doesn’t have much if any tourist appeal.

Manoc Manoc Beach: The Supply Station

Manoc Manoc Shore

Manoc Manoc Beach is where the supply boats dock. The people you see in the picture are workers busy bringing the supplies ashore.

Beach Map & How To Get There

In the map menu (top left icon) you can find a list of all the beaches on the map. Clicking one will show its picture, description and location.

For more maps visit my dedicated Boracay maps page which includes this and other maps on other subjects.

Map Menu
Enlarge Map

Getting to the beaches is easy. Just ask any tricycle driver to bring you there, or ask locals when you’re close already. They all know where the beaches are (except for the secret ones).

Here’s a quick summary of the beaches, plus travel times and costs from the center:

Main Attraction Travel Time & Cost
White Beach Lively & Beautiful Zero, it’s the center
Puka Quiet & Beautiful 20 min. via tricycle (P150/$3)
Bulabog Wind & Kitesurfing 5-10 min. walk
Diniwid Sunset Relaxation 15 min. via tricycle (P150/$3) or 30 min. walk
Tambisaan Snorkeling 15-20 min. via tricycle (P150/$3)
Ilig Iligan Adventure 20 min. via tricycle (P150/$3)
Balinghai Secluded Dining 15 min. via tricycle (P150/$3)
Banyugan Private & Beautiful 15 min. via resort shuttle
Punta Bunga Private & Beautiful 15 min. via resort shuttle
Lapuz Lapuz Private & Beautiful 10 min. via resort shuttle

* The prices indicated are for a whole tricycle which fits 4 to 6 passengers comfortably.

Conclusion

As you can see Boracay has many beaches that are worth a visit – and this guide should have made it a whole lot easier for you to locate them.

Happy beach bumming! 😉

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