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Cauayan Island Resort

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Right on the outskirts of the Philippines’ El Nido region is a private island resort dedicated to being a slice of paradise. It’s called the Cauayan Island Resort, a work of love created by tourists for tourists. Our goal is to blend the breathtaking beauty of the island’s surroundings with elegant spa services, great amenities, and dozens of private villas nestled in private corners.

Cauayan Island Resort WEATHER

Cauayan Resort is all about pairing you with accommodations that match your preferences. Each booking features a villa located in one of multiple sections, including a lagoon, beachside views, water villas, and bay view locations. Every villa is exceptionally spacious and fully outfitted with supplies like slippers, towels, and tea sets. Earthy, modern, and luxurious, your air-conditioned villa features a plush bed with elegant and soft linens that feel just as dreamy as they look. Along with different villa locations, guests can choose a villa that suits both their needs and party numbers. Each villa can host between two to four guests, with some villas featuring their own private pool.

While your personal villa will remain your home away from home, the Cauayan Resort’s common areas are where the true adventure begins. The resort features many different areas to explore, including The Cauayan Restaurant: The main dining area is a world-class restaurant serving upscale meals three times a day. Fine dining never looked so picture-perfect. Infinity Bar: Creating an experience from drinking cocktails is a fine art that we’ve mastered. Clients get to enjoy drinks where the pool and beach become one. The Spa: Relax and rejuvenate in a spa location that is quiet, pristine, and staffed with a caring team capable of melting tension away. The Infinity Pool: Bathe in the lap of pure luxury in an infinity pool surrounded by visually stunning scenes. The Docks: Multiple cruises and boats are available for activities like island hopping, sailing, fauna watching, and kayaking. The Fitness Center: Just because you’re taking a break from the norm doesn’t mean you have to take a break from your fitness routine. Cauayan’s fitness center features top-of-the-line machines for both weight and cardio training. Cauayan Diving Center: We have multiple areas that are perfect for both snorkeling and diving, including a private diving area close to Cauayan in El Nido. Cauayan Boutique: If you need sunscreen or just want to shop till you drop, the boutique will be the place you want to visit often.

When you’re not going to a particular location for a class, a course, a meal, or an experience, you can always walk through our sandy beaches or stroll through one of the many different trails on the island.

The crystal clear waters of El Nido are a top reason why travelers come to explore our resort. Cauayan features several different ways to enjoy the turquoise waters surrounding the area. While many of our visitors just want to bathe in the ocean or take a dip at the Infinity Pool, you can also try boating, cruising, kayaking, snorkeling, or diving. Cauayan’s Diving Center is one of the most highly recognized in the El Nido area. To help visitors experience diving to their best potential, we conduct a full spectrum of PADI diving courses ranging from novice levels to expert levels. Once you have completed a course, you can achieve certification and also explore local diving areas. Journey through beautiful bays, come up close to exotic fish and feel one with the sea. Our diving programs and amenities make it possible to connect to the wonders of nature in a truly memorable name.

Cauayan Resort isn’t just a place to stay, nor is it just a world-class diving school. It’s an experience that is meant to transport you into a luxurious world where relaxation, exploration, and unique memories hide around every corner. From the chef-prepared meals to the gorgeous wildlife, to the sandy white beaches and the photo-ready views, Cauayan Resort is the destination made for memories. Whether you are a family looking for a break from the norm or a couple seeking a honeymoon destination, Palawan is a superb destination.

Narrative text and photographs courtesy of Cauayan Island Resort.

Dive Conditions

There are three seasons that affect the diving conditions in the Philippines. The northeast monsoon brings strong winds from December to March. The southwest monsoon affects the months of July through November which are wet but the ocean waters are warm. April through June are the dry months with very little winds.

November to May is the dry season in the Philippines, offering little to no rain and a nice hot and humid weather. This period of time is often considered as the best time to dive in the Philippines and is the most popular time to visit the country. Regardless, the diving season in the Philippines runs year-round, keeping in mind that some of the areas and certain marine life sightings are either seasonal or weather dependent, this includes Tubbataha which can only be dived around the months of March to June. During the wet season, typically runs from May to October, most of the dive sites remain great, the waters are warmer, and divers have the advantage of having uncrowded sites. Typhoons may occur during the wet season, particularly around July to September.

Tubbataha Reefs National Park – amazing biodiversity. Tubbataha is home to no less than 600 species of fish, 360 species of corals (about 50% of the coral species in the world), 11 species of sharks (including tiger sharks, whale sharks, and whitetips), 13 species of dolphins and whales, nesting hawksbill and green sea turtles. You can also see manta rays, schools of barracuda and tuna, and smaller marine life like nudibranchs, ornate ghost pipefish, seahorses, and frogfish.

Anilao, Batangas – best muck diving. The long list of small-scale sea life and critters that you can find in Anilao includes nudibranchs, frogfish, seahorses, cuttlefish, and pipefish. But don't leave your wide-angle lens at home. Beautiful coral reefs, turtles, huge schools of jacks, jellyfish, and the occasional reef sharks await in Anilao.

Dauin, Dumaguete – the luxury destination. The variety of marine life that you can find along the Dauin Coast include various types of frogfish, dragonets, pipefish, nudibranchs, blue-ring octopuses, bobtail squids, mandarin fish, seahorses, cardinalfish (with eggs), various shrimps and crabs. The main diving season in Dumaguete is October to early June, but the prolific marine life of Dauin can be found all year round, so there’s no worry of missing out.

Moaboal, Cebu – amazing sardine baitballs. Scuba diving in Moalboal is diverse and very vibrant. Think big schools of fish, beautiful walls, canyons and caves, and fascinating macro life. Pescador Island offers some of the best dives in the Philippines, featuring a dramatic wall with colorful soft corals teeming with anthias. Then there is a large cathedral on the west side of Pescador which makes a nice background for dramatic underwater shots. You can also see schools of barracuda, beautiful caves, reef sharks, and also smaller marine life like nudibranchs and frogfish

Puerto Galera, Mindoro – stunning white sand beaches and diverse dive sites. Canyons provide plenty of action with strong currents. For divers interested in wrecks, the three sunken boats of the Sabang Wrecks offer a fascinating dive trip. Don't forget to include a day trip to dive at Verde Island during your stay in Puerto Galera. Its passage is known to offer some of the highest biodiversity in the Philippines. Nudibranchs, reef octopuses, frogfish, and seahorses can be seen in abundance in Puerto Galera. There are also many stunning soft and hard corals to be found while exploring the reefs of this dream destination. Like most of the Philippines, Puerto Galera can be dived all-year-round.

Anda, Bohol – the hidden gem. There are 17 kilometers of coastline to explore in Anda, with a good mix of walls, slopes and sandy muck dive sites as well as coral gardens. The diverse underwater topography and critter population in Anda are really worth exploring. Divers can see pygmy seahorses, skeleton shrimps, anemone shrimps, dragon sea moths, mantis shrimps, Napoleon snake eels, nudibranchs, and mating mandarin fish. Turtles and beautiful reef fish can also be seen in the area. Anda can also be dived all-year-round.

Malapascua, Cebu – thresher sharks abound. Malapascua is known to be the best place in the world to see thresher sharks. This tiny oasis is the only place in the world where thresher sharks are consistently seen daily. Combine that with its pristine waters and milky-white beaches, and divers have a perfect destination for a dive vacation.

Coron Bay, Palawan – the destination for wreck dives. The historical World War II shipwrecks of Coron are unique. Coron Bay used to be the harbor for World War II Japanese warships. Eleven of these ships were sunk during an air attack in September 1944. Today the wrecks of serve as reef systems, supporting a number of marine critters. Some of the residents of these wrecks include scorpionfish, nudibranchs, cuttlefish, and octopuses. Divers see the occasional reef shark or stingray, hovering near the wrecks.