Boracay Part 4: Puka Shell Beach - My Favourite, and the Best Beach for Secluded Swimming!

Boracay is pretty well-known as a top beach paradise, so many of its beaches are already quite touristy and "well-discovered".

Imagine our delight finding Puka Shell Beach (also known as "Yapak") on the northern side of the island - this is what Boracay was like 15 years ago, still pristine and untouched by commercialism.



Oh yeah, baby!






Oh even more yeahs! Six times over! Sextuply so?



Lalala...it feels so nice to have the beach pretty much all to yourself, with just maybe a few others around. Can you imagine sunset on this beach?





We came to the beach via our island-hopping tour. The water is so clean and clear!



There was a batcave along the way. No, don't ask me if Ben Affleck was in it.



The waters are so beautiful along this part - I can't help marvelling at the colours (and wanting to dive in). And when we curved over the top of the island...



...we saw the breathtakingly beautiful beach, all 800m of it.



It was gorgeous...the whole stretch hugged by perfectly turquoise waters in the sun.



Yes, we stopped by for a quick visit, but we couldn't help staying much longer than scheduled.



Why is it not swarming with tourists?



Maybe because the sand is not the powdery white kind you find on White Beach. It's full of puka sea shells (hence its name) washed ashore and can be a bit rough. But the sand in the sea is soft. Your toes will love wading in the cool sand.



And the aqua sea and blue sky vista is just stunning. The waters were very calm when we were there, so it was perfect for swimming. But some websites caution against a strong or swift current that may pose a risk for inexperienced swimmers.



There aren't barely any hotels or bars here although the gloriously romantic Shangri-La's Boracay Resort and Spa (which I blogged earlier) is just around the bend.




There are maybe a couple of beach huts and vendors - the roving ice-cream seller was certainly a welcome sight on a searingly hot tropical day like this.



But on the whole, Puka Shell Beach is where you can soak up paradise in peace and quiet. Long may it stay that way!

You can reach Puka Shell Beach by motorised tricycle (150 pesos from D'Mall), hired boat or by island-hopping tours. Of you can hike there (2-3 miles from D'Mall at the main beach) if you're hardy enough!

This is part 4 of my Boracay trip, made possible by the Philippines Department of Tourism and TigerAir Philippines. You can win a 5D4N trip for two to Boracay too - see contest here! Just vote (you can do so once every day) and you stand a chance party in paradise!





Photos taken with the Canon 6D that Canon Singapore kindly loaned me.