Both resorts are under Ten Knots Development Corporation and are located in Northern Palawan. To get to either resort, you take a 19-seater plane ride (to be arranged with the resorts) to El Nido Airport. The flight takes about one hour and thirty minutes. After the plane ride, you must take a 30-50 minute boat ride to either Lagen Island or Miniloc Island.

You can enjoy white sand beaches, nature-tripping, and other activities at both resorts. Guests are assigned a coordinator who can accompany you and make sure that you make the most of your stay in Palawan. There’s a pool at Lagen Island but a guest at either resort has access to the facilities of the other.

Lagen Island is more expensive and is said to be more sleek and modern in terms of facilities. I’ve heard the comment that Lagen may be more appropriate for honeymooners while Miniloc may be more geared for big families.

There are different types of accommodations available, with varying rates, depending on the location and whether it is low, high, or peak season. It is suggested that reservations are made months in advance to assure that you can get a slot. A brother of mine had wanted to visit Miniloc in December 2005, could not get a reservation, and ended up going to Club Noah Isabelle instead (still not bad!). Just to give you an idea of the rates, at Miniloc, the rate per night can go from USD 183 to USD 265, with meals and transfers included. Kids, aged 2-11, sharing the room with their parents, can stay free of charge and kids aged 2-6 get free meals.

Two of my brothers have personally visited Miniloc Island and they highly recommend it. The food is good, there’s lots to do, and the views are just awesome. My sister-in-law, after coming from Miniloc, states: “Maganda talaga ang Pilipinas.” (The Philippines really is a beautiful place.) My niece likewise enjoyed seeing lots of “nemos” (the clownfish) there.

You may want to check out their website at www.elnidoresorts.com although I must warn you that it takes some time to load and for some reason, I could not get to the page with the rate info for Lagen Island.