In this Boracay Beaches Guide, we cover the best of the best beaches in Boracay that are free, popular, hidden, secret, and more. Find out what makes them so special and where to stay if you’re headed to your favorite.
Boracay Beaches Guide
Top 5 Public Boracay Beaches
Boracay is full of beaches. Whether you like peace and quiet or energy and excitement, there’s something for everyone on this gorgeous island in the Philippines. These are our top favorites:
White Beach – the Most Popular Beach
Boracay Beach Facts: The gorgeous White Beach is Boracay Island’s most popular beach and prime activity spot. It’s full of restaurants, shopping, bars, clubs, sports, and attractions. Resorts line the beach, and here you’ll also find the iconic landmark– Willy’s Rock. More than any of the other Boracay beaches, White Beach has something for everyone.
Why We Love It: It’s full of soft, white sand and in a central location close to everything. White Beach is considered the heart of Boracay Island, and its scenery is stunning.
Getting to White Beach: From the main arrival Cagban Port on Boracay, White Beach is a 15 to 20 minute ride away.
Hotels Near White Beach: You can find a list of White Beach hotels here.
Puka Shell Beach | Yapak Beach – the Seashell Beach
Boracay Beach Facts: Puka Beach, also called Yapak Beach or Puka Shell Beach, spans 800 meters and engulfs half of Boracay Island’s northern tip, making it the second largest of all the beaches in Boracay.
Why We Love It: This Boracay Beach is known for the puka shells that populate the soft, white sand. It’s also not as popular as White Beach, so it’s a more tranquil place to relax and escape from all the big crowds of tourists.
Getting to Puka Shell Beach: From White Beach you can rent or hire a car or motorbike to drive you to Puka Beach. The journey takes approximately a half hour, and there is no entrance fee to the beach. Day boat tours from White Beach also briefly stop at Puka Beach, but your time is more limited with a boat tour, so plan accordingly.
Hotels Near Puka Beach: Unlike White Beach, there are no resorts on the beachfront at Puka, but there are a couple of nice hotels nearby. Alta Vista de Boracay Hotel and Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa are two top-rated hotels that friends of mine have said good things about, but I haven’t stayed at either myself.
Diniwid Beach – the Laid Back Beach
Boracay Beach Facts: Diniwid Beach is a small but stunning white sand beach that lies just a ten minute walk away from White Beach Station 1.
Why We Love It: Of all the beaches in Boracay, this one is perfectly suited for those who desire a beach that’s less crowded than White Beach without having to stray too far from all the local amenities, shops, and restaurants of the popular White Beach area. You get the best of both worlds and some peace and quiet.
Getting to Diniwid Beach: It’s just a short hop over from White Beach. You can easily walk from Station 1 of White Beach or take a Php100 ride from D’Mall in Station 2.
Hotels Near Diniwid Beach: You’ll find hotels located right on the beach. There are also hilltop villas overlooking the beach a little further behind the beach.
Bulabog Beach – the Kitesurfing Beach
Boracay Beach Facts: Located on the east side of Boracay, Bulabog Beach is best known for its popularity with kiteboarding and windsurfing enthusiasts.
Why We Love It: Whether you prefer to kiteboard yourself or just watch from the shore, the colorful kites hanging in the sky and dotting the horizon make a scenic picture that can’t be beat. And if you’d like to give it a try but don’t know how, there are plenty of local schools that love to teach tourists the beloved sport.
Getting to Bulabog Beach: You can walk to Bulabog from White Beach. It’s just a 10 minute walk from D’Mall.
Hotels Near Bulabog Beach: Compare Hotels in Bulabog Beach here
Cagban Beach – the Island Hopping Portal
Boracay Beach Facts: Cagban Beach lies next to the Cagban Jetty Port. It’s a tiny, secluded beach perfect for people who want to get away from the crowds without losing access to other nearby attractions. Since the jetty port lies next door, it provides convenient and quick access to other nearby islands. It’s also a great spot to just sit and watch the boats come in and out. Local legend says that tribal chiefs used to bury hidden treasure at Cagban Beach.
Why We Love It: If you’re planning to go island hopping from Boracay, this marks the perfect spot.
Getting to Cagban Beach: Cagban is the main port of Boracay and considered to be the unofficial welcome and greeting area of the whole island, so you can’t miss it! The beach can be accessed by a narrow road from the port.
Hotels Near Cagban Beach: There’s not a lot of accommodation options in this area, so we recommend heading over to White Beach or Diniwid Beach.
Nearby Islands: Hopping over to nearby islands is a popular day-trip activity from Boracay. Crocodile Island is shaped like a crocodile and is known for being one of the best snorkeling spots in the Philippines. Others, such as Magic Island and Panay Island, are popular destinations for cliff-diving. Crystal Cove Island has caving and various sea adventures, and Carabao Island has quiet beaches that are perfect for anyone who wants to escape from the bustle of Boracay. If you’re interested in learning more about the latter, travel blogger Tara Lets Anywhere has a guide to Carabao Island that we really like.
Secret Hotel Beaches in Boracay
Boracay hides four lesser known but just as gorgeous beaches inside some of its resorts. If you’re not staying at one of these hotels, it’s easy to miss them or to even know they’re there. But we haven’t forgotten . Here’s what makes these Boracay beaches so special:
Banyugan Beach
Boracay Beach Facts: Banyugan Beach stretches for 100 metres in front of the Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa. Exclusive to the hotel, it lies between two large rocks jutting out into the sea, so it’s impossible to walk up to this beach from surrounding shoreline. The only entrance involves walking directly through the hotel, and only resort guests are permitted to access it.
Why We Love It: It’s pretty, private, exclusive, and cozy. The boulders cutting the beach off from the rest of the island make it feel a bit like a magical, hidden paradise. And you know it will never be overcrowded or overrun by tourists, since only hotel guests may enter.
Punta Bunga Beach
Boracay Beach Facts: If you could see through the rocky outcrop forming one of the walls of Banyugan Beach, you’d be able to get a peek at Punta Bunga Beach. It lies just next door. Like Banyugan, it’s an exclusive hotel beach, but it’s a little larger and can be accessed by three total resorts– Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa, Movenpick Resort & Spa Boracay, and Boracay Ecovillage.
Why We Love It: It’s bigger than Banyugan but just as pretty. More space. More love.
Lapuz Lapuz Beach
Boracay Beach Facts: Like the other two secret hotel beaches, Lapuz Lapuz Beach lies enclosed inside rocky formations that keep it hidden from the rest of Boracay, but it’s located on the opposite side of the island, halfway between Puka Shell and Bulabog beaches. You can reach it through Fairways and Bluewater Resort.
Balinghai Beach – the Disappearing Beach Dining Experience
Boracay Beach Facts: Accessible only during low tide, Balinghai Beach disappears under sea when the water levels rise. Surrounded (and hidden) by lava rocks, the private paradise belongs to Balinghai Beach Resort and can be reached through the hotel. You can gain access to the beach even if you’re not staying at the resort, but you’ll have to pay a small P500/$10 per person entrance fee for anyone over the age of 8. The fee can be applied as restaurant credit, however. And since Balinghai offers a secluded dining experience on the beach as its main attraction, it’s money well spent.
Why We Love It: Umm…it’s a disappearing beach. And you can have dinner there. Do I need to list more reasons?
Bonus – Honorable Mention Beaches in Boracay
We recommend visiting the other Boracay beaches in this list before visiting these bonus beaches. But if you’ve got time to spare and would like to see more of Boracay’s coast line, then the following beaches might be calling your name.
Tambisaan Beach – Snorkeling hotspot
Ilig Iligan Beach – for Boating and Adventure
Tulubhan Beach – for Watching Locals
Manoc Manoc Beach – Supply Boat Docking
And If you’re interested in scuba diving at any of the beaches in Boracay, our friends over at the Art of Scuba Diving have created a guide to all the top dive sites in the Philippines, including favorite spots on Boracay Island.
Best Beach to Stay in Boracay
We’ve included this section because we keep seeing “best beach to stay in Boracay” all over Google search. For a question that’s asked a lot, there’s really no perfect answer. What are you looking for? Why are you in Boracay? Who are you? The answers to those defining questions will lead you to your perfect beach and hotel. If you’re most interested in staying on a beach and care little for other attractions, then you may be happiest staying at one of the resorts listed above that contain their own secret, hidden beaches away from the flocks of other tourists. If you’re into sports, try Bulabog for kitesurfing or White Beach for cliff diving. If you’re not a fan of big crowds, you’ll probably like Diniwid or Puka Shell Beach. If you want to do it all and see absolutely everything that Boracay has to offer, pick White Beach. All of the Boracay beaches are so beautiful that you really can’t go wrong.
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