Level: Resort nearby
This spot has been added by
6 spots added - 251 photos shared
Last updated on January 10, 2021
Flower Island (aka Large Bulucan Island) is a resort island of northeast Palawan. If you are looking for a hotel with a house reef in this area, Flower Island may be a good option. While the green sea turtles come to feed on the shallow seagrass beds facing the beach, you will discover a great diversity of colorful fish on the nearby, healthy coral reef.
Large Bulucan Island (aka Flower Island, named after the resort located on the island) is a small private island in the northeast of Palawan.
Access to the island is to Flower Island Resort guests only. Transfers can be organized by the resort: allow around 1h30 by taxi then 30 minutes by boat from El Nido airport to reach the island.
Enter the water directly from the sandy beach, in front of the restaurant.
The recommended snorkeling area extends between the small pontoon (on the left) and the small rocky islet topped with a parasol (on the right, see map above).
The neighboring reefs can also be snorkeled, but are not quite as safe. Avoid snorkeling too close to the pontoon and the jetty, where there is a boat activity.
Depending on the location, you have to cross 50 to 150m of seagrass beds before reaching the coral reef. The shallow seagrass beds (↕3-6ft/1-2m) are a great location for green sea turtle sightings. Turtles come to feed and rest on the seagrass meadows, sometimes just a few tens of meters from the beach.
On the shallow reef areas (↕ max. 15ft/5m), you’ll snorkel above a wide variety of hard corals, soft corals, sponges and gorgonians. The blue branching coral and tabular coral, in particular, are superb.
Triggerfish, butterflyfish, parrotfish, angelfish, clownfish, and dozens of other reef fish species can be spotted on the reef.
This spot is the Flower Island Resort‘s house reef.
These snorkeling spots are accessible to beginners and kids. You will enter the water gradually from a beach, or in a less than 3ft. deep area. The sea is generally calm, shallow, with almost no waves or currents. These spots are usually located in marked and/or monitored swimming areas. It is not necessary to swim long distances to discover the sea life. This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Snorkeling spots are part of a wild environment and their aspect can be significantly altered by weather, seasons, sea conditions, human impact and climate events (storms, hurricanes, seawater-warming episodes…). The consequences can be an alteration of the seabed (coral bleaching, coral destruction, and invasive seagrass), a poor underwater visibility, or a decrease of the sea life present in the area. Snorkeling Report makes every effort to ensure that all the information displayed on this website is accurate and up-to-date, but no guarantee is given that the underwater visibility and seabed aspect will be exactly as described on this page the day you will snorkel the spot. If you recently snorkeled this area and noticed some changes compared to the information contained on this page, please contact us.
The data contained in this website is for general information purposes only, and is not legal advice. It is intended to provide snorkelers with the information that will enable them to engage in safe and enjoyable snorkeling, and it is not meant as a substitute for swim level, physical condition, experience, or local knowledge. Remember that all marine activities, including snorkeling, are potentially dangerous, and that you enter the water at your own risk. You must take an individual weather, sea conditions and hazards assessment before entering the water. If snorkeling conditions are degraded, postpone your snorkeling or select an alternate site. Know and obey local laws and regulations, including regulated areas, protected species, wildlife interaction and dive flag laws.
