Ariara Island
One hundred and twenty-five acres of Palawan, let to one party at a time and to no one else.
Ariara sits in the Calamian group of northern Palawan, between Coron and El Nido, in the sparsely populated Linapacan area. The island runs to 125 acres of forest and hill with a fringing reef offshore. Nobody lives on it but the guests and the staff: there is no second property and no public access. Arrival is by domestic flight to Busuanga or El Nido, then by helicopter or the island's own boat.
The island belongs to Charles and Carrie McCulloch, property developers from Berkshire, who built it as a family retreat and let it when they are not using it. The buildings are by the Filipino architect Jorge Yulo, with interiors by the owners, and the island is let whole and only whole. A staff of thirty comes with it, including a PADI dive master and a resident chef, and so does a fleet of six boats, one of them a 100-foot schooner that sleeps ten.
The boats are the point. Most private islands give you one island. Ariara gives you a crewed fleet in an archipelago of more than 1,700 islands and islets, many of them uninhabited, which turns a stay into a week of expeditions rather than a week on a beach.
Built by owners, not by a brand. The owners did the interiors themselves, and the island reads that way — closer to a very good private house than to a resort with a logo.
Who it is not for
Ariara is wrong for anyone who wants the safety net of a brand: there is no group standard behind it, no loyalty scheme, no second restaurant if the kitchen has an off night. It is wrong for a couple travelling alone, because the whole island is charged whether two people or eighteen occupy it. And it is wrong for guests who need a spa, a gym and a scheduled activities desk — the day here is improvised with the island manager each morning. Those travellers are better served in the Island Resorts.
Sources
- ariaraisland.com — whole-island rental, 125 acres
- CNN Travel, January 2016 — staff of thirty, owners Charlie and Carrie McCulloch
- Hotel Chic, April 2014 — Jorge Yulo architecture, interiors by the owners, six boats including a 100-foot schooner that sleeps ten, up to 18 guests
- privateislandsonline.com — PADI dive master and resident chef among the staff; helicopter transfer
- lxvlifestyle.com, January 2026 — owners are property developers from Berkshire; built as a family retreat
Verification
- Official source
- Checked
- Inventory
- From official source
- Sources disagree
- main beach given as 600 m (privateislandsonline.com) and 250 m (symbiosis-travel.com); not published. Guest maximum given as 18 and elsewhere 25; not published until the owners confirm.
- Property confirmation
- Pending
- Last verified
- —
Booking
Private Island Resorts arranges each stay on request, quoting the rates available for the island and dates. No benefit should be assumed unless it is confirmed in writing for the individual reservation.
Request a proposal Compare this islandClassified by The Resort Collection House · The Register · Edition 2026 · LHL-I-001
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