Travel Diary: Coron, Palawan, Philippines
View of coron bay from Kayangan Lake veiwpoint
After a tiresome trip through Bali and Japan, I had time to make a short pit stop to the motherland, the Philippines. I’ve only traveled to see family in Manila, so it was important for me to explore what else the Philippines has to offer.
Made up of over 7,000 islands, Boracay, Cebu, Bohol, Mactan, Siargo are some of the top travel destinations. Currently #1 on people’s bucket list when they think of the Philippines and was named “the most beautiful island in the world” multiple times by Travel + Leisure Magazine and Condé Naste Traveler, Palawan is simply paradise. The large limestone mountains, the lagoons, the powder white sand beaches, down to the clear, turquoise blue water is unrivaled. The 3 most well known regions to visit are El Nido located in the North end, the island’s capital Puerto Princess and Coron which sits on the island of Busuanga, but is still considered part of the Palawan province. El Nido and Coron are the hot spots you hear about the most, if you have more then 3 days to spare absolutely do both. In my case, we had very limited time and because Coron is much easier to get to, that made it the obvious choice.
how to get to Coron, Palawan:
Take an hour flight from Manila Airport to Francisco B. Reyes airport formerly know as Busuanga Airport. Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines and SkyJet airlines all have daily flights. To get into town take a shared 35-40 minute van ride for 150 peso per person ($3 USD). You’ll see several vans lined up right outside the airport.
Where to stay:
We had an amazing stay at SunValley Tourist Inn. The rooms were modern, super clean, spacious, and comfortable. WiFi signal wasn’t strong in the rooms, but worked perfectly fine if you were hanging out in the lobby. They also had an intimate, fairly priced restaurant on the roof. The staff was welcoming, attentive and helpful during our stay. At $70 per night, SunValley Inn exceeded my expectations.
Island Hopping Tour:
With a few different tour options, the Ultimate Island Hopping tour is favored by most visitors with various stops at Coron’s main attractions and included lunch. Prices are competitive and can range between 1,200-1,800 peso ($23-$34 USD) depending on the tour group you go with. If you’re ok with spending a little more money, I suggest hiring a private boat tour for the day, which is what we decided to do. This allowed us to create and customize our own schedule. We also had the luxury to start the day before the other tours to avoid the crowds and were able to stay as long as we wanted at certain stops. We paid 2,500 peso ($47 USD) per person with hotel pick up/drop off, entrance fees to the destinations and lunch included in the price. Although we were able to coordinate this through our hotel, I’ve read that you can also go down to the pier early in the morning and find a boat crew to take you around. You also have a better chance to negotiate and bargain for a lower price.
ITINERARY:
Twin Lagoon: Two lagoons separated by an enormous limestone mountain. The first lagoon is where all the boats dock since the second lagoon doesn’t have an entrance big enough to let boats pass. To get to the second lagoon, you either swim under a rock opening during low tide or you can climb up and over by a ladder. You can feel the temperature of the water change from warm to cold due to the hot salt water and the cold fresh water coming in.
Kayangan Lake: A mixture of 70% fresh water and 30% salt water, this is cleanest and clearest lake in the Philippines. A scenic place to swim, snorkel, dive and kayak. Kayak rental is available for 1,000 PHP ($20). Don’t forget to hike up 300 steps to take in the famous breathtaking view of Coron Bay.
Kayangan Lake/Photo by bugking88/iStock / Getty Images
Skeleton Wreck: a wreck dive ideal for snorkeling or free diving. Just a feet below, you’re able to clearly see sunken WWII Japanese warships. These ships were bombed by US aircrafts on September 24, 1944 in surprise air strike by the US. The US had just 15 minutes to take out as many ships as possible before the fuel ran out. For experienced divers there are other spots in Coron where you can full on dive and get even closer to these wrecks.
Siete Pecados: A snorkeling site, this coral garden is an underwater dream. Discover colorful coral, sea anemone, clown fishes, sea urchins and other lively marin life. Easily one of the best snorkeling sites I’ve ever been to.
Banol Beach: Our lunch stop in the afternoon was my personal heaven on earth. Our boat crew prepared and laid out shrimp, bbq chicken, grilled tilapia, side of vegetables, rice and bananas for dessert. The beach had tiki huts with wooden tables and benches as well as huts overlooking the ocean. Thankfully this beach wasn’t overrun with crowds of tourist and we pretty much had the beach all to ourselves. After lunch, we were able to lay out on the sand,relax, swim and take pictures.
Where to eat:
Island Boy Grill: Located in the middle of town, this place is lit up nicely with live music. The best part is their menu…both affordable and delicious. With their pork sisig for 230 pesos ($5 USD) and San Miguel beer for 80 pesos ($1.50) you’re golden.
When you come to the Philippines, you have to experience a “boodle fight” aka “kamayan.”This was inspired by the military style of eating. It’s a feast laid out and piled on banana leaves and is meant to be shared family style. Kamayan also refers to eating with your hands. Before the Spanish colonized the Philippines and introduced eating utensils, Filipinos traditionally ate with their hands. Nowadays, eating with your hands is still a common practice, but mainly in the comfort of your own home. K-sarap Express was newly opened when we went. We were told it was the first boodle fight restaurant in Coron Town. A boodle fight that can serve 2-3 people came out to 950 PHP ($18 USD).
Barangay Población 3, Coron, Palawan
Our boodle fight: rice, chicken, shrimp, mussle, fish, pork, rice, veggies, banana, mango.
