Coron..An Island Paradise

Situated 200 nautical miles from Puerto Princesa City in the province of Palawan lies a hidden paradise called Coron. I was once told that Coron surpasses Thailand with its stunning limestone cliffs, white sand beaches, picturesque lagoons and lakes, and listed as Forbes Traveler Magazine’s top 10 best scuba diving sites in the world.


The Islands

I must say that it is truly a paradise. Speechless....

Stunning aerial view of Coron

Neighboring Islands around Busuanga

At Busuanga Airport

We book our hotel weeks before our scheduled departure. The airport pickup service of the hotel is not free by the way and we paid P300.00 per person to the hotel which is 23 kilometers away from the airport.

Nice Resort

The owner is a native of Austria and married to a Filipina. The room they assigned to us can fit 5-7 persons. We paid P1,800 per night good for two persons and additional P250.00 for an extra bed. The room is spacious, clean and nice ambiance.

Princess of Coron

The tour rate depends on your haggling skills. We paid Php 1,800 ($40-45) for the tour around the island. Quite expensive but its all worth it.

Tour starts now!

Before starting our tour, we feed our hungry selves at Macario's Grill.

Lunch at Macarios Grill

 Coron Baywalk

Beautiful and easy place to watch the sunset! This place is similar to Puerto Princesa Baywalk.

Conquer Mt. Tapyas

Mt. Tapyas has a viewdeck where you can see Coron and its surrounding islands. A picturesque sight! The view deck has a huge cross standing at the peak. To reach Mt. Tapyas, you have to climb 714 vertical steps to the viewdeck. Not that easy but rewarding. Bring at least a bottle of water with you. 

 

Maquinit Hot Spring

Our city guide drove us to a hot spring called Maquinit.The only Saltwater hot spring found in the Philippines and the only one in Asia. A good place to rejuvenate our body from the stressful hike in Mt. Tapyas.
 

 

Dinner is served

Dinner at Kawayanan Grill. Kangkong at bagoong... lomi, lechon kawali. Our sumptuous dinner. 

Lets go Island Hopping!

The following morning, we woke up early and we contacted our guide for our island hopping activity today. The Php 7,000 ($150) island hopping experience includes the Banana Island, Twin lagoon, Malacapuya, Barracuda, Kayangan Lake and Siete Pecados. Before we preceded with the tour, we went to a market place and bought food and seafood's for lunch to be cooked while we are having our tour around the island. If you're wondering who cooked for us it was none other than our multi- tasking boatman.

 

We bought our fresh lobsters in the market for Php 3,000 ($60) courtesy of our friend Ruth.

Banana Island

Situated about 1. 5 hours boat ride from Coron. This island is just one of the many beautiful islands of Calamianes. 

 

Happiest day of my trip

We have Fresh Lobsters, Bangus fish and Pork Belly for lunch and a ton of rice.


 
Twin Lagoon

One of the highlights of the island hopping is the twin lagoon. The two lagoons are divided by a huge wall of limestone karst, the only way to get to the other lagoon was, to either to swim through or over it with the use of a makeshift ladder.

Barracuda Lake

Why Barracuda Lake? According to our boatman, A scuba diver name this "lake Barracuda" because he saw a huge Barracuda fish living in this lake 10-15 years ago. Pepsi blue waters of Barracuda lake.

Pepsi blue waters of Barracuda lake

Siete Pecados
Siete Pecados or Seven Peaks, is the area near the entrance of the Coron bay where ships docking to Coron passes by. Its called Siete Pecados as there are small rocks or islets scattered near the place, 7 all in all. Its one of the protected area in Coron which is promoted for diving and snorkeling as it has wonderful coral formations and lots and lots of fishes.

Coron Tourist Spots

• Lake Kayangan -- asia's cleanest and clearest lake, see as far deep as 15 to 20 feet. • Lake Barracuda -- fresh water on the surface and warm saltwater (35 to 40 degrees Celsius) at depths of 9 m or more, unique marine life and breathtaking limestone formations underwater. • Twin lagoons -- water can be both clear and slightly brackish depending on the temperature (water has 2 temperatures); very picturesque. • Banol beach -- small strip of fine white sand sitting at the foot of a towering limestone cliff, very nice and private. • Banana Island -- lonely island with small coral reefs around it that show abundant marine life; fine white sand and rustic accommodations. • Calumbuyan Island, Malcatop Island, North and South Cay, Debutonay Island, Black Island (Gutob Bay) -- another must-see for beach lovers; fine white sand and fantastic coral reefs (marine sanctuaries).

Diving spots

 • Wreck diving -- many wrecks from World War 2 litter the archipelago (Akitsushima, Irako, Kogyo Maru, Olympia Maru, Morazon Maru and several more); depths range from 9m to 45 m. 
 • Cathedral Cave -- steep drop off to 30m, cave on 7m; about 20m long tunnel with large underwater cave where you can surface. • Dynamite Reef -- a marine sanctuary off tangat (also sangat) island with corals, fish, anemones, and tunicates.


Inland tourist spots

• Maquinit hot springs -- enjoy therapeutic 40 degree Celsius saltwater hot springs.
• Mount Tapyas -- enjoy a breath-taking view of the entire island and enjoy the unique sunset.
• Mount Tundalara -- 640 m high, you can reach the peak in 3 to 4 hours; the second highest peak in Palawan.
• Calauit nature reserve -- see zebras, giraffes, mousedeer and other animals roam freely in this safari-like environment.
• Horsevalley -- riders of all skill levels can enjoy the many horses located in this ranch located 2.5 km from Coron town.
How to get there

Budget carriers like Cebu Pacific Air and Airphil Express flies directly to Busuanga from Manila and Cebu hubs.