Roxy, Tin and I went to Coron Palawan last July 27-30,2014. Unlike El Nido, Coron has its own Airport located in Busuanga (Francisco B. Reyes Airport). It has a short runway, 3 airlines operate there, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Propeller planes and Skyjet. We booked our roundtrip tickets (1,600 allin) last January.
We arrived at Busuanga Airport at 1 pm. Right after we claimed our baggage, we headed straight to the Coron town since airport transfers were already included in our tour package.
After 30 mins of bumpy travel, we reached Sea Coral Lodge where we reserved a room for 3 days, an airconditioned room with 2 single beds and 1 extra bed, a cabinet, a flat screen tv and a private bathroom.
I highly recommend the lodge since it's very accessible, it is located at the center of the town where some spots like the docking station, market, souvenir shops and famous restaurants are just few steps away.
We went straight to Lolo Nonoy's to grab lunch right after we checked in. We had Bulalo (Beef Soup) and Shrimp in garlic and butter sauce.
We went back to our lodge to prepare for our first destination, Mt. Tapyas, a 700+ concrete ladder steps where one can see an almost 360 degrees view of coron town and nearby islands.
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The whole climb took about 30 minutes up and 30 minutes down. It is best to bring water during the climb.
We decided to go to Maquinit Hostprings (40deg Celsius) for a dip to relax our tired crampy muscles. We rented a a tricycle since it's quite far from the town (30 mins bumpy ride).
The other part of the resort has a bridgeway made up of mangrove, that serves as entrance for the tourist coming from other island using the boat.
A 30 min dip was already enough for us, hence we decided to go back to our lodge with our wet clothes on haha.
After we changed our damped clothes, we went to Kawayanan Grill for our dinner. We ordered seafood platter, sisig and calamares and 2 mango shakes and 1 canned sprite soda for our drinks.
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We went back to our room at 9pm and rest.
Day 2
We woke up around 6:30 in the morning, had our breakfast at 7. I had longganisa and egg with rice and a cup of coffee. While the two had bacon and eggs, fried rice and a cup of coffee also.
After our fin and aqua shoes fitting, We were accompanied by the front desk officer to the office of our tour package provider and met our tourguide Erwin at 8am and walked straight to the docking station. We were surprised when Erwin pointed towards the green boat, that only has the capacity of 5pax, we're on a private tour! Yayyyyy!
First Stop (Kayangan Lake)
Kayangan Lake is very famous because of its very photogenic view. It is also the greenest and cleanest lake in the PH.
We had to do a little trek for almost 150 steps up and another 150 steps down to reach the lake.
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Approaching Kayangan Lake Entrance
After 150 steps up (FYI it's not the lake yet)
After 150 steps down haha
entrance of the Kayangan Cave
inside Kayangan Cave
Second Stop (Twin Peaks Reef)
This place is good for snorkeling.
Third Stop (Atwayan Beach)
This is where we had our lunch of crab, grilled pork and fish, squid and some fruits.
The beach has a small strip of white sand with small cottages.
Fourth Stop (CYC Beach)
This is the only beach with no entrance fee, it also has a short strip of white sand and a mangrove forest on the other side.
Fifth Stop (Balinsasayaw Floating House)
A place also good for snorkeling and swimming.
Last Stop (Twin Lagoons)
This place is known for its mixed warm and cold water temperature.
We experienced cold temperature on our upper body and warm on our lower body. We were lucky that we were able to pass through a hole since it's low tide.
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We went back to the port around 5pm , changed and grabbed some rest. We went our for dinner at 8 pm and decided to eat at Raphaella's Restaurant at Darayonan Lodge.
We ordered chicken cordon bleu, pork binagoongan which tasted like pinakbet haha, pork sinigang and 3 canned soda.
Day 3
Our third day started at 7, had our breakfast at 7:30. This time I ate Tosilog and the two, as usual their favorite baconsilog.
Our new tourguide, Ram, fetch us at 8am and headed straight to the port. Surprisingly, we were solo again haha.
First Stop (Siete Picados)
Siete Picados (7 sinners). This is a good snorkeling site. It offers a view of beautiful corals and bounty species of fishes.
We had to swim a little too far from our boat to have a better view underwater, thanks to our fins, we swam faster.
Second Stop (Barracuda Lake)
The shallowest part of the lake is 10-25 ft deep and at the middle is at hundreds of feet deep.
To reach the lake, we had to climb atleast 40 steps up and down.
We enjoyed swimming at the lake since it has rock formations underwater.
Third Stop (Atwayan Beach)
Yes, we went back to Atwayan Beach on our second day since the rain never stopped and the waves were big at Banol Beach.
But this time, we used our rented kayak to explore the island. This again is where we had our sumptuous lunch.
Fourth Stop (Skeleton Shipwreck)
This is one of the dozen of Japanese Shipwrecks in Coron. The boat sank during WWII.
We had goosebumps when we saw the wreck, its like a haunted house underwater. But there are many beautiful corals surrounding it, and best place also for snorkeling and fish feeding.
We went back to the town early, 4pm. We still had the time to buy pasalubong. After we freshen up, we went straight to Coron Harvest to buy Kasuy for pasalubong. Just across the street there's a store that offers dried danggit, dilis and pusit, we went there after.
with Nanay Lita (owner of the famous store)
We decided to have our dinner at Bistro Coron and had baked tahong and seared beef in thai sauce and 3 canned soda for drinks. After a few, we went to ice valley to have our dessert, Tin and I had watermelonapplebanana shake and Roxy had Mango halo-halo.
It was already 9pm, we went back to our lodge, luckily there's a souvenir shop beneath our lodge, there we bought tshirts and ref magnets for our added pasalubong.
It was 9:30 when we went back to our room to pack our things.
Day 4
6:30 when we woke up, grabbed our breakfast at 7. I had tapsilog this time, and the two again had baconsilog.
Right After, we went out to explore more, Lualhati Park, and Coron Souvenir Shop.
Lolo Nonoy's is where we had our lunch for the second time. We had crispy liempo and buttered shrimp and 3 bottled soda. After 30 mins, we headed straight to the airport to catch our flight at 1:20pm.
Major Expenses
Airfare- 1,600.00
Add on baggage- 200.00
Package Tour- 4,600.00
Inclusions:
Airconditioned room with 2 single beds and 1 extra bed
Daily breakfast
Airport transfers roundtrip
2 days island hopping including lunch, snacks and entrance fees
Total: 6,400.00
Additional Expenses
- underwater camera- 800/ day x 2 days to be divided into 3pax= 533.00
- snorkeling gear- 150.00
- aqua shoes- 150.00
- fins 150.00
- kayak- 1,000.00/3= 333.00
Total: 783.00
Maquinit Hotspring
- entrance fee- 200.00
Tricycle, Taxi and Terminal Fee Expenses
- taxi from cainta to NAIA terminal 3- 360.00/3= 120.00
- going to Lolo Nonoy's- 10.00
- going to Mt. Tapyas- 10.00
- going to Maquinit Hotspring- 300/3= 100.00
- going to Kawayanan Grill and back to the lodge= 20.00
- going to Raphaella's Restaurant and back to the lodge= 20.00
- going to Coron Harvest- 10.00
- going to Bistro Coron- 10.00
- going to Coron Souvenir Shop- 10.00
- taxi from NAIA 3 to EDSA Central- 260.00/3= 87.00
- terminal fee- 75.00
Total- 472.00
Dinner and Snacks Expenses
- late lunch at Lolo Nonoy's- 755.00/3= 252.00
- dinner at Kawayanan Grill- 1,025.00/3= 342.00
- dinner at Raphaella's- 776.00/3= 259.00
- dinner at Centro Coron- 855.00/3= 285.00
- dessert at Ice Valley- 100.00
- lunch at Lolo NoNoys- 652.00/3= 217.00
Total: 1,455.00
Tip
- tourguide and boatman day 1= 200.00/3= 67.00
- tourguide and boatman day 2= 300.00/3= 100.00
Total: 167.00
Pasalubong
- 2 packs of kasuy- 175.00 x 2 packs= 350.00
- 1kg Danggit Lamayo- 300.00
- 2 ref magnets- 70.00
- 2 shirts- 270.00
Total: 990.00
GRAND TOTAL: 10,467.00
