Coron travel info, things to do in Coron, places to see in Coron

How to Get to Coron:

By Plane from Manila
- AirPhil Express - PAL flies between Manila and Busuanga once a day on AirPhil Express-operated flights. PAL flies between Busuanga and Puerto Princesa twice a week on AirPhil Express-operated flights. Excess Baggage rate is PHP150.00 per kilo plus VAT
- Cebu Pacific - daily flights from Manila's new Terminal 3. 15kg free check-in luggage. Excess Baggage rate is Php 150/kg (inclusive of 12% VAT)
- Zest Air - daily flights from Manila's new Terminal 3. 10kg free check-in luggage, additional luggage at P100/kg.
By Boat from Manila / Puerto Princesa

Super Ferry plies the Coron - Puerto Princesa and Coron - Manila regularly
2GO Ferry The 2GO ferry costs around P2000/pax in Tourist class (air-conditioned bunk beds, dorm style) including linen and 1 meal and takes about 14 hours (plus an additional 7 hours for late departure). The facilities are relatively good and well-maintained and service is fairly efficient. The 2 trips on the vessel St. Agustine of Hippo (Manila-Coron Jan 12 and Coron-Manila, Jan 17) the vessel departed 7 hours late on both occasions. Locals in Coron say that that is typical. Booking for 2 people still results in bed assignments far apart, instead of having the beds side-by-side. In contrast, flight bookings for 2 people would always seat the persons side-by-side. The Coron office charges P100 for printing the tickets (2 sheets of paper) instead of printing for free as part of customer service. At Ink Printing, the printing charge is only P1/sheet. For future bookings at 2GO, be wary of the routine 7-hour late departure, ambush print pricing and inconvenient bed allotment.

By Ferry from El Nido
- Princess Wella Supercat, Overcomer and Jessabel ply the Coron-El Nido route at Php2,200/person, one-way
By Van from the Busuanga Airport to Coron Town
- there are numerous vans hawking airport transfer to Coron Town at P150/person one-way.

Where to Eat in Coron:

Seaside Restaurant - the place to have breakfast. Price is reasonable starting at P135 breakfast special. On-the-water location, open-air concept, relaxing as you view the harbor and the neighboring islands with some sea breeze. Complimentary tuba (coconut nectar) is offered.
Manneken Pis - great tasting food with generous servings. Interior has fine touches - deceptive from the outside. Priced a little more, but good value.
Bistro Coron - for great pizza, pasta and everything else, this long-time icon takes the cake.

Things to Do in Coron:

Avail of the many affordable island hopping tours. Many tour combinations available ranging from island hopping to snorkelling, to beach bumming. Calamianes Expeditions Ecotours provide 10 different tours.
After an island hopping tour or after a dive, take a hot dip at the Maquinit Hot Spring
If you really need to go to the beach within Coron Town, take a tricycle to Cabu Beach
rent a motorbike and explore the island. P500/day + gas.
hike the 700+ steps of Mt. Tapyas leading to the cross. Summit provides excellent view.
When all the party boats and the dive tours have left, and you're looking for a daytime thing to do (Maquinit is too hot in the day, Cabu Beach is too far, climbing Mt. Tapyas is too hot, no mall, no movie house), try availing the day tour at Dive Link Resort. For P500, you get a boat transfer, lunch, free use of kayak and swimming pool. You can hike their 198m hill, and snorkel from the jetty. Lunch is a plesaant surprise!

Scuba Diving / Snorkeling Sites:

Wreck Diving (dive shops offer dive tours to these destinations)
Reef Diving (tour operators offer snorkelling tours to these destinations)
- Calumbuyan Island - perhaps one of the best coral reefs in the area, intense and expansive coral system, tricky to get reef access on a low tide
- Twin Peaks - submerged peaks in the middle of the water with deep drop-off
- Coral Garden - a submerged reef in the middle of the water, corals a little more vibrant than Twin Peaks
- Calachuchi - a pencil that sticks out from the ocean bed into a small rocky outcropping, lots of small sea snakes, excellent vertical drop-off thick with corals and marine life
- Siete Pecados Reef - a protected marine sanctuary, lots of shallow snorkelling areas
- Marine Park
- Alcatraz Reef
- Decalve Reef
- Lusong Gunboat - the bow is only a meter beneath the surface although the stern goes down to scuba depths.
- Lusong Coral Garden - one of the most massive reef system along the Lusong coastal reef
Lake Diving (tour/dive operators offer tours to these destinations)
- Barracuda Lake - a must dive! Surreal seascape that defies conventional diving sights
- Kayangan Lake - while good for scuba diving, carrying heavy gear on land to get to the lake is discouraging. It's more popular as a swimming/snorkelling destination

Island Hopping / Beach Destinations: (tour operators offer beach/island packages to these destinations)

Calauit Island - unusual national park with African wildlife on Calauit Safari Park
Atwayan Beach - popular lunch stop for party boats, huts and white sand
CYC Island - a shrinking public beach (no entrance fee) as sand is taken to fill other private beaches
Banol Beach - a wide white sand beach popular as lunch stop for party boats
Bulog Island - ideal for kite boarding, about 1 hour 45 min hours boat ride, close to Culion
Malcapuya Island - one of the best beaches in the area - long and wide white sand, about 2 hours boat ride, close to Culion
Banana Island - short narrow beach leading to a quick drop-off for snorkelling and fish-feeding, about 2 hours boat ride, close to Culion
Culion Island - 17th century church, museum, Bogor Marine Park

Essential Links:

Coron / Busuanga Travel Blogs:

Coron travel info and tips, things to do in Coron, places to see in Coron