Conquering Coron

Our trip didn't end in El Nido, we went all the way to see Busuanga and Coron. (See the start of our Palawan escapade trip: Puerto Princesa; See our El Nido Trip here)

map from this link

From El Nido to Coron

From El Nido, we took a boat going to Coron. It was a long and rough boat ride- approximately 8 hours. We arrived at around 5 pm. The boat usually leaves El Nido at 8am.

Boat fee: 

P1500- for locals

      P1800- for foreigners

Finally, we can see the Busuanga town from afar!

If you plan to travel to Coron from El Nido, make sure to get a ticket in advance.  The people in El Nido are helpful and honest, you can always ask around. Make sure also that you have enough food with you (bread, fruits, nuts). The boat fee comes with a free lunch but it's not enough (we were given small pieces of adobo chicken with two cups of rice).

Coron Island: Beauty Hidden Inside 

The Tour

Like El Nido, there are many travel agencies in the town. We chose Aquos Travel Center. They offer tours for different destinations in Coron in reasonable prices.

Aquos Travel Center
Bgy. 2 National Highway Coron, Palawan
Telephone Numbers: 0939-912-4918/ 0927-693-1642
Email: aquos_travelandtour@yahoo.com

Budget Package Tour depending on the places to visit,ranges from P650/pax to P2500/pax. This includes licensed tour boat, guide/s, lunch, entrance fees and cottages.

We chose the private tour which costs P1500 (for the boat rental and guide fee). We chose this becase we wanted some privacy and our own choice of destinations to go. But this would mean that we need to buy our own lunch. At 9am, we went to the wet market and shopped for our lunch. We spent around P500 for the lunch (squid, big fish, vegetables and fruits). 

The downside of this choice is the entrance fee for the destinations. Unlike El Nido, they don't charge environmental fee but each destination has a corresponding entrance fee. Here are the places where we went:

Kayangan Lake: the most photographed place in Palawan, according to our tourist guide. In order to see the lake, one has to climb the 300+ steps. At the top, you can take some pictures of the view and the cave nearby. Entrance Fee: P200/ person

The view at the top

The cave 

We enjoyed Kayangan Lake to the fullest!!! Water's clear and perfect for swimming.

Baracuda Lake: famous for scuba diving because of the water's change in temperature (from cold to hot). We were not ready for the "diving" but we went there still. Entrance Fee: P100/person

The path to Baracuda Lake

The divers

Atwayan Beach: this is where we had lunch and enjoyed swimming at the white sand beach. 

Entrance Fee: P100/ person

Twin Lagoon: two lagoons perfect for swimming! The entrance to the other lagoon is a bit challenging especially if it is high tide. Entrance Fee: P100/person

See that little hole with stairs? That's the entrance for the other lagoon. :) Picture from google.

Aerial view of the twin lagoon from travelfoodguru.wordpress.com.

CYC Beach (Free entrance): this was our last stop where we enjoyed swimming in the heat of the sun. We let Mr. Sun kissed us for the last time :)

CYC Beach from afar

Other Sites to see:

Near Atwayan Beach, there’s the famous ship wreck. If you like snorkeling, you can try this and Jal's or CYC Coral Garden. 

The tour usually ends at around 4pm (depends on how long you’ll stay swimming). You can try climbing Mt. Tapyas  to see the sunset and then head to the Maquinit Hot Springs (Entrance Fee: P150/person) to relax your tired body.

To witness the sunrise, you may opt to try Mt Tapyas again. Then head to the market to buy some pasalubongs like cashew nuts (Palawan’s local product), pearls and other memorabilia.

The Busuanga Airport:

Arrange transportation going to the airport. Usually it takes 30-45 minutes to go there. Enjoy the view in the plane :) Cebu Pacific and PAL has regular flights from Coron to Manila and vice versa.

Accommodation

We booked Coron Village Lodge in advanced and they charged us for P1500/night. The room was okay but we just thought P1500 is too expensive for it. I wouldn't recommend this hotel. We also lost some valuable things (although we're not sure if the hotel staff were responsible for it). The welcoming staff were not friendly too. There is also no wifi in the room-- you need to go to their restaurant or garden in order to make use of the internet! 

Find some good hotels in Agoda or read travel blogs for their recommendations. 

Exclusive of air fare, budget travel to Coron could cost P5000+++.

That ends our six days adventure in Palawan :) Indeed, Palawan is a paradise!