Coron, Palawan - Heaven is a place on earth

Summer of April 2010 my family decided to go to Coron,Palawan. I was able to go to different places in the Philippines, and I find Coron as a truly a majestic place that one must truly see. Not only because of the super duper nice Beaches but also its culture, food, nature attractions and adventures.

Coron is both the name of a town on Busuanga. The island is very famous for its wreck diving and snorkeling spots. In September 1944, a fleet of Japanese ships hiding in the harbor were sunk in a daring raid by the US navy. The result is around ten well preserved shipwrecks surrounded with beautiful coral reef.

There are also attractions on Coron Island itself. There are many beautifulwhite sand beaches, mostly tiny and surrounded by large limestone cliffs and wildlife. Barracuda and Kayangan lakes are both stunning locations, and the island also has a mysterious indigenous tribe who are notably shy of outsiders. (http://wikitravel.org/en/Coron)



We booked our flight via Zest Air months before our trip so our plane tickets will not be that expensive. For the preparations, we searched the internet for a place to stay and tour packages. Then we computed for our budget after wards.

After weeks of looking for a place to stay, we found Nuovo Hotel Michelangelo & Italian Restaurant (www.http://www.hotelmichelangelo-coron.com/hotel/index.cfm). Note, there are lots of hotels/inns at Coron. Though our hotel was a bit pricey compared to other, we still decided to stay there (hotel was really great, cozy and very roomy). We also found the person who will take care of our Trip. Her name is Janice Magallanes (Budget travel - 09199784010). She basically took care of our itinerary for our tours.

For 4 days and 3 night, we were located at one of Philippines' majestic wonders - Coron. Here was our itinerary for the trip:

Group of 9 Pax

April 25 Day 1 - Kayangan Lake, Barracuda Lake, Siete Pecados, Twin Lagoon, Banol Beach, CYC Beach, and Skeleton Wreck.

Php 1,200/person for 9 adults (Total: 10,800 for Day 1)
Inclusions: Boat Rental, Boatman/Tour guide, Lunch and Drinks, All entrance fees
Lunch: Rice, Inihaw na isda, Inihaw na Liempo, Ensaladang Lato, softdrinks and water, Banana

April 26 Day 2 - Malcapuya Island, Banana Island, Bulog Island

Php 1,300/person - without Lunch for 9 adults (Total: 11,700 for Day 2)
Inclusions: Boat Rental, Boatman/Tour Guide/Cook, All entrance fees
** Utensils will be provided by boatman. You will also have to buy uling to cook your food. The boatman will also provide ice chest box with ice already.

You might say that going there is expensive. To be honest yes, it was but then the place is priceless. We truly enjoyed our stay there and all was worth it. For our Day 1 tour, the places we went was just near so we paid lesser than Day 2. We had our pack lunch for Day 1 only. Day 2 tour was more expensive because the places we went too was far. For our food, we opt to buy at the market for Fish, veggies, and more seafoods!

Don't worry on who will cook your food because the tour guide will be the one to cook your food. All utensils provided btw - which is so great because we don't need to worry about anything anymore. :D

Months of February - May usually is the time Filipinos go on summer trips so expect lots of tourist at Coron (or any other destinations in the PI). As said earlier we went to Coron last April 2010. The weather was perfect! Though it was too hot when you are in the town proper (where our hotel is located).

Here are the destinations we went for the First day of the trip:

Tour in the city

For the tour around Coron town, you can either have this included in your package or for adventure seeking people like us, we opt to hire a tricycle (that will fit 5 -6 people in one tric). It doesn't cost that much really when you hire a tric for the Coron town tour. In our case since we opt to hire 2 trics we paid 150-200 for each tric. The price is just right because they will take you the tourist spots around town and even show you where great food is served. And even more, they could volunteer to wait for you :D Isn't that great?

Included in the tour are the following spots:

Maquinit Hot Spring - Large pools warmed by the geothermal water spring in the area. The hottest pools cascade into a large pool that empties into the ocean. Beautiful place to hang out in the evening after a long day of activities

Mt. Tapyas hike - Oh dear god! I am not a fan of hiking so I got really tired after this Mt. Tapyas Hike. I'm not a fan of massages as well but my body needed a massage from the strenuous hike we did. Mt. Tapyas is around 700+ steps. At the top you will see a huge cross and of course the breath taking views of Coron town and its Majestic wonders and the view of the sunset. Go try, it's really worth it! You could easily get a massage when you get down. There's a lot of Spa around town.





Day 1 Tour (included in the tour package)

Kayangan Lake/Barracuda Lake - Known to be the cleanest lake in the Philippines. The place was awesome! We were all at awe when we reached the place. Place was peaceful and super wide. But wait, if you want to see the lake, one has to climb 150+ steps in a steep and highly vertical ascent (I managed so you can as well!). You could even swim further and reach Barracuda Lake. Barracuda Lake was named as such because solitary toothy barracuda that can be encountered during a dive, greeting divers with a friendly company. No worries it won't hurt you, just don't come near them in case you see one. :D The lake has some very beautiful limestone structures along the wall. It is a beautiful site even to snorkel.







Siete Pecados - Its a great place to snorkle. The place was really great because we enjoyed snorkling for one and also the corals you will see there are so many because Coron, Palawan is a protected sanctuary. So you will really enjoy snorkling at Siete Pecados.





Twin Lagoon - A beautiful cove where one has to literally swim under some high rocks to get to the second lagoon (this explains the name Twin Lagoon). Depending what time you will be there so be prepared, it can either be a high tide or a low tide. In our case it was a a low tide so we were able to go over to the other lagoon without holding our breaths for a long time. You should go to both lagoons, the natural beauty of the place, jagged limestone cliffs, crystal clear water in several hues of blue and the greenery were all inspiring (hoping that Manila was like that - haha!. Oh, btw we had an encounter with a baby sea snake. It was scary but it was an adventure to actually see one swimming near you hahaha!







Banol Beach - Banol beach is a place to relax and swim! But be careful of Tayongs or See Urchins, there are a millions out there. The sand was so white and water so clear! A perfect setup for a pictorial with friends and family. This is where we had our lunch. Then we just bask in the sun and swim swim swim.





CYC Beach - Coron Youth Club. It was also like Banol Beach but smaller and you won't see any limestone formation all you will see are shrubs. We just had a glimpse of the place because the island was full of tourist. hehehe.

Skeleton Wreck - It was called Skeleton wreck because basically it was a sunken ship. We anchored in the sea since it was a low tide then. Of course, snorkel around and see the big scary wreck. :D It was creepy but at the same time fun.

Then we head back to the resort and went around Coron town to see the place fully.

Here are the destinations we went for the Second day of the trip:

Since we did not go to the original plan which was: Malcapuya Island (You should try to go here if you want just to relax by the sand and just swim swim swim..the beach here is awesome...great place to get a good tan), Banana Island, and Bulog Dos beach, the group wanted more snorkeling adventures. We then went to different places where snorkeling is really great. Fee for this tour is much more expensive because the location is really far if you compare it to the Coron Island tour (Day 1 tour).

This tour involves the following: Calumbuyan Island and the wrecks at Lusong and Coral Garden. On the way there, we passed by the Farm for PEARLS!! waaaaa we wanted to snorkel and just see the super beautiful pearls...but our boatman told us it wasn't allowed because the guard can easily shoot you...so we didn't dare anymore hahaha! But according to our boatman it was true. So don't really do it. hahaha!

First we went to Lusong gun boat wreck. It was a great place to swim and snorkel. Though the water is deep but then you could take a glimpse of another shipwreck and beautiful corals. Again, scary but what an experience.





Then we went to other location there where snorkeling was allowed. For lunch we head to a beach spot called Calumbayan Island. I was not too happy with the place though but we enjoyed the food we bought from Coron Market. Fresh sea foods all over! hahaha! After lunch and hours of swimming, we then went to...

Coral Garden - Here you would be able to see wide variety of beautiful corals and different types of fish. Be careful not too step on corals because they are very fragile and can break easily. Also, if you want to touch the corals be careful not to damage them (coz' it takes a hundred of years for them to be as beautiful as that). Snorkle some more and had fish feeding activities, fun! In here, we cannot go near the island as there are a lot of corals near it. The boat cannot dock there because it might destroy it. We need to swim to go to the marine sanctuary. It was a magnificent scene under the sea. The corals which was preserved were so huge and some of them scary. But the experience is immeasurable.

After a long, fun and tiring day, we decided to return to town since it was getting dark and huge waves are coming in already. Our ride back was a lot scary because waves are coming in from different directions. It was fun and at the same time a scary experience but it all went well. We were back safe at our Hotel. This was our last night at Coron so we decided to go out again and just roam around Coron town for one last time.

Our experience in Coron is really different from all places we have been to. If you want nature adventure then Coron is a great place for that. If you want to see lush greens and perfect white sand beaches and awesome wonders then Coron is for you. At Coron, you will be able to see untouched beauty at it's finest.

We were all delighted and very happy with our Coron tour. Where will be the next? hmmmm... Till' my next summer escapade...Ciao for now...