Coron
Me and my girl friends have been meaning to see Coron, Palawan. The endless blogs and articles written about this place can only make you want to go more. Conde Nast has named Palawan as one of the best islands in the world and it's right in our backyard! It felt wrong that we haven't been to see for our own eyes and so my girls and I decided to finally take on this adventure.
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| The mandatory airport shot |
I hope like many of the blogs you will end up reading as you prepare for your trip that this blog will help you make that decision to go visit Coron sooner! Trust that you will be taken by the warmth of the people and beauty and charm of Coron.
Airfare
To start our adventure of course we had to get our plane tickets, we paid a pretty good deal for a not so discounted fare.
P1,670.56 + P1,556.30 = P3,226.86 --- Total airfare thru Cebu Pacific Air (or CebGO as they like to call it nowadays) we also paid P100 Terminal fee for our flight from Busuanga to Manila.
We also booked our accommodations in advance so we'd only need to bring money for food, tours and pasalubong.
The Resort
There were five of us on this trip so we decided to book (2) two rooms in Sunz En Coron Resort. We decided on this place because of the great reviews on Agoda and a friend of a friend stayed there before and highly recommended it too. The good reviews about this resort is on point, I can't think of any other place that has more amazing customer service, it was beyond 5 stars. I would recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat. Other than the great customer service their facilities are wonderful too, one deciding factor was the pool, we wanted and needed the pool and was glad it was there for that one day we decided to sleep in and lounge around.
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| Home for the next 4 days |
The room comes with free breakfast, though the choices was limited all their options are in big serving and will definitely fill you up to help you start your day right. They also serve potato and macaroni salad, okra and fruits aside from your chosen breakfast.
Getting Around
The resort offers transfers from the airport to the hotel for only P150 each way. Once at the resort getting around is easy, there's a lot of tricycles around and if you're coming from the resort a service tricycle is available to take you to town. Tricycle fare is regulated in Coron, short distances is P10/person and a slightly farther trip is P15/person. Don't be afraid to ask how much you need to pay because I found out that the Coronians are the nicest, kindest, modest and most hospitable people. I can't imagine a local trying to rip you off, it just doesn't seem to be in their nature. I noticed that even if their town is flocked by a lot of tourists all year long they're able to maintain their small town charm. They didn't adjust to what the tourists might want, instead, they kept true to their culture, kept the environment clean and the beautiful islands respected.
Tours
Soon after we checked in, had lunch and put away our stuff we immediately went to town to find the best deal for tours. The tricycle brought us to JY Travel & Tours we got their flier and decided to still ask around just for comparison (tipid moves) but in the end we went back to JY Travel & Tours because their tour packages was the most reasonably priced and we opted to do the Ultimate Tour (Tour C) for DAY 1. We were to visit (7) locations and it was for P1,500 per person.
Day 1
Aaah! What a great sunny morning! Beautiful day for an island hopping tour.
Day 1 was the more challenging tour because we need to hop on and off seven locations and some of it involves light trekking and lots of snorkeling. But this is also the tour that will allow you to see the most beautiful views Coron has to offer (just like the photo below)
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| View before you get to Kayangan Lake |
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So our 7 stops are: CYC Beach, Coral Garden, Coron Wharf, Skeleton Wreck, Sunset Beach, Twin Lagoon & Kayangan Lake
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| Our guide today, Kuya Erwin, the best guide evah! |
Most of the activities on the island were swimming and snorkeling so our photos were mostly on the boat or snorkeling.
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| Day 1 - Ma-fun na boat mates |
When we got back to the hotel after our 'ultimate tour' we all decided to give our tired bodies a chance to recuperate and reschedule our island hopping tour for the next day to the day after.
Day 2
On Day 2 we slept in, had late breakfast, some of us lounged around the pool, some went back to sleep while I decided to explore the not so 'touristy' side of Coron. I went to the pier to buy some dried fish they call Anak Turay, according to the Kuya where I bought the heavenly dried fishies it's called Anak Turay because the mommy fish is called Turay so the smaller ones are Anak Turay, hehehe! It looks very similar to 'tawilis' and it looked and smelled so yummy! Bought a kilo for P100 and my pasalubong duties is done! Easy!
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| Anak Turay Galore |
After my solo trip I had to head back to the resort to get ready for our Day 2 adventure. We all agreed on doing the Mt. Tapyas climb and take a dip in the famous Mt. Maquinit Hot Spring afterwards. At this point we already have a casualty (for reasons that shall remain secret) who opted to stay behind to rest, so the remaining four of us headed out.
First, we had to call Kuya Duds. We met Kuya Duds on day 1 when we went to JY Tours, he politely suggested that he can pick us up if we decide to do the Mt. Tapyas and Mt. Maquinit activity. Most tricycles would offer this service but since Kuya Duds was first to offer and was so polite about it our sense of loyalty kicked in. Kuya Duds said it'll be P400 to drive the four of us, we requested to be brought to any nearby beach as well and the closest one was Bali Beach. He agreed to include the Bali beach side tour in our initial agreement of P400. When we finally realized how rough the road was to Bali beach and Kuya Duds was such a pro about it and with no indication of even a sliver of annoyance that we asked him to include this in our package tour, he won our hearts. In fact, he just kept telling us about fun facts, scary stories and interesting stuff about Coron. He was a solid stand-up guy. We liked him a lot and regret not having a photo with him.
Day 2 - Bali Beach
Not so pretty sand but with an AMAZING view. We stayed for a good 5 minutes for photos.
Day 2- Mt. Tapyas & Mt. Maquinit
Mt. Tapyas View Deck
Mt. Tapyas was a challenging climb, so if you intend to get to the top before sunset make sure to give yourself ample time to climb the 700+ steps (plus rests in between) before sun down.
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| We all made it in one piece |
The view is amazing! Little advise, if you're a bit out of shape (like me) trust that this climb will kinda kick your ass and will put a toll on your lungs, LOL! Make sure to bring water and a small towel to wipe those sweat & tears away. Haha! Oh and expect the immediate soreness after this climb or as my friend Jovie would say, 'Baldado Party'.
Off to Mt. Maquinit.
Mt. Maqunit Hot Spring
I'm not a fan of hot springs, period. But this was a welcome surprise. It helped alleviate the soreness of my whole body especially my calves from climbing Mt. Tapyas. It's an amazing place, we all enjoyed a quick Tita hotspring dip.
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| New Found Friends from the Ultimate Tour |
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| Mt. Maquinit Hot Spring |
Day 3 - Tour D
Our guide from our first tour, Erwin, was super awesome and he helped us make this decision faster, he suggested that Tour D would be a relaxing option if it's our last day so instead of our initial choice Reefs & Wreck tour we went with Erwins' suggestion.
Tour D consists of a visit to Malcapuya Island, Banana Island and Bulog Dos and it was P1,200 per person.
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| Our guide for today, Kuya Dennis |
The pictures below doesn't do the islands justice, especially Malcapuya Island, it is by far the most paradise like beach/island I've been to. The water is something I only see in magazines and travel blogs. It was surreal. It definitely took my breath away.
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| Paradise |
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| My favorite beach, evah! |
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| Jump shot fail, LOL! |
After a very quick stop in Malcapuya Island we headed to Banana Island where we're scheduled to have lunch, snorkel and enjoy the beach bumming a bit more.
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| Welcome to Ba-ba-ba-ba-na-na, Bananaaaa Island! |
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| Our boat mates! |
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| Eating time!!! |
We had a great time taking a million photos in Banana Island and snorkeling was so awesome! The marine life was just so, alive! I've never seen so many cool looking fishies up close and in so many vibrant colors, it was really an amazing first for me. Oh, and our guide - Kuya Dennis, said that sometimes baby sharks swim by the coral reef area too and lo and behold guess what I saw just as I was heading back to shore??? A black tip baby shark about 3 feet, it came from my right side and swam all the way to the edge of the shore. I wasn't sure how to feel, I had mixed emotions and had to look behind me to be sure the Mom wasn't following, Lol! (Remember those photos on Facebook where a diver gets photo bombed by a huge shark? That was the first thought that came to me. Lol!) So as I watched the shark go by, I swam to shore and said a quick thank you that the Mommy shark was nowhere in sight.
Bulog Dos
Soon after Banana Island we headed to Bulog Dos, also another beautiful island worth visiting. Bulog Dos is the island connected to Two Seasons Hotel & Resort by a sandbar. According to our trusty guides it would make for an awesome photo opportunity, unfortunately the tide didn't go low enough for the sandbar to appear. BUT we still had a great time and used this opportunity to take one last dip in the beautiful crystal clear waters before heading back.
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| Kind of candid shot |
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| Star Fishies |
What an awesome last day! We got to visit all these beautiful islands with the most breath taking beaches I've ever seen. It's definitely a trip I won't soon forget. I can't wait to visit Palawan again!
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| What an awesome day! What an awesome trip! |
TIPS:
I highly recommend getting Kuya Duds as your tricycle service for your Mt. Tapyas and Mt. Maquinit tour, he also has a couple of recommendations like going to the falls. You can contact him thru +63 936 494 7219
Sunz En Coron usually have discounts thru Agoda but you can also call them to check if they're running a promo. On the day we left the receptionist mentioned they're running a 10% discount, I just forgot the details. Also, avoid the hassle and have your airport pick-up arranged in advance. Para chill na lang pag dating sa airport.
The guides don't expect you to tip them which all the more makes it awesome for them when tourists do. Tip well if you can. Or just give whatever you can.
I hope you have as much fun (if not more) than us. And remember, you're the visitor, so act as one. Don't litter and follow their rules.
Enjoy Coron!
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