Researching your next place for adventures..? Well, search no more, we have the perfect place for you!
It is no secret that the Philippines have become popular among tourists for their pristine beaches and amazingly clear water in all shades of blue and green. We chose Coron for our temporary accommodation and during our 10 day/9 nights stay explored some amazing nearby locations and attractions. Continue reading to hear all about our experience and tips for easier and worry-free vacation.
Staying
We stayed in Coron Town Proper, the location of the town is ideal for island hopping and day tours, there is nothing much to do in the town itself. It is reasonably cheap, developing area, very rural and there is no access to any nice beaches. The best thing to do is to book your accommodation a while ahead and stay very central. You will see that every morning at around 9am there is this massive tourist migration – everybody is hopping into boats and leaving the town to go and have their adventures. And then every evening at around 5pm everybody is returning in the same manner, like a massive flock of birds coming home. It is a great sight to observe, for example, from the nearby hill called Mt. Tapyas.
Coron Town Proper
During midday the town is basically empty. Book your tours at least 1 day ahead and spend your time outside the town, returning there only to have dinner and sleep.
With this thought in mind, we booked a very affordable pension house as our place for resting and were very happy to spend that extra saved money on tours.
When you’re packing for the holiday, think water – what will you need for the best experience in/on/nearby water..? We spent some time researching and came to a conclusion that our essentials are going to be these:
– sunscreen – we put a good, thick layer of sunscreen (50 spf) every morning and reapplied after almost every swim for the first few days, and later on opted for the morning layer only
– bug repellent – there are plenty of these mean, little creatures that crave for your blood, be smarter and come prepared for the fight
– waterproof bag – when travelling to nearby islands, lakes, lagoons etc. be aware that the boats are usually small and depending on weather conditions they can get very, very wet all over, so make sure all your gear is protected
– water shoes – provides so much more comfort, no need to worry about accidentally cutting your feet on unknown surfaces and they are also a life savior on hot sand
– quick dry towel – they are very compact and dry quickly for you to use them again after a few moments in the sun
– power bank – if you are using your phone for pictures and videos, this item will come in handy
– power adaptor – they have several different plugs so we just took our universal power adapter and tried the most stable connection (a lot of times those sockets leave plugs hanging loose)
– go-pro or some sort of action camera – a must have for underwater videos and/or pictures, there are so many beautiful things to see under water
– drone – if you have a drone, do not miss the opportunity to see this magnificent nature from a birds-eye (also take ND filters for it, that blinding sunlight is a challenge for any camera)
– wireless charger – we were using our waterproof phones for pictures everywhere so charging them afterwards can be challenging since the system will probably still be detecting water by the charging port. Wireless chargers will come in handy. It proved to be very difficult to find any wireless device for this purpose in Coron so come prepared
– fins and mask for snorkeling – these items are very useful when exploring the colourful marine life in the Philippines. Most of you will be have very limited luggage space just like we had, so buy them in Coron or rent them from the tour operators for every tour separately
Tours
Talking about tours – there are two ways how to do them. If you don’t want to explore places with other tourists and wish to tailor your own experience, you can rent a boat for a day with a captain and be the master of your travels. It can be ranging from P3000 to P5000 depending on your wishes and the distance to locations, and is usually for a group of 2-4 people and additional fees for entering islands or lagoons – I noted it down here under description of every attraction place). We were lucky enough to find a lovely couple to travel with for two days so this cost was split in two. We loved to be able design our own itinerary and decide how long we are staying in each location.
But if you are traveling on a budget, you can book one of many set tours. Do your research beforehand and choose the most organised travel providers. And even then be equipped with ample of patience, mornings are hectic, each time people are running around like chicken without a head trying to organise the last bits before leaving. Even if you have arranged to leave nice and early, you will be lucky to leave the port before 9am. Everything happens in “Philippino time”. You would think that this whole process is like a trusted Swiss watch mechanism by now but for the duration of our stay there, it was like a glorious morning chaos.
TRAVEL TIP: don’t let the tricycle drivers bully you. They will always tell you triple the cost or even more if you’re asking for the price before going even though they need to have a mandatory price-list somewhere at the front (they are usually cleverly hiding it). A little trick that we started using by the end of our trip – since we already knew the average price from the city centre to our hotel or the other way around, we started just telling them the destination without asking for a price and when we were there, we just paid the set amount. It was so much better, no arguments, no disappointment. Worked like a charm every time!
So now that you know your way around town, let’s jump right in and explore some of the amazing locations around Coron.
Twin Lagoon
One of the places you must visit is definitely Twin Lagoon.
TRAVEL TIP: It is a very popular tourist attraction spot and thus tends to be a bit crowded but if you get lucky and arrive earlier than your neighbour, the view is just spectacular! We arrived there shortly before 10am and were one of the first ones there and could enjoy the place for some 15 minutes before other boats started coming in.
It is a short boat-ride away from Coron Town Proper so you have no excuse not to go there! It is different from all the other lagoons. After crossing the first lagoon, there is a big limestone cliff with an entrance to the second lagoon. We were lucky enough to get there when the tide was low so it was easy to swim under the rock formation to go from one lagoon to the next, otherwise there is also a very narrow wooden steps that take you up the rocks and then down to the other lagoon. The view from there is like a cherry on top. Definitely the highlight of the place! Be careful though – the steps are narrow and slippery, and if there are already people up there, I would recommend to wait till they come down..
There isn’t much sea life to observe when snorkelling but the geology is beautiful.
If you plan flying a drone there, just keep in mind that the limestone cliffs really mess with the GPS and navigation.
Entrance Fee: P200
Coral Garden
Some parts of the corals are beautiful but the garden has seen better days. Tourist boats dropping their anchors have damaged it quite a bit. The good part is that you do not have to be a scuba diver to enjoy the corals in this part of the Philippines. Some of them are really shallow (less than a meter). And then there is this cool scene with a big deep drop. Be careful though – the current is quite strong. We had fins on so it made a big difference.
Sadly we didn’t see too many fish and the ones that we did see were quite small. So if we could decide if we visit again or skip it, we would most definitely skip this attraction.
Entrance Fee: free
Kayangan Lake
Nested between impressive limestone rock formations, this lake charmed us with its magnificent colour and serenity. Commonly trademarked as “The cleanest lake in the Philippines”, Kayangan Lake is one of the most iconic natural sights of the entire Philippines archipelago. The interesting part is that it consists 70% of fresh water and 30% sea water. Pay attention to water temperature, you will notice that in some places it will change. If you’re interested, you can read more about it here.
Coron Island actually has 11 stunning lakes, however only two of them (Kayangan Lake and Barracuda Lake) are open to the public. These places are sacred sites for the locals and they are carefully protecting them from being destroyed by the mighty wave of thousands of tourists.
If you would like to know more about the real locals of Coron, click here for a very interesting article.
For some tourists getting there may be challenging – there is a steep climb up and then down, all together 367 before you can enjoy the crystal clear water of this lake. In the heat of day it is quite tiring and the mandatory life vests are not making it any easier but the prize is worth it. And do not miss the iconic Kayangan Lake Viewpoint, located right in the middle of the climb.
A swim through the translucent waters of Kayangan Lake is an experience like no other. It almost feels like flying, just under water.
TRAVEL TIP: Do take your snorkeling gear with you. This time the focus is not on colourful fish, the underwater views of the spectacular rock formations will make you feel like you’ve entered a different kingdom altogether. And by doing so you can avoid the orange life jacket army that is following wherever you go. The place itself is magnificent, and we can only imagine how it would look like and feel if the experience wasn’t spoiled by the dozens of tourists.
If compared, it is not quite as idyllic as Barracuda Lake, but this one has a boardwalk surrounding the entrance so it’s perfect for picture taking and just taking in all the views.
Entrance Fee: P200
Barracuda Lake
Barracuda Lake and Kayangan Lake are close by and in a lot of ways very similar, the have the same type of serenity to them, mix of salt and fresh water, unbelievable colour and even more unbelievable transparency.
It might have been the time of the day when we visited the place (it was not as crowded as Kayangan Lake) or us just having more fun with ourselves there, but if we had to rate these two lakes then Barracuda would win by a fraction of points. If you do have to choose which one to visit, be assured they both are stunning and you will be ecstatic either way.
We swam to the very end of the allowed area for tourists, marked with a thick roap, and it gave us a bit more secluded feeling so we were able to goof around and take some breathtaking underwater pictures. I cannot even describe the surreal feeling we got when we were under water and all of a sudden everything got illuminated by this golden rain of sunrays. We felt like in an opening scene of a movie.
This lake will leave you enchanted and wanting to return.
TRAVEL TIP: We kept hearing that this place is amazing for diving. We didn’t have the opportunity to try it ourselves but if you do – go for it, we heard nothing but good reviews.
Entrance Fee: P200
Waling Waling Island
TRAVEL TIP: Go in the morning and during low tide season to experience the sandbar otherwise you will be disappointed with the experience, since the sand bar is the main hype for this island.
Previously called Bulog Uno, now known as Waling-Waling island, this was the place where we felt like we have finally seen what paradise would look like in real life. We just fell in love with the place. It is a tiny island in Calamianes group of islands in Palawan but it definitely leaves a lasting impression.
During low tide, there is a small stretch of white sand bar that connects it to the adjacent Bulog Dos Island, water comes from both sides and it’s the perfect place to sit down and enjoy the gentle caresses of waves. That changes completely when the tide comes back, though. All of a sudden the serene sandbar feels more like a trap for torture where every wave is stronger than the previous one. When the tide gets higher it is a mission to keep the balance – our captain showed us a masterclass of jumping through waves when running back to the boat shortly before leaving. A sight that would have easily landed him a role in any Baywatch themed movie.
There is also a pathway with steps going up and the view from the top is majestic. You get a full view of the sandbar, the nearby island and pristine water all around.
There is also an option to spend a night on the island. Since there is only one hut, that means that by the evening when all the boats leave, the island would be all yours to enjoy privately with just waves crashing and sun slowly falling into the ocean.
Php1,500/per night/per person (no food).
Php2,500/per night/person (with food).
Entrance fee: P250
Malcapuya Island
This island is just a stone’s trow away from Waling-Waling beach. And it is in every way the same type of paradise. One side of the island where all the boats drop people off is a bit rough and would greatly benefit from some TLC but the other side is absolutely breathtaking! The beach is long enough so even though there were a lot of people, it didn’t ruin the experience. We were lucky enough to secure a little hut where we had our lunch and kept all our stuff.
The views there are just incredible, you can spend the whole day taking epic pictures or just enjoying it with your own eyes. We got a picture of a life-time. And a couple of hundreds more. Everywhere you look is absolute heaven. It was definitely worth the trouble to travel 1.5 hours from Coron Town Proper and 2 hours back (even though the travel back was an adventure on its own). So when you book a tour, make sure they offer enough time on the island. Some tours take people to several far-away islands and leave Malcapuya Island as the last one, therefore allowing people to stay on it for just 1 hour to 1,5 hours max and then they have to leave because it’s already getting late. Trust us – you might even want to spend the whole day here. We had a very balanced private tour where we spent a couple of hours on Waling-Waling island and then the rest of the day on Malcauya island. And even with just these two locations we felt like the day was not enough.
The island has lots of palm trees, then further to the right there are some picturesque rocks and fewer people. We enjoyed every second of it, got some epic footage from a drone as well. Who would’ve thought that running on this beautiful, white, powdery sand is so difficult..? Definitely not me when I volunteered for the shoot.
There is also an option to do some snorkeling, they call it Open Aquarium, which is basically just lazy snorkeling when tourists hang on to a rope on the sides of a boat and are slowly cruised around to enjoy the beautiful coral reef and all sorts of fish without literally moving a finger. Sometimes they throw in some food for the small fish and then in a matter of seconds they were surrounded by thousands of sea creatures, quite spectacular.
Entrance fee: P250
Glittering Fireflies
In adverts it usually called as Glittering Fireflies and Plankton Tour (with Buffet Dinner on a Floating Restaurant).
On paper it sounded magical and like once-in-a-life-time experience! After googling some amazing images with brightly glowing bioluminiscent plankton, we were more than just excited to rush into the dark and see the magic unveil.
The suspense is great, the tour starts and all the people get ushered in a reasonable size speedboat, of course, the life-jackets, and then rushing off into the night with wind tangled up in our hair. Sounds amazing, right..? It was, at first.
But when we got to the Mangrove Forest Park, the glittering fireflies were nowhere to be found. Then we had to clap our hands like bunch of madman in order for them to start glowing. As we were explained they react to sound waves. To us it just felt like we are intruding on their peacefulness and making them scared.
After we were done traumatizing fireflies, the tour-guide gave us a bunch of wooden sticks and urged us to swivel them around in water. Since we had done our research already, we hoped that this is the moment when the real magic of the tour starts. Disappointment once again – the concentration of bioluminiscent plankton was not that great to create the desired reaction of illuminating water in bright and glowing shades of blue. Instead what we saw were tiny glowing dots scarcely spread around the area that we touched. Yeah, it was interesting for maybe 2 minutes, but nothing as impressive as we saw on the Internet. The conditions were the worst possible for any kind of photography or videography – complete darkness + a shaky boat – so needless to say that there are no photos or videos of the experience itself and this is purely to be enjoyed with your eyes only.
So in our case the first part of the tour was a bit of a let down.
However, after this we were taken to a floating restaurant to have a buffet dinner that was included in the price of the tour. The food was much appreciated, we liked the nice and smiley faces of all the staff members, the food itself was ok, but the highlight of this tour was a private serenade by a mariachi band to each table separately. It was truly romantic and we enjoyed it greatly. It was a moment just for us, we simply got lost into each others eyes, thinking how magical this moment feels and how happy we are together.
This tour is a tricky one. We were left kind of on a fence about it. It is something new and unknown but also the extent of it is not impressive enough to give a certain – yes, go ahead and book the tour.
Tour fee: P950 (included in the price – transfer from a hotel in Coron Town to Port, speedboat to and from Mangrove Forest Park, a buffet aboard the Floating Restaurant and return transfers to your Coron Town hotel)
Skeleton Shipwreck
We happened to arrive there on a slightly windy day. Skeleton Wreck is a 25m long Japanese supply ship that was hit by an airstrike during WWII by US airforce. The shipwreck is completely submerged so it comes as a bit of a surprise when the tour-guide said: “Ok, we’re here, jump in!” Because of the wind that day, waves seemed to be extra mean and dangerous. It didn’t help that the location was swamped with tourist boats and they all had these balancing side poles sticking out, making extra difficult to swim through. It helped a lot that we had our fins on, we were able to manoeuvre ourselves away from the boats. For us the adventure was ruined because we lost each other and due to the high risks of all the abovementioned circumstances, needless to say that we didn’t quite enjoy it as much as we could’ve.
Looking back I can honestly say that I would not choose to visit the place if I had the chance now. The Skeleton Reef was too popular of an attraction place, always swamped with sheepish tourists who tow behind a tourguide because they are too affraid to just float on their own, even with life vests on. And the ship is too close to the surface so unless you’re diving, there is high risk that any random wave can push you onto a sharp, rusty edge, ruining your holiday.
From the reviews that we heard from divers – the place is interesting but there was no excitment screems convincing us to return with diving gear on.
Entrance fee: free
Hike Mt.Tapyas
If you are looking for some adventure that doesn’t involve a boat then climb to the top of Mt. Tapyas. While technically it is not a mountain, the view from the top is worth the hike up. Here you’ll be rewarded with panoramic views of Coron town and Coron Island in the distance, and you will see their epic Hollywood-like sign up close and personal.
If you have any say in choosing the time of your climb, be smarter than us, do not plan to go there in the middle of the day when laying in your hotel bed gets a bit boring (we had a rest day, don’t judge us). Unless you like to imagine how egg feels on a hot pan… Then by all means – middle of the day is the right time to fry your skin.
It’s not the tallest of mountains, basically just a small hill, and it is easily accessible so we didn’t see the need to book a guided tour and went up there in our own awesome company.
It has a bit over 700 steps, the first couple are weirdly steep but then they quickly become of acceptable height for unknowing tourists who are going to be grasping for air already in the next 2 minutes. It’s no wonder they have plenty of benches along the way where we saw at least two people giving up on the climb and quitting this endurance test without even properly starting it. We were living for this next bench, and then the next one and the next, contemplating with every step – do we go back or power through our mistake. All I can say is – I’m glad we didn’t give up. Since we were one of the few people who actually had this crazy idea of climbing the mountain in the middle of the day, we had the place pretty much for ourselves, there was one more exhausted couple up there and a couple of local kids, having fun and not hyperventilating at all like the rest of us.
The town was directly below us, offering a beautiful view of its boat docks, the market and the rest of the town, cramped in a small inlet along the shore. And then as far as we could see – hundreds of islands, different sizes, shapes and colours.
This 360-degree panorama is well worth the climb. If you are in Coron Town Proper, definitely plan a trip there, it is a great experience and one hell of an exercise.
TRAVEL TIP: Go there early in the morning for sunrise or later in the evening for sunset. It will make the best views. Avoid midday climb at all costs – it’s too humid and hot to enjoy the experience. And bring enough water, we wished we had taken more than just one bottle.
Entrance fee: free
Banol beach
To us it seemed like the destination for guided tours to have their lunch at. It is in a very convenient location and has plenty of tables and seats, conveniently covered by a roof, so it makes perfect sense to bring tourists for hustle free lunch break. And I have to mention – it is a very small strip of sand. Therefore, it gets packed around lunch time. Also be aware that when it’s high tide the beach gets swallowed by sea almost completely leaving just a tiny area by the rocks where all the huts are. If you avoid these two things, you should be fine, the place itself is nice, with signature pristine sand beach, surrounded by a majestic backdrop of limestone cliffs, and crystal clear water. However if compared to all the rest of the spectacular beaches around Coron, it averages pretty low on the “must-see” list.
We had the “pleasure” to be there at its peak time, so it was full with eager tourists who wanted to explore. Nowadays it is very common for people to explore places with drones. We had a situation when there were at least 4 drones up in the air at once. One was randomly just hanging up in the air right above a panicky kid who had lost a connection with it, one was buzzing around the beach shore, one kept going out in the sea and coming right back and then ours, maneuvering around them all. Real drone wars. So exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time. Once we emptied the battery, we went to help the desperate kid who was still jumping around and screaming at the drone, begging it to come back down. He was eternally grateful when Anton restarted the remote controller and he regained control over it. So I guess that means we won the battle, right?
And what a footage we got… This beach is a good location for droning – there are loads of boats going in and out, going by from Coron Town Proper to other islands, so the view from top is never boring. And since the water here is reasonably shallow, it shines in the most appealing turquoise blue that a human eye has ever seen.
One quirky aspect of this beach – the best view from here is from a toilet up on a cliff. There are these cool looking steps carved into a cliff, leading higher up to the most important place of this entire beach – the king’s seat (I just can’t call it plain toilet, the view is too majestic), and from there you can see all the neighbouring islands, the shimmering colours of water, it almost feels like you can reach out and grasp that hanging drone as well.
View from the toilet
TRAVEL TIP: There are quite a lot of hungry dogs and cats begging for food by the tables. We are not aware of the owners reaction to the animals being fed by the tourists but a lot of people were giving them some leftovers. We also couldn’t resist those sad puppy eyes. If you do decide to feed them, do it after you’re all done eating. Once they understand there is potential food to be had, they become more insistent and also start fighting with one another, the food that they don’t like is left on the sand and it quickly attracts hundreds of ants. So it quickly transforms into chaos. Do good but be careful.
Entrance fee: P100
Sangat Coral Garden
It was a pretty spectacular place. The corals were a bit more impressive than the ones we saw before. We happened to be there at the exact time when sun was hitting the water at a right angle. It created such a mesmerising underwater world sparkling with fairy dust and unicorn rainbows 😀 The sheer drop-offs of this Coral Garden is difficult to describe, you need to see it for yourself.
We were hoping to stalk a bit more interesting fish but they were probably spooked away by the quantity of floating intruders so we saw just the bravest of them all which was not a lot. But in our mind we had already pictured Atlantis in full effect so we were happy to float around there and explore.
Our guide claimed that this is the best coral garden in all the Coron and from what we saw, he surely was right.
Entrance fee: P50 (including Lusong Gunboat)
Lusong Gunboat
The Gunboat is just a couple of meters further from Sangat Coral Garden so it is usually taken as one object. And it was similar situation with the previous shipwreck – it is a lot more interesting if you have the diving gear. This huge gunboat from WWII encrusted in corals, barnacles, and marine life is a pure paradise for divers, I imagine you can spend several hours exploring and still want to return there the next time when offered. The very top can be easily explored with just some snorkeling gear and then the big part of the boat is approximately 25 feet deep and comes as real treat for divers since it is possible to go inside of the wreck and see what cannot be seen from the surface.
Entrance fee: P50 (including Sangat Coral Garden)
Pass Island
What comes into your mind when hearing the words Exotic Island..? Well, it’s basically the definition of Pass Island – softest of white sand, clear blue water as far as you can see, endless sun and palm trees dotted around the whole island. We had our lunch in a shade and then went to explore the little island. It was already full with people, some still having lunch, some lazily swinging in random hammocks hanger all over the island, the bravest ones were playing volleyball. Even though it was full with people, we felt very relaxed and peaceful.
What really disappointed us was a little monkey that was chained to a tree, left all alone and as an exhibit to curious tourists. Our guide told us it is always here. So if you happen to see this little guy, please be kind.
Only later we discovered that it is possible to stay there overnight. There are several beach bungalows you can hire. It is probably a good idea, since the travel from Coron Town is not the easiest one. And you will have the island all to yourself probably already after 3pm, since all tour guides gather their clients a couple of hours before sunset to avoid sailing in the dark.
Entrance fee: P300
Maquinit Hot Springs
Only a 30-minute tricycle drive from Coron town offers you this interesting place for relaxation. Maquinit is one of the very few saltwater hot springs in the world. Our lovely hostel owner suggested we should visit the place in the evening after climbing Mt. Tapyas and shortly before sunset, saying that even though it is the busiest time there, it is also the best time – the air is not as hot any more and sunset paints a very idyllic atmosphere, also hot water will excellently soothe all the possible pains and fatigue left from conquering the hill during daytime. We did exactly that and let me tell you – it was such a fantastic feeling to climb in our bed afterwards and fall into my deepest sleep in a while.
The springs are hot, indeed. On our first try we came out double the speed that we entered. It is around 39 to 40 degrees Celsius but from the first dip it seems to be closer to 70. Trully enough after a couple of uncomfortable seconds, the body adjusted and water became bearable and then soothing. I could last about 3 minutes submerged up until my shoulders, Anton didn’t overheat even after 5 minutes so it depends on each individually.
There are several pools with different temperatures, look around and try all of them.
Also don’t miss out on the opportunity to walk along this nice, little wooden bridge with an unabstructed view of the sea, it is perfect for picture taking, a bunch of content creators were working hard to do their most iconic walk for their videos.
We really appreciated that they had lockers where you can put your belongings for safekeeping.
TRAVEL TIP: If you’re hiring local tricycles, be aware that the road is very bumpy and at times, em.., let’s say – extreme. If you think you might not be ready for anything extreme, try searching for car tours.
Entrance fee: P200 (and tricycle ride from Coron Town Proper is around P400 to P500 – the driver will take you there, wait for 1h and then take you back), cost of cold beer P50, you’re welcome 😉
Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary
If you’re traveling from Coron Town Proper, it will take you several hours by car. The Sanctuary is located on a separate island so you will get briefed before being allowed on. After the brief you will need to get into one of those boats that you’re so used to by now and get to the other side. We had to wait for another group to arrive and then we were asked to take our seats in a safari truck. It was really cool! It felt like a real safari ride.
They stopped at a feeding area and we immediately saw a family of zebras curiously eyeing us. Our tour guide made it clear not to approach them from behind, they have very springy legs that can do a lot of harm.
I think the main highlight of that day was being able to see giraffes so close up, even touch them! They have this massive enclosure where contrary to other times – now people get locked in.
We had some leaves that we could offer to these majestic animals and the most attractive people get a kiss or two.
Giraffes surprised me with their incredible gentlness. It was scary at first having them so close and ripping the leaves off from the branches that we were holding, but actually they did an amazing job avoiding fingers and barely touching people at all. Even when I had one of them just inches away from my face, I saw the kindness in her eyes, her rough chin hair lightly tickling my lips.
We were really pleased about the experience but later on after reading some facts about this sanctuary and the rumoured reasons why these African animals were brought here to the Philippines, we were not sure anymore if our decision to visit the place was good. Here is the article if you’re curious to know a bit more.
Entrance fee: P400
Black Island
Till this day the island gives me the creeps.
The island can be recognised already from afar, even if you have never been there before. All the islands are green, covered with trees and hills, this is just one huge black rock formation. So gloomy and spooky!
However gloomy the first impression might be, the name of the island is the complete opposite of the color of its sand on the shore. As soon as we stepped on the island, my legs were swallowed to my ankles. The powdery sand is like nowehere else, it is actually quite a challenge to get to the small huts on the main beach and further towards the cave so I had to pause/pose in the middle…
Talking about caves – our tour guide was very excited to take us to a nearby cave that was less than 50 meters away. He said that some time ago this side of the island was occupied by bats so there were hundreds of them, making the island even less appealing during sunsets when the bats started flying around looking for their pray. Now all of them have supposedly moved to the other side of the island. There are more water caves and tunnels within the black cliffs but our guide said we are too late in the day to go and explore them.
Overall this island offers so much – the cleanest of beaches, a ship wreck that is close by, several caves with water and interesting rock formations, huts to have lunch in and even your own hammock in bushes! There were just a handful of tourists there since it’s so far away from the popular accomodation places and they left shortly after we arrived.
Entrance fee: P200
End Note
Coron is offering so much of nature’s beauty! Every small beach, every lagoon, rock formation and island is like a little paradise on earth. So no matter which travel package you choose, you can find something to be amazed of!
Good luck in your travels and leave us a comment if you have been in Coron and experienced its breathtaking sights around!