Coron Travel Guide – Everything you need to know

Coron is often stated as the most stunning place on Earth or simply heaven and it’s not even an exaggeration. Coron truly deserves such praises because it has an amazing landscape with the most crystal clear water, lagoons and lakes. Even the underwater world is full of life and colors! Coron is also known for the second World War boats that have been sunk in the nearby waters. I hope after reading my Coron Travel Guide, you will start planning your trip straight away.

In this article, I will give you an overview of all the wonderful things you can plan for your Coron holiday. I fell in love with Coron and it surely is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited!

The water is unbelievably turquoise in Coron!

Where is Coron and how to get there?

Coron is a beautiful set of islands on the West side of the Philippines. It’s an island North from Palawan and Southwest from Mindoro island. When you fly to “Coron” you actually arrive at Busuanga island. Coron Island is a separate island where most of the tours will take you to. However, the main port and town where most of the travelers stay is called Coron Town. Confusing enough?

How to get to Coron?

The two most common ways to get to Coron Island is either by flying from Manila or by ferry from El Nido, Palawan. There is also a ferry connection with Mindoro Island where you may want to visit if you are looking for less touristic places.

The scenery to Coron Island from Coron viewpoint

Coron Town

Coron Town is the base for all of the tours. That is where most of the accommodation and restaurants are located. I highly recommend staying not too far from the town center. I stayed approximately a 15-minute walk from the center which I found to be a perfect location since I didn’t have to worry about the hassle in the town center but I was close enough to easily walk to the restaurants.

Restaurant tip

My tip for a good restaurant is to go uphill from Big Mama’s and on the left side after Karl’s BBQ restaurant, there’s a restaurant with plastic chairs and quite a simple outlook. KT’s Sinugba Sa Balay is a family-run restaurant and I totally recommend eating there! I had the best meal of my entire trip there which was octopus sisig! Try it and you’ll love it!

Delicious sisig dish that I ate many times in the Philippines

Day tours around Coron Island

When visiting Coron it is absolutely a must to do day tours. All the most important things to see are around Coron Island which is just outside Coron Town. There you will see the most breathtaking places in the world! Next in my Coron Travel Guide I will go through the must-sees of Coron and the tours you need to take while you are in Coron.

What to see on Coron Tours?

You should at least add the following sights to your must-see list: Kayangan Lake, Barracuda Lake, Twin Lagoon and Green Lagoon. In addition to these, you can go and see either CYC beach or Banul beach, Skeleton Wreck, Malcapuya Island, Siete Pecados, Lusong Coral Garden and Lusong gunboat. I especially recommend visiting Skeleton Wreck and Lusong gunboat as well as Lusong Coral Garden which is one of the most beautiful snorkeling reefs I’ve ever been to.

Twin Lagoon – one of my favourite places in Coron

Private tour or a group tour?

There are group tours to all of these places or you can rent your own boat with a crew. The regular tours are approximately 800 PHP to 1700 PHP including lunch. The private tour is closer to 4000 PHP and you have to buy your own lunch items. If you want to do a private tour I would recommend using it for the main sights. That way you can see the sights without a crowd. But remember to start your private tour early since otherwise you will be stuck with the same crowds.

I wouldn’t recommend using a private tour for instance Lusong Coral Garden and  Lusong Gunboat. Just take a “Reef and Wreck -tour” and you will have a good size group to go with. They are further away so the price for the private tour would be quite high and with these destinations having a small group is alright.

Choose what you want to see and then look at which tours would be your favorite ones. Different agencies have slightly different contents in their tours even if the names are the same so learn a bit beforehand what you’d like to see. I recommend collecting some leaflets at the airport and you’ll get a quick view of the prices.

Wish to read more about Coron tours? Click to my next article!

Enjoying the views of Green Lagoon!

What to see near Coron Town?

Coron viewpoint

Coron viewpoint is a must-see in Coron! It’s not like any other viewpoint that you may have seen in your life. It is a stunning place and one of the most beautiful viewpoints I’ve been to! It’s like a magical Disney view that opens from the top and captures you in!

The viewpoint is located on the top of Mount Tapyas right next to Coron Town and you can walk there directly from Coron Town. Just turn to the street going upwards from Big Mama’s restaurant and continue going up. You will get straight to the stairs that lead to the top of the mountain.

Sunset at Coron viewpoint

The archipelago of Coron looks stunning during the sunset!

I must say that it is one of the toughest climbs to a viewpoint that I’ve ever done. Almost as tough as Lake Bled in Slovenia which was mostly mountain hill. So take a lot of water with you and good shoes to walk with. It will be your daily dose of exercise! And believe me you’ll be super sweaty after the climb so if you thought to put on the fanciest clothes to be ready for the dinner, think again!

Notice that it also takes time to climb up so reserve around 30 minutes for the climbing. Why I’m saying this, is that you don’t wanna miss the stunning sunset!

Watching over the hills of Coron, loved this view!

Beaches near Coron Town

First, I have to say that there aren’t many beaches near Coron Town. The ones that you can find aren’t very pretty either but they’ll do if you want to go for a swim without taking a boat trip. The most beautiful beaches are in the archipelago short boat trip away. But if you arrive to Coron like I did during midday, you may want to check out a beach on the mainland.

Cabo beach

Cabo beach was the one that I chose to visit since it’s the most famous one. It’s an alright beach with brownish sand and a few beach huts for a picnic. It has nice views of Coron Island and it’s an average beach for swimming. Don’t expect too much of it but it’s worth visiting if you need a beach on the mainland.

There are other beaches on the way to Cabo beach. You can also try them if you like, I didn’t have time to check them out. The easiest way to go to these beaches is by scooter and it’s easy to rent one in Coron. It’s quite small the road that leads to all of the beaches but I think it was in a fairly good condition. At least I’ve seen worse roads in Thailand and in the Dominican Republic! 😀

Cabo beach is shallow and good for swimming

Hot Springs

Maquinit Hot Springs is one of the must-sees on the main island. I have to say that I was surprised about the fact that there are hot springs in Coron! What was even greater was that it didn’t let me down! It’s such a relaxing place!

The water is surprisingly hot in the pools. You can stay a maximum of 10 minutes in the water before you need to come out. The first dip in the water was a bit of a shock because I didn’t realize how warm the water really is! So when you go in, go first by putting your legs one by one in there and wait for them to get used to the water. Then slowly and gently dip the other half your body in.

You can do a tour there, rent a scooter or take a taxi/tuktuk. It’s easy if you want to combine seeing a beach for example Cabo beach and then go to the hot springs.

The best time to visit the hot springs to my mind is to go right before sundown and then leave before it’s dark. It’s not too hot anymore and there are significantly fewer people than after sundown which is when the tour visitors arrive. It’s also safer to take the scooter back to Coron Town if you happen to have one in use.

Coron Hot Springs was a relaxing place!

In conclusion

The trip to Coron may be the best one you do in your life so make sure you find your way there one day! For who Coron is a suitable place to visit? I would say for everyone! Only if you have difficulties with walking, it may not be the easiest place to move around because there are pretty rough climbs to most of the places.

Coron is a place I fell in love with and I bet you will too!

Hope you enjoyed my Coron Travel Guide! Want to add El Nido to you itinerary? Read more here!

Can’t help smiling in the paradise!