Coron, Palawan: My favorite place in the Philippines + 4-day itinerary

In my previous blog, I mentioned that I will compile the highlights of my 2018 next but I decided to create separate posts as I would really like to share as much details and photos as I can 😀 This time last year, I went to Coron with two of my high school friends. Coron is actually a very famous tourist destination in the country. Those with limited time in Palawan are torn between Coron & El Nido. Personally, I prefer Coron (I still haven't been to El Nido but I'll visit in less than 2 months!!!) because the town is quieter and less touristy compared to the latter.

Day 1

Our flight was 5:50am - not complaining as I love early flights, I feel like I'm able to make most of the day if I start early. We flew directly from Manila to Busuanga Airport (Francis B. Reyes Airport) in Coron. Some people opted to fly to Puerto Princesa but it's time consuming. It's more suitable if you would visit Puerto Princesa first, then El Nido before going to Coron by boat.

We arrived before check-in time but fortunately, the reception allowed us to leave our things first so we can explore the town and eat. Later in the afternoon, we went out to explore Mt. Tapyas. I don't consider it as a hike as there are concrete stairs all the way to the top where a huge cross is situated.

We watched the sunset and the view from the top was amazing.

Before going back to the hotel, we decided to end our first night in Maquinit Hot Spring. I read that it's one of the very few saltwater hot springs in the world. I wasn't able to take much photos since it was dark already and I just wanted to relax and enjoy the very hot water.

Day 2

We chose to hire a private boat instead of the usual joiners tour because we wanted to avoid the crowd and stay longer on each destination. This day was dedicated to Coron's finest beaches 😍

Bulog Dos Island

Banana Island - where they served our lunch. Lunch meals are usually included in joiners tour but since we had a private tour, we dropped by the market first before starting the island hopping to buy raw ingredients. Our guide and boatmen cooked these for us on the way to Banana Island.

Malcapuya Island
I instantly fell in love with the water and sand here 😌 Boracay's sand is still the finest but I also can't resist this one. We spent the rest of the afternoon here swimming and just relaxing.

Day 3

We were still on a private tour and they call this The Ultimate Island Hopping Tour as it includes Coron's famous lagoons and lakes.

Kayangan Lake - no doubt the cleanest and most beautiful lake I've ever seen. The entrance to Kayangan Lake (photo below) is the most photographed view in Coron.

Here's a photo of our awesome guide:

Baraccuda Lake - ughhhh actually I'm torn between Kayangan & Baraccuda so let's just say that they are a tie in terms of beauty 😍 I would really love the go back in Coron just to swim in these lakes again.

Smith Beach - lunch time! Same as yesterday, our boatmen cooked these for us.

Skeleton Wreck - divers can go deep down and explore the wreck closely but since we are not good swimmers, we just snorkelled. Our skilled guide used our gopro and freedived his way to the wreck so we can view the details in our camera. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures for this, just videos included in our vlog.

Coral Garden - no pictures here but I included clips on our video as well ( I will include it at the end of this blog). I was speechless on how rich, huge, colorful and magnificent the corals are! The current was actually strong while we were snorkelling but our very patient guide kept pulling us on where the nice corals are haha.

Twin Lagoon - one of the most famous destinations in Coron. The two lagoons are separated by towering limestones. Tourists can cross either by swimming underneath a mini cave or use the wooden stairs. We opted for the stairs since it was high tide that time and obviously, we are not good swimmers haha. The photos were taken at the entrance of the lagoon.

CYC Beach - seems like the last destination of every tour is CYC Beach because there were a lot of people just laying down and sunbathing. Cute cuddly dogs were running around and playing with tourists.

Day 4

We dedicated this day to buy pasalubong and head to the airport after check out 😥

Here's the video I made for this trip:

In two months, I'm going to El Nido with my boyfriend and maybe after that I'll be able to compare the two towns but for sure, each has its own gems and unique charms. 💙💚