Tasked to organize your Coron trip? Don't worry I'm here to help you or at least show you how I did it! I don't know about you but when I say DIY, I mean not going through a travel agency from your point of origin and arranging things yourself like your plane and accommodations. It doesn't necessarily mean that you are on your own when it comes to tours and food trips and can't ask local experts or TripAdvisor for help ;) For this DIY Coron Trip, I used a local (Coron) island tour company, arranged things online / went to their shop to finalize when I arrived one day earlier (check out Day 1 for our Coron hotel and the best meal in Coron we had) and hoped for the best (plus relax time after the organizing) haha. I had super fun doing this Coron Island Ultimate Tour with Coron Galeri. I was out in the sun and swimming with Dory and friends like there's no tomorrow in Palawan =) This is just Part 1 of that day. Up next is Kayangan Lake and lots of pictures for Part 2 of the Coron Island Ultimate Tour Day.
For this day, we went to the Coron Galeri shop via Kuya Dennis (our trusted Coron tricy driver). It's a few minutes away from the Corto del Mar Hotel. The Coron Island Ultimate Tour here costs P650 + P100 for the snorkeling mask. We met the guide there, signed some papers and walked around 5 minutes to the port.
Don't forget to buy water before this - we bought around P25 for a 1.5L. The tour only includes a small water bottle for lunch. We were a group of 12 - 10 locals with 2 foreigners.
After one more signup sheet for the coastguard, we were off to explore the islands of Coron!
I just love looking out into the water and those limestone rock formations that Palawan is known for. Local fishermen were also in the background.
9 a.m. Our first stop was CYC Beach. You can see why I love Coron - the water is super clear at some parts and you can see some life at the bottom from the boat.
I think there's nothing much to do in this beach except swim ;)
unless you want to go into the mangroves.
I just dipped for a while. The sun was out and it was incredibly hot.
When you look down though, you'll see when it's time to jump from the boat.
While we went "down", one of the boatmen was busy making lunch. It takes a while to start a fire from a boat, yah.
As I said, I went down to snorkel but quickly went up when I saw throngs of small jellyfish and fish haha. Others continued, of course.
Again, this view above water quickly calmed my nerves.
10:20 a.m. We were off to the Hidden Lagoons next.
This one - they call the Secret Lagoon.
There's barely any fish
and the water was murky white (white but you can't see anything haha).
It's good for more pictures, more exercise and more swimming. =D
11:10 a.m. We arrived at Bulungan Beach in no time. The water was a bit high so there's barely any sand when we got there. We took some photos with rock formations near the last hut (right side of this photo).
We occupied a bigger hut and I was actually super hungry this early from all that swimming. You can still swim a little here by the way before and after lunch or just sit in the water. The other groups started coming too and occupied the other huts.
Lunch was plates of this yummy lato (salty seaweed),
grilled fish to share and grilled (tough) porkchop per person. This is as Pinoy ihaw beach food as it can get. I dunno for some but I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the tomato and onion sidings they made which I put into everything. Haha.
12:50 a.m. They said the area below is the Twin Peaks Reef. Landmarks include two peaks / rock formations above water (not seen here).
They threw some bread and it was like a feeding frenzy.
I swam away, life vest in tow, to see what else is down there. There's a part where the slope goes deep and you can't see anything (so that was scary haha). I was also praning not to step on corals for the shallow parts.
Although not as colorful as other reefs I've seen, this part of Coron has lots of corals
and small fish.
I was getting tired of avoiding fish so I rushed to the boat already haha. This is where you'll find the most fish in the trip.
That's it for Part 1 of our Coron Island Ultimate Tour. Stay tuned for Kayangan Lake (also part of this P650 tour) and lots of pictures for Part 2 of the Coron Island Ultimate Tour Day.
Tour Details:
Look for Al or Mae Linsangan (popular in Coron Town)
#11 San Agustin St., Barangay Poblacion 3,
Coron, Palawan
Check out my Coron Posts:
Day 2 Part 2 - DIY Palawan Trip - Kayangan Lake, Coron Island Ultimate Tour, Maquinit Hot Springs, Lolo Nonoy's Food Station
Day 3 Part 1 - Palawan in June During the Rainy Season, My Buhawi over Water Experience - Coron Galeri Sun, Sea & Sand Ecotours with Bulog Island and Lunch at Banana Island
Day 3 Part 2 - Last Full Day in Coron Palawan - Malcapuya Island Tour, Macario's Grill & Bistro Coron
The Last Frontier Palawan 4 Days Itinerary - Coral Bay Beach & Dive Resort, Popototan Island, Jungle Trekking, Kayaking around Mangroves, Coron Island Hopping, Shipwrecks, Twin Islands
Day 3 Part 1 - Palawan in June During the Rainy Season, My Buhawi over Water Experience - Coron Galeri Sun, Sea & Sand Ecotours with Bulog Island and Lunch at Banana Island
Day 3 Part 2 - Last Full Day in Coron Palawan - Malcapuya Island Tour, Macario's Grill & Bistro Coron
The Last Frontier Palawan 4 Days Itinerary - Coral Bay Beach & Dive Resort, Popototan Island, Jungle Trekking, Kayaking around Mangroves, Coron Island Hopping, Shipwrecks, Twin Islands
