TRAVEL: Coron, Palawan travel tips
TRAVEL: Coron, Palawan travel tips
By Dyan Ruiz and Joseph Smooke
Pristine white sand beaches, dramatic limestone cliffs and internationally renowned snorkelling and diving are just some of the reasons people travel great distances to reach Palawan. If you want to experience the most accessible part of this tropical island paradise, here are some travel tips for visiting Coron on Busuanga Island and surrounding areas.
Transportation:
• There are direct flights from Manila to Coron’s Busuanga Airport. During the rainy season, there can be significant delays.
• The 45-minute van ride to and from the airport to Coron Town will cost P150 per person and many available drivers will be at the airport. Upon arriving, it will be immediately apparent that you’re not in the grind of Manila any longer. No traffic or pollution, just a stunning landscape of fields and forested mountains.
• Once you’re in Coron Town, tricycle rides are P20 to, from and in the town centre. If traveling out of the town centre to another barangay, it will cost at least P30. Tricycles here are built like miniature jeepneys, so expect that the driver will take on other passengers.
• Two wheeled alternatives are plentiful. There are plenty of places to rent bicycles or motorcycles either by the hour or day and prices are negotiable. If you are a skilled dirt bike driver, take it for your own tour of Busuanga Island. You’ll stumble upon some little seen wonders like the boardwalk through a mangrove forest.
Accommodations:
• Just east of the town centre is the beautiful Darayonan Lodge, with garden outdoor dining, a pool and a nice pasalubong store with beautiful local style crafts—worth a visit even if you’re not staying here. Room rates are 1,400 to 2,300 pesos per night including breakfast.
• There are many places to stay in Coron’s dense and walkable town centre ranging from high end resorts to scrappy pensions. There are quieter accommodations to the east and west of the town merely a walk or short tricycle ride away.
• Look for places online, but book directly with the inn for the cheapest price.
• For those wanting to get even farther away and are willing to pay for it, there are some resorts up the hill from the Town, but most are accessible only by boats on private islands.
Island hopping and other fun stuff:
• Spend at least one day on a boat island hopping. There are three basic routes that feature coral reefs and white sand beaches. Only one of them is close to Coron town, but the further you go, the more pristine the beaches, the nicer the coral gardens, and the less crowded the sites.
• Coron has world-renown diving tours featuring sunken WWII Japanese war ships. Just be sure to go when the water’s calm otherwise, the water becomes murky. The same advice goes for snorkelling.
• Don’t miss Kayangan Lake. It’s a short boat ride from Coron Town to Coron Island. Once on shore, it’s a quick hike to this gem that features a cave you can swim into and a look out spot to another lake and limestone cliffs. A popular place for iconic Palawan photos and probably the most spectacular scenery you will encounter on your stay.
• Beware of unprofessional tours. There are many boat tour operators, but they are not licensed or regulated. If the price looks cheap, then it’s probably because certain things aren’t included like van pick up and drop off, lunch, and snacks. Snorkel rentals are always extra. Sometimes, even if food is included, the food is not good, or you’ll get a guide who’s sleeps all day and does little actual “guiding.” The best one we found was Calamian Island Tours.
• If you book through the Tourist Centre at the main plaza, you can get a discount.
• Book your tour at least a day before you plan to go so you can do a “joiner” (the local term for a shared boat) to save money.
• Rainy season is real here with storms sweeping through from mid to late June until October. A storm surge will keep the boats at their docks so that perfect day of island hopping will have to wait until the coast guard gives clearance.
• Another popular attraction is the hot springs, a tricycle ride from town centre.
Food:
• Lolo Nonoy has that elusive mix of great food and cheap prices, and is just outside the town center. A local favorite, so it may be hard to get a table. Get the local dangit (dried fish) served with fried egg and rice (AKA “dangsilog”) and you won’t regret it! When we go back to Coron, this will be our first stop!
• Santino’s Grill is a bit out of the way (close to Port of Coron and Sunrise Pension) but worth the tricycle ride. Reasonably priced, very good Filipino food, including many grilled seafood options in their big menu, served in a beautiful covered garden setting.
• There are surprisingly few choices for waterfront dining. There’s Sea Dive which caters to non-Filipinos with mostly western food. Sea Dive is also a popular place to stay for foreigners. There’s also La Sirenetta which is a bit more difficult to find, but it’s a wonderful place to watch the sunset. Once there, you’ll find really good kilawin (Filipino ceviche), lato (seaweed salad) and great fruit cocktails.
• Craving real coffee? Coffee Kong on National Highway in Coron Centre is quiet, has air conditioning, wifi, and decent prices for its coffee, espresso and iced drinks.
• Get some bags of locally grown cashews for pasalubong (gifts).
Good to know:
• Walk up Mount Tapyas to catch the extraordinary view, especially at either sunrise or sunset. We happily walked all the way from the town centre on a day off from island hopping.
• Very few businesses accept credit or debit cards, so you’ll need enough cash to get through your stay. There are two banks in town—BPI and Land Bank, but beware that ATM machines may not work if there’s a brown-out.
• Brown-outs are frequent— pretty much daily and last from a couple to a few hours. Many accommodations and restaurants have generators to keep things going, but just don’t sit near them because of the noise and smell.
• There’s not much shopping except a few pasalubong shops. The area is know for its pearls, but be careful of imitations or beautiful genuine pearl jewelry held together by cheap glue
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