Coron is located on the island of Palawan which two things. Blue arse water and tropical beaches! Palawan is an amazing island but has recently blown up with tourism drawing in on El Nido. That being said, its secret sister Coron is just as good, if not BETTER THAN EL NIDO. Coron is home to the amazing lakes such as Barracuda Lake and Kayangan Lake. It also has lagoons similar to El Nido and plenty of ship and boat wrecks you can explore.
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🏧 Things to know before you go
Things to know before you go to Coron
↠ This amazing location can be found North of Palawan, just above El Nido on the map.
↠Similar to El Nido, Coron can get very busy very quickly. Therefore book your accommodation as far in advance as possible. As a result, we had to change hotels three times just to be able to stay here for a week. My cousin also had issues with accommodation and had to move around a lot.
↠ There isn’t much to do on land which means everything involves boat trips. Consequently there isn’t a sun bathing worthy beach on land either.
↠ There are two cash machines. 🏧
Getting to Coron 🛥️
The fast ferry from El Nido is the best way to get to Coron if you are travelling north from Puerto Princesa.
What is the ferry called? 🛥️ The Phimal Ferry
How much does the ferry cost? 🤑 The ferry costs around 1700 peso each.
How long does the ferry take? The Phimal Ferry takes roughly 5 hours.
Where can I buy tickets? You can buy tickets from the Art Cafe in El Nido town.
When do I need to book the ferry? This boat isn’t huge so I would recommend booking a few days before you intend on leaving.
The first boat is at 8am, so make sure you get to the port with enough time to sign in, pay terminal fee 15 peso and get your bags on the boat.
Coron also has an airport which you can fly into. I am not sure how frequent these are as I did not fly in or out of Coron.
Accommodation in Coron 🏠
Backpacker 🤑
– A really nice place to stay, imagine Santorini colours!
Budget 🤑🤑
↠ Divine Castle Travellers Inn
It was a nice hotel with breakfast included. They will also help you with trips and pick ups.
Luxury 🤑🤑🤑
This hotel was incredible! The rooms were huge, clean and very peaceful. With a pool and restaurant there isn’t too much of a reason to leave the grounds. 1000 Peso to use the pool if you are not a guest.
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Places to eat in Coron 🥙
Unfortunately I caught food poisoning here so I didn’t actually eat many places, Olly on the other hand did.
Breakfast and Coffee
Buzz Express – Great coffee and western food. This place takes card!!
Dinner & Drinks
Altrove – This place is insanely good! Italian restaurant which is the same owner as Altrove in El Nido. It has the best pizzas and pastas in town! We would recommend the pizza though, the dough was extremely fresh!
La Sirenetta – This place is right over the water, beautiful setting but slightly hard to find. Just look up for this photo (Mermaid photo below) and you will find it at the bottom of the alley way off the Main Street.
Hangover Bar seems to be the bar open till the latest in the whole town.
Kayangan Lake
Places to Visit in and around Coron 👀
Boat trips
We did one trip as a group with 20 other people which cost 1500.
Super Ultimate tour is the most popular one to do as you see the most amount places.
This normally costs 1500 peso per person, this was the cheapest we found at a shop called Timothy Travel and Tours.
All you need is your self, a camera and maybe some cash to buy some beer when you stop for lunch.
Private Boats
The next day we hired a private boat for 2700 for 4 of us, plus the entrance fees to each location. We went to a market and picked all of our own lunch so we saved some money.
Kayangan Lake – This is the most popular spot therefore get here around 8am to beat the crowds. There is a a moderate amount of steps up to the look out and then a walk down to the other side to access the lake. As it is fresh water, you have to wear a life jacket and there is a marshal on guard who will not let you pass without one. The water is crystal clear and worth the hike. Swim around the sides to see the hidden caves!
Kayangan Lake
Coral Garden & Siete Pecados – Grab a snorkel and go enjoy this incredible reef.
Coral Garden
Twin Lagoon – Life jackets must be warn here too. Short swim around as the boats do not enter, to some stairs which shows you the other side. You can also swim under the stairs but it is crowded.
Twin Lagoon
Skeleton Wreck – WW2 Japanese ships are in an abundance in Coron. Most of the wrecks here are only visible from scuba diving, however there is one which you can see from the surface.
Barracuda Lake – Another Life jacket destination. Fresh water lake is the clearest water I have ever seen. You can see straight down to the bottom because it is 70% fresh water, 30% salt. If you are lucky you will spot the famous instagram rock which is very popular for photos!
Barracuda Lake
Beach/Reef & Wreck tour – If you want to check out a few beaches and snorkel some ship wrecks then this trip is the one for you.
On Land
Mt Tapyas – Hike to the Coron Sign! Imagine the ‘Hollywood’ sign but a Filipino version. Lots of stairs for a beautiful look out over the whole island.
Leaving Coron ⛴️
Go2Travel Ferry to Manila – 2500 Peso Each (Non Aircon)
This is the only company which has a ferry to Manila, meaning this also sells out very quickly.
There are 2 boats a week, Thursdays and Sundays hence why we suggest booking this as early as possible.
Air con accommodation sells out and we had to book the open air accommodation which was hell because it was boiling! There is about 200 of you on one floor. You do get linen with your ticket which is worth collecting from the first class section.
Bring snacks and water because there isn’t much on board. This ferry leaves at 4pm and gets to Manila around 7am.
Above all, the experience is worth it!
Flights were sold out for 2 weeks in advance leaving Coron to Manila. For the reason that if you are planning ahead, make sure there is an affordable flight if you would rather fly out of here.
Click out our Manila Guide here.
Headed south? Check out our El Nido Guide here.
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