CORON ISLANDS (Island Hopping)

Last June 2015, the Palaweña Explorer was given a great opportunity to explore the wonderful creations of God in the municipality of Coron, Palawan. Coron has been a famous tourist destination since I can remember.

It is one of Palawan's greatest prides.

A marine world of Japanese shipwrecks, a unique lake, barracudas, turtles, and a lot more awaits you here in Coron.

So what are you waiting for? Come on, Vamonos. Let the Palaweña explorer take you on a virtual island hopping tour in the Islands of Coron, Palawan Philippines.

SIETE PICADOS

The first stop of our Coron Island hopping tour is a famous snorkeling site known as Siete Picados Marine Park.

Aside from the nice corals and fishes that you can see here, an interesting story behind this Marine Park will surely pinch your curiosity. 

(Siete Picados Marine Park, Coron Palawan---June 2015)

Entrance fee: P50 per person for locals and P100 per person for foreigners

What to see/do: Snorkeling, Swimming and Fish Feeding.

(A Marine Park with an interesting story)

KAYANGAN LAKE

This is the most famous tourist spot in Coron, Palawan. It is considered as the cleanest and clearest lake in the Philippines and in Asia by the tourists who have visited the place. Kayangan Lake is indeed one of Coron's Prides! I, myself has been amazed by the beauty of this place. It's one of the most relaxing places that I've been to. The lake is really spotless and it is very clear that you can see what's underneath it. Of all the islands/places in Coron that I've visited, Kayangan Lake is my top 2 favorite destination next to the Coral Garden.

Kayangan's View Deck

Entrance fee: P200 per person

What to see/do: Mountain Climbing/Trekking, Picture-taking, Swimming, Snorkeling, Riding a raft. You can mostly see rock formations underwater, and there are few fishes too.

(Cleanest Lake in the Philippines and in Asia)

BARRACUDA LAKE

There was once a barracuda seen in this lake that's why it was called as such. It is a very deep lake which makes it a famous diving spot. Some people get scared of this lake not only because of the barracuda story but mainly because of its deep waters. The lake is surrounded by huge limestone mountains and it has a very serene vibe in it.

(Barracuda Lake, Coron Palawan --June 2015)

Entrance fee: 100 pesos per person

What to see/do: Swimming, snorkeling, cliff diving and scuba diving. All you can see underwater are the solid rock formations, some small fishes and shrimps, and the divers (if there are some).

(Barracuda Lake is a famous diving spot)

VIVIAN BEACH

Vivian Beach is a privately owned island which is a perfect spot for picnic lunch :) It is part of the Coron Islands Island Hopping Tour.

(The stunning view of Vivian Beach)

Entrance fee: P100 per person. Cottages can be used for free. There are a total of four (4) huts in the island.

What to see/do: There's a pet monkey in the island which is tied up at the tree in the middle of the beach. There's nothing much to see underwater. You can have your lunch and go swimming or just soak up the sun and bum around at their white sand beach.

(Vivian Beach, Coron Palawan---June 2015)

TWIN LAGOON

Our last stop for the Coron Island Island hopping adventure day 1 is this Twin lagoon that's divided by a limestone cliff. There are two ways on how to get to the other lagoon, first is you can climb up that small ladder and cross over the limestone cliff, another way to get inside is to swim under the limestone formation. To enter the other lagoon, I chose the first option and I quite regretted it because it was tiring and you need to be very careful with your steps because the stairs are quite steep. When I exited the lagoon I chose to experience exiting it under the limestone cliff. All you need to do is to float and go through the small opening. It was easier as compared to climbing up and down the staircase. Our boatman was also the one who helped us go out the other lagoon. All we did was float and he was the one who dragged us out. You cannot do the second option if its high tide as the water will fully submerge that small opening and you are left with no choice but to climb up and go down that wooden staircase.

(Coron Islands' Twin Lagoon, June 2015)

Entrance fee: P100 per person

What to see/do: There's a lot to see underwater as it is blessed with a beautiful marine life but you can't really enjoy its underwater scenery because the underwater view isn't clear due to the water's climate.

(The gateway to the other lagoon)

SKELETON WRECK

Coron has a marine world of Japanese shipwrecks in its different areas. One of these can be found in one of the destinations in the Coron Islands island hopping tour. A Japanese sunken ship from the World War II is the main attraction of this site popularly known as the Skeleton Wreck.

(The skeleton of a Japanese sunken ship)

What is left with the sunken ship now is only its skeleton that's why the site was called as such. Aside from the main attraction of a skeleton ship, there are also a lot of fishes in this area. There are very large fishes such as Suran and many other types of fishes who freely swim around the skeleton wreck.

You can bring bread or if there is some rice left from your lunch you can use that for fish feeding. In our case, our very thoughtful boatman prepared us some plastics with the leftover rice in it which we used to feed the fishes. It was really an enjoyable activity. The only downside in our experience here at the Skeleton wreck is that during that time the water was very itchy. According to our boat's captain, maybe it was because of the planktons. The wreck is one of the famous diving sites in Coron and maybe there were divers who went diving that day that's why the planktons went into the surface.

The itchiness of the water was really disturbing and it made us really uncomfortable but don't worry because the itchiness subsided after a few minutes.

The place is still a nice place to go to, just pray that there will be no itchy things in the water on your visit hehe.

(Fish feeding at the skeleton wreck)

Entrance fee: P100 per person

What to see/do: Swimming, Sight-seeing (Japanese Shipwreck), Snorkeling and Fish feeding

CORAL GARDEN

A wide array of beautiful corals will keep you entertained in this snorkeling site. All you need are your snorkeling gears and a life vest if you don't know how to swim.

This place has by far the most beautiful underwater scenery that I've seen in all my excursions. The view underwater is really awesome! I have never seen that many corals in my entire travel adventures. El Nido's underwater view is no match with Coron's underwater scenery.

NO WORDS can express how beautiful this coral garden is! It definitely is one of the must-see and must-visit places in Coron, Palawan. Too bad we weren't able to capture its beauty in the camera because the camera's battery was already drained when we got to the area. I guess it only means that you guys should visit and see it for yourselves. I promise you that this place will really leave you in awe. You will definitely be amazed with this creation of God.

There are many coral gardens in Coron and I'm sorry I can't tell you what the name of this one is. I forgot the name of this one because I wasn't able to jot it down and its name is quite hard to pronounce and remember.

The one hundred peso entrance fee is all worth it. This made our Coron trip really unforgettable and it's definitely a beautiful finale for our Coron Islands adventure. Never ever miss out the opportunity to visit this Coral Garden if you happen to be in Coron.

(Coral Garden, Coron Palawan 2015)

Entrance fee: P100 per person

What to see/do: Swimming and Snorkeling.

(The gateway to an epic underwater garden)

For a more detailed article about each island, just click on the names of the island hyperlinked to its corresponding blog post. I hope you enjoyed our virtual island hopping tour in some of the islands of Coron. Till next time!


ADIOS!!


-The Palaweña Explorer ;)