Coron Philippines. Has anyone dived there an d can you recommend any dive operations there. Did you travel with your own gear as it appears its somewhat difficult to get gear over there by flight. Any other info would be appreciated.
Coron Philippines
- Thread starter Peter69_56
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1. Two old timers: Discovery Divers and Sanget Island. D Divers has options on accommodation. If you are staying in town then prepare to spend time on travel every diving day.
2. Rags II has liveaboard trip to Coron every year and luggage allowance is never an issue. The best time is Apr - May but it seems the boat is fully booked(2016) around that time. 2 GO has once a week(Sat) ferry from Manila to Coron
3. On Cebu Pacific flight the max check-in is 20kg + hand carry(7kg). More than for me. PAL could be more generous!
4. There is a wreck(Kyokuzan Maru) on the northern side of the island, Rags II would dive it on the first/last day but most operators would definitely charge extra for that. Highly recommended.
5. All those wrecks had been sunk well over 70yrs ago so please take extra care when penetrate them.
2. Rags II has liveaboard trip to Coron every year and luggage allowance is never an issue. The best time is Apr - May but it seems the boat is fully booked(2016) around that time. 2 GO has once a week(Sat) ferry from Manila to Coron
3. On Cebu Pacific flight the max check-in is 20kg + hand carry(7kg). More than for me. PAL could be more generous!
4. There is a wreck(Kyokuzan Maru) on the northern side of the island, Rags II would dive it on the first/last day but most operators would definitely charge extra for that. Highly recommended.
5. All those wrecks had been sunk well over 70yrs ago so please take extra care when penetrate them.
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OP
Thanks for the info. Seems expensive to dive here compared to many other dive sites
There aren't that many places that have several big wrecks in close proximity and at very reasonable depth.
Sea Dive Resort in Coron town is the cheaper alternative. A mixed review on Trip Advisor.
Truk is a lot better but Coron is good enough for couple of short trips or an extended one.
You will enjoy the wrecks especially Akitsushima, Irako and Kyokuzan.
Go for it.
I went with Sea Dive. They're the biggest operation in town so they're a bit up a down.
Pros: good boat, regular trips, includes an AMAZING lunch (we had crab curry with enough for 2-3 crabs per person, plus various side dishes etc), free water and coke and even a beer after diving. MOST dive masters were really good, and the staff at the restaurant /hotel were great.
Cons: very busy. larger groups of divers, no way to influence site choice. We did our AOW there and can't recommend it (our good instructor left our course after a day and he was replaced with a guy who barely spoke with English, had poor dive skills, and made the most token effort to actually teach us anything at all).
---------- Post added July 14th, 2015 at 01:19 AM ----------
price wise I think coron is fantastic value, the wrecks are truly incredible, and most dive operators include meals and lengthy boat trips where anywhere else in the Philippines you'd be paying heaps extra for
Pros: good boat, regular trips, includes an AMAZING lunch (we had crab curry with enough for 2-3 crabs per person, plus various side dishes etc), free water and coke and even a beer after diving. MOST dive masters were really good, and the staff at the restaurant /hotel were great.
Cons: very busy. larger groups of divers, no way to influence site choice. We did our AOW there and can't recommend it (our good instructor left our course after a day and he was replaced with a guy who barely spoke with English, had poor dive skills, and made the most token effort to actually teach us anything at all).
---------- Post added July 14th, 2015 at 01:19 AM ----------
price wise I think coron is fantastic value, the wrecks are truly incredible, and most dive operators include meals and lengthy boat trips where anywhere else in the Philippines you'd be paying heaps extra for
If one is staying in Coron town then it is day trip. And if the majority of divers are relatively inexperienced then the choice of the wrecks are limited. All the three wrecks that I mentioned previously are all deeper than 30m.
A single diver is in distinct disadvantage here. No bargaining power!!
A single diver is in distinct disadvantage here. No bargaining power!!
Karl_H
Contributor
Coron is still a cheap option, the key is to stay in Coron town and not in one of the mid to higher end resorts. The trip is further as Central said, but to be honest the extra 45-60 minutes each way is more than made up for by the fact theres a lot more to do in town than if you are stuck in a resort. The scenery between Coron Town and the wrecks is fantastic, unless its pouring with rain I always enjoy the sea trip and don't get board with it despite having made it many times.
I'd give the ferries a miss as they are very old boats, flights are very cheap if booked in advance, the main problem being the 15/20kg allowance that comes with most flights. PAL state 20kg but then drop this to 10kg in the small print for their Coron flights (all flights state 20kg or 10kg for a certain code for propellor planes - which is all the Coron flights!), Cebu Pacific allow 20kg. However both aren't too strict on hand luggage so it's quite easy to put regs etc in there and free up some 'free' check-in weight! If the worst comes to the worst its 200 Php / 4.5 USD per kilo so it's not the end of the world.
There are a lot of operators in town but with mixed results, I'd avoid Sea Dive like the plague for diving unless you are looking for short, overcrowded dives with three times the weight you need. I'd suggest looking at Rock Steady for diving - they are a well set-up operation and very competitive price wise.
Accommodation is Coron town ranges in price but a new option which looks very good is the Funny Lion Inn, I've not stayed there but know a few people who have and thought it was great.
The best wrecks are the three Centrals mentioned, although the best in Coron in my opinion is the Kyokuzan Maru on the north of Buswanga Island - this is a 6 hour trip by boat, or a 60 minute jeep ride then a 20 minute boat trip - Rock Steady can arrange this - and it comes highly recommended. The visibility on the North is far better, typically 20-30m or more; the wreck is also much less dived so is in better condition. There some footage of the Kyokuzan Maru wreck in the video links below, along with some recent footage from the Irako.
Kyokuzan Maru - [video=youtube;WGQVO23rl9o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGQVO23rl9o[/video]
Irako Maru - [video=youtube;9dREXbn6E4U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dREXbn6E4U[/video]
I'd give the ferries a miss as they are very old boats, flights are very cheap if booked in advance, the main problem being the 15/20kg allowance that comes with most flights. PAL state 20kg but then drop this to 10kg in the small print for their Coron flights (all flights state 20kg or 10kg for a certain code for propellor planes - which is all the Coron flights!), Cebu Pacific allow 20kg. However both aren't too strict on hand luggage so it's quite easy to put regs etc in there and free up some 'free' check-in weight! If the worst comes to the worst its 200 Php / 4.5 USD per kilo so it's not the end of the world.
There are a lot of operators in town but with mixed results, I'd avoid Sea Dive like the plague for diving unless you are looking for short, overcrowded dives with three times the weight you need. I'd suggest looking at Rock Steady for diving - they are a well set-up operation and very competitive price wise.
Accommodation is Coron town ranges in price but a new option which looks very good is the Funny Lion Inn, I've not stayed there but know a few people who have and thought it was great.
The best wrecks are the three Centrals mentioned, although the best in Coron in my opinion is the Kyokuzan Maru on the north of Buswanga Island - this is a 6 hour trip by boat, or a 60 minute jeep ride then a 20 minute boat trip - Rock Steady can arrange this - and it comes highly recommended. The visibility on the North is far better, typically 20-30m or more; the wreck is also much less dived so is in better condition. There some footage of the Kyokuzan Maru wreck in the video links below, along with some recent footage from the Irako.
Kyokuzan Maru - [video=youtube;WGQVO23rl9o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGQVO23rl9o[/video]
Irako Maru - [video=youtube;9dREXbn6E4U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dREXbn6E4U[/video]
BuceoFilipinas
Contributor
Helo Peter,
Coron is an amazing destination if you really love wrecks ! do not expect much more aside, except for the nice lagoons and barracuda lake. You have a dozen of large (up to 169m) beautiful WWII wrecks at reasonable depths. We can recommend Discovery Divers, by far the most experienced organization in Coron and Al Faro or Puerto del Sol resorts, closer to the dive sites.
You can find comprehensive information at Diving & Dive Map or send us an email
Thanks and warm regards
Coron is an amazing destination if you really love wrecks ! do not expect much more aside, except for the nice lagoons and barracuda lake. You have a dozen of large (up to 169m) beautiful WWII wrecks at reasonable depths. We can recommend Discovery Divers, by far the most experienced organization in Coron and Al Faro or Puerto del Sol resorts, closer to the dive sites.
You can find comprehensive information at Diving & Dive Map or send us an email
Thanks and warm regards
OP
Helo Peter,
Coron is an amazing destination if you really love wrecks ! do not expect much more aside, except for the nice lagoons and barracuda lake. You have a dozen of large (up to 169m) beautiful WWII wrecks at reasonable depths. We can recommend Discovery Divers, by far the most experienced organization in Coron and Al Faro or Puerto del Sol resorts, closer to the dive sites.
You can find comprehensive information at Diving & Dive Map or send us an email
Thanks and warm regards
Charlie,
Thanks for the info. We are considering making this a 2016 trip now and we do love wrecks and diving them. We will look at your site and take it into consideration. I will email you and if you can give me any more info I would appreciate it
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