Coron travel advice

[Centrals]

If you want good wreck diving with minimum of travelling then ONLY Truk Lagoon can beat Coron. There are some good wrecks(eg. Iro and the relatively deep USS Perry) in Palau but do not expect the dive shops going there often. The demand is Blue Corner, Blue Hole, German Channel etc etc and the travelling is long and bumpy.
I am not familiar with the wrecks around Tioman but I do know the HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales are further up north along the coast.
There are couple of very interesting wrecks in Subic Bay but the beach in Baloy
If you do make it to Coron, please remember that all those wrecks are quite a distance from town. And if you do decide to stay in Coron, expect a full day trip.
Apo Island is probably your only choice in Philippines. As far as I know, beach with cheap cottage and diving just do not exist in the country. I hope someone would come out and say I am wrong. That would be nice... more places to visit in Philippines.

 

[olyvtx]

Sangat has nice beach cottages and a nice sandy beach. There is great snorkelling from the beach and you are near many of the wrecks for diving.

I really enjoyed my stay there.

 

[RadarKing]

I just spent 8 days in Coron from Dec 1 through the 9th and stayed at the SeaDive Resort. A few comments...

I am perplexed why people are saying that there are no ATMs in Coron. There most definitely are. I used the BPI ATM myself several times. There is at least one more ATM in town - Allied Bank, I think.

I stayed in a fan room at the SeaDive and it was quite cheap. Only 800 pesos a night(less than $20) but sometimes the fan wasn't enough. Being from northern New England I don't handle the heat very well. Tried to upgrade to an aircon room but none were available. Ate at the SeaDive a few times and it was okay, but there are some better restaurants and cafes along the main drag.

The wrecks are fabulous and well worth the trip. Most of them are fairly deep - between 25 to 35 meters - and they are large ships. They are all about a 90 minute boat ride from Coron. With SeaDive you board the diveboat at 9AM, do two morning dives, eat lunch and then do an afternoon dive and you're back at the resort between 5 and 6PM. There's always a cooler full of beer for the ride back. I think most of the dive shops in town follow a similar schedule.

Though the resort was fine to stay at, I would not recommend the dive shop. I saw some things that were unsafe and made me very uncomfortable. If you do dive with them be aggressive in looking out for your own safety.

Most of the sewage from the town flows directly in the harbor so you can't swim or dive there. There are some beaches about 30 minutes away by car or motorbike. On my off days I booked an ocean kayak with Greg at Tribal Adventures and can recommend his services.

 

[Allison Finch]

Hello,

I'm planning a trip to Philippines for february/march, and after reading everything I was able to find here and on the web, I still have a few questions that I want to find the answer to, or eventually to confirm with the latest updated info:

1. Accomodation: I'd like (specially for my spouse) to find a place to sleep in the shape of a beach bungalow - something with sea view, a nice beach with trees and rocks. In Thailand (Koh Tao/Koh Phangan) there were plenty of such bungalows on all beaches, at 10-20$/night. Only warm water is required, not even a fan. Here, in Coron, I found only some not-so-cheap resorts and some cheap hotels in the middle of Coron, but which are not bungalows but big buildings with floors and rooms (like a normal hotel). Any advice on this topic?

Can't help you there. I just returned, last week, from a trip in that area. However, I was on a liveaboard.

2. If I would choose some out-of-Coron resort (like Sangat) how complicated is to travel to Coron for pubs, food market and other local activities in the main town? Do I easily find a boat in the resort for this purpose, or is it safe/easy to use the provided kayak for this?

Travel in Coron is easy and cheap. There are motorcycle tricycles everywhere.

3. Money: I read there's no ATM in Coron. Do I really have to travel with all those amounts of cash? Any other better option? How much should I expect to spend per day?

Hmm...I carried US dollars, as they are readily accepted. Most bigger businesses do accept credit cards, IME. Again, since I was aboard, I spent little time in town. Coron was somewhat "limited" in the shopping department.

4. Safety: I was last year - as I was saying - into Thailand. How safe/unsave if Philippines compared to this? I'm reading a lot about kidnapping, terrorists and stuff, but I was also reading this about Thailand, and it felt very safe after all.

That area of the Philippines is quite safe. I had no worries with just some good common sense. The problem island is far to the east.



5. How many days would be required to enjoy the Coron wreck diving?

Several full days will get you on all the wrecks. Don't forget barracuda lake. It is quite an experience to dive an active volcanic vent with a 99 degree thermocline. Be sure to leave the wetsuit behind. You will find the overall vis to be fairly poor. Too bad the Japanese navy couldn't find a better vis place to anchor.

6. How many days would be required for other activities around - like the underground river, the lagoons (twin, barracuda and kayangan), and so on? Any specific advice on what not to miss?

Do all of the above. Wrecks are common experiences.....those other are not!


7. How feasible would be to travel from Coron to Donsol and Apo(Negros)? How many days would I need in Donsol and Apo for a basic experience - both diving and at surface? Do I need to travel via Manila, or is there a better route?

Can't help you there. I was on a Boracay to Caron/Caron to Boracay (via Apo Reef) itenerary.

Thank you all in advance for your help.

Hope you have a great time.

 

[gunslinger808]

Any reviews for Chindonan Island resort? IF anyone has stayed there?

 

[kaaralex]

Hi,

i did not check map and was little bit surprised as result. Here is what the place looked to me a week ago:

As far as I know, there are only 3 places where u can stay close to the bay with wrecks. I only heard/saw it from boat taht the closest one is a small beach resort run by a guy referred to as Andy. I dont know the name, but it is a stonethrow from the wreck site (WEST to it), google(map) it.

Second closest is Puerto del Sol associated with Discovery Divers. This is up end resort. pros: great (GREAT) food - try "lato" salad - and absolute silence. Cons: prices (3000+ PHP per night), a no nightlife. Has wifi (!!).

Third is Pierhouse, about 3km/15' ride on a mud road. Cheaper, friendly, bar, and Filipino wife of Swedish owner made GREAT food. i paid almost 2000 PHP per day. What is good they have mostly non-divers guests, and take them on trips (snorkelling, island hopping, waterfalls, ... every day, which is good for your wife.) NO wifi though.

Coron "City" is almost 2 hrs by boat east from the wrecks. It used to be a quiet fishing village with houses on water, now being caught half way towards something more modern.. and it DOES have ATM, though be warned, it only gives you 10.000 PHP per draw, and charges you 200 for this. I dont know what is the limit, i draw 40.000 no problem.

Diving with Gunter Bernert from Discovery Divers was good - he lives and works from his dive shop at Puerto del Sol, which is 10min boat ride from wrecks, and he also has an operation right on pier of Coron city, where many other dive shops are located as well.

Right opposite to Coron city, I would say about 10min by boat to south, there was another big resort visible from sea, and i was told that this one was also good, and also more pricey. And more and more westerners who have managed to grab a piece of beach or an island there are building resorts.. maybe you can google them out. however, i m not quite sure for whom. If we leave wrecks, which are fantastic, aside, then for wreck divers and rough guys, the resorts are too luxurious and too expensive. And for more up-scale tourists, Busuanga Island has, with all respect, quite little to offer. If u want to go to a beach, u need to go with other ppl on boat from your resort - it is not like in Thailand or Boracay, that u just roll straight from your bed to sea. If u stay in Coron, u may find it too noisy for a tropical holidays. And if u stay away of it, then organising transport for EACH time u want to go to have cup of decent coffee is pain in the ass.

As for Apo reef - it is about 8 hrs by noat from Coron, and i was told that the shop organises trips to there only from May till July coz other times of year sea too rough around Apo.

To El Nido u can take plane or ferry (8hrs, departing from Coron City), and for Puerto Princessa (underwater river), fly there from Busuanga/Coron Airport (USU).

Apart from the wifi/phone signal problem, I actually enjoyed staying away from civilisation. From Pier House/Puerto Del Sol, it is either 40km on mud road to Coron "city", or 2 hrs by boat to get there. But i had not with me any non-diving balast weighing me down.

pls see enclosed map for better orientation.

hv good trip, L.

ps and dont give a **** to some stupid tv news. Busuanga is one peaceful, lazy and very laid-back countryside island.

 

[triple333]

this might help. Malcapuya Island, Coron Palawan, Philippines : Future of Palawan Tourism stayed there for a night and on banana island as well for our desaturation. not sure if there's a dive shop there though. we went with coron divers dive shop for the wreck dives..awesome awesome wrecks! island hoping is also a must in coron