Recommendations for dive shops and accommodations in Coron

[rob1967]

Hi there,

My girlfriend and I are planning to go back to Coron the last week of February. We have previously stayed at Sangat Island Reserve. It was great to be so close to the wrecks, but didn't like the lack of hot water and air con. (Call me a softy!).

Is Sea Dive Resort the place then? Or Coron Divers? Or Discovery Divers? Basically I am looking for the nicest place in town. Air Con, Hot water showers and good food are a must!

We have stayed at Dive Link Resort in the past (we were just snorkelers back then), and enjoyed it, but wonder if the lack of a dive shop there might make it a bit cumbersome to organize dive trips.

We are also planning to go back to Club Paradise on the North side of Busuanga. We stayed there before when we were just snorkelers and loved it! Any chance of seeing a dugong? I wonder if they are still there?

 

[shugar]

Hi there,

My girlfriend and I are planning to go back to Coron the last week of February. We have previously stayed at Sangat Island Reserve. It was great to be so close to the wrecks, but didn't like the lack of hot water and air con. (Call me a softy!).

Is Sea Dive Resort the place then? Or Coron Divers? Or Discovery Divers? Basically I am looking for the nicest place in town. Air Con, Hot water showers and good food are a must!

We have stayed at Dive Link Resort in the past (we were just snorkelers back then), and enjoyed it, but wonder if the lack of a dive shop there might make it a bit cumbersome to organize dive trips.

We are also planning to go back to Club Paradise on the North side of Busuanga. We stayed there before when we were just snorkelers and loved it! Any chance of seeing a dugong? I wonder if they are still there?

i've stayed at divelink... they have a standing deal i believe w/ discovery so it's not particularly difficult to organize dives...

Jag

PS
i liked divelink... probably one of the better in the area, especially that close to coron town itself

 

[k_dawg]

I was hoping more people would put their inputs in this thread. In any case, I'm in Coron right now and staying at Dive Link. As shugar said Dive Link has several contacts with the local dive shops which makes it easier to organize dives, prices range from 2250 to 2800 for 2 dives and less if you have your own gear.

I saw a couple of dive shops in the town proper and among them was Sea Dive. They seem to have a nice place which includes accommodations, food, pool table and a re compression chamber. The thing that makes it seem inviting for me is that it is in the town which gives you easy access to the neighboring stores and restaurants. Dive Link can arrange a boat to get you to town but compared to just walking, I prefer the latter.

cheers!

 

[bill22]

I could be wrong, but I think there are only a handful of people here who have been to Coron, and those not recent. Perhaps they just didn't see your original post from a week and a half ago... I sometimes go weeks without logging in myself

If you have time when you get back, I'd be really interested in any news about Coron. I'll be headed there myself in April and would be nice to have recent info about it

Where in Japan are you?

 

[sonar]

yeah me too

planning on going in april as well and coron is on my list
havent been there so i am curious but heard its beatifull

 

[bill22]

I took a look at Dive Link Palawan resort Accommodation| Dive Link Beach Resort in Coron Palawan Philippines... $90 per day as their cheapest rate! Didn't know you guys were so rich I would guess that since they do allow up too two extra people in the room it's a little better when you can split it, but I'm flying solo myself. Not worth it for me

Sea Dive's rate Sea Dive Resort, Coron - Hotel and dive prices looks pretty cheap by comparison For the Deluxe room it's 1100 pesos a night if I want to splurge or 600 pesos for a fan room. They allow one extra person in the room so if someone had a dive buddy they can split it and save more money for diving

 

[k_dawg]

Here’s something for fellow divers out there raring to go to Coron to see the wrecks from WWII. Hope this helps give you guys a leg up when you visit Coron. I guess I’ll start with the flight going to Coron. I had a non diver friend arrange everything for us. She arranged a package that included Philippine Air Lines Express flying us from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 to Busuanga Airport and accommodations at Dive Link Resort.
After landing at Busuanga Airport, wait for your luggage, fill up the arrival forms being distributed in the arrival lounge, recommend grabbing some resort brochures from the airport exit, it should give you guys an idea regarding the local dive shops, resorts and other stuff to do while in Coron. The shuttle service of the resort you made arrangements with should be waiting for you at the exit. You will then be taking a 40 minute drive through a combination of dirt and paved road to Coron Town Proper/Port. In our case, we had to take an additional 10 minute boat ride since we were staying at Dive Link Resort.
I believe Dive Link does have contacts in all the dive shops in the area but it seems that there is a dive shop that gets priority. In my case, the latter dive shop was fully booked which was the reason why I ended up with Sea Dive. There were several dive shops in Coron but it seems that Sea Dive, Discovery Divers and Coron Divers were the popular choice. Three dives would most likely set you back from 3000 to 3500 pesos. In my case, we did two wreck dives (Irako Maru and Tangat Wreck) and a dive in Barracuda Lake. We opted to go island hopping on our rest day which involves renting a boat for a day for 1500 to 1800 pesos. Be prepared to shell out 100 pesos as entrance fee for every destination in the itinerary. By the way, I also paid 75 pesos as entrance fee when we dove Barracuda Lake.
Another option on the rest day would be to rent a motorbike and ride around Coron. Rentals cost about 500 pesos for a day gas not included. Hope this helps. Cheers!
Bill22: I’m in Okinawa

 

[rob1967]

We had a good time diving in Coron again a few moths ago. It was my third time there. Dive Link Resort is a cute little place, sort of local Filipino style, basic but perfectly adequate. The things I like most about Dive Link Resort is the air-con and hot water. Call me a softy, but for me, this is a must! The food is also adequate. Another plus is being a safe distance from the dreaded karaoke of Coron Pier. If you are staying right in Coron town, make sure you bring ear plugs for sleeping!

Prior to our 5 days in Coron, we had spent 4 days on the North side of Busuanaga, at Club Paradise. Club Paradise is very nice, but of course more $$ than DLR. I would say that Club Paradise has some of the best food and best amenities of any resort in the Philippines. Apo Reef was very good, although it is a bit of a long boat ride to get there. Sort of like a mini-Sipadan. Best reef diving I've had in the Philippines.

Getting back to Coron, the shipwrecks are great. Although this time, the visibility was not quite as good as it had been on other trips. Viz usually ranged between 5-10 m. Sometimes there was a bit of current, which might be a bit of a problem for beginner divers.

We went with Cal Divers. I have to say, I was disappointed. Their rental gear was dreadful! Often the primary reg was not working properly, so we had to breath from the octopus. Connectors would get stuck, leak, etc. All the stuff looked old and tattered. Our DM, Ron, was a nice guy though. Aussie guy, gave good dive briefings, had a genuine love for the sport.

I finally bought all my own stuff, so no more renting for me!

 

[sonar]

Sea dive resort looks very nice

thx for the tip

Are the prices they show normal low prices or is this extreme cheap?
(600 a fan room and 43k for a divemaster)

 

[ithacles]

I am at the end of a visit to Coron.

I stayed the first few nights at Village Lodge. Rooms at Village are ok but, you are very close to a chicken farm so the noise can be a bit much in the morning. I later moved over to Seadive. Ironically, the reviews of Seadive suggesting noise from pigs and karaoke kept me from booking there originally. These proved to be otoally unfounded. Seadive was very quiet and the staff was very helpful.

I looked at Dive Cal, Coron Divers and Sea dive before selecting Seadive for my diving. Seadive is more expensive than the others but, you get what you pay for.

Dive Cal's equipment was falling apart and the operation seems to prioritize cheap prices rather than safety and quality. This shop is an embarassment to the dive community.

Slightly better was Coron Divers but, as I was walking in they were bringing tanks out of their shop and taking them to Seadive. Curious!? It turns out that the owner, a filipino named Bobby, not to be confused with Arni the filipino operator, refused to dive with tanks filled by his own dive shop because he believes the air to be unsafe. This shop is cheaper than Seadive but, apparently, to save money they dont change the filters in their compressors very often resulting in a very dangerous situation for divers.

If Seadive is good enough for the owner of another dive center, it is good enough for me. Search finished. Seadive still has a few older sets scubapro equipment but, 90% of it was new Seaquest BCDs and Apeks regulators. They have a very professional compressor room running 3 compressors and are the only shop that has certified gas blenders filling their tanks.

The food on the dive boat varies from day to day and is excellent. It is actually better than the food served in Seadives restaurant. Dive groups are small. 3 divers per dive master is the average. Guides are very professional and are also great fun.

Best place for food is Bistro. Owned by a french expat, the food is delicious and an excellent value.

Enjoy Coron it is truly a world class destination for wreck diving.