OnTheSpot
Contributor
I visited Palawan in August 2007. The island is one of the less densely populated islands in the Philippines, so is known for its natural beauty. In the north east of the island are the two best known of Palawans dive destinations Coron and El Nido, which can both be easily visited in one trip. There is also further diving in Puerto Princessa, which is the capital of Palawan, and the launch point for liveaboards out to the Philippines best dive site at Tubbataha Reef.
South East Asian Airlines, Asian Spirit and ITI all fly from Manila to Coron. It takes about 50 minutes in an 18 seat twin-propeller plane, and costs under US$ 100. From Coron to El Nido, it takes around 35 minutes and costs about US$ 75. From El Nido back to Manila, the flight stops at Coron, at costs around US$ 150. Other travel options are available such as via Boracay, Purto Princessa, or less expensive by ferry boat.
The main reason that divers visit Coron Town on Basuanga Island is to see the world famous Japanese shipwrecks from World War II. There are eight wrecks, six of them good for diving in a variety of depths from 16 - 40 metres. The ships were freighters, tankers and gunboats. Most are still in good condition, with big chambers, lots of natural light, and are excellent for penetration (if you have the appropriate experience). Some still have their cargo on board, such as cement bags, but I found the most interesting places to be the engine rooms, as they seem to harbour lots of marine life, and have some great passageways.
Coral coverage is pretty good on the upper surfaces of most, but not all of the wrecks, but the fish and macro life is only average. Currents can be quite strong, but the problem is negated somewhat by the fixed buoy lines. But bring some gloves, because the ropes are heavily encrusted, and holding the line will sting your bare hands. Visibility is generally pretty poor. When I dived the vis. varied from 3 8 metres. During the best diving season from October to April, visibility apparently averages around 12-15 metres. Water temperature is a steady 30C.
There are some non-wreck reef dive sites, but these are not really anything of note, especially if you are visiting El Nido.
I dived with Discovery Divers a German owned dive centre in Coron Town. Their boat was pretty basic, but at least it has a toilet and first aid kit on board. There is no oxygen. Two dive trips are about US$ 50 but get cheaper if there are other divers on the boat (you share the fuel surcharge). Drinks and lunch are extra. In these slow boats, the sites are about 1.5 2 hours ride from the hotel.
I stayed at Michael Angelos, a new seafront hotel on the edge of town. It costs P 800 for a room, plus breakfast. The rooms are quite basic, but good value. The hotel does have complimentary wireless internet, which is a nice bonus. The hotel restaurant specialises in Italian pasta (surprise, surprise), which is well prepared.
Coron Town does not have many other accommodation options there are a couple of mid-price options on the nearby islands, which are closer to the dive sites, and there are a couple of other low price options in town. There are few restaurants and the one ATM in town does not accept foreign cards, so bring plenty of traveller cheques or cash!
The town itself is reasonably tidy by Philippine standards, but there are no beaches on the mainland. However, nearby Coron Island has some superb snorkelling and sightseeing spots, especially twin lagoon well worth a day trip. Theres also a hot springs nearby, and some walking trails.
When you fly over the coastline as you approach El Nido, youll begin to realise that this is a special place. The seas are dotted with many limestone islands, with high cliffs, dense forests, mountainous pinnacles, and superb beaches. The alluring corals shade the waters, tempting you to dive in as soon as you land! The areas scenery is not dissimilar to Krabi in Thailand or Vietnam, except the cliffs are bigger and more spectacular here. I have travelled many places in Philippines now, and this is the first place I have been which I would feel excited to return to.
Diving here is on the walls, sloping reefs and coral gardens of Bacuit Bay. Unusual in the Philippines, the reefs here are nearly all hard coral. Fish life is a little hit and miss some of the sites had big schools of yellow snappers and yellow-striped scads, others had a few forlorn yellowtail barracuda. There are hawksbill turtles, cuttlefish, nudibranchs and crocodilefish, but the macro life is poor for this region of the world. Depths and currents are pretty easy max depth is about 30 metres for reefs in the bay, most of the best action is in the shallows less than 15 metres. Visibility is around 20m in rainy season, so it must be very good in high season! Some of the coral reefs are in excellent condition, with blue, yellow, green and brown Acropora corals, huge table corals and massive gardens of cabbage corals. One can only guess how special diving here 30 years ago must have been. But now most sites show considerable dynamite damage. :no I was told that the locals no longer practice blast fishing, and I am pleased to confirm that I heard no evidence of it. I sincerely hope that the reefs are allowed to recover. So, overall, Id say the diving was fairly good. Very suitable for beginner and intermediate divers, but not great for hard core experienced divers that are not interested in anything but diving!
I dived with Seadog Divers a UK owned and run dive centre/one-man band aka Barry. Hes a friendly guy, knows a lot about the town, diving and activities, and provided a fun experience for the time that I was there. Its a very informal affair. He uses small bancas to dive from, with a maximum of six divers, so always very small groups. You make two dives on each trip, with lunch taken on one of the nearby beaches. Sites are 30 minutes from El Nido beachfront. The only down sides of note for me was that the boat had no oxygen (he says that it is impossible to get in town), and the chef didnt get to grips with my vegetarian lunch order, so I had to survive on rice and soy sauce for a couple of days.
Prices with lunch and drinking water were US$ 45 per two-dive day.
The other main attractions here are the friendly, laid back atmosphere, very clean village/town, low prices, superb island scenery and beaches, and non-diving activities. I definitely recommend the sea kayaking around the islands, beach combing, trekking and climbing.
There are many restaurants in the village even a vegan specialist restaurant and they are all pretty cheap.
Its possible and very safe to walk around the whole town at night. The town only has an electric supply 12 hours per day, so if you need to use your hairdryer all day long, this will not be your place. There is no bank here, but you can use you bank card to draw cash at 10% service charge in town. Very few places take credit cards, but luckily the dive centres do! Talk is that next year a new generator arrives, which will provide 24 hour power and change the face of El Nido for ever.
The main drawback to non-backpacker tourists, apart from the lack of electricity, is the lack of mid-price accommodation options. The town only has very basic cottages around US$ 15 per night. Finding rooms with hot water, TV, air-con and beachfront is next to impossible. This is a consequence of the power supply. I stayed at Rosannas Cottages a friendly beachfront place with internet in the main house. There are a couple of mid price options out of town, but they are very restrictive on diving options. There are also a couple of 5 Star luxury options o nearby islands, but if your budget doesnt stretch to more than US$ 200 per night per person, then do not apply.
I really enjoyed my time in El Nido, as it was nice to mix some fairly good diving with kayaking and relaxing. If the local leaders can manage the inevitable transition from backpacker spot to modern resort town without destroying the environment, it will remain a place for me to revisit.
South East Asian Airlines, Asian Spirit and ITI all fly from Manila to Coron. It takes about 50 minutes in an 18 seat twin-propeller plane, and costs under US$ 100. From Coron to El Nido, it takes around 35 minutes and costs about US$ 75. From El Nido back to Manila, the flight stops at Coron, at costs around US$ 150. Other travel options are available such as via Boracay, Purto Princessa, or less expensive by ferry boat.
The main reason that divers visit Coron Town on Basuanga Island is to see the world famous Japanese shipwrecks from World War II. There are eight wrecks, six of them good for diving in a variety of depths from 16 - 40 metres. The ships were freighters, tankers and gunboats. Most are still in good condition, with big chambers, lots of natural light, and are excellent for penetration (if you have the appropriate experience). Some still have their cargo on board, such as cement bags, but I found the most interesting places to be the engine rooms, as they seem to harbour lots of marine life, and have some great passageways.
Coral coverage is pretty good on the upper surfaces of most, but not all of the wrecks, but the fish and macro life is only average. Currents can be quite strong, but the problem is negated somewhat by the fixed buoy lines. But bring some gloves, because the ropes are heavily encrusted, and holding the line will sting your bare hands. Visibility is generally pretty poor. When I dived the vis. varied from 3 8 metres. During the best diving season from October to April, visibility apparently averages around 12-15 metres. Water temperature is a steady 30C.
There are some non-wreck reef dive sites, but these are not really anything of note, especially if you are visiting El Nido.
I dived with Discovery Divers a German owned dive centre in Coron Town. Their boat was pretty basic, but at least it has a toilet and first aid kit on board. There is no oxygen. Two dive trips are about US$ 50 but get cheaper if there are other divers on the boat (you share the fuel surcharge). Drinks and lunch are extra. In these slow boats, the sites are about 1.5 2 hours ride from the hotel.
I stayed at Michael Angelos, a new seafront hotel on the edge of town. It costs P 800 for a room, plus breakfast. The rooms are quite basic, but good value. The hotel does have complimentary wireless internet, which is a nice bonus. The hotel restaurant specialises in Italian pasta (surprise, surprise), which is well prepared.
Coron Town does not have many other accommodation options there are a couple of mid-price options on the nearby islands, which are closer to the dive sites, and there are a couple of other low price options in town. There are few restaurants and the one ATM in town does not accept foreign cards, so bring plenty of traveller cheques or cash!
The town itself is reasonably tidy by Philippine standards, but there are no beaches on the mainland. However, nearby Coron Island has some superb snorkelling and sightseeing spots, especially twin lagoon well worth a day trip. Theres also a hot springs nearby, and some walking trails.
When you fly over the coastline as you approach El Nido, youll begin to realise that this is a special place. The seas are dotted with many limestone islands, with high cliffs, dense forests, mountainous pinnacles, and superb beaches. The alluring corals shade the waters, tempting you to dive in as soon as you land! The areas scenery is not dissimilar to Krabi in Thailand or Vietnam, except the cliffs are bigger and more spectacular here. I have travelled many places in Philippines now, and this is the first place I have been which I would feel excited to return to.
Diving here is on the walls, sloping reefs and coral gardens of Bacuit Bay. Unusual in the Philippines, the reefs here are nearly all hard coral. Fish life is a little hit and miss some of the sites had big schools of yellow snappers and yellow-striped scads, others had a few forlorn yellowtail barracuda. There are hawksbill turtles, cuttlefish, nudibranchs and crocodilefish, but the macro life is poor for this region of the world. Depths and currents are pretty easy max depth is about 30 metres for reefs in the bay, most of the best action is in the shallows less than 15 metres. Visibility is around 20m in rainy season, so it must be very good in high season! Some of the coral reefs are in excellent condition, with blue, yellow, green and brown Acropora corals, huge table corals and massive gardens of cabbage corals. One can only guess how special diving here 30 years ago must have been. But now most sites show considerable dynamite damage. :no I was told that the locals no longer practice blast fishing, and I am pleased to confirm that I heard no evidence of it. I sincerely hope that the reefs are allowed to recover. So, overall, Id say the diving was fairly good. Very suitable for beginner and intermediate divers, but not great for hard core experienced divers that are not interested in anything but diving!
I dived with Seadog Divers a UK owned and run dive centre/one-man band aka Barry. Hes a friendly guy, knows a lot about the town, diving and activities, and provided a fun experience for the time that I was there. Its a very informal affair. He uses small bancas to dive from, with a maximum of six divers, so always very small groups. You make two dives on each trip, with lunch taken on one of the nearby beaches. Sites are 30 minutes from El Nido beachfront. The only down sides of note for me was that the boat had no oxygen (he says that it is impossible to get in town), and the chef didnt get to grips with my vegetarian lunch order, so I had to survive on rice and soy sauce for a couple of days.
Prices with lunch and drinking water were US$ 45 per two-dive day.The other main attractions here are the friendly, laid back atmosphere, very clean village/town, low prices, superb island scenery and beaches, and non-diving activities. I definitely recommend the sea kayaking around the islands, beach combing, trekking and climbing.
There are many restaurants in the village even a vegan specialist restaurant and they are all pretty cheap.
Its possible and very safe to walk around the whole town at night. The town only has an electric supply 12 hours per day, so if you need to use your hairdryer all day long, this will not be your place. There is no bank here, but you can use you bank card to draw cash at 10% service charge in town. Very few places take credit cards, but luckily the dive centres do! Talk is that next year a new generator arrives, which will provide 24 hour power and change the face of El Nido for ever.The main drawback to non-backpacker tourists, apart from the lack of electricity, is the lack of mid-price accommodation options. The town only has very basic cottages around US$ 15 per night. Finding rooms with hot water, TV, air-con and beachfront is next to impossible. This is a consequence of the power supply. I stayed at Rosannas Cottages a friendly beachfront place with internet in the main house. There are a couple of mid price options out of town, but they are very restrictive on diving options. There are also a couple of 5 Star luxury options o nearby islands, but if your budget doesnt stretch to more than US$ 200 per night per person, then do not apply.
I really enjoyed my time in El Nido, as it was nice to mix some fairly good diving with kayaking and relaxing. If the local leaders can manage the inevitable transition from backpacker spot to modern resort town without destroying the environment, it will remain a place for me to revisit.
