Busuanga, mostly known as Coron, is a big island that belongs to the Palawan region. The unique landscape with many lagoons and beaches makes Coron worth visiting and beforehand even more beautiful than El Nido.
Content
How to get to Coron
Things to do
Where to eat
Conclusion
How to Get to Coron
When I first visited the island, the way to get there wasn’t easy. I’m not sensitive to motion or sea sickness, but after being on a boat for almost 6 hours with strong waves, I was counting time and just hoped for an end. Back then, it was the only way known to get to Coron and the greener way. That leads to the question of what the other way could be.
By Plane
It’s not very known that El Nido has an airport and, to be honest, I didn’t know either. As I was able to find out is that the airport was private and offered private flights. Since July 2022 there’s been a new airline operating at that airport, that offers regular flights to Manila, Boracay, and Coron. That’s very good news for those who won’t survive the boat trip. The price for a ticket does cost a bit more than the boat trip, but worth the price to avoid the boat ride.
By Speed Boat
As already mentioned above, taking the boat is an option and an experience as well. Even though it’s a speed boat, it takes around 5-6 hours until you arrive at Busuanga. During the trip, you can enjoy the view and look at the lonely island that will meet your way during the boat trip.
By Boat
There’s also another way to get from El Nido to Coron and takes around 3-4 days. You will sleep in tents and spend your days and nights with a group, but I heard, that’s a fantastic experience because you’re able to sleep on islands nobody else is on. Eat freshly caught fish and just be one with nature. Do your research, if you’re thinking about doing such a trip and rather spend more money.
Things to Do in Coron
The main attraction on the island is and will always be doing island hopping tours and if you’re not into doing things that are packed with many tourists, where you won’t get the place for your own, well, then you should probably avoid the island in general. Similar to El Nido, you also have four different kinds of tours, which are simply called Tour A, B, C, and D.
Tour A and C are the most popular ones, but they also have changed their offer and do also have the Ultimate Tour and the Super Ultimate Tour. During my previous trip in December 2022, I did the Ultimate Tour and was very happy with my choice, since I’m not the person who does one tour after another.
What's Included in "The Ultimate Tour"?
The tour itself starts around 8:30 am and will probably first go to the Coral Garden, where you can swim around many fishes and astonishing corals. Next, you're heading next to the famous Kayangan Lake, where you need to hike a little, but you get a reward afterward and enjoy the crystal clear water and amazing landscape surrounding the lake. Next, you're probably going to an island, where you eat freshly made lunch, or in our case, we ate on the boat. After lunch, the next spot probably will be the Twin Lagoons, and my highlight of the tour while swimming in there feels like being the main character in a movie. After that, you will visit another island, and honestly, after seeing the twin lagoon, seeing another small island won't be as special anymore. However, the last stop was another highlight and a good last spot to finish the tour. Hold your breath and dive deep in, down below you find a Japanese shipwreck and if you're able to dive deep enough, you can even touch it! A bit spooky, but it's surrounded by nothing than the mysterious blue dark ocean. Well, and that was kinda it, a whole day packed with amazing stuff to see and do.
Unfortunately, I can't recommend our tour, since I know that you will get better food and more introduction than we had. We booked the tour last minute, so be wiser and do your research and book with a better organizer.
Looking for a relaxing spot to wind down after a full day of adventure? Then the Maquinit Hot Springs probably could be your place. It’s one of the fewer hot springs with salt water.
The best time to visit this place is after sunset, since the lights, that surround the bathtub, are turning on and support the chill atmosphere.
Hiking up Mount Tapyas is another thing to do while staying in Coron. The best time to “climb” that mountain is during sunset time because you get an amazing overview of the city and can enjoy the sunset too. It takes around 20 minutes to be on top of that mountain and contains around over 700 steps. Bring water and food with you and even enjoy a small picnic there.
Unfortunately, Coron itself doesn’t have beaches or nice spots for relaxation. Therefore, if you’re not on an island hopping tour, but still want to enjoy the ocean, it’s hard to find something that is not too far away. We went to Cabo Beach, which is approximately around 20 minutes away from the town. You need to pay an entry fee of 50 PHP and relax at the beach. Just keep in mind that it’s by far not as beautiful as other beaches and the water is not as inviting since it’s not clear and has trash in it. But if you just want to have a nice spot for reading your book and listening to the sound of the ocean and don’t want to attend another island hopping tour, that might be your place.
Where to eat
Although Coron is considered to be more city-like in comparison to El Nido, it doesn't offer a wide variety of vegetarian-friendly places. Of course, as a traveler, you have to adjust to the culture and take what you get and we luckily went to the only two full vegetarian restaurants the island had to offer.
Full Lotus Mindful Kitchen was one of them. The owner is a vegetarian and wanted to share her travel story through the menu. She also finds it very hard at some places to eat vegetarian and that was her inspiration to create that restaurant. The menu is wide and offers dishes from every country she has ever been to. Since Coron is a touristy place, the prices are higher compared to, for instance, Siargao. The prices here were fair, but the portions were little and it took a while until we were able to eat. Not the best place to eat when you're starving, but if you're having enough time this will be a good place to eat.
Next, Le Voyage was also a vegetarian-friendly restaurant, since almost everything on their menu was vegetarian and they had also my favorite dish for breakfast - a smoothie bowl. Also, their mango banana pancake was delicious, fluffy, and filling. We also spend some time here working on our computers, having coffee and other dishes like their mushroom fried rice. We got never disappointed to eat here.
The next eating spot has its own vibe and is a bit hidden. For sure not a spot, that you'll find while walking around the town but worth the visit. The interior of Verde Rekado is somehow overwhelming and reminds me of a hallucinogenic trip. Everywhere are some mushrooms as decoration and colorful walls are seeking your attention. The food was great and you can eat without any hesitation vegan dishes with a Filipino twist. I had a curry with rice there and it was very delicious. Recommend!
Eating Italian is also another way to eat vegetarian. Because they always serve a Pizza Margherita. The Italian restaurant Trattoria Altrove has a stone oven, that's mostly an indicator for serving good quality pizza with fluffy dough. It wasn’t the best pizza I had in my life but considering it was in an Asian country, it was still a good pizza.
Conclusion
Overall, I did enjoy my stay in Coron, and the island hopping tour was my favorite thing to do here. But if you're similar to me, and don't want to spend your whole day on boats, and enjoy the town's vibe itself, I would spend more days in El Nido and plan only the exact amount of days for doing island hopping tours. You still have enough time to do the other activities in the afternoon or just skip them (the beach around Coron town is not worth visiting). The tour of Coron was better than in El Nido, but El Nido itself has much more to offer.
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