Coron isn’t as well known as the other Palawan destination of El Nido that all the travelers hit up, but I’m glad we picked it. You’ll find somewhere to stay in Coron Town and take day trips from there to the incredible outlying islands, lagoons and coral gardens. The scenery is incredible and the food is good. Here’s 5 reasons why everyone should visit Coron.
1. Landing at Busuanga is out of the world
Flying into the island of Busuanga, where Coron Town is located is like going back in time. We flew from Boracay with Air Juan on one of their twice weekly trips from Boracay and couldn’t believe the incredible scenes beneath us. The beautiful islands and sapphire blue sea made it feel more like a sight-seeing trip than your regular plane flight, as to did the good humoured pilots who got us there safely in the 8 seat Cessna. Side note, if you’re flying internally in the Philippines, it’s worth checking Air Juan out.
2. All the daytrips
While the town of Coron will keep you occupied in the evenings, the day trips are the reason you come here . I recommend just booking with your hotel or somewhere in town once you arrive, pretty sure they are all run by a co-operative anyway. We took Day Trip A and then Day Trip B, taking us to this list of spots – Las Isla De Coral, CYC Beach, Atwayan Beach, Quin Reef, Geen Lagoon, Kayangan Lake, Barracuda Lake, Smith Beach, Skeleton Wreck, Reef Garden and Twin Lagoon. Each day trip was PHP750 and PHP950 respectively and included a decent lunch cooked by the boat crew.
Never before had we seen such beautiful coral gardens, experienced the feeling when salt water and fresh water combine or been surrounded by so many awe-inspiring scenes. Incredible.
3. The food
We didn’t come for the food and weren’t expecting all that much from the restaurants here, but this place has some great places to eat.
Our faves were Trattoria Altrove, a pizzeria with sensational food and relaxing décor and Kawayanan Grill Station for sensational local cuisine including my all-time favourite, Lechon Kawali which is basically Deep Fried Pork Belly. Crazy Cakes made a decent American Hot Dog and Bahn Mi & Burgers, the food truck down by the water are tasty and cheap providing lunch on the go. Foodtrip Coron has tasty bbq on offer each night, with our final meal at Brujita rounding off a pretty tasty and successful run of meals.
4. The sunset has all the colours
We stayed at Divine Castle Travelers Inn and while it wasn’t a 5 star, it was more than adequate. The views at the end of each day elevated the place to a new level. After arriving back from a tiring day trip, we would head to the roof terrace each night to stop, relax, drink a bottle or two of San Miguel and watch the sun set in the west. Every night the sunset was equally as beautiful as the last.
5. Julius
The tricycles (the motorised type) are special to Coron, in that each family seems to own one for getting around. If you own a car in Busuanga, you’re seen as pretty wealthy.
While wandering the streets on our day off from day trips, we met Julius who owned a trike. He was keen to drive us around and show us parts of the islands we couldn’t visit by walking, including a beach up the coast and the Hot Springs, a pretty popular attraction just outside of town. He shared his story with us and showed us the miles of battered dirt roads he drove from his village several times a day to get his kids to school and take his wife to hospital for regular treatment. He, like lots of the locals in Coron don’t have the easy life and made us all the more grateful for the incredible experience of travel. If you meet Julius, say hi and let him give you a ride.
If you’re into Coron, you should probably visit Boracay too, our other favourite. Check out details here.