another back track. ;p we were in palawan last february 3-6, 2011, 4days and 3 nights. at first i was not sure on what to expect, because when it comes to palawan it is often about puerto princesa or el nido. but the very moment i set foot in coron, i instantly knew how wonderful this place is... simply stunning.
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| coron signage. parang hollywood. hehe |
you will not find any fastfood chain or mall in coron. typical province set-up. no sun cellular signal, only globe and smart. buti talaga may globe ako besides sun. di ba bestfriend? ;p
the airport - francisco b. reyes airport is a domestic airport, serving the whole area of coron, as well as the neighboring municipality of busuanga. mejo manual process pa sila dito, from checking of bags to issuance of airport tickets, etc. terminal fee is only 20 pesos, only 10% of naia's. :) when we arrived, everyone has to write some info on a piece of paper, stating your name, and the place where you will be staying.
almost 80% in our flight were foreigners. this just goes to show that coron is really a popular travel destination.
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| there were foreigners! |
background
coron is a first class municipality in the province of palawan, philippines. according to the 2000 census, it has a population of 32,243 people in 6,264 households.
the municipality covers part of busuanga island and all of the nearby coron island. both islands are part of the calamian group of islands in northern palawan. the main industries of coron are fishing and tourism, being a popular diving location.
the aquatic views from the sunken japanese warships off coron island are listed in forbes traveler magazine’s top 10 best scuba diving sites in the world.
in 1950 the town of busuanga was created from the barrios of concepcion, salvacion, busuanga, new busuanga, buluang, quezon, calawit, and cheey which used to belong to coron.
in 1954, the islands of linapacan, cabunlaoan, niangalao, decabayotot, calibanbangan, pical, and barangonan were separated from coron to form the town of linapacan, palawan. (source: wikipedia)
good sites to visit are in coron islands. while coron town is on busuanga island. you should not get confused. ^_^
how to get there
there are everyday flights through cebu pacific, zest air, air philippines and philippine airlines. it is just a one-hour flight from manila to busuanga and vise versa. ticket prices vary. from cebu pacific we were able to book for P2,758.56 each, roundtrip. this was a 999 promo (one way), plus taxes and other fees.
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| francisco b. reyes airport |
you can also reach busuanga via superferry which has a once week schedule trip to coron. i am not sure about other shipping lines though.
itinerary
below is our planned itinerary for the 4days 3 nights stay. but due to the weather condition and unavoidable occurrences, we had no choice but to skip some and adjust the schedule.
planned
day 1
checkin at st. louie terraces lodging house
mt. tapyas
souvenir shopping
maquinit hot spring
day 2 : busuanga and calauit
calauit safari
black island
dibotunay island
lusong shipwreck
coral garden
day 3 : culion island hopping
malcapuya
malaroyroy
banana & bulog
day 4 : coron loop
barracuda lake
skeleton wreck
banul beach
twin lagoon
atwayan
kayangan lake
siete pecados
actual
day 1
checkin at st. louie terraces lodging house
town proper mini tour
day 2 : calauit
calauit safari
beach (i forgot the name)
maquinit hot spring
day 3 : coron loop
skeleton wreck
banul beach
twin lagoon
kayangan lake
siete pecados
dinner at the living room
day 4 :
mt. tapyas
souvenir shopping
we missed culion island hopping. it's sad because we really wanted to see banana island! i'll be back to visit culion, soon!
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| a shot from the plane |
entrance fees
coron island entrace fees are actually a little bit pricey. hehe.
maquinit hot spring 100
malcapuya 150
banana & bulog islands 200
malaroyroy 200
kayangan lake 200
barracuda lake 100
twin lagoon 100
banul beach 100
atwayan 100
skeleton shipwreck 100
siete picados 100
calauit entrance fee 250
tour truck 1,000
black island 150
lusong shipwreck none
coral garden none
dibotunay island:
day tour 100
overnight stay 500
budget
st. louie's lodge offered a package of P7,289 per person - 4 pax. this includes island hopping day tours which include full board meals, banca & guide's fees, Inland transport and shuttle service for airport pick up and departure transfers. only the entrance fees are excluded. but our group opt not to avail the package but do a diy trip instead. but it wasn't a do-it-yourself trip at all, because the lodge almost arranged everything for us. let's see my total costing.
port transfers (to/from) - 300
hotel - 1275 (1700 pernight, 4 pax)
entrance fees - 700
snorkeling gears - 300 (2days)
calauit tour - 1800
boat rental - #
videoke sa lodge - 480
* 4 bottles of beer and 1 plate of peanut
kitchen fee - 150 (nagpaluto kasi kami)
guide fee - #
transfer fees - # (tricycle ito)
food - #
pasalubong - 2000
# - i can't remember the exact amount. let's just say that i have P10,000 in my pocket for this trip. i went home with more than just a hundred pesos left. :(
if this was a totally diy trip, P7000 budget for coron is enough. ride a tricycle on your own (P10), look for a boat for your island hopping. madami naman sa port e. and you won't need a tour guide, trust me. he/she will just go swimming and eating with you. additional expense pa. if you wanna know some cool trivia about the place, ask the boatmen. sa kanila na lang kayo makipagkwentuhan. hehehe.
although the trip has been a little bit expensive, seeing the islands of coron is worth it. it is truly a tourism wonder - known for its untouched and extraordinary beauty. :)
