Summer Destination #1: Coron, Palawan

by Wandering Attercop


Coron is a first class municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. 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.

Me and my friends went to Coron last March, 2012. Here is our journey:

Summary:

My Coron trip is so far the best I had. I will definitely go back there. Thanks to the hospitality of the people and the fantastic view of nature.

Here is the breakdown of our vacation costs:

Cebu Pacific airfare: P3,155 back and forth (no promo at that time)

Airport transfer: P150 (one way)

Grand Vista: P1,200 per night (x3 nights)

Breakfast: P150 each meal (x3 days)

Dinner: P200 each meal (x2 nights)

Website: http://coron-castaway.com/gran_vista_infos

Town Tour: P500 (tricycle service)

Maquinit Hotspring entrance: P150

Island Hopping Tour: P1,500 each (including entrances, lunch and meryenda)

Cost for each person: Approximately P7,000 (excluding pasalubong). Now, this is only for the 3 of us.

Tip: Wait for airfare promos. More barkada, less expenses. There are also other hotels in town but we prefer Grand Vista because it is more quiet and closer to nature. Also, there are other island hopping packages available if you want to stay longer. Please ask your hotel contact about it.

Recommendation: Highly Recommended for family and barkada for summer vacation. 

Day 1: Town Tour

We got the 12:15pm flight from Manila but departed at 12:40pm due to traffic congestion. We arrived Busuanga Airport at around 1:30pm. Then we had a van transfer about 20 minutes going to our cottage at Grand Vista. 

At Busuanga Airport

Van transfer to Grand Vista

We reached Grand Vista around 2pm. We were welcomed by Ate Jing and her 7 year old daughter Cassandra. They were so warm and accommodating. There is no electricity from 12 midnight until 6pm. Generator power is from 6pm until 12 midnight.  Our cottage is big with fan rooms, kitchen and veranda. Cost per night: P1,200. Breakfast: P150. Dinner: P200 (unlimited rice).

Grand Vista entrance

Our Cottage

Our room

bathroom

sala outside

kitchen

We got some rest and started our town tour. Our service is tricycle with Kuya Mark as driver. We stopped by the souvenir shop to get some "pasalubong". 

keychain - P35 - P40

small pouch - P75

small bayong bag - P245

t-shirt - P250

cashew nuts (1/4kilo) - P100

cashew otap - P85

cashew barquillos - P150

cashew tart (20pcs) - P100

   (40pcs) - P200

At the souvenir shop

Then we went to Kawayanan Grill to order our take dinner. It's already almost 5pm so we hurried to the foot of Mt. Tapyas. They said that it is best to reach the top on sunset to get the perfect view. With a liter of mineral each, we started the climb and wished to finish it within an hour. 

Note: Mt. Tapyas has 750 steps (oh yeah!). 

Steps for Mt. Tapyas

After a series of rests and picture taking, we reach the peak in 30 minutes (good job girls!). There is a big white cross on top which illuminates at night. It is indeed true, the sunset is perfect with the sea and islands on the background!

The Cross

View from the top

Amazing sunset

After, that great scenery we went down and rushed to the Kawayanan Grill to pick up the  dinner. Unfortunately, the food is not yet ready so we decided to proceed to Maquinit Hotspring. The road is rough and the only light is from the tricycle of Kuya Mark. After almost 20 minutes of travel we reached Maquinit Hotspring, that was around 7pm. It is a big pool of hot saltwater. Temperature can reach up to 40 degrees. We dipped and got relaxed with the soothing heat. Entrance fee: P150. 

Maquinit Hotspring at night

Without any towels or spare clothes, we returned back to Kawayanan Grill and dined in. As per their staff, most of their guests do that so we need not to worry. We were so hungry after the town tour. We ordered fried chicken, Bicol express octopus and grilled talakitok with lato (sea weed) on the side (yummy!). Approximate cost: P600.

Dinner at Kawayanan Grill

It was almost 9pm when we reached our cottage. It was tiring but it was worth it! Time to rest. Town tour cost (tricycle): P500.

Day 2: Pasalubong and Coron Cast Away

We ate breakfast at around 8am: Danggit with kamatis,  tortang talong and longganisa with Milo/coffee.

Our breakfast

After breakfast, Cassandra was so kind to offer us  a tour of Grand Vista. So with our pajamas and boxer shorts, we followed her together with their friendly dogs. Grand Vista is a big property with several cottages and trees around. The best thing here is the feeling that you are so near to nature. Cassandra taught us how to pick cashew (kasuy) fruit from their trees. She is also a good photographer. We took the trail to their mangrove plantation. She also told us that we can ride the balsa if we want. No one knows how to swim so we did not try it. 

Grand Vista landscape

Kasuy picking

we got one!

Trail to mangrove plantation

mangrove trees

red tree

Our day 2 should have been spent for shipwreck tour but unfortunately it got cancelled due to the group we were supposed to join did not arrive. So we decided to go to the town again to grab other pasalubongs. Again, Kuya Mark's tricycle was there to transport us. We went to Coron Public Market and bought dried danggit, P45 for 200 grams. We entered I Love Coron Souvenir Shop and bought some t-shirts for P175 each. Then, we strolled along the pantalan and took some pictures at the Lualhati Park. We noticed their "HOLLYWOOD" version of "CORON" on top of a hill.

CORON on top of a hill, HOLLYWOOD style

At Lualhati Park

Before we get back to the cottage, we stopped by Loloy's to get some meryenda. 

Pancit - P70

Spaghetti - P70

Meryenda at Loloy's

At around 4pm, we packed some of our things to get ready to go to Coron Castaway to spend overnight there. We went to the pier again and rode a boat to the island. 

On our way to Castaway

When we arrived there we were welcomed by the family of Kuya Inok, the island's caretaker. We were escorted to our lovely cottage on the beach "Kubo sa Dagat." This is indeed a castaway island with only the sea and nature around you. By the way, Coron Castaway trip is included in the package of Grand Vista for the same rate per night.

Coron Castaway

Our cottage

Our room

by the shore

view from the hill

We were not able to swim because of the sea grass around. It was okay because the view alone is enough for you to enjoy. Electricity there is solar powered until 6pm and generator until 1am. Solar power cannot accommodate cellphone charging so you will have to wait for the generator. 

Castaway sunset

At around 7pm, dinner was served: Adobong pusit, grilled talakitok with lato (see weed) on the side.

our dinner

huge talakitok

We took some booze and slept before the generator went out. Before I went to sleep I noticed some alitaptap (firefly) flying around the cottage.

Day 3: Coron Loop Island Hopping

We woke up just before 6am to witness the break of dawn. We ate breakfast at around 7:30am: Longganisa, itlog na pula with kamatis and pusit. 

our breakfast

Then our boat for the Island Hopping tour came to pick us up. It was low tide to Kuya Inok's smaller boat took us to the boat. Our tour guide is Kuya Anthony. He is funny but informative. He gave us history of each destinations and safety pointers.

in the boat

First stop: Kayangan Lake

Kayangan lake is the nationally-acclaimed cleanest lake in the Philippines. It is surrounded by limestones and cliffs. In order for us to reach it we would have to trekk for about 15 minutes. 

on our way to start the trek

view from the hill

When we reached the lake, we put on our life vests and snorkeling gear. The water is clear and a lot of needle fishes will surround you. I took some skyflakes with me so I get to feed the needle fishes. It was really fun!

ready to snorkel

Next stop: Corals and fishes

Again, complete with swimming gear we jumped out of the boat and fed the fishes. We saw different colors of fishes and beautiful corals under. The wave is getting strong so we headed to the next destination.

school of fish

Next stop: Lunch!

At around 12 noon, we docked on an island to eat our lunch. The island has white sand with small cottages. It was a buffet of sumptuous food: liempo, crabs, fish, ensaladang talong, fresh pineapples and bananas.

island for our lunch

our lunch buffet

Next stop: Shipwreck

After that delicious lunch, we were brought to the shipwreck area. As per Kuya Anthony, this is the 2nd shallowest shipwreck in Coron. The view under shows a ship in a slanting position with the corals and fishes around it.


No pics of the shipwreck as we do not have an underwater cam (so sad).

clear waters in the shipwreck area

Next stop: CYC (Coron Youth Club) Beach

This island resort is free for all. No entrance fee. The sand is so fine and white. However, I noticed that the island is small compared to other beaches. As per Kuya Anthony, a long time ago, this island is as big as four basketball courts. Until some folks noticed 2 barges came at night and filled it with the fine sands. It was too late when they saw that the island shrinked and can only fit one basketball court. I'm not sure if this is true but as per Kuya, those sands were transported to Boracay.

view of CYC Beach

Final Stop: The Twin Lagoons

Finally, we were brought to our last destination, the Twin Lagoons. The boat docked far from the lagoons. We were positioned like a train with each of us holding the feet of the person in front and were pulled by Kuya Anthony using his life saver.  We reached the 2nd lagoon. This is where cold and hot, fresh and salt waters meet. The rock formations are amazing. This is nature at its best! You can just float and enjoy the serenity of the view. Very relaxing at the same time, you can't stop admiring them. One of my group mates mentioned that he imagines Lord of the Rings here.

the Twin Lagoons

Cat, one of our group mates, was so kind to offer us to take some pictures using her underwater cam. I am able to share our precious moments, thanks to Cat!

As we went back to the pier, we were offered meryenda: Cassava cake and softdrinks.  Island Hopping Tour Cost: P1,500 each (including entrance fees with lunch and meryenda).

meryenda time!

After that amazing Island Hopping, we were brought back to Grand Vista. We were introduced to the owner Ate Gigi. She is so warm. We exchanged stories to each other. We had our dinner, had some booze and slept. Dinner: Crabs and talakitok.

 our dinner

Day 4: Flight back to Manila

We took our breakfast at around 7:30am: Pusit, longganisa and egg.

breakfast

We went back to the town for some last minute pasalubong shopping then hurried back to Grand Vista. We were fetched by the same van going to the airport. We took the 1:20pm flight back to Manila.

at the souvenir shop

we spotted a ranch on our way to the airport

at Busuanga Airport