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| Enchanting Mt. Tapyas Viewdeck. Photo credits to @ky1r5a |
In celebration of our birthday month, Kyra (my travel buddy) and I booked a trip to Coron, Palawan. I got mine in the early week of March 2016 while hers was about a week before the trip during the Cebu Pacific Air seat sale and that's for only P1, 100.00 RT!
Coron, Palawan is my ultimate dream destination for 2016 as a lot of backpackers were being hypnotized by it's unspoiled white-sand beaches, vast of greens, stunning gray-colored limestone rock formations, and alluring sunsets. I'm glad to be with Kyra again after our trip to Leyte last July. What's new this time is that we have a guided tour, but before I dig in through the details of the package quotation that we availed, allow me to share with you our D.I.Y. town tour that we did on our first day in Coron, Palawan.
Day 1: Coron Town Tour (D.I.Y.)
After checking in to Coron Vista, we only brought our valuables so that it is easy for us to transfer from one to place to another for our town tour. On top of our list is Mt. Tapyas, which is commonly crowded during sun down and for us to ditch the crowd, we grabbed the chance to climb the 720+ steps of Mt. Tapyas for an early morning hike.
One advantage of doing the town tour for yourselves is that you are in control of your time plus the fact that you will not have struggles of taking Instagram-worthy pictures. (No photo bombers at all.) And I'm telling you, it will be worth the sweat after all!
One advantage of doing the town tour for yourselves is that you are in control of your time plus the fact that you will not have struggles of taking Instagram-worthy pictures. (No photo bombers at all.) And I'm telling you, it will be worth the sweat after all!
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| Photo by @biyaheniinday |
Upon descend from Mt. Tapyas, you can drop by to St. Augustine Church and take a tricycle ride for only P10.00/pax going around the town and visit Lualhati Park, Centennial Shrine, Pasalubong Centers, and Cashew Factory.
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| St. Augustine Church. |
You may opt to save Maquinit Hotspring as your last spot for the town tour. You can go there by hiring a tricycle for P300.00 RT. Don't pay yet because the driver will have to wait for you. The best time to go here is during sundown where the heat of the water is just right to warmth your body. Entrance fee is P200.00/each for adults, P100.00/each for children below 5-10 years old, and it's free for children below 5 years of age. They are open everyday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. entrance cut off time and closes at 10:00 p.m.
Day 2: Coron Ultimate Tour (Twin Lagoons, CYC Beach, Skeleton Ship Wrecks, Kayangan Lake, Siete Pecados Marine Park)
There are a lot of good reviews that I've read to D.I.Y. Travel Philippines about Mr. Michael Yao of Tripidito Travel who offers a hussle-free Coron Island Hopping Tour. After a series of discussions on what to pick for our 4D3N getaway, we ended up for Coron Ultimate Tour and Coron Island Escapade tour for P5, 399.00/each. Inclusions were as follows: picnic lunch with fruits and drinks during island hopping, accommodation at Coron Vista Lodge with daily breakfast, back and forth airport transfers, island entrance fees, licensed tourist guide/boat, life vest, cottage rental, pick up and drop off to the port, and government taxes.
First on our itinerary for today is the Twin Lagoon, a must-see destination in Coron, Palawan. The First Lagoon is where the boats dock while the second one is Hidden wherein you need to swim through a small opening in between or take the ladder on top of the rocks.
Up next is CYC (Coron Youth Club) Beach where we did the human octopus led by our tour guide, often times recommended for tourists who are non-swimmers, but still wanted to enjoy the gems of CYC Beach underwater. If you happen to notice the boat visible with our photos below, that's where we came from and that it is not allowed to go beyond that point as a protection of its marine life.
There are a lot of good reviews that I've read to D.I.Y. Travel Philippines about Mr. Michael Yao of Tripidito Travel who offers a hussle-free Coron Island Hopping Tour. After a series of discussions on what to pick for our 4D3N getaway, we ended up for Coron Ultimate Tour and Coron Island Escapade tour for P5, 399.00/each. Inclusions were as follows: picnic lunch with fruits and drinks during island hopping, accommodation at Coron Vista Lodge with daily breakfast, back and forth airport transfers, island entrance fees, licensed tourist guide/boat, life vest, cottage rental, pick up and drop off to the port, and government taxes.
First on our itinerary for today is the Twin Lagoon, a must-see destination in Coron, Palawan. The First Lagoon is where the boats dock while the second one is Hidden wherein you need to swim through a small opening in between or take the ladder on top of the rocks.
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| First Lagoon. |
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| Hidden Lagoon. |
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| You can just lay here and calm your eyes with blues and greens. |
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Our menu for lunch was primarily seafood (steamed crabs/grilled fish/enseladang talong) and for dessert? Welcome to Kayangan Lake view deck, beat that view? Be sure to have extra batteries or power banks with you for you to have unlimited snapshots. All visitors must observe visitation hours from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and should abide with the rules and regulations in Kayangan Lake. Upon descend to Kayangan Lake, there are guests telling us to stay safe as the stairs were a bit slippery and a good pair of aqua shoes is of big help. The castle-like formations that you will see as you go deep into Kayangan Lake will make you fall in love with Coron even more.
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| Kayangan Lake up close. |
Our last stop for the Coron Ultimate Tour is the Siete Pecados Marine Park where we were about to explore its gems underwater, but some guests who were done at this point were stung by jellyfish. A reason why we just spent our last few moments with the team sharing our travel stories and taking selfies of course!
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| Our mandatory shot before we left Siete Pecados Marine Park.
We reached the port before 6:00 p.m. and immediately head back to the lodge to change clothes and look for a good place for dinner. As we walk around the town, there are a lot of restaurants along the streets, but most of them were full and you have to wait to be seated. Thanks to google, we found La Sirenetta Seafood Restaurant and Bar, owned by Mika Batchelor, the sexy chef representing the beautiful islands of Coron in Survivor Philippines Palau. It took us roughly 15 minutes walk from our lodge before we finally arrived into the place. A floating resto with a chill out vibe, the perfect place to be after your island hopping. Their pasta and pizza were already good for sharing and so we tried their Spicy Tuna Penne and Posidon's Pizza. We enjoyed both and it's already a good deal for dinner I guess (P500.00 for 2 pax).
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Day 3: Coron Island Escapade (Malcapuya Island, Banana Island, and Bulog Dos Island)
We still can't get enough of our photos taken from yesterday's tour, but we're excited on what more Coron can offer. We woke up early enough to have our breakfast and prepare ourselves for our last day of island hopping.
We were at the port around 8:00 a.m. and we're about disappointed because the tour started a bit late. The orientation started a few minutes before 9:00 a.m. plus the fact that our first destination for the day is Malcapuya Island, derived from the word "kapoy" which means "tired" because it's approximately two hours away from the port. But for beach goers who wouldn't mind the distance just to have this cross out with their bucket list, two hours is not an issue.
Upon arrival in Malcapuya Island, we went at the view deck at once to have a top view of the island, which I guess is not much explored by tourists since the way up is not that developed. (Advantage for hikers who don't mind the trails as long as the view will satisfy their IGs.)
We still can't get enough of our photos taken from yesterday's tour, but we're excited on what more Coron can offer. We woke up early enough to have our breakfast and prepare ourselves for our last day of island hopping.
We were at the port around 8:00 a.m. and we're about disappointed because the tour started a bit late. The orientation started a few minutes before 9:00 a.m. plus the fact that our first destination for the day is Malcapuya Island, derived from the word "kapoy" which means "tired" because it's approximately two hours away from the port. But for beach goers who wouldn't mind the distance just to have this cross out with their bucket list, two hours is not an issue.
Upon arrival in Malcapuya Island, we went at the view deck at once to have a top view of the island, which I guess is not much explored by tourists since the way up is not that developed. (Advantage for hikers who don't mind the trails as long as the view will satisfy their IGs.)
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| Lost for words. Photo Credits to @ky1r5a |
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| The most photographed spot in Malcapuya Island. |
We weren't able to be at the fish feeding area so we stayed by the beach, enjoying the vibe where the sea meets the sky. Buko juice is available in the island, a perfect drink for the moment while everybody awaits for lunch! After everybody was fueled up, it's time to head to Banana Island. It is filled with coconut trees (coined as Bananas on aerial view of the island) where hammocks were attached for relaxation. You can just lay here or have a book with you just like what the foreigners did. (aside from tanning by the beach of course)
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| Chill vibe in Banana Island. |
Bulog Dos Island is our last destination in our Coron, Palawan island hopping. There is also a view deck here where you can have the mini sand bar as your background for your photos.
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| So much love. |
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On our way back to the port, I'm so overwhelmed with Coron's sunset taken from the back side of our boat. It is absolutely free, so be sure not to miss so many of them every time.
After settling down in Coron Vista Lodge, we spent our last night walking through the little town of Coron and searched for the location of Coffee Kong, a Korean-inspired cafe recommended by Kyra's friend. We tried their Caramel Macchiato (P120) and Cafe Mocha (P120) since their Strawberry Latte is not available. This laid-back coffee shop is just perfect for backpackers who wanted to kill their remaining hours in Coron.
Thank you Sir Michael for always checking on us just to be sure that everything is sailing smoothly. This is our first time to have a guided tour and we have no regrets for having you. Definitely a memorable birthday month for me and Kyra. If we happen to go back here in the future and explore more of Coron, you'll probably our travel agency of choice.
Happy travels everyone! Travel Essentials:
Expenses: Island Hopping with Lunch (Accommodation with Breakfast) P5, 399.00/pax Day 1:
Day 2: Dinner at La Sirenetta P500.00/2 pax
Day 3: Coffee Kong P120.00/pax
Day 4: Terminal Fee P100.00/pax
Total: P6,319.00/pax |
