Come Through Coron!
Background: Coron is a municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines with a population of about 51,000 people.
Itinerary Highlights: We got off to a slow start on day 1 with a traffic delay on the tarmac. Luckily, Coron is only about an hour flight from Manila. We arrived at the airport and were transported by van and then boat to our accommodations at Discovery Island Resort. If you prefer a more lux hotel experience then Discovery might not be for you as the rooms do not have central A/C or hot water. I can admittedly be a diva from time to time but these minor inconveniences didn’t take anything away from my overall experience.After settling in we headed into the city of Coron and had dinner at Brujita. I ordered the stir fry chicken and it was impeccable.
Day two we took an island hopping tour which included Malcapuya Island, Ditaytayan and Banana Island. We placed our lunch order from resort restaurant the previous day and the boat guide grilled it for us right on the boat between stops. The tour started around 8:30 am. Our first stop was Malcapuya which took about an hour and a half to reach but it was absolutely worth the wait. Malcapuya is incredible, the sand is white, the water is various shades of blue. You can even buy coconuts, banana fritter and turon on the beach to snack on.
Next up was Ditaytayan which is basically a sandbar. This spot is perfect for pictures, if you have a drone, this is where you want to break it out. Our boat guides Rex and Marvin grilled our food on the boat and we ate our lunch here. We enjoyed a great spread of tuna steak, huge prawns, squid and with rice and veggies.
Banana island, our final stop, is a bit more secluded and also has a sandbar. It had been a pretty long day at this point and I was ready for a nap. So I hopped in one of the hammocks in a shady spot and took a refreshing nap for the rest of the afternoon. It was another hour and a half or so ride back to the resort and we arrived by 5:30pm. For dinner we went back into the city and had some sizzling platters at Jelly’s Grill followed by a s'mores skillet for dessert at Buzz Express.
Our final day in Coron was spent in and out of the pool at the resort and of course in the town for dinner.
Tips: Island hopping is a must. If you are coming to Coron, you are coming to island hop. Layer the sunscreen on thick because you will be exposed all day during the island hopping. There are several different island hopping tours you can take. I suggest researching the destinations of the different tour options so that you choose the one best suited for you and your interests. There are tours with opportunities for snorkeling, diving, swimming, and even hiking.
Budget: Flight from Manila to Coron was PHP 15,000 which is around $285. Again, I procrastinated and bought this flight fairly last minute. A three person cottage at Discovery Island Resort for three nights ran us PHP 9840 which is just $186. The island hopping (private boat tour booked through Discovery Island) cost us PHP 5,000 total or $95. You can reduce the price of island hopping even further by joining a group tour or traveling with a larger group.
Overall Experience: I would go again in a heartbeat. The beaches and views are some of the best I’ve experienced so far. I can promise you that you will not regret visiting Coron.
