Explore Coron
Coron sits at the northern tip of Palawan. The town itself is small, but the water around it is the reason you come. Limestone-ringed lagoons above water, and one of the world's best wreck-diving sites below it. This trip combines both.
Trip facts
Starting place: Coron Town Ending place: Calauit Safari Park (subject to confirmation) Duration: 7 days, 6 nights Flights: International flights not included. Domestic flight from Manila to Busuanga arranged by us. Best time to go: November through May.
About this trip
This is a seven-day trip built around the two reasons most travelers come to Coron, the lagoons and the wrecks, with enough time built in for the things people miss. You spend two full days on private bancas exploring the lagoons and outer islands, two days diving the World War II Japanese wrecks, a morning hiking Mount Tapyas at sunrise, and a day at Calauit Safari Park before you leave. Evenings are yours, in either a private-island resort or a boutique hotel in Coron town, depending on what suits the trip you have in mind.
Inclusions:
- Hotel accommodation matched to your trip
- Daily breakfast
- All private transfers, with a guide and a driver
- Private boats and private experiences for everything in the itinerary
- All entrance tickets
- Domestic flights between Manila and Busuanga
- Environmental fees and local taxes
- A point of contact reachable any hour, any day, throughout your trip
Not Included:
- International flights
- Additional nights in Manila if needed for connections
- Tips for guides and drivers
- Food and drinks outside breakfast
- Travel insurance
Things Worth Knowing
The Philippines is an archipelago, so internal travel is more fragmented than in most countries. Flights to small islands run on small aircraft and can be delayed by weather. We build buffer time into every trip, but it's worth knowing in advance.
We almost always work with four- and five-star accommodations. In a few of the more remote destinations, the highest-rated option may still be small or rustic. We'll be honest about this when we recommend.
Most experiences on this trip are weather-dependent. If a boat day is cancelled because of conditions, we'll move it where possible, but cancellations on these grounds are not refundable.
Cancellations within ninety days of departure are not permitted.
If a private transfer or private experience isn't available on a given day, we'll use the best alternative — usually a small shared service — and let you know in advance.
Rates are per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to change.
Where you stay
We work with three kinds of accommodation in Coron, and we match the right one to the trip you're building.
A private-island resort is the right call for travelers who want total privacy and full board, and who are spending five or more days here. There are only a few of these in Coron and they sit on their own beaches, an hour or so from town by boat.
A boutique hotel in Coron town makes more sense for shorter stays, or for travelers who want to be near the restaurants and the boats in the evening. These are well-run and walking distance from everything that matters.
For dive-focused trips, a liveaboard is the right answer. You stay on the boat itself and wake up over the wreck you're diving that day.
We'll recommend the right option once we know how you travel.
Arrival in Coron
You're picked up at Busuanga airport and driven the thirty minutes into Coron town. After check-in, we take a walk through Coron Public Market, which is small but worth seeing for the seafood and the local fruit. In the late afternoon, anyone who wants to climb Mount Tapyas can do so for sunset, with the whole bay laid out below. The climb is around seven hundred steps and takes about thirty minutes. Evening is yours.
The lagoons
A full day on a private banca, exploring the part of Coron most people fly here for. Kayangan Lake first, before the day-trippers arrive. Twin Lagoon next, where you swim through a gap in the rock between two pools of clear water. Barracuda Lake in the afternoon, and Siete Pecados Marine Park for snorkeling. Lunch is served on the boat. Back to the hotel by late afternoon.
The wrecks and the hot springs
Out by boat to dive the Japanese supply fleet sunk in September 1944. Twelve ships are still on the seabed, most within recreational diving limits, with the deeper wrecks reserved for advanced and technical divers. Your dive guide has been working these wrecks for over a decade. Picnic lunch on a beach. In the afternoon, we drive to Maquinit, a saltwater hot spring on the coast, best around dusk.
Outer islands
A second banca day, this time to the islands further out from Coron town. Malcapuya Island, Banana Island, and Bulog Dos. White sand, clear water, very few other boats. Lunch is a beachside barbecue. The afternoon is unstructured. You can snorkel, swim, or do nothing.
Busuanga reefs
We head north to Pass Island and the Busuanga reef system. The Lusong Gunboat is a smaller wreck in shallower water, good for snorkelers as well as divers. The Lusong Coral Garden is one of the better snorkeling reefs in the area. We finish at the East Tangat Wreck. Back to Coron town in the evening.
Calauit Safari Park (subject to confirmation)
A drive north to Calauit, an island declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1976 under the Marcos government, which displaced the indigenous Tagbanwa community. 104 African animals from Kenya were brought in the following year. The original animals are gone. Their descendants — about two dozen giraffes and three dozen zebras — still live there, alongside the endangered Calamian deer endemic to Palawan. The history is complicated and worth knowing before you go.
Departure
Transfer to Busuanga airport for your onward flight. We can extend the trip if you want to combine Coron with El Nido, which is an hour and a half by ferry, or fly back to Manila for connections.
We don't sell Coron as a fixed itinerary. The seven days above is the trip we'd build for travelers who want to do it properly the first time. If you want a different version — more diving, less safari, paired with El Nido or Manila — that's the conversation we have on the call.
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