🇵🇭 Coron and Busuanga: tours, lakes, wrecks and dugongs, the full guide

Coron is Palawan's other big star. Lakes set between walls of black rock, lagoons where the water changes colour halfway across, Japanese Second World War wrecks lying just a few metres down. Same as El Nido, you don't get the aerial view from the drone videos, but from the water these places are still among the most beautiful in the Philippines.

Compared to El Nido the tours are a little less crowded, and so is the town. The trade-off is that staying here is less pleasant: Coron town has no liveable beach where you can walk or have a drink at sunset. Take away the tours and the diving and there isn't much to do in town.

Here's how to plan Coron: where to stay, the tours and which to choose, how many days you need and how to get there.

🗺️ Coron and Busuanga: where it is and how to get there

Watch out for the names, because they confuse everyone. Busuanga is the big island, Coron town is the little town on Busuanga's south-east coast where the tours leave from, and Coron Island is the island opposite, the one with the famous lakes and lagoons.

• By plane: you land at Busuanga airport (USU), with flights from Manila, Cebu and Clark. From the airport to Coron town it's a 30-40 minute van ride, around 250 PHP.
• By ferry from El Nido: around 4 hours, 1,800-2,500 PHP. In big seas it can drag. Book the day before in high season.
• By ship from Manila: it exists, but it's 12-15 hours. Only if you have lots of time and little budget.

📅 How many days to stay in Coron

2-3 days for the classic tours. If you're into wreck diving, add at least one more. If you have time, a couple of days in the north and west of Busuanga are worth it: that's the most authentic part of the island.

🛏️ Where to stay in Coron

Coron town

The centre, where the hotels, restaurants and agencies are concentrated and where all the boats leave from. It isn't pretty, but it's convenient: for the classic tours, sleep here. The restaurant scene is varied and good.

North and west Busuanga

The remote side of the island, with isolated beaches, a handful of seafront resorts and very few tourists. Awkward for the classic tours over to Coron Island, but other trips out to less-visited islands and beaches leave from here. If you have more than three days, spend a couple of them on this side.

🚤 The Coron tours: which one to choose

In Coron too the tours are standardised and organised by letter, with lunch on board. Prices are for group tours; entrance fees for the lakes and lagoons are often paid separately.

If you only do one tour, do the Super Ultimate: it packs the best spots from tours A and B into one day, long but complete. If you have two days, Super Ultimate plus Island Escapade: the first for lakes and lagoons, the second for white beaches and snorkelling over the coral.

The spots that stay with you:

• Kayangan Lake: the most photographed lake in the Philippines. You climb a 10-minute staircase to the viewpoint, then drop down to the lake. Crystal-clear water, part fresh and part salt.
• Barracuda Lake: famous among divers for the thermocline, a layer of warm water a few metres down. Even snorkelling, the sensation is strange and wonderful.
• Twin Lagoon: two lagoons joined by a gap in the rock, which you swim through or climb over with a ladder depending on the tide.
• Skeleton Wreck: a Japanese wreck a few metres below the surface, visible while snorkelling, no tanks needed.

🤿 Wreck diving in Coron

In Coron bay there are about ten Japanese ships sunk in 1944 by an American air raid. They're among the finest and most accessible wrecks in South-East Asia, sitting between 10 and 40 metres down. A dive costs 1,800-2,500 PHP per tank. If you're certified, this is reason number one to come to Coron.

🐋 What to do in Coron beyond the tours

• Snorkelling with dugongs: something you can do in very few places on earth. The dugongs live in the waters north of Busuanga, and the tour leaves from Coron town or from Ocam Ocam Beach. It costs around 5,000 PHP (75 €); booking it directly from Ocam Ocam saves you about 25%.
• Mount Tapyas: roughly 700 steps from the centre up to the cross at the top, 20-30 minutes. Sunset over the bay from up here is the best moment Coron town has to offer.
• Maquinit Hot Springs: saltwater hot springs 10 minutes from town, perfect in the evening after a tour. Pools at around 38-40 degrees among the mangroves.
• Calauit Safari Park: in the north of Busuanga, giraffes and zebras brought over from Kenya in the '70s that now roam free. It's a full-day trip, worth considering if you love animals.

💡 Things to know before going to Coron

• Coron town is noisy, with tricycles and scooters going until late. Bring earplugs.
• There are more ATMs than in El Nido, but always with the 250 PHP fee. 👉 How to withdraw cash without fees
• The right season is November to May. 👉 When to go to the Philippines
• Prices: 👉 How much it costs to travel in the Philippines

✅ Coron in short

• Days: 2-3, plus one more if you dive
• Where to stay: Coron town for the tours, north Busuanga if you have time
• Tours to do: Super Ultimate, then Island Escapade
• One-of-a-kind experiences: Japanese wrecks, dugongs, sunset from Mount Tapyas
• Pair it with: 👉 El Nido on the 4-hour ferry