If you have been to Coron, Palawan before, please share your experiences, ideas and feedback (Hotel, Excursions, General Feeling,…) in the comments section below, by doing so you will help fellow travellers to plan their next trip
Coron Island is located in Palawan in Philippines. It is one of the best places in the world for wreck diving. In 1944 several Japanese supply and war ships were bombed and sunk by an Americain Air attack during World War II.
Coron Island is very beautiful with fine beaches and superb scenery surrounded by limestone cliffs. This destination is only popular among divers so it is very quiet, perfect if you want to avoid the very well-known (ie crowded!) areas.
In this page you will find practical information to plan a scuba diving trip to Coron, Palawan:
Table of contents
Where to stay?
I usually use this website to book in advance my hotels in Coron, Palawan as they usually have the lowest rates I find. I like it because it's free to cancel and change the dates.
You have several options on where to stay in Coron. You can either stay directly in Coron city where there are hotels, lodges and diving resorts. You can also sleep in nearby isolated islands in one of the lodges or resorts. Camping is also possible on several deserted islands.
Room Prices depend greatly if you want AC or Fan Room and Hot water or not.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/haundreis/3334509179/
Activities and excursions in Coron, Palawan
Coron is a pure diving destination with diving or snorkelling as its main attraction. However there are still interesting things to do around. You can for example:
- Island Hopping for a snorkelling day tour.
- Visit the Maquinit Hot Spring, perfect to realx after diving!
- Trek in the Jungle or to Mt.Tapyas for a superb view of the nearby Islands.
- Kayak around the magnificent mangroves in Kingfisher Park.
- Go to see the Kayangan Lake and Barracuda Lake for great pictures opportunities
- Enjoy Kayaking at Twin Lagoon
- Relax on Banol Beach
Best time to visit Coron, Palawan
Tourist Season and Weather
There are 2 main seasons in Coron:
- The Dry Season runs from October to mid-June with hot and dry weather.
- The Rainy season runs from mid-June to September with daily short but heavy rains.
- There can be Typhoons from June to October but they usually don’t hit directly Coron.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hsnuhow/6062011583/
Health and Safety
If you are planning an upcoming dive trip or travelling to Coron, Palawan, it is a really good idea to invest in travel insurance for scuba diving, because you never know what could happen and when you might need it (because accidents do happen!). I recommend this diving insurance as they offer worldwide coverage and focus on providing scuba divers a quality insurance and medical assistance service.
Where is Coron, Palawan located in the world?
Coron is the name of the main town in Busuanga Island located in Palawan area. It is also the name of the Island just offshore of the city, famous for its shipwrecks.
See the map below.
Coron Map
How to get to Coron, Palawan?
There are 2 ways to reach Coron.
Plane:
You have to fly from Manila to Busuanga airport, Palawan. You can take Cebu Pacific Air, Zest Air or PAL Express. From Busuanga aiport, you take a jeepney for about one hour to reach Coron Town. The ride cost about P150 per person.
Ferry Boat:
From Manila you can take the SuperFerry. It goes once a week to Puerto Princesa and stops off at Coron on the way. Departures are every Friday at 4:15pm and you arrive in Coron the day after at 5:30 am (about 12 hours). You can get back to Manial by the same way.
Getting Around
Coron is a small town. You can walk or take a Tricycle (P7 per trip). Another option is to rent a scooter.
If you want to discover nearby islands you can hire a boat for about P1250 per day with the driver.
Coron, Palawan Photos
Scuba diving
You will find all information about sea life, best time to visit, top dive spots, etc. in our review: Coron, Palawan Diving
Diving Reviews for this region
Coron, Palawan
One of the Best places in the World for Wreck Diving!!! Also very interesting lake diving all within a superb tropical scenery setting... ahh bliss!
Liveaboard Reviews in Coron, Palawan
MV Solitude One
MV Solitude One is a liveaboard owned and operated by Solitude Fleet and Solitude Liveaboards, run by Andrew Lok. Both Palau and the Philippines, which offer some of the world’s best diving, are on offer with the Solitude One. Built back in 1979, this
SY Philippine Siren
The waters of the Philippines offer some of the best diving in the world. In the heart of the ‘coral triangle’ there is great bio-diversity and the opportunity to see some of the rarest and most sought after creatures. And one of the best ways to exper
MV Discovery Palawan
MV Discovery Palawan is one of the titular vessels of the tremendous Discovery Fleet. Offering what they claim to be a new style of cruising through the picturesque waters of the Philippines, the Discovery Fleet incorporate spectacular diving with snor
MY Stella Maris Explorer
The Stella Maris Explorer is a 36 meters liveaboard operating in the Philippines. The motor yacht is described as a “pleasure boat” and offers scuba diving cruise on the Tubbataha and Apo-Coron reefs. Built in 1986, the dive vessel has been upgraded an
MV Eco Explorer
The MV Eco Explorer is a 46 meters liveaboard cruising around the Philippines Islands. Built in 1982, this steel hulled vessel has been upgraded since and still offers comfortable accommodations for an unforgettable adventure! . Boat Cabins & Layou
Banka Ona
The 33 meters Banka Ona is a liveaboard vessel offering scuba diving cruises to the Philippines. Indeed, the vessel navigates the Bay of Coron and the Apo world heritage reef. . Boat Cabins & Layout The very traditional Banka Ona liveaboard welcome
MY Borneo Explorer
The 27 meters MY Borneo Explorer is a liveaboard offering scuba diving and sightseeing cruises in the Philippines. The steel hulled vessel was built in 1986 and has been kept up to date ever since. . Boat Cabins & Layout The Borneo Explorer is full
Dschubba
The 20 meters Dschubba liveaboard offers scuba diving cruises in the Philippines. Indeed, the wooden vessel was built in 2007 and now offers diving adventures all around Palawan, including to the Tubbataha Reef. . Boat Cabins & Layout The Dschubba
MV Atlantis Azores
MV Atlantis Azores is a liveaboard safari vessel, offering lavish tours of the reefs and drop-offs of the Philippines. This great liveaboard is owned and operated by Atlantis Philippines Dive Resorts & Liveaboards. There are a selection of luxuriou
Hi there , I’m off to coron next month.. Any good diving team u can recommend me to go with.. Is el nido good for diving as we’ll thanks
Hi there, is Coron only recommended for scuba diving? are there beach resorts where you can just snorkle or enjoy coast lines, sand, sun etc?
Hi Latu!
Coron is great for anyone to visit, of course! We focus on scuba diving here because Divezone is a diving related website first, nothing more!
Safe travels!
Coron as become a massive,dirty building site..Traffic makes it dangerous to walk in town.Lots of real bad diving centers have been allowed to operate,mostly Chinese,and unfortunatly local one too,no regard for safety or your dive experience.
Hotels and guest houses are very expensive,minimum for a very poor fan room and shared bathroom you looking at 500/750 Php/night.Over crowded dive sites,too many boats..Diving will cost about 3500Php for 3 dives with lunch.Choose wisely your Diving Center..Moto rental if you wish to be mobile will cost you 500Php per day,huge amount of money for a simple scooter.Having travelled the Philippines quite a lot,I am a diving instructor,its the most expensive after Borracay..Good Dc? French Kiss Divers,Amphibiko, But the best is by far Corto Divers.The wrecks are nice,so is Barracuda Lake. But really,dont spend more then 3 days here,then move on…
Enjoyed reading through this, very good stuff, thankyou .
LINK REMOVED
My wife and I vacationed at Coron, Palawan in the summer of 2019. We didn’t go there on a shoestring budget or an unlimited supply of money. We have certain standards we expect when we plan a vacation in the Philippines. We want security, clean rooms, air conditioning, reliable electricity, WIFI, and fun excursions. We found all of these amenities at the West Town resort. We stayed five wonderful and memorable days there. I could easily live there
Hi Robert, I simply wanted to thank you for telling us here about your experience in the Philippines! I’m happy to read it was a pleasant one! Palawan is one of the best and most beautiful islands I’ve been to. As you are mentioning, there is plenty of variety available in terms of accommodation throughout Palawan, budget-friendly ones, but also very comfortable options!
Wishing you the best bubbles, and health, always!