Island hopping is a main activity for visitors of Coron from which the most popular is one day Coron tour. No wonder why, as the views of the lagoons and snorkeling on the coral reefs are incredible experiences. There are plenty of tour offers available on every corner of this little town. They are all similar though, so there is no point to search long. From one day tour to few days discovery expeditions, all will show you a bit of the paradise on Earth. I chose one day tour in Coron Island and can highly recommend for the first comers.
One day tour in Coron Island
Island hopping in Coron is lead by various agencies, which use the typical picturesque boats. One day tour in Coron Island is well-organised, along with pick up from you guest house to included lunch and snack, snorkeling gear to drop off. You don’t have to worry about anything. Even if you cannot swim you can still participate the tour as wearing the security jacket is recommended thruout the tour. Now I will tell you what to expect and what is the plan of one day tour in Coron Island. Please note, that the order of the places may change from tour to another. The tours offer mixture of spots too, those are the most popular, as part of the ultimate Coron tour.
Twin Lagoon
Going between sharp shaped mountains to the blue lagoon already felt like a piece of paradise. Later on we took a kayak to go the other lagoon, separated from one another. The access is through a crevice underneath the rock, or during high tide, a ladder over the rock. We had to lie down on the kayak to pass under the rock to go to the other side. There, another lagoon opened in front of us, with a steep limestone towers all around and incredibly blue waters. The water felt blury though, as the salty water mixes here with the sweet one.
Kayangan Lake
Kayangan lake is the most clean lake in the Philippines. You can see little fish swimming in it. The views are just incredible, like a scene from a movie. Kayangan Lake is 70% freshwater and 30% salt water. One may choose to swim or snorkel in the lake, or simply float around in a life jacket.
Skeleton Wreck & Coral Garden
The best opportunity for snorkeling was on the Coral Garden. Just next to it there is a skeleton wreck which is a perfect spot for snorkeling and scuba diving (search liveaboards). The top of the Skeleton is 5m deep and going down to 22m at the stern. We had the whole hour to explore the underwater with coral reefs containing a wide diversity of marine life.
Siete Pecados
The turquoise water surrounding Siete Pecados is one of the best snorkeling spots in Coron. It definitely looks like swimming in a giant aquarium! Schools of fishes of various species and color magnificently swim underwater occasionally accompanied by other sea creatures like small squids, octopus and sea snakes.
“Siete” comes from the Spanish word that means seven and denotes the number of small limestone rock formation surrounding the snorkeling site. According to the local legend the seven rocks represent seven local children that one night set out to attend a celebration. These children never came home that night. In the morning, while searching for these children, the locals saw seven new rock formations standing in the middle of the sea and believed that these were the missing children. From then on, the area has been called Siete Pecados in memory of these children.
Atwayan Beach & CYC Beach
The beach was a great opportunity to relax for a bit and get some tan. Its fine white sand is as remarkable as its underwater scenery, so it is really a good place to just lay down, and feel the paradise vibe of the beach. Its crystal blue water is a sight to see and it will make you feel refreshed and calm after the experience. There is also little mangrove forest for a great, dramatic pictures.
One day Coron tour practicals
Pick up takes place from 8 00 to 8:45 from your guest house. One day tour in Coron ends around 5 pm and the same air-conditioned van will take you back. The tour operator provides with the snorkeling mask, however if you prefer to snorkel with fins, you need to bring your own. The ultimate Coron tour costs 1300 – 1600 pesos depending of the agency. I recommend bargaining to get 1300. I forgot to put on sunscreen, and my legs got a sunburn while snorkeling.
There is buffet type lunch with fish, salad, meat and water provided. They also had cold beer with extra charge.When taking one day tour in Coron all the entrance fees are already included, so no need to worry about anything. The boat has one or two kayaks which are available to use on the Twin Lagoon. However, as there is usually around 20 people on the boat, not everyone will get a chance to use it. From few trips types, I recommend taking the ultimate Coron tour as it covers the most important spots.
Where to stay in Coron?
I stayed in a lovely Coron Voyage Guest House where I had everything that I needed. Extremely friendly staff, delicious vegan restaurant and comfy bed. They have dorm style rooms with bunk beds and a regular room with two single beds. It’s a very cheap option, 450 pesos for bed and 1000 for a regular room. The place is super cozy and has just 4 rooms. Easy to hang out with other travelers. The Wi-fi is also available.
PL Pszczoła kocha przyrodę, kwiaty oraz herbatę. Najbardziej sprawia jej przyjemność życie i podróże w rytmie slow, bez pośpiechu. Stara się podróżować bardziej ekologicznie i inspirować do tego innych. Lubi poznawać inne kultury, tradycje, spędzać czas z lokalnymi i kosztować ich przysmaków. Jej ulubione miejsca w każdej podróży to uliczne bazary.
ENG The Bee is a nature lover and tea addict. Loves the idea of slow life and responsible traveling, constantly trying to improve to bee more eco-friendly. Appreciates old cultures and traditions, loves to immerse with locals, listen to ethnic music as well as taste regional food and drinks. Her favorite spots while traveling are family houses and street markets.
There’s nothing like a well-managed local tour. I often see people recommend that we should do our own thing to save money, but part of travelling to another country is to support the locals, and this is a great way. The trip looks wonderful. I especially love the lunch. I’m not much of a diver but do enjoy snorkelling. You mentioned that Lake Kayangan has baraccudas in it, so I am guessing you can’t swim there? The hostel sounds like a brilliant find, especially with the cafe underneath it.
I am also one of those who prefer to go by my own. However, in this case it wasnt possible as every place was reachable only by boat, so I had to take a tour. Worth every money spet though.
Yes, you can swim in the Kayangan lake
Your tour of Coron sounds fantastic, especially the snorkeling around the shipwreck! The food looks delicious, and it was very artfully presented for a buffet-style lunch. If I ever get to visit the Philippines, I would love to take this tour. Thanks for the tip about bargaining with the tour group to lower the price!
Snorkeling around the ship wrek wasn
t the highlight, in front of the rich marine life. I just saw the wreck and after 1 min I was like: ok, that’s it. 😀
Coron Island hasn’t been on my radar as a destination to go to, but it seems like I should add it! When you were talking about the kayaks I got pretty excited but then to learn that there are only a couple that are to be used by 20 people sounds like a bummer if you don’t hop on it right away. Overall, looks like an amazing trip and the one day option seems like enough if you’re short on time. However, with how lovely that water looks, I think I’d want to go for a while!
It’s definately place to be!
Coron looks an amazing destination. My son just visited and was so impressed. It was great to read the article knowing that he has just returned from there. The food looks amazing. Looks a perfect day tour! Thanks for sharing.
I haven’t been to the Philippines yet but I’ve heard a lot of great things about this island. Your adventure sounds really appealing and the scenery reminds of some of the islands in the far east of the Borneo part of Malaysia. I had a great time over there and for sure, would love to visit Coron someday too 🙂
So excited to see east of Borneo if it’s so beautiful!
I have been in Coron before. It’s really a nice paradise with me. I stayed in Vicky’s Guesthouse. They toured me around and ask me to snorkel. It was fun! Filipinos are very hospitable.
Indeed, the hospitality is just huge! I can’t believe it!
I’m so gutted I didn’t make it to Coron when I was in the Philippines. I visited the Caramoan Islands instead and did plenty of island hopping. I have to say you took some wonderful photos, and I miss the blues of those waters! I hope to return one day and visit Coron, if only for one day!
I haven’t been to Caramoan so can’t tell you if that was a better choice, but I think everywhere on the little islands of the Philippines is beautiful 😀
Nowadays I have heard so much about beautiful Coron islands that in near future I have to plan for it. Kayangan Lake really looks stunning and it is great that it is the cleanest lake of Philipines. For staying, Coron Voyage looks amazing as it also has vegan restaurant.
I love Philippines so much that words will fall short. Within 7,700+ islands, it’s hard to pick one but just like you I too love Coron a lot. And, I absolutely agree with you that Kayangan lake is the cleanest lake in the Philippines. I could stay there for days at a stretch. Thanks for bringing back my old memories.