Coron is a group of islands located off the northern tip of Palawan Island Philippines. You can travel to Coron from Manila by boat but we recommend flying. You can also get to Coron by taking a ferry from El Nido Palawan.
Reef and Wreck tour consist of three destinations: 1. Pass Island, 2. Sangat Coral Garden, 3. Lusong Gunboat (Japanese Shipwreck). This island hopping tour cost 1500 pesos ($29) per person.
Tour Inclusions:
- Boat Transfer
- Life Vest
- Lunch (Buffet Style) with Complimentary Fruit
- Drinks and Snacks
- All Entrance Fees
- Tour Guide
We booked our first island hopping tour at Dream Travel & Tours but we are disappointed how they make us transfer to three different boats. We decided to choose Nice in Paradise travel and tours for our second tour in Coron Palawan.
We booked Tour B (Best Beaches in Coron) but they came to our room this morning to inform us that the coastguard cancel all Tour B because of the high winds and waves in that location. It nice them to come to let us know ahead of time they give us option to re-booked and were going to try Tour C (Reef & Wreck Island Hopping).
This travel and tours has their own boat dock area. Their tour agency has color coordinated green boats. Less hectic even in cancellation because of their private boat dock.
The dock is a short 3 min walk from the tour agency up on the main street. The same path going to La Sirenetta Restaurant. It nice that they have their own boat dock. Their boat is less noisy so it won't irritate you during the trip. We had a very loud boat in Bohol and it made it very hard to enjoy the tour.
We started heading around 9AM after the boat man drop off the coastguard manifest. It's definitely windy and has a big waves. It nice to sit in front of the boat very relaxing but the big wave splash me and push me off my seat so I just sit at the back in the normal seating area for my safety.
On the way to Pass Island you can see some resorts that you can actually drive to from the main island of Busuanga. There's a lot of fish farms never seen so many, in two hours we drove to fish farms an hour of it. The boat ride took almost 2 hours half of it driving past fish farms to our first destination.
Pass Island
Pass Island is one of the best island in Coron Palawan. Has a beautiful island with white fine sand, crystal clear blue water. It's a slice of paradise which offers basic amenities, a stunning seascape. Gorgeous place for picnic.
They have a water well for fresh water and a pump set up. I saw some of them in El Nido also. On the way to the view deck we saw some cashew nuts. It's my first time to see cashew trees never tried the ripe cashew but I love the nuts.
While waiting for the lunch we decided to walked to the view deck just a short walk up a small hill. Stunning view and abundant sea life. We're surprised nobody else was here. The shallow water is amazing how I wish they have Kayak to explore the whole island.
On the way to snorkeling spot we saw abandon path that haven't maintain anymore catch our attention to take a look. It comes with a little stairs which nobody else found. It's opposite side of the island where the boat landed and snorkeling spot.
The layer rock formation looks interesting so I walk there to see whats behind this beautiful bending rocks its weird but pretty cool. If your planning to explore and likes to do some adventures be prepared and wear aqua shoes to protect your feet from the rocks. I don't think the tour guide let you walk through this rocky beach its not safe because its slippery but I don't want to waste the chance to explore the island.
The snorkeling area is fantastic with blue water. Colorful corals are beautiful with some starfish and different fishes. Not a lot of visitors know that this is where you can find big clams. I saw Nemo triplets in one anemone it looks like they are dancing and its so cute.
The two hours boat ride, the exploring and snorkeling will make you feel hungry. The lunch are chicken, crabs, grilled fish, seaweeds and some fruits. This lunch is one of the thing I've waited in this island hopping because I love seafood. Compared to the previews lunch I had this lunch is good specially to those who loves seafood's like me. They have buko (coconut) juice for 50 pesos. While eating we spotted a couple of hungry and friendly puppies and kitties.
After the lunch you can relax for a couple minutes. You can do snorkeling or sunbathing. They have some shades to those who wants to hide their skin out of the sun. You can walked around the beach. There is an overnight place to stay, some huts for rent or a tent but you need to bring your own supplies, food, water and etc. I wish I tried to have overnight here to wake up to this beautiful beach in the morning is a stress reliever and so relaxing.
Sangat Coral Garden
After staying for two hours at Pass island we are now heading to next destination the Sangat Coral Garden. Going to Coral Garden took 30 minutes.
Sangat Coral Garden is where you can see the large corals. I recommend to wear life vest because sometimes it has a strong current. I can swim well but I like to wear life vest to enjoy watching the corals without kicking my feet too much. The last time I went on snorkeling I swallow water to avoid stepping on the corals while I'm fixing my mask and its low tide.
Lusong Gunboat
After 40 minutes of swimming and snorkeling we head to our next destination the Lusong Gunboat.
The shipwreck is one of the Japanese Ships in World War II. The Lusong Gunboat is visible at the surface during low tide so it is a perfect wreck for Open Water divers. Marine life around the ships is very rich and even snorkelers can enjoy the wreck. I saw the shipwreck in a distance from our boat. It has a strong current during this time so they gave us a couple minutes to see the wreck. I take the chance to see it very close.
Going back to Coron has a strong wind than this morning and a big waves. It is advantage to those who have waterproof bag to keep everything dry. For like an hour on the boat the waters splashing every minute that keeps you wet at the same time its windy that makes me cold. But we're not scared because we know our boat is on good condition.
We stopped for awhile because the boat hatch cover keeps on opening from the waves where the water goes inside the boat. They take the water and we continue head back to the Coron town. The waves are exciting but be careful on your things specially slippers because it will flow away. Our tour guide lost his slipper (flipflops:).
I hope this post helps you for your future travel plans.
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