This day was definitely EPIC but it was off to a slow start... Since we fell asleep so early we were wide awake around 1:30 AM with nothing to do until 8ish when the tour company would come get us. We killed time reading and chilling in our room until 6 when the sun started coming up so we threw on a cover ups and ran outside to greet the morning sun on the water. By 7, coffee shops and restaurants started opening for breakfast so we walked into town to grab some waffles! Then back for a bit more waiting for our tour.
Waiting for dawn by checking out our bedroom window haha
Finally some sunlight! A somewhat colorful sunrise
We walked into town for some waffles and coffee, the road was VERY busy at 7 AM.
They were pretty prompt right at 8:30 and had a trike right outside the hotel door that we took on a 5 minute ride to the tour operator shack. There we paid for our tour, were rounded up with a few other guests, and transported to our boat.... which we were sitting on by 9 and waiting.. and waiting. It seemed to take FOREVER for them to gather all the guests on the boat (we were one of the first to arrive) and then get the supplies. They also didn't tell us snorkels weren't included in our tour so after 30 minutes of sitting there I asked if I could just go run and get my goggles that I brought from my hotel room that I could literally see from the boat! haha Thankfully I did too since half the areas were snorkel stops and it would've been a huge bummer to miss them! Tippe paid 100 pesos or something to rent a snorkel for the day.
Our first trike ride and we were on the back!
About the Tour
The Ultimate Coron Tour is very similar even though offered by multiple companies. It includes 7 sites, 5 stops, entry to all of the sites, a kayak at one of the stop, a full lunch at one stop with coke to drink, a snack after the last stop, and water all day aboard. For this tour, all of the stops were about 20-40 minutes away so there is plenty of time to enjoy the scenery on the boat. Group numbers range from 15-20 but we easily had 20 people on both our tours. You have one tour guide and several boat men that operate the boat to accompany you. For a great price, this was a great tour! But know you have private options that started around 2700 pisos for 2-4 people for a full day. This cost however does NOT cover lunch OR your entry fees to all of the sites (which are around 100-200 pisos) unlike the group tours which cover everything!
Finally just after 10 we were off to our first destination:
Setting sail
Twin Lagoons
First glimpse of the incredible cliffs that surround the lagoons
Had to get a picture on the bow of the boat! We had quite a ways to swim to get into the lagoons (back behind me) but so worth it!
This stop had been on my bucket list before any of the other Philippines destinations to be honest, as it was the first thing I came across. The water is a beautiful green and the surrounding cliffs have the most interesting erosion pattern. There's a spot where the cliffs are separated under water where you can swim into the adjoining lagoon which was really cool. (though it wasn't as cool as the video I'd seen suggested it would be) We had 40 minutes to swim around the lagoons before we had to head back to the boat and onto our next destination.
The water was seriously that color and clear!
The first lagoon
Looking back from whence we came, the boats were around the corner to the left
The famous pass into the 2nd lagoon. You could either go up and over using a ladder or...
You can GO UNDER!!!
Fear not, there was plenty of head space, and I never even had to swim under the water. You just had to watch our for the "bumps" on the ceiling.
The twin in TWIN lagoons.
Hard to pick a favorite but seeing the jaggedness of the cliffs over the 2nd lagoon, may have pushed it up a notch. But both were amazing.
We didn't spend long in the 2nd lagoon as we had no idea how long it took us to swim over there and we didn't want to miss our 10 minute whistle warning for the boat so we swam back under and hung out in the first lagoon for the rest of our 40 minutes. (which wasn't long...)
Happy selfies back on the boat following a successful first stop
Day 2 Tour Cost: $23
Company we used:
Wonderful Island Travel and Tours