Coron

Understand

thumb|Coron from Mount Tapyas Coron is the name of the largest town (population 69,000 in 2024) on Busuanga Island, and the name of a smaller island just offshore.

In September 1944 during the Pacific War, a fleet of Japanese ships hiding in the harbor were sunk in a daring raid by the US Navy. The result is around ten well-preserved shipwrecks in fairly shallow water (10-40m) surrounded with coral reef.

Barracuda and Kayangan lakes on Coron Island are stunning locations, and good for snorkeling, and the island is the ancestral domain of an indigenous tribe who are managing the island in a sustainable way and keeping outsiders at a distance and offshore at night.

Get around

thumb|The main street of Coron Tricycles are everywhere downtown. for rides around town (per person), total from port to town. Motorcycles and vans are available for rent. There are no taxis in Coron. There is only once a day trip for buses or jeepneys Coron going to Busuanga and other areas.

See

There is a cross on the mountain above town, Mt.Tapyas. You can look at it from below or climb up the path. The 10-15 minute climb up is worth to see the view of the small islands surrounded by glass-like water. Great for sunset Coron sign Noticeable from the water is a Hollywood-style sign up on a hill overlooking the town. Mangroves, natural mangroves are abundant, with magnificent kayak paddling trails. (Local mangrove kayaking tours are available through Kingfisher Park.) Kayangan Lake entrance fee (Oct 2018). A ticket card must be bought in town prior to your trip, ask at one of the agencies unless you have a tour-guide who will arrange for it. Before approaching the lake, go over the cave and glimpse at the great view on top of the mountain. This view is the most photographed area in Palawan. It is also judged as the cleanest lake in the country. Twin Lagoon. The water and towering rocks are great photos (e.g. for posters.) On low tide, experience kayaking under the hole of the rock. At high tide, one can swim through the hole of the rock or a walkway can be used to get to the other side of the lagoon. entrance fee. Barracuda Lake is amazing. Entrance is , no longer purchasable on site, see Kayangan Lake for same info. Bring goggles or snorkels to observe underwater rock formations. CYC Island is nice but gets very busy. It's the only free beach in the area. Entrance fees for the other beaches aren't too steep (). Banol is very picturesque with its flower trees set aga…

Buy

The Market Pier is home to shops, stalls, slaughter houses, diners, and karaoke. Great for hearing early morning karaoke and picking up supplies. The smell can get pretty bad close to the slaughter houses. Water - aquapure can hook you up with large containers of water and you can buy bottles basically anywhere in 500 mL, 1 L and 4 L sizes. Drugstores - plentiful. Contrary to what you may hear you can buy sunscreen, Off (bug repellant), shampoo and all that other good drugstore stuff. Cashew nuts - A must try when you are in Coron. Better than what you can buy in your local supermarket!

Eat

There is food available for purchase at Coron Market and numerous bake shops around town. It's also recommended to buy fruits from the town market and have them prepared at the lodge you stay at free of charge (feel generous to provide a tip). Recommended to try local fruits such as mango, watermelon, star apple, jackfruit, coconut, starfruit and cashew fruit but they are all seasonal.

Drink

Bistro - you can also drink and play billiards at this amazing eatery. Discovery Bar - chill on the beautiful balcony over the water and overlooking the bay. Relaxing atmosphere complete with hammock. Great place to get your dive theory out of the way at. One billiard table. Ottos - rock out to some AC/DC and enjoy spying on the hustle and bustle of Coron's main street. The Old House - happy hour 5PM-7PM all-you-can-drink rum and Coke for . Beer comes with a koozie. Nice view of Coron's main street from the balcony. It is also a good place to just watch the world go by from the outside seating. One of the best prices you will find outside of the local liquor stores. Laid back atmosphere, interesting clientelle, and warm staff. Helldiver's Bar" (SeaDive Resort) - their signature drinks are great for the adventurous drinker, all for reasonable prices. They have a billiard table and relaxing music beat. You can ask for free popcorn at the bar. Kuweba - on the national highway, near Angel motorcycles is hidden a bar run by some Rastafarian locals, they play their own music and sell hand made jewelry and carvings upstairs.

Stay safe

Viewing wrecks from outside is safe for more-or-less any diver. Some may require extra caution to avoid getting tangled in rigging, but most wrecks are no more dangerous to visit than a coral reef.

Going inside a wreck is dangerous. Do not even consider it without specialized training, e.g. PADI wreck diver certification. You may also need extra equipment such as lights and guide ropes.

Connect

Many restaurants, bars, and hotels offer free WiFi (backed by mobile data.) However, the entire town seems to share a single uplink to the internet that is constantly overloaded. So no matter where you connect from, you can probably not do much more than check your messages. The connection is however very reasonable at night between about 1am and 7am when you do not have to share the connection with that many users.

Go next

Go to the incredibly beautiful El Nido! 'Tourist' banka boats (Jessabel, Overcomer and Princess Wellia) have scheduled trips that leave every day of the week at about 8AM for peso one way. The trip takes roughly 8 hours and includes a local style meal (fried chicken, chicken adobo, rice, etc.) You can buy the tickets pretty much anywhere in town- you'll see signs up everywhere advertising them. The boats pick up and drop off at Seadive Resort. You can wait for your departure in the Seadive restaurant, free coffee and tea is provided. The sea can be rough in the Linapacan strait. The luggage is stowed either in the hull of the boat or on the roof of the cabin if they run out of room. To be safe, package important items in plastic to keep them dry.