After the 3 day trek in the rice fields around Banaue, we take the night bus to get to Manila.
Day spent in transportation for Maider’s birthday
The bus leaves at 7 pm and should arrive in Manila around 4:30 am. The seats are as uncomfortable as they were a few days ago and the AC is blasting freezing air. We will almost not sleep at all despite being tired from our trek. Unfortunately we arrive in Manila on time (we secretly hoped the bus would be late so we would arrive at a more decent time in Manila), it is 4:30 am.
Today is Maider’s birthday and it will be spent in the transports. Matt’s birthday was also spent in an unbelievably long and uncomfortable bus ride in Peru so there is no jealousy !
Our flight to Coron is at 1 pm… We take a Grab (same thing than Uber) from the bus station to the airport. What we didn’t realize at that time is that we are leaving from the oldest and smallest terminal of the Manila airport.
When we get there we see that there is only one level and the place is tiny. Of course we are way too early to check our bags in so we have to wait next to the ONLY coffee shop, we are lucky enough to find 2 free seats. Thankfully the WiFi works pretty well so we are able to work on our itinerary and do our research for the next few days.
When it is finally time to check our bags in we learn that the flight is 2 hours late, this is apparently very common in the Philippines. We stay patient and pass security. On the other side it is even a bigger mess, almost all the seats are taken and 3 out of 4 flights are either canceled or late. We hope our flight will only be delayed and not canceled… Luckily our flight did’t get canceled, and actually we even board on time! Even though in the end we still wait for an hour inside the plane before take-off but it is still better to wait here than in the super crowded waiting area at the gate.
Maider is thrilled, her birthday is saved, we will be in Coron in the afternoon, just in time to go out and celebrate.
The flight to Coron takes only an hour and twenty minutes and the view from the aircraft is spectacular. We can already see the different colors of the ocean.
Finally celebrating her birthday
We arrive in the middle of the afternoon in Coron and after dropping off our bags at our hostel and taking a quick shower we run to a rooftop we heard about and finally sit down and relax.
Happy birthday Maider !!
The view from the rooftop is amazing.
We will watch the sunset from here.
A first local beer is necessary to quench our thirst. Before ordering a cocktail.
What a beautiful sunset !
It is the first one we see in the Philippines and we have to say we aren’t disappointed. The colors are just unbelievable.
We spend a very nice evening for a birthday Maider will remember.
Coron, paradise in the Palawan archipelago
Let’s talk a little bit about Coron.
Coron is an island part of the Palawan archipelago. This island is surrounded by clear blue water and plenty of lakes and lagoons. People come here to do island hopping, which means going from island to island by boat. But the island is also known for its magnificent seabed and incredible diving spots.
We plan on doing two island hoppings, which is the main activity in Coron.
Day 1 : Booking an island hopping and day at Marcilla
For our first day on the island we plan on finding a local fisherman willing to take us on a private tour the next day to the islands around Coron.
Valentine and Solene, who we met in Banaue, are ready to do the tour with us so we can share the cost of the boat. Also we went along super well so it works out perfectly. They arrive today so we will do the boat tour tomorrow.
We find a fisherman who is OK with leaving at 6:30 am to avoid the crowds of tourists, and we then rent a motorbike to drive to Marcilla beach, 15 miles South of Coron.
The goal is to go a little further than Coron to avoid the crowd. You are starting to understand that our stay in the Philippines will be focused on trying to avoid the crowds as much as we can. To do so there aren’t many options, either wake up early and leave before everybody else, go to the more remote islands (which we won’t do because we didn’t want to loose so many days in transportation), or rent a motorbike and travel on dirt roads for an hour! So that’s what we are doing today.
The road to get to Marcilla is in a pretty bad condition. 9 of the 25 miles are dirt roads that go up and down. We will see only very few people on the way, and only locals, who wonder what we are doing here when they see us.
From time to time the landscape is beautiful.
We have a nice view on the ocean and its turquoise blue water.
We arrive after an hour to find an almost deserted beach. Some locals are here swimming and only a handful of tourists. The beach is so long that we easily find a spot where we can be all alone.
Right next to us is a pretty fascinating tree that grows in the ocean.
We go for our first swim in the Philippines, there is no one around, and the water is transparent. Welcome to paradise! The water is actually super warm and doesn’t really refresh us, but at least we can stay in for hours without ever being cold. We spend a great day.
This evening we meet up with Valentine and Solene to have a drink and grab diner. The poor girls had a 6 hour delay with their flight from Manila and were scared their flight would be canceled.
We spend a great evening all together and agree to meet up at 5:45 am for our island hopping expedition the next day.
Day 2 : Island hopping around Coron
We are supposed to meet Marjun (the fisherman we met yesterday) at 6:30 am but before that we need to go buy some food on the market. Indeed the boat crew can cook us lunch on the boat if we bring food. We buy a fish, squids and prawns, as well as fruits and veggies.
Then we go to see Marjun (who is late of course…) to start our tour. Apparently the poor guy had a scooter accident the night before so we will leave with his brother, his father and his young son who is on summer break.
His brother, Jude, will be our guide. He is super nice and immediately tells us about our itinerary today to avoid the crowds. We finally leave at 7 am on a bangka.
The bangka is a traditional Filipino motorboat made out of wood and bamboo.
Kayangan Lake
Our first stop is Kayangan Lake. This is a very famous Instagram spot, which means it is one of the most popular and crowded places around Coron.
Because we left so early and we stop here first, there are only 2 other boats when we arrive. Jude tells us that there can be well over 30 boats here in the middle of the day…
We walk to the top to see THE view. And we have to say it is beautiful.
Especially since we are all alone at the top. We saw behind the scene pictures where people where waiting in a huge line to take a picture of this view.
We then walk down the other side where it is possible to go for a swim.
The water is clear blue and we happily jump in.
It isn’t 8 am yet and the atmosphere is quite relaxing. Only very few tourists are present and we enjoy the beauty of the place. Jude tells us that in just a few hours this lagoon will be full of tourists.
When we make our way back to the boat we stop by the viewpoint again. Now that the sun has come up a little the colors are even more beautiful. But believe it or not, there is already a line to be able to take a picture…
We get back on our bangka and say goodbye to Kayangan Lake.
Twin Lagoon
Our next stop is Twin Lagoon, another very touristic stop in Coron.
The boat ride to get there is gorgeous. The color of the water changes often depending on where we are.
Our boat is the first to arrive in Twin Lagoon.
We go for a swim with our snorkeling gear. Jude comes with us to show us the way and answer the questions we might have about the fish or corals we see.
The difference between the water at the surface and the deeper water is incredible. Indeed the surface water is soft water from the hills around and is much colder than the deeper salt water.
Once again we are thrilled to be all alone and take advantage of this quiet time before the crowds get here.
When we leave there are already 4 more boats beside ours.
The boat ride continues in this beautiful decor.
The color of the water is unreal.
Smith Beach
We finally arrive at Smith Beach, a popular place for groups to stop for lunch.
But once again we are the first on site and are able to take fully advantage of the beautiful place before anybody arrives.
The beach is out of this world, with white sand and beautiful clear blue water. We have to take a picture of course.
It is here that our crew serves us lunch, it is only 10:30 am, but we started early and are already starving. The food is delicious.
We did a good job picking the ingredients, and Jude and his father did an even better job of cooking everything. Delicious !
Coral garden
Right next to Smith Beach is Coral garden, a spot well known for snorkeling and where it is possible to see turtles.
Unfortunately we won’t see any (spoiler alert we will see some turtles very soon!!!) despite Jude’s effort to go swimming all around to find us one. But we will see many different and beautiful fishs. The corals as well are beautiful.
Hidden Lagoon
We stay a while swimming here before getting back in the bangka to go for our next stop : Hidden Lagoon.
When we get there we are stunned. The place is gorgeous.
We are the only boat there.
The color of the water is unreal.
We take a few pictures from the bangka before going for a swim.
We will stay almost two hours here. Even if Kayangan Lake and Twin Lagoon are the most popular stops, this one is by far our favorite one. Being all alone definitely helped.
The crew and Matt take advantage of the peacefulness to take a nap while the girls chit-chat in the water. We are in paradise !
Siete Pecados
We could have stayed even longer but we have to go.
Our next and final stop of the day is at Siete Pecados. This is a snorkeling spot between 7 big rock formations.
We get our snorkeling gear back on and go for a dive. The spot is amazing.
There are even more fish than in Coral Garden, and Jude even shows us giant clams and starfishes.
Here it is forbidden to fish the clams. Apparently these are very expensive and pretty tasty from what Jude says. We can see them open and close, it’s pretty impressive to see.
It is also here that we see our first Nemos 🙂 .
We end our day at 4:30 pm, when the public tours usually start at 9 am and end at 5 pm. Our day was amazing and the landscapes we saw were out of this world. This is exactly what we pictured when we thought about the Philippines.
Super pleased with our day spent with Jude we decide to confirm with him another private expedition the next day to go see the beaches that are a little over an hour away from Coron. The girls are also on-board so we decide to meet at 6:30 am the following day. This time Jude will take us to the market to help us choose what to get for lunch this time. Super nice gesture.
This day on the boat made us hungry. So we have a huge pizza for dinner before going to bed super early.
Day 3 : Island hopping to the beaches
The next day we meet with Jude at 6:30 sharp. He takes us to the market and by 7 am we are on the boat leaving the harbor.
Today will be a lot different than yesterday since we will do a lot more beaches and won’t stop at lagoons or snorkeling areas.
Before leaving, Jude suggests an itinerary to avoid the crowds. And given what we did yesterday we completely trust him.
First we have an hour and a half boat ride to get to the first beach, Coco Beach.
Coco Beach
Another white sand and clear blue water beach.
And we are the ONLY boat when we get there.
Jude tells us that this becomes a very popular spot around lunchtime and during the afternoon with over 90 people at a time on the beach. Hard to imagine such a scenario when we are all alone. We walk around before going for a swim.
We are getting pretty accustomed to these early morning swims !
Especially in this paradise-like setting.
Matt spots a basketball court and asks if Jude and his brother want to play.
They are thrilled and play a while the three together while Maider relaxes on a hammock. Isn’t life great ?
The beach is called Coco Beach because of the number of coconut trees on it. The girls will even order a fresh coconut. We stay an hour and a half, alone on this beach, before getting back on our bangka.
Ditaytayan Island
We continue to Ditaytayan Island. The special thing about this particular island is its beautiful sand bank at low tide.
The arrival on this island is magnificent.
We can see the seabed from the boat.
The color of the ocean is once again surreal.
There is only one other boat when we get there, making the place so much more enjoyable.
We grab our snorkeling gear and go to discover the seabed around us.
Before laying down on the sand bank. There are many many more boats now and it feels weird to see so many people. But they only stay for half an hour when we stay for over 2 hours since we are also having lunch here.
At that moment the sand bank is almost deserted and we are all alone to enjoy this magnificent place.
We couldn’t dream for a better lunch spot.
The food prepared by our crew is again delicious.
Malcapuya island
Time then to say goodbye to this paradise like place for our last stop of the day : Malcapuya island, a very popular place.
And we immediately understand why when we get on the beach. Here the sand is white, the water clear blue and the coconut trees in the background make for a picture perfect beach.
See by yourself :
We walk to one end of the beach to avoid the crowds. We will stay an hour here relaxing in this beautiful place.
Before hoping back in our bangka for our ride back to Coron.
Another exceptional day. Our crew was amazing and we went along great with Valentine and Solene. They were super nice and it was fun to share these two days with them.
We decide to meet up for cocktails together tonight. Before going to a delicious seafood restaurant.
One last great evening spent the 4 of us together before leaving Coron the next day. They are taking a flight to Cebu, while we have a boat to go to El Nido.
Our 3 days in Coron were fabulous. We absolutely don’t regret deciding to visit the islands around Coron on a private boat. It was the best option in our opinion because we were able to visit all the sites with minimal other tourists thanks to our skipper Jude!
We leave Coron to go to El Nido. El Nido seems a lot more touristic than Coron but more heavenly beaches await us there.