Coron 2015 Series: Coron Islands Tour

Our island hopping tours were arranged by the hotel staff, there are a lot of tour agencies that offer basically the same island hopping tours, however, it was Nice in Paradise Travel and Tours which handled all our tour activities. 

We actually spent three whole days hopping all over Coron's gorgeous islands. First off the list was Coron Islands Tour, the destinations were:

Kayangan Lake:

You have to hike up a mountain to reach this beautiful lake. Going to the lake itself is around three hundred steps, one-fifty going up, one-fifty going down, you just have to be really careful because some steps are too high while some are uneven, but there's a wooden railing you can hold on to so you won't fall. Half-way to the lake is the view deck wherein you can see the turquoise waters and rock formations surrounding Kayangan Lake. I would highly suggest wearing aqua shoes here because the rocks are quite sharp, if you also don't know how to swim, bring your life jacket. 

Twin Peaks:

Also known as Twin Lagoons, the waters here are so deep it literally appears black, but I asked the boatmen how deep it was and they said it was around seventy feet. You actually have to swim from where your boat 'parked' to the lagoons, so again, I suggest wearing your life jackets, especially since there aren't big rocks for you to rest on when you get tired from swimming. During lowtide, you can swim from one lagoon to the next, however, during high tide, you have to climb up a ladder on a rock formation to reach the other lagoon

Banol Beach:

Third stop is for lunch time. Oh boy this island took my breath away, the water was a beautiful turquoise shade and the sand was pure white and extremely fine, plus it was really quiet here. 

CYC Beach:

This is a large-ish island with a wide beachfront, you can enjoy your swimming and snorkeling here.

Balinsasayaw Floating House:

Last stop is Balinsasayaw, don't be fooled, you won't actually step into the floating house, the main activity here is snorkeling around the floating bamboo houses, while the marine life underwater is really amazing (lots of fishes and corals), the waves during our stop here were overwhelming, so much that everytime I lift my head from the water, I get slapped around by the big waves. 

Though the destinations were really beautiful and the snorkeling spots were full of fishes and corals, I was extremely disappointed with how the boatmen handled the whole tour, we were told the night before that pick up from our hotel would be around 8:30am. We were all ready by 8.15am and we were picked up from our hotel around 9:00am. The boat dock is only around five minutes away. When we got there, we had to wait another 40 minutes for us to leave, the boatmen kept telling us that the food for our lunch was not complete yet, and when we finally left, the boat was literally so slow that other boats kept passing us. We reached our first stop a little before 11:30am so we had to hike up the mountain under the grueling heat of the summer sun. It actually made me feel as if the boatmen were minimizing our time on the tour, AKA their time working. Being a corporate slave in the city, time is extremely valuable to me, so to be kept waiting for so long was not exactly the best start for the tour.

But enough about that, let talk food. It was a feast! We had grilled fish, crabs, ensaladang talong (eggplant, tomatoes and onion salad), grilled liempo, softdrinks and water, even the condiments like soy sauce were complete. The menu was so perfect for a lunch by the beach. Snacks were also served: we had different breads and softdrinks.

Kayangan Lake

Bulungan Beach

Twin Lagoons

The tour ended at around 4:00pm and after dropping you off at the boat dock, the tour agency would also be the one to bring you back to your hotel.

Tour Price: Php850/head

Tour Inclusions:
Transpo to and from your accommodation
Boat ride to destinations
Tour guides
All entrance fees
Buffet lunch, drinks and snacks
Life jackets

Coron2015 Series: Coron Islands Tour

Our island hopping tours were arranged by the hotel staff, there are a lot of tour agencies that offer basically the same island hopping tours, however, it was Nice in Paradise Travel and Tours which handled all our tour activities. 

We actually spent three whole days hopping all over Coron's gorgeous islands. First off the list was Coron Islands Tour, the destinations were:

Kayangan Lake:

You have to hike up a mountain to reach this beautiful lake. Going to the lake itself is around three hundred steps, one-fifty going up, one-fifty going down, you just have to be really careful because some steps are too high while some are uneven, but there's a wooden railing you can hold on to so you won't fall. Half-way to the lake is the view deck wherein you can see the turquoise waters and rock formations surrounding Kayangan Lake. I would highly suggest wearing aqua shoes here because the rocks are quite sharp, if you also don't know how to swim, bring your life jacket. 

Twin Peaks:

Also known as Twin Lagoons, the waters here are so deep it literally appears black, but I asked the boatmen how deep it was and they said it was around seventy feet. You actually have to swim from where your boat 'parked' to the lagoons, so again, I suggest wearing your life jackets, especially since there aren't big rocks for you to rest on when you get tired from swimming. During lowtide, you can swim from one lagoon to the next, however, during high tide, you have to climb up a ladder on a rock formation to reach the other lagoon

Banol Beach:

Third stop is for lunch time. Oh boy this island took my breath away, the water was a beautiful turquoise shade and the sand was pure white and extremely fine, plus it was really quiet here. 

CYC Beach:

This is a large-ish island with a wide beachfront, you can enjoy your swimming and snorkeling here.

Balinsasayaw Floating House:

Last stop is Balinsasayaw, don't be fooled, you won't actually step into the floating house, the main activity here is snorkeling around the floating bamboo houses, while the marine life underwater is really amazing (lots of fishes and corals), the waves during our stop here were overwhelming, so much that everytime I lift my head from the water, I get slapped around by the big waves. 

Though the destinations were really beautiful and the snorkeling spots were full of fishes and corals, I was extremely disappointed with how the boatmen handled the whole tour, we were told the night before that pick up from our hotel would be around 8:30am. We were all ready by 8.15am and we were picked up from our hotel around 9:00am. The boat dock is only around five minutes away. When we got there, we had to wait another 40 minutes for us to leave, the boatmen kept telling us that the food for our lunch was not complete yet, and when we finally left, the boat was literally so slow that other boats kept passing us. We reached our first stop a little before 11:30am so we had to hike up the mountain under the grueling heat of the summer sun. It actually made me feel as if the boatmen were minimizing our time on the tour, AKA their time working. Being a corporate slave in the city, time is extremely valuable to me, so to be kept waiting for so long was not exactly the best start for the tour.

But enough about that, let talk food. It was a feast! We had grilled fish, crabs, ensaladang talong (eggplant, tomatoes and onion salad), grilled liempo, softdrinks and water, even the condiments like soy sauce were complete. The menu was so perfect for a lunch by the beach. 

The tour ended at around 4pm and after dropping you off at the boat dock, the tour agency would also be the one to bring you back to your hotel.

Coron2015 Series: Getting There and Getting Around

Last Holy Week, my family and I went to Coron, Palawan for our summer trip. 

Coron is a quiet town found north of Palawan and is popular because of its abundance in pristine islands and thriving marine life. Getting there by plane is fairly quick. From Manila, Busuanga Airport (Francisco B. Reyes Airport) is about 45-60minutes by plane. There are flights to Busuanga everyday, though the airfare is a bit more expensive as compared to Puerto Princesa, Palawan since flights to Busuanga are via a twin-prop airplane.

We booked our flights via Cebu Pacific which was scheduled at 4.15pm, April 3, 2015. As expected, NAIA Terminal 3 was packed Well anyway... Some of the other airlines that fly to Busuanga from Manila are Philippine Airlines, SkyJet and AirAsia.

It was my first time to ride a twin-prop plane, admittedly I was bit anxious and felt a wee bit claustrophobic since it is such a small plane. Glad that the flight only took about forty five minutes, I'm not quite sure but I felt that we were flying lower than usual. 

Busuanga Airport is situated in the middle of nowhere, all I ever saw before landing was land. The runway is short that's why only Cessna and ATR planes are allowed to land and take off from there. The airport itself is extremely small, its more of a hangar converted to an airport actually, the airport staff manually carries your luggage from the plane to the arrival area where you can pick it up.

Transport from the airport to your chosen accommodation can be pre-arranged by your hotel or loding, but there are also passenger vans that can take you to your accommodation, fare is at Php150 per head, one way. It takes roughly 30-40 minutes land travel to reach the town proper itself. Meanwhile, you can busy yourself by drinking in the amazing views that unfolds right in front of your eyes during transit. The greenery and mountain views are so beautiful and serene and very relaxing too. I was seated at the front and wished I had eight more eyes so I can properly see everything, the land trip, for me, was just charming.

Since we were checked in right smack in the middle of town, getting around was fairly easy, there are tons of tricycles that you can hail to take you to restaurants or other attractions. Our hotel was also just walking distance to the Catholic Church and Mt. Tapyas, as well as Coron's most famous restaurants.