Coron travel advice

[vixtor]

Hello,

I'm planning a trip to Philippines for february/march, and after reading everything I was able to find here and on the web, I still have a few questions that I want to find the answer to, or eventually to confirm with the latest updated info:

1. Accomodation: I'd like (specially for my spouse) to find a place to sleep in the shape of a beach bungalow - something with sea view, a nice beach with trees and rocks. In Thailand (Koh Tao/Koh Phangan) there were plenty of such bungalows on all beaches, at 10-20$/night. Only warm water is required, not even a fan. Here, in Coron, I found only some not-so-cheap resorts and some cheap hotels in the middle of Coron, but which are not bungalows but big buildings with floors and rooms (like a normal hotel). Any advice on this topic?
2. If I would choose some out-of-Coron resort (like Sangat) how complicated is to travel to Coron for pubs, food market and other local activities in the main town? Do I easily find a boat in the resort for this purpose, or is it safe/easy to use the provided kayak for this?
3. Money: I read there's no ATM in Coron. Do I really have to travel with all those amounts of cash? Any other better option? How much should I expect to spend per day?
4. Safety: I was last year - as I was saying - into Thailand. How safe/unsave if Philippines compared to this? I'm reading a lot about kidnapping, terrorists and stuff, but I was also reading this about Thailand, and it felt very safe after all.
5. How many days would be required to enjoy the Coron wreck diving?
6. How many days would be required for other activities around - like the underground river, the lagoons (twin, barracuda and kayangan), and so on? Any specific advice on what not to miss?
7. How feasible would be to travel from Coron to Donsol and Apo(Negros)? How many days would I need in Donsol and Apo for a basic experience - both diving and at surface? Do I need to travel via Manila, or is there a better route?

Thank you all in advance for your help.

 

[Centrals]

I will try to help in a limited extend.
1. Philippines is out of the back-packed tourist beaten track.
2. Sangat Island is miles away from Coron town.
3. No easy solution. How much can you afford to spend?
4. Never an issue for me. Philippines received far too many negative publicity than Thailand.
5. How much do you want to see? Some of the wrecks are pretty big and quite deep as well.
6. The underground river is in Palawan which is hundred of miles away.
7. For Apo Island and Donsol you are better off from Manila. Only snorkelling is allowed in Donsol to see the whaleshark.

 

[vixtor]

1. So what would be the best place to stay in Coron in a beach bungalow? Is there any? I saw some resorts on the Busuanga island, out of Coron - is there an option to rent a motorbike to travel to Coron and back - are there roads?
3. What does it matter how much I can afford to spend? The issue here is how much i need.

Is there local food in the market, like it is in Thailand - so you can eat nice stuff in a colourful environment?

 

[raskous]

I went to Coron a few months ago, and i can tell you it's not really like thailand, you wont see much tourists over there (except around dive shops)

1.Had the same issue when i went there, it was impossible to find that kind of accomodation, for one simple reason: there is no beach in coron. It's a big muddy bay, no postcard style sandy beach.
The only place i saw with such things was a dive resort on a tiny island (the resort a small coconut forest and that's it) that was about 20 min by boat from coron. Can't remember the name though, but the boats pass by it almost everytime you go on a dive trip.
In short: It's a diving kind a place, not really a relax on the beach one ...

Oh another thing, they use the word "resort" a bit easily over there, i went to a so called resort (Sea dive resort) and it was more like a dive shop with rooms and a restaurant, don't expect anything fancy. It was a nice place though. people were great. And don't be scared by the "in the middle of town" aspect, the town is really small... and seadive is right next to the market (again it's not thailand, it's a small smelly market with some local food but no clean street stalls like in Pukhet or Koh Tao. THere are a few cheap and good local restaurant (small and dirty) but it tastes nice.

2. I would not recommend doing that, you'd have to find one of those local's boat every night to go to town and come back, it will end up expensive and troublesome.

3. Yeah i don't remember seeing any ATM, not even sure at the airport... the dive resort i went to accepts cards though.
What I did is just plan how much i'd spend every day (hotel night + food + dives/rentals + night out + transports) add airport transport, multiply by the number of day you're staying and you'll get a decent estimate of the amount of cash to bring... don't worry it's pretty safe :

4. I went twice to the phillipines and it felt as safe and welcoming as tourist-thailand (Also went twice)

5. I stayed four days in coron, 3 days of full diving, and one day of island hopping. It felt perfect to me, i was able to see a lot of amazing wrecks and we never went to the same dive site even once.
The dive sites just won't disappoint you, it totally deserves its reputation of one of the best wreck dive sites. My favorite was the Taiei Maru, huge huge rooms rotated 90 degrees, you see the bottom so far but yet you don't fall, great feeling... and at some point you go in a totally dark room, you can't see behind or in front of you, you're just flying in the emptiness... best feeling ever...
Be sure to check out the Baraccuda lake with the HOt water/COld water line (thermolyte) , it's just mind blowing.

And the divemasters are just awesome people, funny, and interesting, and really good cooks as well (freshly fished fish grilled on the boat... rahh yummy)

Honestly i only started to get bored on the last day (not of the diving, but of the city), it is a really small place, so in the evening there's not much to do, there are a few bars around though.

6. The last day of island hopping was also pretty amazing, those islands are just gorgeous, and it's exactly what you need after 3 days of diving, it's the perfect dry day activity... From what I saw that island hopping trip included most of the famous sites, so one day was probably enough. (while snorkeling on some sites, don't worry when an indigenous comes by on a boat and ask you for money, it's the entry fee to the reserve)


Can't really help you for the other questions
You won't regret your trip to coron, it's an amazing place

Enjoy !

 

[jastorino]

I just got back from a trip to the Philippines.
Regarding accomodation in Coron: Check out Discovery divers. They have a resort in Coron Town. There is also a resort that is closer to the wrecks called Puerto Del Sol. We stayed in Puerto Del Sol. It was beautiful! And only about 10-30 minute banka ride to the wrecks. If you stay in Coron town, it is an hour and a half to the wrecks.
Puerto Del Sol is quite far from Coron town, it took about an hour jeepney ride there and hour and a half back ('cause the jeepny made stops for supplies). The town is small. There are sari-saris and restaurants and night life, but not many. You won't find this in Puerto Del Sol. Puerto Del Sol is a very small resort, no night life, no stores. It is a quiet place, but gorgeous. No beaches. You'll have to arrange a banka ride to the other islands.
Yes, there are absolutely no ATMs. Discovery Divers will accept Pay Pal, but you'll have to have your checking account set up through Pay Pal before you go as Visa and Mastercard and Amex won't work from the Philippino web address (we had this problem).

I felt the Philippines was VERY safe. The people are warm and welcoming. Service is fantastic.

+1 for Taiei Maru! I also loved the Kogyo Maru and the Akitsushima!!

Have a great trip!

 

[Centrals]

3. What does it matter how much I can afford to spend? The issue here is how much i need.

Of course it does. It depends on:
1. Number of dive per day.
2. Where you are staying eg. Discovery Divers, Sangat Island Resort or Seadiver?
3. What else you want to do after divng if staying in town?

Kyoguzan Maru(asbestos wreck), a seldom visited wreck, is quite a distance away BUT well worth the effort. Check it out as most dive shops are very reluctant to go there.

 

[vixtor]

Puerto Del Sol is a very small resort, no night life, no stores. It is a quiet place, but gorgeous. No beaches. You'll have to arrange a banka ride to the other islands.

What do you mean no beaches? Puerto del Sol seems to be a beach resort, with cottages on the beach.. Am I missing something?

 

[vixtor]

By the way, am I missing something? I think I have explored all accomodation options in the Coron area that are mentioned on the internet, and the prices are a little crazy - in the range of 150-200 USD/night for a beach bungalow. Am I missing something? I was expecting something in the range of 20-40 USD/night..

 

[raskous]

Again, there are no beaches around Coron, i don't know where you've seen beach cottages, but there are no such things around there.

100 USD a night is crazy.
At seadive resort I paid around 1000 Pesos for one of the best room (I think that's around 20 usd)

You should probably give up on the "paradise room on the beach". there is no such thing over there, or if there is it's really far away from coron and super expensive
From what i remember Puerto del sol has no beach has well, they just have luxurious cottage with ocean view. But they're located in the coron bay in the marina, which means no beach

 

[vixtor]

I was looking at Sangat Resort, Dive Link Resort and a few others..

Yes, probably I will have to give up on the beach cottage dream.. but it sounded so nice. Now the question in my mind is to ditch the cottage dream, or to cancel Coron completely and head somewhere else, like Palau or Tioman, which both have wrecks but also seem to have what I'm dreaming to find..

Is there any other destination in Philippines with some wrecks, good visibility, but also beaches, coconut trees and small bungalows facing the ocean?