Best dives in Coron Palawan

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rjjj111

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Location
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I am going to Coron, the end of March 2014. I have never been wreck diving but hear it is great fun. I am wanting to know what are the best dive locations in Coron, like best to least. Also what all is there to do in Coron?
 
I am going to Coron, the end of March 2014. I have never been wreck diving but hear it is great fun. I am wanting to know what are the best dive locations in Coron, like best to least. Also what all is there to do in Coron?

I think you better bring a good book as it was a pretty quite town when I was there but of course that was way back in 2004. There was one bar/dance club up on the hill with a few videoke bars and restraurants below. As I recall the Akitsushima was nice although the bottom was at about 120 feet it is on it's side with the seaplane crane providing interesting backdrop. I think the Irako - a refrigeration ship was nice too. I like critters more than anything these days so it all depends on what is active during your stay. Don't grab any ledges as the wrecks are full of scorpion fish and lion fish hover around everywhere. The visibility usually isn't the best.


this site seems to have good info.

The Shipwrecks of Coron | Wreck Diving | Philippines
or
Dive Right-Coron, PADI Dive Center S-6121 (dived with this now closed operation back then)
or
Philippine Diving; your guide to diving, accommodation and travel in Coron and Busuanga

Have fun and get Nitrox certification and I think they have larger tanks there too.
 
Hi rjjj111,

I just arrived in Coron this past Tuesday. I have done 6 of the wrecks so far and have to say that the Okikawa Maru gets my vote for the best wreck, so far all the wrecks have been great fun and as a 3rd dive doing Lusong Gunboat is good as it is 11m and just off to the side there is like a little reef where we spotted a turtle.
I agree with jbb about getting a Nitrox certification as you really do get more bottom time to enjoy it all.

If you come to Coron I hope to see you around as I will still be here.
 
Some of them are at the deeper end(rec level) eg. Akitsushima and Irako. Kyokuzan Maru which is on the northern side of the island and is least visited but very interesting. Piles of broken ceramic and remains of a truck or two.
Enjoy!
 
Asking the best sites is a lot like asking what is your favorite pizza. Everybody has their own favorite for their own reasons. Lots of divers like the Irako because it is the deep one, and lots of people like the Akitsushima because there are guns on it. My personal favorite is the Okikawa Maru. It is 26 meters max depth and gives great penetrations if your skills are good. But the Okikawa is outside the bay and currents can be strong. Barracuda is a unique dive worth seeing. It is a lake dive with a geothermal vent. The surface is fresh water sitting on top of salt water. The top of the saltwater later is about 100 deg F. The cathedral cavern will be hit or miss as this is the beginning of the Amihan season. The cavern faces open ocean and because of the NE trade winds it will be unlikely to have favorable/safe conditions. For reefs: Twin peaks is great. Near Balisasayo Resort is one of the nicest reefs I have seen. I'ts just a little small. You can swim for about ten minutes. If you don't mind a small reef to go slow and look around, its perfect. The added bonus is that is is not a well known dive spot. Neptune Wall is good. Most of the reefs are coral slopes, Neptune wall is a wall with a max depth around 30 meters. Last year there were pygmy seahorses around 25 meters. The fans had some sort of sickness maybe from high sea temp? I have not looked lately to see what has come back since the sea cooled down. Yesterday the water temp was around 28 C.
 
The attractiveness of both Akitsushima and Irako for me are the inside of both wrecks. There are plenty to see but you need to be qualified as well as with suitable equipment.
If you like wreck then I am sure you will return for more.

Have a nice trip.
 
I was in Coron at the beginning of this month, visibility was not very good (but a lot better than the UK lol). We were lucky to see a whale shark while coming up to do our deco stops from the Irako. It stayed around us for a couple of minutes before disappearing.
 
We saw a whale shark on Irako, must think its related... lol Everyone else at the resort was chuffed because they went to barracuda lake and missed out!

I really like Morazan, its not too deep and quite open for easy penetration.
 

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