Coron Questions?

[john-moses]

I am a fairly recently certified open water diver. I completed my PADI certification in February of this year at Apo Island in the Philippines. I have not been able to dive since then but I do have reservations in Coron Palawan this coming February and I am planning to go wreck diving while I am there.

Does anyone have any experience with any dive shops / guides there?

 

[Centrals]

1. Some of the more "interesting" wrecks are in relatively deep water ie. >30m. So AOW is the bare minimum requirement.
2. Developed and expensive operators are D Divers(Discovery) and Sanget Island Resort. If your prefer to stay in Coron then there are several options. But please remember the wrecks are very far from town so treat it as day trip.
The shallower wrecks are nice but it is not completed if you cannot dive the Irako and IJN Akisushima(only warship, flying boat tender, sunk in Coron).

 

[pogonotroph]

We dove with Rock Steady- no complaints.

You will definitely want to get AOW before you go (or during your trip?). I want to say only 2 of the wrecks are accessible to OW divers, and the dive shops seemed pretty strict about enforcing this.

 

[IDS_Bill]

1. Some of the more "interesting" wrecks are in relatively deep water ie. >30m. So AOW is the bare minimum requirement.
2. Developed and expensive operators are D Divers(Discovery) and Sanget Island Resort. If your prefer to stay in Coron then there are several options. But please remember the wrecks are very far from town so treat it as day trip.
The shallower wrecks are nice but it is not completed if you cannot dive the Irako and IJN Akisushima(only warship, flying boat tender, sunk in Coron).

2nd on Discovery Divers. Gunter is awesome. I wrote a piece on the diving we did there the first time we went. Yes the Akitsushima and some others sit in deep (40M-ish) water but just make sure and dive to your abilities. I would get wreck certified before you go but you will have guides. Just make sure to work your finning techniques so you don't silt out the guy behind you. That will make you unpopular real quick.

Here is the artical - http://www.azdivetraining.com/Old Formatted Article.pdf

 

[john-moses]

I would like to thank you guys for taking the time to reply here. Since I probably will not have the opportunity to do any diving prior to going to Coron in Feb, I am considering doing the PADI AOW e-learning here and the practical portion of the course there. With any luck I could get one of the better wrecks as a training dive. Does this sound like a feasible idea?

 

[Pao]

I would like to thank you guys for taking the time to reply here. Since I probably will not have the opportunity to do any diving prior to going to Coron in Feb, I am considering doing the PADI AOW e-learning here and the practical portion of the course there. With any luck I could get one of the better wrecks as a training dive. Does this sound like a feasible idea?

Possible. But probably not enjoyable for the deep wrecks which is the highlight of Coron diving. How comfortable are you in the water? These are deep dark wrecks and can be a bit "scary" for newly certified divers. If you are in the stage when your only concern is not getting separated from the group, then this is not for you. How is your gas consumption? These dives are usually at the edge of your NDL's/gas reserve limits so you might not enjoy the deep wrecks that much. But there are shallower wrecks and Barracuda lake which you can still enjoy if you really want to go to Coron. Know your limits and communicate them to your DM/guide before the dive. The local dive guides/DM's violate certification limits almost routinely so be careful.

 

[Centrals]

There are plenty info on line describing the various wrecks in Coron. Read through it and decide how many of them are to your liking.
Descending to a relatively deep wreck is completely different from a reef dive. Ascending alone(blue water ascend) is the worst if you miss the shot line or separated from your buddy.
Narcosis is another new territory for inexperienced diver to deal with.

 

[gfaith]

wreck and scuba diving sites in Coron Bay, Busuanga, Calamianes Islands, Palawan, Philippines.

This one works.

 

[gfaith]

I would recommend Nitrox and Deep Dive Specialty also.. From my fast read of the link @Centrals posted.

 

[TomZ]

I dove Coron in late July. The viz was very poor. I would strongly recommend AOW, and Nitrox specialties prior to going, along with much more experience than you currently have. I dove with one of previously recommended and well regarded dive shops. My personal DM attempted to take me into a penetration dive at 90' plus. He had one torch and no reel. The viz was about 2 to 2 and a half meters. I turned the dive. One of the specialties I teach is Wreck. You don't know enough to know when a DM is making a mistake. On that same dive another DM put himself into 15 minutes of deco. He couldn't be there for the final ascent with his clients, and laughed it off.