Coron is a harbour town with a handful of streets and a list of things to do that does not fit the size of it. Almost everything you come for is on or under the water, and more boats leave every morning than you have days. So you are going to choose here, and that is no bad thing.
A few things really belong on the list: the lake everyone comes for, the wrecks on the bottom of the bay, and that staircase up the hill at the end of the afternoon. Others are on every tour leaflet and make a great extra day on the water if you have one, alongside a day on an empty beach. And count on wind: if a trip gets cancelled, it helps to know in advance which ones you really want to do.
So where do your days in Coron go, and what do you save for next time?
Below are the places themselves. Where to sleep, how to get around and how many days to give it are all on our Coron page.
The Japanese wrecks in the bay
This is what Coron has and the rest of the Philippines does not. In September 1944 a whole Japanese fleet was sunk here, and ten of those ships still lie at diveable depth, just off the coast. Divers come from all over the world especially for them, and Coron fully deserves its name as one of the best wreck diving sites in the world.
Two dives cost about €60, and you can join from Open Water level. The deeper wrecks are only open to you with an Advanced certification. No certification at all? You do not have to miss out: a few of the wrecks start at around twelve metres, so from the surface with a snorkel you still see a surprising amount.
If the wrecks are why you are coming, come between December and May. That is when you get visibility of up to thirty metres, while in the rainy season it can drop to about five metres and you mostly stare into grey.
Our verdict: the reason Coron is different from everywhere else, so make room for it
Kayangan Lake on the first boat
Kayangan Lake is called the cleanest lake in the Philippines, and that feeling is spot on the moment you are in it: you can see straight to the bottom. First you climb 150 steps over a rocky ridge, and from the top you look out over the view you knew from Coron before you ever got here.
Entry is about €5, on top of the price of your tour. The lake is a standard part of the classic day trip, together with Twin Lagoon and Barracuda Lake.
Go on the first boat, so make sure you are at the lake before nine. By eleven you are standing shoulder to shoulder with three other boats’ worth of people at that viewpoint, and the calm you came for is completely gone.
Our verdict: those two hours between nine and eleven decide whether you see a lake or a queue
Twin Lagoon
Twin Lagoon is the most photographed spot in the region and also the most fun to actually do rather than just look at. Two lagoons sit wedged between steep limestone cliffs, joined by a gap where you swim under the rock wall into the second one.
Entry is about €3 and you spend around an hour there. This one is usually part of the same day trip as well, so there is nothing extra to arrange.
Swim through that gap, even if it feels a bit nerve-racking. Stay in the first lagoon and you have only seen the famous picture, while that second lagoon is silent and closes in all around you.
Our verdict: absolutely, and swim through to the back
Mount Tapyas at sunset
721 steps, straight up, in the heat. From the top you look out over Coron town, the bay and the islands you sailed around that day, which makes it the best way to finish a day on the water. It costs you nothing.
Allow half an hour to climb. Start around 16.30, so you are at the top in time for sunset and not climbing in the hottest part of the day.
Take water, and that is not a throwaway tip here. Would you rather watch the same sun with a drink in your hand? The rooftop at Outpost Hostel on the hill is the alternative: a drink there costs from about €1.50 and you do not have to be staying there to sit down.
Our verdict: do it, and once is just right
Malcapuya, Banana and Bulog Dos
The islands south of Coron are the counterpart to the lagoons: no cliffs and no crowds, but the whitest sand in the region and a day where you mostly do nothing at all. Malcapuya, Banana and Bulog Dos are all on one southern day trip.
It is a calmer day than the classic lagoon tour, and noticeably fewer boats go there. That is exactly why we rate it higher than most of the tour desks do.
Do this trip on your third day, after the lagoons and the wrecks. Two days in a row of clambering through narrow lagoons is harder than it sounds, and this is the day you recover.
Our verdict: the best third day you can have here
Busuanga’s interior by scooter
Almost everyone does Kayangan and Twin Lagoon, and almost nobody rides out across Busuanga Island. Yet half an hour out of town you are already passing empty beaches, small villages and viewpoints where you can go hours without seeing anyone. It is our own favourite here.
A scooter costs about €7 a day. Ride towards Salvacion and just stop wherever you like, because the ride itself is what makes the day.
Plan this for a day when it is too windy to go out on the water. There is a good chance your boat trip would not have run anyway, and this way you have the best alternative lined up.
Our verdict: the most beautiful day nobody books
The expedition to El Nido
Between Coron and El Nido a boat expedition runs over several days, past remote islands, hidden beaches and uninhabited lagoons that hardly any tourists reach. You sleep on the beach, eat local meals on islands where nobody else lives and spend your evenings round a campfire under the stars.
It takes several days and drops you ashore at the other end of Palawan, so it replaces your fast boat rather than adding a day trip. Plenty of backpackers call it the highlight of their whole trip through the Philippines, and some of all of Southeast Asia.
This one is for when you have the days and are not tied to a flight. Racing through the Philippines in a week? Then the regular four hour fast boat is the sensible choice.
Our verdict: if you have the time, this is the most beautiful thing you will do in the Philippines
Our own pick
Four days between Coron and El Nido
The expedition runs in both directions, Coron to El Nido and back again. Four days and three nights past islands with no promenade and no wifi, sleeping in a beach hut or a glamping tent, snorkelling over coral, and a chef on board who cooks three times a day.
See the expeditionOur partner on this route
Got time to spare in Coron?
Maquinit Hot Springs in the evening
A saltwater hot spring is a rare thing, and for about €3 this one is a lovely place to soak your muscles after a day on the water. The water is 40 degrees, so go towards closing time: the pools are open until about ten at night, and that is when they are at their best. Do not get in with fresh sunburn, because that really is no joke.
Choosing between the Ultimate Tour and the lagoon trip
The Ultimate Tour does seven stops in one day and is the most popular thing to do in Coron. Its best known stops are also on the regular day trip past Kayangan Lake and Twin Lagoon, so pick one of the two. Give the day you save to the southern beaches, which are every bit as beautiful.
An extra day on the water or on a scooter
Coron town is mainly where your boat leaves from: you can walk across it in twenty minutes, and after two evenings you know all the places to eat. If you have a day left over, you will spend it best on the water or on a scooter heading for the coast.
Diving the wrecks
The wrecks in the bay are world famous and impressive even from the outside. The passages inside call for a wreck qualification and a guide, because there have been accidents here with divers who went in too far. Stay out of the enclosed parts until you have that qualification, and do not fly within 18 hours of your last dive, not even the short hop to Manila.
Our top five in Coron
Only got a few days? These are the five we would do no matter what:
- The Japanese wrecks, diving or otherwise just with a snorkel
- Kayangan Lake, on the first boat and at the top before nine
- Twin Lagoon, swimming under the rock wall into the second lagoon
- Mount Tapyas, 721 steps from half past four for the sunset
- Malcapuya, Banana and Bulog Dos on your easy day
Still got time after that? Hire a scooter and ride out across Busuanga towards Salvacion. And if you have weeks rather than days, do not leave for El Nido on the fast boat but on the expedition that takes several days.
So what do you really have to do in Coron?
Everything on this list is worth your time, but in Coron everything happens on the water and the weather decides what runs that day. The travellers who get the most out of it left one day completely empty and took whatever turned out to be possible that morning.
If we had to pick just one thing: get on that first boat. Not because Kayangan Lake is more beautiful than the rest, but because you then get half an hour at that viewpoint with nobody else there. Two hours later it is the same place with four boats in front of it, and you no longer understand why so much has been written about it.
And keep one day as slack. If it is too windy, nothing sails, and then a scooter ride towards Salvacion is not a consolation prize but probably the day you remember longest.
