Fun Things To Do In Coron Philippines

Coron is a province of Palawan in the Philippines. It has a population of over 51,000 people. Coron relies on fishing and tourism. Tourism does well because its beaches and diving sites sunken Japanese warships at depths between 10 and 40 meters. What are the best things to do in Coron Philippines?

In Coron, you can start by relaxing on the amazing beaches in Coron or go scuba diving where you will have the chance to see Japanese warships that were sunk in World War 2. You can also go island hopping to the other islands nearby or relax at the Maquinit Hot Springs.

In this post, we will go through things to do in Coron Philippines. Let’s get started!

Learn More About the Philippines

Is Coron Worth Visiting?

Coron is worth visiting especially if you enjoy relaxing by the beach and doing a little bit of exploring and island hopping. It may be quiet if you are looking to go there to party for a few days but there are places to enjoy drinks by the beach.

Things To Do In Coron Philippines

Coron is a province of Palawan that is a wedge-shaped mountainous island, with steep cliffs and karst rocks. This offers visitors to Coron the opportunity to enjoy great viewpoints.

Here is our list of things to do in Coron Philippines.

Explore Coron Bay

Seeing Coron Bay is definitely a must-do. The bay has stunning and hidden lagoons that are just as jaw-dropping with wonderful views of Coron Bay. Along with the stunning landscape, the coral reef in the bay is full of marine life as well as colorful.

View over Coron Bay at Coron's Kayangan Lake

You can hire a tour guide to accompany your trip around this bay. They will know the best spots for swimming, and snorkeling, and the best viewpoints for that Instagram photo.

Go Diving

Coron Bay is famous for diving in particular wreck diving. The wrecks are from World War II, where the Japanese fleet was attacked by US forces on September 24th, 1944, sinking ships around Coron.

The wrecks are around 11 meters deep and you can dive around the remains of the Japanese warships. You can also go cave diving in several caves.

Some of the wreck diving sites in Coron Bay include Akitsushima, Kogyo Maru, Irako, Kyokuzan Maru, Okinawa Maru, Nanshin Maru, Skeletons Wrecks, and many more.

But keep in mind, that you must be accompanied by a professional scuba diver when going there because not just any diver can dive in and around these places.

See A Dugong

The dugong is a medium-sized marine mammal averaging 600 to 800 pounds. They are found in warm coastal waters from East Africa to Australia.

They are closely related to Manatees. And their body with no dorsal fin or hind limbs. The forelimbs or flippers are paddle-like.

We were able to see a dugong by arranging with local dive or tour operators. It takes around a 2-hour boat ride (one way) to the dugong site but it’s worth it.

You can spend 20 minutes with the dugong nearby. You take some Instagram-worthy pictures and videos underwater as well.

Also, you with see other marine life like lionfish, rockfish, pufferfish, lobster, and beautiful corals.

Visit Culion Island

Near Coron Island, there is a historic and interesting place called Culion Island. Culion Island is said to be an isolated shelter for leprosy. Today, the island is open to the public.

Currently, visitors can see traces of the island’s past history. You will see photos and exhibits with a guide talking about the island’s history.

Besides being famous for its leprosy shelter, Culion Island is also known as a protected forest.

Climb Mount Tapyas

Climbing to the top of Mount Tapyas sounds like a big challenge when someone says it is over 700 feet above sea level. Your trip to Coron would not be complete if you did not try to climb Mount Tapyas.

It’s not rough terrain but there are 724 steps up to the top. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the top. If not fit, it is okay, you can stop along the way and rest.

When you get to the top, you will see the panoramic view of Coron Town, Busuanga Island, sunrise, sunset, and the surrounding oceans and islands.

People usually go there for sunset and can get very busy. The stairs are not lit after dark so descend while there is still some light.

Enjoy Maquinit Hot Springs

Maquinit is a hot spring located about 30 minutes outside of Coron Town. This is one of the very few saltwater hot springs in the world. There are two ponds built away in the middle of a mangrove forest where a small beach is located next to it.

Here you can soak in hot spring ponds with a temperature of 39 to 41 degrees Celsius. Natural hot springs coming from the bottom of the volcano will make you reluctant to leave this place.

All your tiredness will disappear when soaking in this natural hot spring.

Visit Malcapuya Island

In the vicinity of Coron Island, there is a beautiful beach with white sand. This is located on Malcapuya Island. As you walk the beach, all you can say is “WOW! This is a beautiful beach!!”. The water is crystal clear and warm with white sand and crystal water.

You can spend your day swimming and sunbathing here. This is a pretty ideal place to chill with family for a few hours. To reach this place, you have to take a private boat tour.

Explore Kingfisher Park

Kingfisher Park is an ecotourism attraction that strives to protect the wildlife, forest, and vegetation in the area. In Kingfisher Park, you can go bird watching, at night go Firefly watching, see the planktons, go kayaking, hiking, and waterfalls tours.

Sunscreen and insect repellent are HIGHLY recommended. The park is about 15 km from Coron Town, about a 20 to 25 min drive by motorbike.

USEFUL TRAVEL RESOURCES

Book Accommodation

Booking.com has a large range of properties from hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and resorts where you will find the best deals. Airbnb and Hostelworld also have a good range of places to stay at good prices.

Booking Flight

Skyscanner is a flight search comparison website that searches millions of flights all at once. Ultimately it is the best flight comparison website online at the moment.

Booking Transportation & Things To Do

Rome2rio and 12Go are useful to plan how to get anywhere by searching train, bus, car, and ferry routes. Especially useful in countries like Vietnam or Thailand. While Klook is great for exploring things to do in each place.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is cheap and more than likely you will never need to use it but you will have peace of mind if something does happen, you are covered in case of an emergency. World Nomads have great customer service and competitive prices.

Check out our resource page for the best companies to use when you travel.

Wrapping Up

Finally, Coron is a good place to visit especially if you are interested you can start by relaxing on the amazing beaches in Coron or go scuba diving where you will have the chance to see Japanese warships that were sunk during World War 2. You can also go island hopping to the other islands nearby.

And that’s it for now! I’d love to know if this guide on things to do in Coron Philippines has helped you. Let me know if you have any questions and let me know if there is more to add.

Is Coron Worth Visiting?