Introduction
If you only read one of our blogs this might be it, and I hope it reaches you before you book your accommodation in Coron. It will take you 3 minutes and will most likely change your whole trip to Coron in Palawan for the better.
Are you younger than 60 years old? Physically healthy? If so, it's very unlikely you should want to stay in a hotel in Coron at all.
What to See in the Land in Coron
Now forgive me, but I’m going to assume you don’t know that much about Coron, if you did, you would know Coron only has two things on it’s land to offer tourists that are worth visiting.
The first is Mt Tapyas and the second is the Maquinit Hot Springs, both of these places are awesome and well worth a visit and can be done in an afternoon.
Apart from these two, there is very little worth visiting in Coron itself. Everything else is out on the water.
If you look at Trip Advisor top things to do in Coron these are the only two actually in Coron Palawan out of the top 30! And almost all of them are at least 1-2 hours away boat ride from Coron town.
Plus, Coron has no beaches that are easily accessible.
Now, I would recommend if you have an extra day in Coron to rent bikes and do a road trip and head to the beaches a couple hours away, but this wouldn't rank in the top things to do, is more if you have the spare day.
OK, so Why Bother Going to Coron at all?
What to See in Coron
Well, because when you take those boat rides away you are met with absolute wonder and beauty which makes it all so worth it. Places like Kayangan Lake, Sunken WW2 Shipwrecks, Black Island, Coral Garden etc.
But, there's another snag!
When 99% of tourists like yourselves come to Coron they stay in accommodation in Coron town and spend most of their time travelling to and from Coron on overcrowded boats to visit the overcrowded sights out on the water, then spend their evenings in Coron town waiting for the next day.
Now tourists aren’t to blame, the simple fact is almost all of them do not know this is how it is or even worse they think this is the only option; but it isn't.
Coron Islands
I only found out once I travelled from Coron to different islands that you go to visit that you could actually stay on the islands themselves overnight!* (Now it can only be done with an official expedition for Health and Safety but back then it was different).
Expeditions are fairly well known between Coron and El Nido, but within Coron and the Calamian Islands itself, they're not as well known, and funnily enough they are arguably better than Coron to El Nido Boat Expeditions (and we say this also as an operator of coron to el nido expeditions!)
Now you might be asking, what’s the difference between staying on the islands and staying in Coron town and all I can say is it makes all the difference!
The islands are beautiful and much closer to all the places you want to be, Coron town isn’t. When you wake up on the Islands there is white sand at your feet and the ocean in front of you.
Plus, there isn’t much accommodation so you feel a sense of privacy and seclusion that is so serene. It is so authentic ‘Island Life’.
The second huge benefit is that by staying outside of Coron town you do not have to follow the standard timings like all of the other tourists which means you can get to and from the sights earlier or later than 99% of the tourists.
Oh and you get there quicker.
Hopefully now you know this you can plan your trip better :).
Do not forget to check our Where to Stay in Coron guide for more accommodation options.
Outro
Krish and I set up the Coron Island Life expedition with the vision to make the best expedition as possible and it seems we've achieved that goal (featured in Lonely planet and the top rated expedition on trip advisor).
But even if you don't go with us, we don't mind... just please go with somebody! It is by far the best way to see Coron (and to get from Coron to El Nido and vice versa)
The most common email we receive goes along the lines of ‘We really want to do your expedition but we’ve already booked our accommodation! What can we do!?’
The point of this article is to hopefully reduce that number! It pains me to read it.
I hope this information was helpful for you and I also hope to see you in Coron Palawan one way or the other, there really is nowhere else like it! Thanks for reading!