Do It Yourself Coron

When we went to Coron, Palawan earlier this March, we had pre-arranged tour package from Rudy's Place. It included two-way airport transfer, 4 days 3 nights accomodation, breakfast and dinner and island tours with buffet lunch. The price was Php5,500 per person after a Php2,000 down payment. You may check their website for more details.

To my surprice (my better half being oblivious to the thought), we could have saved a lot if we did a Do-It-Yourself trip. We pretty much don't know anything beforehand so we opted to a prearranged vacation.

But if we will ever plan to go back to Coron (because it is such a beautiful place!), we will definitely do it ourselves!


Some Tips in Do-It-Youself visit to Coron:


Any do-it-yourself activities usually require more time than adopting what is currently existing. It is like the wheel have already been invented but you want to build your own to cut the cost and make it more personalized. Not mentioning it is more fun and a great learning experience as well.

The same goes for do-it-yourself vacations. You may cut your cost but it will require more time. So be prepared.

Book your flight to Busuanga ahead of time. If you do it like more than a month or two before your actual vacation, you can save money on your air fare price.

Contact and pre-arrange your lodging in Coron. Other than the plane ticket reservation, this is another thing you need to do before you fly there. Although it is much more exciting to go around the town and look for places to stay on your own, it is not fun during peak days of summer where most affordable hotels are fully booked and you will be likely left with more expensive options. Just make sure to go to a place that is within the town proper to save yourself some cash from tricycle rides to and from.

If the hotels and/or resorts offer you packages that include island tours, kindly decline them since you will be doing it yourself. This is the reason why you are reading this post in the first place.

Once you have your tickets booked and have paid the hotel reservation (if there's any), patiently deal with the anticipation of going to the beautiful island of Coron.

Depending on time of the day that you will land on Busuanga's Francisco B. Reyes Airport, the first thing that you need to do is pre-arrange your island hopping/tour. You have two ways to do this: first one is the true to the word Do-It-Yourself and the second one, join a trip with other tourists.

True to word Do-It-Yourself:

Most often that not, your hotel host/hostess will know some one from the local boating association.  Ask them to refer you to someone that will arrange a boating trip for you. At the time of this writing, the regulated fee for a whole day trip to Coron Island is Php1500. That already includes boat rent, crew fee and gasoline. You will have to shoulder your lunch and the entrance fees to the destinations you wish visit which is usually up to 5 to 6 locations.

For your lunch, you may buy fresh seafood from the just nearby wet market and inform your boat crew to prepare it for you (you may return this kindness by giving them some amount as tip when the day is over). But be informed that they can only grill on the boat. For this matter you will need to provide the charcoal as well. You can buy cooked rice from some carinderias which are also within the market.

You can enjoy this way of touring around the island of Coron if you are a group of 5-8 (or more) people. The amount to be spent per person will be minimized as you have to divide it among yourselves. Not mentioning that you own the entire boat for the day. Unlike the second option which follows.

Join a trip with other tourists:

In cases where you are just with your special someone, it is more affordable to take this route.

Within the town area, there are lots of establishments that offer packaged island tours. After you have settled your things in your place of stay, go around town and look for the package that you are most comfortable with. If you arrived in the morning, the most suited tour you can take is the Coron Island Tour. It is considered 'Day 1' tour and costs around Php650-800 per person depending on where you will book your trip.

These packages include everything (boat rent, crew fee, gasoline, buffet lunch and site entrance fees). The reservation that you will make is actually a slot in the boat that usually takes up to 8 passengers. If your group (especially if you are only two), does not meet the minimum passenger requirement of a trip (Day 1 minimum is 5), other tourists will have to fill the necessary vacancies.



Around Town: Coron

Some hotels include touring around the town of Coron in their packages. The usual destinations are Mt. Tapyas, Maquinit Saltwater Hotspring and souvenir buying around Coron town proper.

The main mode of transportation in Coron is tricycle. At the time of this writing, the fare is Php10 per person. You may also rent a bike or motorcycle if you feel like it. Everything (souvenir shops, other goods shops, restaurants, wet/dry market, tricycle terminal) you need is within a walking distance from the town proper. That is why it is more advisable to book your lodging nearby.