What to Do in Palawan: 1 Day Coron Island Tour

No trip to Coron is complete without basking in its natural beauty. So our second day in Bacau Bay Resort was meant just for that: a 1 Day Coron Island Tour.  Our call time was at 8 AM as we were scheduled to visit all three iconic spots around Calamian Islands. I normally don’t eat breakfast. But had a light one anyway in Amihan Restaurant to prep myself for a whole day of water activities courtesy of Ocean & Pearl Tours. Ready for fun? Here are the highlights of our island hopping tour in Coron.

Stop 1: Twin Lagoons

After our tasty breakfast, our group of 14 made its way to Bacau Bay’s Pier Marina. There, we were greeted by their warm staff, including the resort’s GM Mr. Gilbert Uy. We were all smiles as the crew welcomed our group as we boarded the big bi-leveled banca. The first level is where guests seats are while the second level serves as a viewing deck slash tanning area.

I personally couldn’t contain my excitement because I saw our banca had all the works for a thrilling Coron Island Tour. We had beach towels, snorkeling gear, snacks, and refreshments. The crew even provided a speaker for music, big throw pillows, and folding chairs. Just so we can all happily lounge around the viewing deck while on tour. Now, that’s what you call 5-star service!

We then strapped on our life jackets and proceeded to a quick stop over for coastguard inspection. I loved that there were ambulant vendors when we arrived at the port who sold gears and essentials  to make our day tour more enjoyable. One boarded our boat and we giddily bought waterproof phone cases, dry bags, and aqua shoes.

Twin Lagoons Coron: A Beauty to Behold

And so after a 15 minute ride, we finally made it to our first stop of our Coron Island Tour: the Twin Lagoons. I’ve always seen the site in travel blogs but I wasn’t expecting it to be that breathtaking! Two turquoise-kissed lakes separated by a majestic piece of limestone rock. The first lagoon was more IG worthy, to be honest. But we circled around to the second one as it’s more swimmable.

Several boats were already on site with their guests excitingly frolicking about swimming and kayaking. We hurriedly went down and walked/swam towards the lake. Fun fact! Both lagoons are made of both fresh and sea water. So there are some areas where you’ll feel the salinity and water temperature change. A 5 minute snorkel took us to our first photo spot. A big edgy limestone rock backdropped against the lake and the limestone walls of the Twin Lagoons.

We took turns climbing up the rock where our guide Kuya El enthusiastically took our photos. Be careful going up as the edges are sharp and sea urchins abound. But it’s all worth it, we promise! The view is just spectacular and the shots, even more breathtaking! Enjoy the adrenaline as your jump to the water going down! 🙂

Tip: If you come early enough and get lucky, you can swim to the ‘cave’. It serves as a small passage way to the other lagoon.

Stop 2: Lunch at Banul Beach

It took us some time to wrap things up at Twin Lagoons (too Gram-worthy) so we proceeded to Banul Beach for early lunch. And it was a sight to behold: white powdery sand embraced by clear sparkling waters. We took the rubber boat to the shore where we were welcomed again by the amazing staff of Bacau Bay Resort Coron.

A full-blown Boodle Lunch was waving, nestled in the quaint nipa huts along the shore. We definitely feasted like kings with the generous lunch spread. Think grilled squid, chicken, pork, coupled with whole pieces of their local fish like Samaral. Don’t forget the veggies sides, rice, refreshments, and fruits for dessert! The complete works, indeed. HAY BUSOG!!!

There’s also a vendor in the island offering tourists at Banul Beach different refreshments like cold soda, water, and coconut. After eating, we took a short walk up the rocks that revealed the swimming area of Banul Beach. Everyone was still full so we just took shots in the limestone formations by the shore.

Still with us? Let me take you to the second half of our Coron Island Tour with Ocean & Pearl.

Stop 3: Barracuda Lake

Stop 3 of our Coron Island Tour with Bacau Bay took us to Barracuda Lake. Armed with our life jackets, snorkle gear, and underwater cameras, we ‘hopped’ across the tourist boats docked at the lake. The 10 minute ascent around the Limestone formations starts at the wooden walkway. Then ends at a narrow wooden platform suspended over the lake.

Barracuda Lake – named after the large barracuda fish skeleton discovered in it –  is one of the famous diving sites located in Palawan. And it’s majestic as it sounds: a crater of blue water embraced by tall limestone cliffs all around. Just like the Twin Lagoons, the locally known Luluyuan Lake is also a Thermocline.

It was a hot day so Karla and I just had to jump right in! Barracuda Lake’s temperature at the top is around 28 degrees Celsius. But as you get deeper at around 14 meters, the water temperature increases to 38 degrees Celsius. Getting even deeper reveals a cooler temperature and a change of water color: from clear blue to tea brown at about 34 meters.

Too bad our friend Anne of Queen’s Escape (photo above) had her Coron Island Tours a day earlier. So we didn’t get to see her in action free diving at the lake. That left Karla to sub for her. Awesome job for trying your best to freedive despite not having formal freediving training. After about an hour of floating about, we made our way back via Kayak (with ninja bending moves to avoid all the boat riggers around). Awesome sauce!

Stop 4: Kayangan Lake

At about 3:30 PM, we headed to our fourth Coron Island Tours stop, Kayangan Lake. Now this, I was really looking forward to see. 187 steps up and 200 steps down will definitely feel worth it because of its beauty. In fact, I could not contain my excitement that I ran all the way up to the viewing deck.

It’s a good thing our Bacau Bay group arrived early because we had the famous photo spot overlooking Kayangan Lake all to ourselves. It had an unobstructed view of the pristine waters surrounded by limestones, accented by the wooden walkway along the shore.

A gazillion photos and videos later, we hurriedly made our way to swim at the other side of the lake. Before being welcomed back to our boat with bowls of minatamis na saba. How thoughtful!

Tip: Kayangan Lake closes at 5PM so make sure you arrive early.

Stop 5: Coral Garden or Shipwreck

Just when we thought the fun was done, Ocean & Pearl took us to Coral Garden for our last stop. And it’s a must too when doing a Coron Island Tour. We arrived smack as the sun started to set. Karla, Mark, and I opted to Kayak around. While Jackie, Marj, and Jonel snorkled around the Coral Gardens. Divers can also go for a 10-15 feet drive to view the Skeleton Wreck, a sunken Japanese shipwreck from WWII.

Before we knew it, we had to paddle back so we can safely sail towards harbor. Of course, we could not pass up the opportunity to do a mini-sunset cruise. Full blast music, drinks, and endless photos with the group on the viewing deck. Our 1 Day Coron Island Tour ended on such a high note! Even more so as we docked with the resort’s staff waiting for us, all smiles, with refreshments on hand. What a day, so much worth then tan!

Thank you so much for the wonderful experience Ocean & Pearl Tours and Bacau Bay Resort Coron!

Coron Island Tour Reservations

Want the same experience in Coron? Book and stay at Bacau Bay Resort. Booking info@bacaubaycoron.com or www.bacaubayresortcoron.com or call 09957603444 for inquiries. Inland Tours also available upon request.

Island Hopping Tips When In Coron

1. Bring your water activity essentials: Waterproof phone case, cameras, aqua shoes, dry bags, dive/snorkle gears
2. Eat a light breakfast beforehand: This is important. It’s a long hot day when Island Hopping around Coron. There are refreshments in all stops but it’s advisable to eat a light but hearty breakfast. You need all the energy to traverse the limestone formations. Lucky we had Bacau Bay Resort taking care of all our needs so snacking was a breeze.
3. SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN. We cannot stress this enough. All Coron Island Tour stops are ‘open’ sites so unless you’re in a dive suit or rashguards, protect your skin at all times! Carry a bottle even docked as you can spend hours at one site. Don’t be like me who left her bottle in the boat every single time. Thus the tan!
4. HYDRATE. It can get quite hot all day so make sure you stay hydrated. Bring your own thermal bottle if you must.
5. Enjoy But Be Careful. Last but not the least, enjoy but be careful. While the tour around Coron is fun, one needs to be physically ready/fit to fully enjoy things. There’s a lot of trekking and swimming all through out the Island Hopping. So extra care is needed. But don’t worry your tour guides are there to assist.

Group photos courtesy of Karlaroundtheworld.com