Just mention Coron to any Filipino and their eyes light up at the thought of it. Many Filipinos have never been there themselves, but they’ll confidently declare that Coron is the most beautiful place in the Philippines. Travel + Leisure even named Palawan, the province that Coron is part of, as the world’s best island. Needless to say, we were excited to visit the island that made so many go gaga over it. After spending two weeks hopping around Coron Town and on islands around it, we’ve come up with the top adventurous things to do in Coron that you shouldn’t miss when you visit.
1. Hike Mt. Tapyas
Coron has to be the hottest place I’ve ever been. And we lived in the desert, so that’s saying something. Even with temperatures of 97°F and humidity at 95%, we were assured that climbing to the top of Mt. Tapyas should definitely be on your list of adventurous things to do in Coron.
We’ve climbed Humphreys Peak in Flagstaff to the summit at 3,851 meters (12,633 feet) and trekked up to the cone of Stromboli at 924 meters (3031 feet), so a measly 210 meters should be a walk in the park. Holy hell, walking up 742 steps to the top of Mt. Tapyas left us pouring buckets of sweat.
But the view over Coron Town below and stretching out across both Busuanga Island and Coron Island is worth the stinging of salty sweat dripping in your eyes. Just be sure to bring enough water, a towel and maybe don’t start the climb at 3pm when the sun is at its hottest. Seriously, the heat and humidity is no joke here.
2. Soak in Maquinit Springs
Soaking in hot springs might sound a bit insane after I was just going on about the heat. Honestly, sitting in 39-41°C (102°F) sounded like the last thing we wanted to do, especially after having just climbed Mt. Tapyas.
Maquinit Springs are one of very few salt water hot springs in the world. Two pools that have been built in the mangrove forest and there’s a small beach just beyond. Natural hot water from an underground volcano feeds the pools to produce the therapeutic waters. And actually, it felt really good even after the hot climb up Mt. Tapyas.
The springs are located about 30 minutes outside of Coron Town, but you can easily hire a tricycle. Negotiate with a tricycle to take you round trip. It should cost between 300-400 PHP (about $8 US) and they will wait while you visit Maquinit Springs. Entry to the springs is 200 PHP ($4 US) for the first hour and an hour is really enough.
3. Swim in the hidden lagoon at Twin Lagoon
The Twin Lagoon gets its name from a limestone wall that divides the water in to two lagoons. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen…and I can’t believe I got to experience it twice.
During low tide, you can easily swim through an archway in the limestone wall to access the inner hidden lagoon. With the limestone towers of Calis Mountain embracing the inner lagoon, fresh and salt water meet causing a thermocline with layers of varying water temperatures.
The limestone walls surrounding the inner lagoon are rich with corals and marine life. I swear, aside from when you stir up the brackish water and cause it temporarily to look like oil mixing with vinegar, you can see down clearly for at least 5o feet. This was one of our favorite places to snorkel because of the unique environment coupled with stunning walls of coral.
4. See the most beautiful view in Coron and swim in Lake Kayangan
Lake Kayangan is one of the most popular places in Coron and the most photographed. It can get incredibly crowded. With views like that from a much easier and shorter climb than Mt. Tapyas, it’s easy to see why it gets so crowded. The key to enjoying this spot is to go early.
We’ve done both a small group tour and a private tour with Two Seasons Resorts and highly recommend the private option. Not only are the Two Seasons’ fleet of speed boats and outriggers more comfortable, but doing your own private tour allows for the schedule to be altered. Two Seasons also provides all guests with water booties, which are essential for visiting Lake Kayangan. I actually missed the climb up to Lake Kayangan on my first group tour because it had rained, was very slick and I didn’t have the appropriate footwear.
We could choose what time we wanted to leave, and by leaving the resort at 8am we were the very first visitors to Lake Kayangan. It’s one of Coron Island’s seven fresh water lakes and one of only two lakes that are open to the public (the other lakes can potentially be visited by requesting special permission from the indigenous Tagbanua tribe who calls the island home).
After a short, but hot and sweaty hike up to a viewpoint overlooking Coron Bay, the rocky trail descends down to the fresh water lake. It’s really refreshing to take a dip in the lake, especially after that hike. Just don’t forget to stash some mosquito repellent in your bag because the mosquitoes can get aggressive with the thick vegetation surrounding the lake.
5. Dive to see the underwater mountains in Barracuda Lake
Barracuda Lake is another one of Coron’s fresh water lakes, and the weirdest place we can imagine diving!
To reach the lake, you have a short hike up rickety wooden stairs and slick granite rocks with all your dive gear on your back. The lake is a heliocline and a thermocline. That means it has layers of salt and fresh water, plus varying temperatures as hot as 38° C (100° F). Between being bizarrely hot while diving in a hot spring, it looks like the mountains from the movie Avatar underwater and you can just hang out suspended while taking in the view of underwater mountain peaks.
The lake is incredibly clear and it’s worth a stop even if you only snorkel, but to experience the hot spring and truly take in the magnitude of the underwater peaks, it’s best explored on a dive.
6. Snorkel on a WWII Japanese shipwreck
The waters around Coron are filled with WWII shipwrecks and the Japanese ship known as Skeleton Wreck is shallow enough that snorkelers can appreciate the wreck and coral reef that has formed on it. The stern of Skeleton Wreck lies in just 5 meters (16 feet) of water and with a dry snorkel, you can easily free-dive down for a closer look.
7. Dive in the top diving location in the Philippines
One of the top reasons that we chose Coron out of all the locations to visit in the Philippines was to put our new dive certifications to use. We did our research and Coron appeared as the one of the best places to dive in all of the Philippines.
In hindsight, Coron is an excellent dive location for divers a little more advanced than us. As previously mentioned, the waters of the islands that make up Coron are filled with shipwrecks perfect for skilled divers to maneuver their way through the various rooms of.
Tim did go inside a few rooms with our dive master, but I still feel like I’m figuring out my buoyancy and just don’t have the control yet necessary to avoid bumping in to things inside a confined space of a shipwreck. I also still get the nervous jitters in my stomach before a dive.
Diving Coron’s Wrecks and Reefs
But even if you’re not advanced enough for some of the wreck dives or just not comfortable diving inside a shipwreck, there marine life is plentiful. While we had mostly good visibility despite enduring two typhoons during our visit, it’s best to visit from November through February for the best dive visibility.
8. Island hop on an expedition trip
The Philippines is made up of over 7000 islands and the province of Coron is made up of eight major islands and a bunch of islets. There’s definitely plenty to see, do and explore and a great way to do that is to go on a Coron island hopping expedition trip. Some islands and islets have gorgeous beaches and some have fantastic snorkeling and diving off of them. Being out on the water is never a bad day in our book and it’s nice to get out to see how the each island differs.
Big Dream Boat Man Coron, the #1 expedition tour operator in Coron on TripAdvisor, offers 3-night expedition trips around Coron, combining some of Coron’s most popular attractions like Twin Lagoon with visits to secluded islands and sandbars the day tours don’t visit.
The expedition trips are kept to small group trips from 5-14 people and are all-inclusive with food and drink, basic accommodation in native beach cottages on the beach and beach camping one of the nights, plus equipment like kayaks and snorkel gear and all entry fees.
Big Dream Boat Man trips are the perfect way to “rough it” a bit on beautiful white sand beaches and under a sky full of more stars than you’ve ever seen.
9. Hole up on a private island
Coron Town isn’t the prettiest place and aside from hiking up Mt. Tapyas, visiting Maquinit Springs and wandering around the town, there isn’t much to do on Busuanga itself. Most of the best things to do are explored on day tours from Coron Town or while staying at some of the nearby private island resorts.
We absolutely loved our stay at Two Seasons Coron Island, so much so that we extended our stay for an additional three nights and scrapped our plans to stay in Coron Town or head to El Nido. The island was truly a slice of paradise with stunning beaches, unbelievably clear water that looked like you were swimming in a pool and excellent snorkeling right from the beach of the resort.
The Philippines Private Island Resort For Your Bucket List
There’s plenty to do if you like an active vacation, or just hole up for a bit of romance.
10. Try the local Filipino food
We always feel that food is an important part of the travel experience. Good food is something that knows no language barriers and enjoying a meal is something we can all find common ground in no matter race, religion or anything else. And while I have to admit that Filipino food hasn’t been my favorite cuisine in the world, I did have some outstanding dishes.
If you do stay in Coron Town, which you’re likely to for at least one night depending on when your flight arrives or departs, I highly recommend Hunt Restaurant at The Funny Lion on the edge of town. If the barbecue pork ribs are on the menu, don’t even think twice! The meat literally fell off the bone and these were by far the tastiest ribs I’ve had anywhere.
In town, Santino’s Grill Restaurant is an excellent choice. They’re known for their pork ribs, though I didn’t think they were as good as the ribs at Hunt Restaurant at The Funny Lion. What was absolutely delicious is the variety of seafood dishes like the calamari, chili salt squid and grilled prawns.
A boodle fight, which is typically served as a communal meal during festivals, is also a popular way to try a variety of traditional Filipino dishes. I couldn’t really get in to the boodle fight because I’m the type of person that doesn’t like her various dishes mixing and touching one another. Also a boodle fight is eaten with your hands and you just scoop up a bunch of different things, shove them in your mouth and repeat. But if communal dining and mixing all your food up isn’t your own personal version of hell, then joining in on a boodle fight is definitely a unique Filipino experience.
Know Before You Go
Browse more Coron Town hotels
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Our trip was provided by Two Seasons Resorts in partnership with Tourism Promotions Board Philippines and TBEX in order to bring you this story. However, Luxe Adventure Traveler maintains full editorial control of the content published on this site. As always, all thoughts, opinions, and enthusiasm for travel are entirely our own. This article contains affiliate links. When you book on Booking.com, Viator or Big Dream Boat Man through our affiliate sites, we earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Kavey says
What a beautiful destination! Really looks glorious! I’ve only tried Filipino food a few times here in London and loved it, great to read more on the tourist attractions there too.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
I personally found the Filipino food to be really fatty and not very fresh, but there were a few things like the ribs that I did enjoy.
Tom says
I never made it to Coron when I was in the Philippines. We got to El Nido and ran out of time as we had to fly to Thailand! If or when I go back, I’ll definitely visit Coron. It looks very similar to El Nido, so I’m sure I’ll love it!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
We were supposed to head to El Nido for a few days of our trip, but we were loving Coron so much that we just decided to stay and extend there. So I can’t compare, but they are part of the same province so I imagine that they are quite similar. I would have liked to see the underground river.
Drew says
What a beauty! The Philippines is really having quite a moment right now for travel lovers, and I’ve seen so much written about the islands this year. Now, the Philippines is high on my travel list, especially with an impending move to Asia, making visiting the islands that much easier! And having looked at your photos, it looks like Palawan might be my first destination in the country!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
It does seem like the Philippines exploded this year! Definitely take the opportunity to visit while you’re living in Asia.
Fiona says
Coron looks amazing – Maquinit Springs is quite out of this world isn’t it? Thank you for the recommendations
Joan Torres says
This island looks pretty amazing! But in my experience, most of the Filipinos I know claim that El Nido is the best spot in the Philippines. Anyways… You can’t always trust locals… Did you see many tourists around this island? I really liked your hike to Mt Tapyias. Unbelievable that in such a small island you can find such high peaks! Can it be completed in only one day? Great article!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Yes, it takes maybe 30 – 45 minutes to climb the stairs to the top of Mt. Tapyias. Like I said, it’s only 210 meters but what makes it strenuous is the oppressive heat and humidity.
Mar Pages says
I’m a huge fan of diving and snorkeling, so I’d definitely love this place. I’d really love to check out those shipwrecks and maybe spot a little sea turtle for myself. The Twin Lagoon also looks pretty magical. Looks like a pretty romantic place all in all 😉
Jennifer Dombrowski says
There was definitely awesome diving and snorkeling and in oppressive heat like in the Philippines, I prefer to spend my time in or under the water!
Raw says
Palawan is just a medium haul flight away from where I live but I’ve only heard of Kayangan Lake before, which, to me is not enough to make me want to fly over there. But now, you’ve given me at least 2 other reasons – Maquinit Springs and the Twin Lagoon. They look so beautiful I’d probably have a hard time deciding whether to jump into the water or stay dry and take hundreds of photos.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Ha! I think the heat would help with that. I couldn’t ever get in the water fast enough.
Mansoureh says
I watched a video about Palawan on YouTube last week, now I read this article about it. I haven’t been to Philipines yet, but it is on my wishlist. To be honest I didn’t have any idea where to go where I am there, but you introduced me an incredible place. I love the hidden lagoon and the spring water.This place is all I love especially exploring the underwater and scuba diving
Jennifer Dombrowski says
There was really good diving, so if you’re a diver I think you’d enjoy it. There are plenty of dive sites to keep you busy.
Pedro says
I’m so jealous of this trip to Coron! I was planning to extend my trip in the Philippines just to visit Coron and El Nido. But the weather forecast wasn’t so good. Hopefully I’ll be able to return this year.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
We lucked out and had just two rainy days in two weeks in Coron. I hope you make it back because it’s definitely beautiful there!
Christopher says
On my friggin word. This place is ABSOLUTELY Beautiful. It’s I like a true paradise. Absolutely love the Maquinit Springs and Twin Lagoon. I would love to dive in a ship wreck and/or with turtles. This place is like a dream. Great list.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
You can definitely do both in Coron! In fact, if I recall we saw a turtle at a shipwreck.
Virginia Legarda says
Thank you for the interesting adventure on Coron. How many days do you suggest to do this trip? Which local tour do you recommend?
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Hi Virginia,
It really depends on what you’d like to do. We think that a week is a good amount of time to spend in Coron, especially if you plan to do diving. If you’re not a diver, 3-4 days in Coron is a good amount to be able to see the various islands and enjoy this beautiful province.
We did both private and group tours and our tour through Two Seasons Coron Island Resort was far better than the group tour that we did. The group tour we did was with this company: http://www.corongaleri.com.ph/
Let us know if you have any other questions!
Natasha says
Thanks for this awesome post. I’m super excited to explore the islands.
I can’t find the skeleton wreck anywhere on the map – do you remember where it was or how to get there? Or does it have a Filipino name??
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Hi Natasha,
It’s just called Skeleton Wreck. It’s in Coron Bay and many of the Twin Lagoon and Barracuda Lake day tours will also make a stop for snorkeling on the Skeleton Wreck since it’s located on the northwest corner of Coron Island. We visited on a private dive charter and dove the wreck.
noel says
I loved visiting Coron and exploring around the island and banca touring the various areas in the typical routes they do on a day tours. Coron town is festive and I enjoyed massages, shopping in the markets and checking out places to dine in town.
Golfinho says
is Coron infested with Israelis like El Nido is?
Jennifer Dombrowski says
I’m not sure what you mean. Coron Town was busy but not crowded. We didn’t notice a dominance of any of nationality, aside from Filipino obviously. And Coron is very much a destination where the majority of things to do aren’t in the actual town, so everyone is out and about on excursions to the other islands or diving.
Christine says
Hello,
I noticed you said you wanted to put your diving certificates to use… I can see you got these in the Bahamas. My boyfriend and I wanted to get our certificates in The Philippines – can you recommend where would be best to get our Open Water PADI? We are going next month 😀
Don says
Most international places utilize NAUI, or at least they did when I got my certification 10 or so years ago. It’s interchangeable with PADI, but it’s just something to be aware of
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Hi Christine,
From our own experience (you can read about it here: https://luxeadventuretraveler.com/getting-dive-certified-in-the-bahamas/), we really recommend going with a private instructor instead of a group lesson. A lot of people struggle with various parts of the dive certification process and a private instructor can really take the time to work through individual struggles.
The other piece of advice we have is to get the book and study for the written exam in advance.
That said, we had a fantastic experience with the dive center at Two Seasons Coron Island Resort & Spa, where we stayed. And they do certification courses. If you don’t want to stay out on the private island, they do also have a property in Coron Town as well. https://luxeadventuretraveler.com/two-seasons-coron-island-resort/
Otherwise, Neptune Dive Center comes highly rated. Do your research and take the time to read individual reviews. Getting dive certified is such a personal experience. It’s also important that the dive center be the highest quality and ensure safety. You definitely don’t want to do the course with a dive center that cuts any corners.
Sushmit says
Hey Jennifer,
you said the best time to visit coron or Philippines is November to February. I’m planning my trip in mid October.
What will you recommend on this?
Also tell me how many days will be enough in Coron if i just want to explore the Maquinit Spings and lake Kayangan?
Jennifer Dombrowski says
You can still go, I’d just expect possibility of rain or storms as it is still the typhoon season. If you only want to visit Manquinit Springs and Kayangan Lake, then you only need 1 day. Kayangan Lake is part of a Coron Island tour as the lake isn’t on Bususanga. You can do a Coron Island tour and then visit Manquinit Springs after you return from the tour. Most people spend 1-2 hours at Manquinit Springs.
Lei Schaefer says
Hi there! I’ve visited El Nido back in May of 2017, Now we’re heading to Coron in January of 2019. Thank you for these suggestions, Will definitely try to do all of these but we only have about 4 days, What would be ideal to do knowing such short time we had at Coron. Should we get our diver’s certificate first before heading to Coron. Thanks so much!
Serena Joy says
wow, Coron has so many cool places to explore, you have really amplified my wanderlust with this post! I am planning a trip for the Philippines next year and I’m so excited about Kayangan Lake and wreck diving, especially the Tangat wreck. Your fabulous photos are making me even more eager to go there. 2019, just come already!!!!
Monica Sharma says
Nice article. You said the best time to visit the East coast of USA from November to February. I am planning my trip in mid-October. Also, tell me how many days will be enough in the US if I just want to explore the whole country.
Scott says
We almost got stuck on Coron due to storms. No flights left all week. Luckily ours was the only one that did!